Trivia with a twist

I love an odd fact – I refuse to call them fun facts, which seems like a feeble attempt to liven up an essentially boring subject. I quite like the word factoid, which I think sounds futuristic and of the moment, but it also makes me think of less attractive words like paranoid, rheumatoid and haemorrhoid. It’s trivia with a twist that I like. Did you know, for instance, that Joe Biden was born four years before Tupperware was invented? I’ve looked it up and he was born in 1942. Tupperware followed quickly on his heels in 1946. To be honest, we have plastic containers in our cupboard that look older than Joe Biden. However, Tupperware wasn’t introduced into Europe until 1960, which is the year after I was born, so I too have the distinction of putting in an appearance before Tupperware – in England anyway. Barbie was also born in 1959, but the least said about that the better.

Not many people know that 3,275 people submitted their tax returns in the UK on Christmas Day last year. The peak time for filing was between 12:00 and 12:59, when 319 returns were received. Some people will do anything to avoid making the gravy. I am easily entertained and am always interested in how many people choose to spend their time filling in a dreary government form rather than eating and drinking to excess, falling out with their families, watching the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special yet again and then collapsing into an exhausted heap at the end of it all. Put like that, the tax return is starting to look quite appealing.

You’ll be pleased to know that I have been fact-checking as I go along and I stand by what I’ve written. However, I have little faith in the results of a biscuit quiz published by McVitie’s on National Biscuit Day. (I am, of course, referring to the cookie type of biscuit and not those doughy things Americans drown in gravy.) I do believe there is a National Biscuit Day, although I have to confess that I’ve never celebrated it myself. What I’m dubious about are the results of a biscuit quiz conducted by a biscuit company. I question their disinterestedness for a start, also their research methods, sample size and final analysis. My guess is that they asked around the office and everyone gave the best answers they could think up on the spot. Apparently, Britons have 24 biscuit-related arguments a year. I can’t recall any biscuit-related argument in the entire course of my life, so I’m obviously an outlier or simply don’t work at McVitie’s, where biscuit arguments appear to be rife.

You might be wondering how the humble biscuit can cause so much friction and the list quite predictably includes dropping crumbs in bed, taking the last one, and not sealing the pack properly, but number 10 on the list is an outrage: “Whether or not to keep biscuits in the fridge.” I did sit up and take notice then. Who on earth would keep biscuits in the fridge? I think those McVitie’s workers slipped that in to see if anyone would keep reading to the end. Sadly, I am that person.

Undeterred, I’ve started collecting odd facts in anticipation of National Trivia Day on January 4th. Something for us all to look forward to once we’ve filed our tax returns.