This is the beginning of a weekly article series called “A Weekly Dose of Fun Facts”. As the title suggests, this series is dedicated to the odd, the interesting, the cool, and the fun facts of this world. Each fact will be unique and randomly hand selected by your author, who loves some trivia herself. Let’s get factual!

Monday: According to a 2015 study, sarcasm can promote creative thinking. 

Sarcasm, the second language I am fluent in beside English and soon to be Spanish, forces its speakers to think a bit harder about a statement to decrypt its actual meaning, which often requires abstract thought. In the study, participants took part in simulated conversations in which they were instructed to be either sincere or sarcastic. The study found that those who had to give and receive sarcastic statements performed greater on creativity tasks than the participants who were instructed to be sincere or were in the all important control group. Cool, right?

Tuesday: The 100 folds in a chef’s hat (aka a toque) represent the 100 ways to cook an egg.

In the culinary world, eggs are regarded as very important as they are so versatile. I mean, think about how many ways and dishes that an egg can be utilized in. From cakes to a custard to breading meat to a wonder omelet, eggs are amazing. It’s no wonder that their importance is depicted in one of the most iconic parts of a chef’s outfit, yeah?

Wednesday: Apple pie is not actually American. 

The first recipe was written in England in 1381, making it both very old and very English.

Thursday: The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland. 

In Celtic mythology, unicorns are a symbol of purity and innocence as well as, oddly enough, masculinity and power. The unicorn has long been associated with tales of dominance and chivalry in Scottish history. 

Friday: If you drive south from Detroit, you will hit Canada.

You might be thinking, ‘Hold on, Detroit is below Canada and you’re driving south..How is this true?’. Here is your answer: As you may know, the border between the country of the stars and stripes and the country of the red maple leaf is the longest international border that is shared by two countries, being more than 5,500 miles long. So most of Canada is located north of the United States, but not Ontario, Canada, which is why by driving due south from Detroit you can reach Canada.

Saturday: Bacon was used to make explosives in World War II.

Yes, you read that right. During WWII, the American Fat Salvage Committee was created to not only get housewives involved in the war effort, but to also collect fat, bacon grease included, to make explosives. Reason being is that in every pound of fat, there is enough glycerin, a simple polyol compound that is the starting material in the manufacturing of nitroglycerin, which is an extremely explosive liquid that is used as a precursor in many explosives like dynamite.  

Sunday: Bubble wrap was originally intended to be wallpaper.

Honestly, how fun would that be? In 1957, engineer Alfred Fielding and Swiss chemist Marc Chavannees invented this fun packing material in 1957 as an attempt to create a textured wallpaper. During their attempt, they put two pieces of plastic shower curtain through a heal-sealing machine, which produced an undesired result; a sheet of film with trapped air bubbles. But not giving up, they moved forward and branded it with the name we know it as today; Bubble Wrap. And packaging facilities loved it. 

I hope you enjoyed learning some fun trivia facts. Every Monday, a new ‘A Weekly Dose of Fun Facts’ comes out! Until then, Holt.