Are fun facts good for us? Are they useful? In each of an octopi’s tentacles is a brain. If you didn’t know this, you might find it interesting. But how will this fact help you in daily life? And how likely are you to remember it a week from now, let alone a year from now? I’d venture to say fun facts take up unnecessary real estate.
A large portion of media exists to tell us useless information. Some things have substance—a good movie for instance. Movies not only cause a range of emotions to arise in us, they also engage our focus skills with a plot. And, thematic moments can cause us to reflect on our own lives. But a top 10 video on interesting jellyfish facts—what does that do for me?
Follow me on this example for a moment. If I don’t plan to study jellyfish in college, don’t find the speaker of the jellyfish video funny or likeable, if nothing in my daily lived experience would necessitate that I interact with a jellyfish, why would I watch the video? I don’t know, but we donate our attention like this all the time!
Fun facts can be conversation starters. “Did you know that no two zebras have the same stripe pattern, just like how every fingerprint is unique?” It’s a nice segue to pique someone’s interest, to transition into talking more about you or about them or about animals. But will they remember the fun fact?
Fun facts are certainly less useful than life hacks. “Did you know putting a paper towel sheet in a salad bag will keep the salad fresher for longer in the fridge?” See, this is information you can do something with. What’s the point of the zebra fact?!
Maybe the brain’s just wired to love learning. Maybe for survival, curiosity in everything was better than ignorance. Maybe curiosity led to better meals or escape routes from lions. But who knows?
The Composite Human 
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