I love learning about all sorts of things: history, current affairs, music, literature, travel, languages, politics, cooking, animals, fashion, theater, Hollywood gossip, and so on . . . and on . . . and on. And most of my blog posts, which I have shared with my Facebook friends and family for the past year, have been about those topics as they occur to me, or as they appear in the day’s news.

But I also have a passion for trivia . . . those odd factoids that contribute little or nothing to an individual’s real “education,” but do make great cocktail party conversation. Or whatever substitutes for a cocktail party these days.

And for those who don’t always have the time — or the desire — to read my more long-winded presentations every day, it occurs to me that a quickie (get your minds out of the gutter!) might be just the ticket. So I will be tossing these into the mix from time to time, just for fun. And I have randomly chosen to start off with:

Did you know . . .

. . . that the deadliest earthquake and string of aftershocks in recorded history struck Egypt, Syria, and surrounding areas in the year 1201 A.D. Obviously, there are no first-hand records of the event, but the experts — presumably seismologists — believe it was a shocking magnitude 9. To make matters worse, Egypt was already experiencing a major drought, which exacerbated the situation and led to mass starvation . . . and, apparently, a spate of cannibalism. Although how they determined that fact eight centuries later is a mystery to me. I mean, bones are bones, right? Or did somebody’s meaty femur show signs of having been gnawed on? And are they sure the offending teeth were those of humans, and not wild animals? In any event, historians estimate the death toll at around 1.1 million people, which is a lot of people, even today. [Source: The Book of Extraordinary Facts, Publications International, Ltd., 2012.]

Just a little tidbit to fill that lull in the conversation at dinner. Hope it comes in handy.

TTFN,
Brendochka
2/9/24