Buss: Imagine living without a safety pin today

Likely the younger generation has never heard of Cliff Clavin, the best-known contrived postal carrier in history. And in the realm of intellectual trivia, he was the most infamous.

Although, “Cheers,” the hit TV sitcom (1982-93) where Cliff resided on a barstool next to his pal Norm, has been gone 29 years, he still has a following among trivial pursuers, like me. Trivia is the quest for wondrous, little-known facts that pay no dividends but are well-worth investing some idle time.

In fact, psychologists say trivia is nutrition for the brain. It is satisfying with few downsides. Some docs say trivia is retro fun, and a great relief from robotic phone texts.

It can be witty and enlightening and, with Clavin, often far from reality.

For example Cliff once told his bar mates that the harp is a predecessor of the modern day guitar. “In fact,” he explained, "early minstrels were much larger-bodied people with nimble little hands.”

For me, I like to share real, captivating tidbits gathered over time.

For instance, have you ever heard of Walter Hunt? Didn’t think so.

Hunt was an impoverished New Yorker in the 1800s, and at one point he owed $15 for back rent. He didn’t have it, and the landlord demanded he pay up or get out.

As Hunt fretted over his dilemma, he began twisting a piece of wire in his hands. He kept bending it one way and then another . . . until he invented the safety pin. He sold his creation for $400 ($10,000 in today’s dollars) and purchased the flat from his landlord.

Bet you didn’t know that Dolphins allow only half of their brain to sleep at a time. When the left eye is closed, the right half of the brain sleeps. Likewise when the right eye is closed the left side of the brain gets some shuteye.

And we old folks remember the time when automobile drivers used arm and hand signals for direction.

Although Buick introduced the first automatic turn single in 1937, it wasn’t until the 1960s it became standard equipment. Many of us learned from a driver’s manual that an extended straight left arm through the open window meant you were making a left turn.

Holding the left arm at an upright angle meant a right turn was due. Holding the arm straight down indicated you were about to stop. And to this day manual signals are still legal.

In journalism school we learned that the definition of a long sentence is 100 words. Well, how about the two longest sentences in literature history?

Jonathan Coe’s “The Rotter’s Club” has a sentence with 13,955 words, and James Joyce’s “Ulysses” is a distant second with a 4,391 word sentence.

You don’t have to thank me. Just remember, these can be great ice breakers at parties and gatherings where you are likely never to be invited back.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Buss: Imagine living without a safety pin today