One of my children, well, actually several of my children, never cease to amaze me with the amount of useless information they seem to possess. OK, not necessarily useless, but often very trivial and sometimes just bizarre.

Sometimes I just cannot believe what they are telling me is true so I have to look it up and because I am trying to find out if my children are correct, I stumble on other interesting, useless, or bizarre facts.

Here are some I have recently discovered about the animal kingdom. A group of unicorns is called a blessing. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit. Um, OK how or why did they come up with this name?

How about: An ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated. A snail can sleep for three years. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

I have to ask did somebody study these? Were they actually paid? Is this where our tax money goes?

Of course, with some of the trivia, you just have to wonder what was happening when it was discovered and did teenage boys have anything to do with it? For example, you can lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs. (I feel a little sorry for the cow.)

Did you know that cats have more than a hundred vocal sounds and dogs only have about 10? Whoever said this obviously has never bathed our dog Pippi. I am fairly sure she has more than 10 vocal sounds and if we could really interpret what she is saying I doubt we would ever want to repeat it!

A couple of my children love historical trivia. Did you know that Robert Todd Lincoln was in Washington, D.C., when both his father and President Garfield were assassinated and was in Buffalo, N.Y., during President McKinley’s assassination? Did you know that not only did King Henry the VIII have Anne Boleyn beheaded; he also had her wolfhound beheaded? Modern military salutes originate from the custom of armored knights raising their visors to identify themselves as they rode past royalty. Robert E. Lee is the only person to date to have graduated from West Point without a single demerit.

How about some just random trivia? Did you know that it takes approximately seven minutes to fall asleep? Yeah, right, tell that to my nine-year-old! Here’s another one: by the time a child starts first grade most will recognize around 200 company logos. Are these the same kids that cannot remember to unpack their backpacks and give their parents a note? Pearls will dissolve in vinegar. (OK, and why would you want to?)

The continents, with exception of the words “north and south,” all begin and end with the same letter.

The dot over the letter “I” is called a tittle.

The word “lethologica” describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.

Americans eat an average of 18 acres of pizza a day.

On average, 100 Americans choke to death on ballpoint pens every year. Um, how?

The ghosts on Pac-Man are named Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde.

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you cannot sink into quicksand. Why would someone really test this?

The two lions in front of the New York Public Library are named Patience and Fortitude.

Powdered non-dairy creamer is flammable. Again, did teenagers have something to do with this?

Here’s a final bit of just for fun trivia: Did you know that the cookies eaten by the fairies in Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty are in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head and ears?

Hope you have a great week!