52 Things I Learned In 2024
An Entire Blog of #PBSUN
52 Things I Learned in 2024
For about 7 years now, I have been doing a daily journal. It is basically some bullet point highlights from the day, interspersed with things that I am grateful for. My "system" is on the list for potential future blog post topics so I won't get too granular on it today, but suffice to say, I enjoy it and find it cathartic. At the end of each year, I go through my journal, and in lieu of doing "New Years' Resolutions", I do a "Prior Year Inventory" (hat tip to Tim Ferris for this idea). The premise is to go through your journal and pick out all of the "good" things that happened, and get those back into your calendar as quickly as possible (all of your favourites: people, restaurants, drinks, coffees, lunches, dinners, trips etc.) and at the same time determining which interactions during the year gave you agita, and not repeating those again in the upcoming year.
In my first year of retirement (from corporate life) I introduced something else to my journaling. They say you should learn something new every day- so I added another journal to my repertoire and everyday I write down 1 thing that I learned that day. It is essentially #PBSUN (Paul Beattie School of Useless (k)Nowledge) type information that I found intriguing. Since I get a lot of positive feedback from that category in my Weekend Brunch posts, I decided to do an entire blog containing "useless information". In lieu of writing all 356 things I learned, I picked one interesting fact I learned from each week, and formulated the 52 Things I learned in 2024.
So good readers, here is a compendium of silly, hilarious, macabre, fascinating and useless information for you to astound your friends and family with at your holiday parties. Enjoy!
In 1961, 25% of the migrant workers in the UK were from Italy and the majority of them lived and worked in Scotland
The Sydney Opera House is designed to look like sea shells
Name changes at Ellis Island were a myth initiated by the Godfather movie. Immigration officials were handed a manifest of the people that were on the arriving ship and they merely crossed names off that list. Most names were changed by the people themselves after they arrived in the US
The top symphony conductor in Finland makes 490,000 Euros per year (~$735,000 CAD)
The richest 5 families in Florence, Italy in 1427 are still the richest 5 families in Florence today
The average female anchovy lays 20-30,000 eggs per year, and when the males rush to fertilize the eggs, it creates a frenzy in the water similar to a storm
A 2023 US survey on heterosexual dates showed that men paid 90% of the time, women 8% and they split the bill 2% of the time. 80% of the men expected to pay, and 55% of the women expected the men to pay
A blindfolded man solved a Rubik's Cube in just over 12 seconds
Once a day in the US, someone commits suicide by intentionally getting hit by a train
The vast majority of the world's population of penguins are in Antarctica. This is followed by southern South America, Southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Big Ben, is the name of the bell, in the Clock Tower of London, NOT the name of the tower itself
Parrots can be trained to use IPads
The definition of "necromancy" is magic- especially communicating with the dead.
Frank Sinatra turned down the role to play Dirty Harry in the movies
In the U.S.- 1 in 4 donated kidneys end up getting thrown away
Based on cell phone tracking- 5% of Americans attend weekly religious services, versus the 22% of Americans that say they attend weekly services.
96% of all books published sell less than 1000 copies. 50% of all books sell less than 1 dozen copies. (!)
The average cost to own a dog in Canada is $4000 per year.
The Beatles wanted to make a movie based on "Lord of the Rings" but author Tolkien wouldn't let them.
In 1980 in New Zealand, there were 22 sheep for every person. In 2020 there were 4.6 sheep per person- the lowest in recorded history.
In the US in 2020, 45% of all girls first names, end with the letter "a". (Up from 20% in 1920)
~$1 million in loose change was left at security checkpoints at airports in the US in 2023.
72% of all music streamed by streaming services, is "old catalogue" music.
In Q1, 2024, 61% of all people in Canada who used a food bank, were first time users.
It is illegal to name your child Satan or Jesus in the U.S.
The average income needed to be a first time homebuyer in Hamilton, Ontario in 2024, is $171,000.
A recent survey showed that if people could have any superhero superpower, the number one choice would be teleportation. (followed by flight, mind control, and strength)
The most expensive dog breeds to own in the US cost ~$150,000
God Save The King was first sung in London, England in 1745
Interprovincial migration went from 5000 per month during COVID to less than 1000 per month in 2024.
Over 50% of young people in the UK don't know what the word "ninny" means.
A study shows that cats mourn the death of other animals they know, even dogs.
A recent study showed that the more attractive a person was considered, the less they played video games
Tennis player Roger Federer won 84% of his matches, but only 54% of the points in each match.
46% of all bus riders in New York City, don't pay a fare
San Francisco foot traffic is down over 75% from pre-pandemic levels
The average time a person will wait for a web page to download, is 2 seconds
The U.S. has the worlds highest prices for band name prescription drugs, but the lowest prices for generic drugs, and generic drugs make up 90% of sales.
Women are better than men at jigsaw puzzles
In Canada, the price for 1 litre of olive oil has increased 188% since 2019.
The average salary for a Wall Street employee in 2023, was $471,000.
18% of US adults have visited a haunted house
By the year 2040, Spain is expected to surpass France as the world's number one tourist destination- with 115 million expected visitors.
In 2024- 1 in 5 deaths in Canada are from euthanasia
In 1789- the time of the French Revolution- there were 133 newspapers in Paris.
Goderich, Ontario sits atop of the world's largest underground salt mine at ~1.4 billion tons
The odds of making money in the US stock market: 1 day- 50%. 1 year- 68%. 10 Years- 88%. 20 years- 100%.
The number of deaths in the US due to alcohol has more than doubled from 1999-2020: from ~20,000 deaths to approximately 50,000.
In 2024- sales of Bibles in the US are up almost 22% year over year
In the US- table saws account for about 4300 amputations per year. All other amputation sources combine for ~3000 per year.
Former New York Yankee Baseball player, Mickey Mantle had at least 14 team mates that named their son Mickey
The oldest reference to lasagna dates back to 1282
My favourites? #17 (Book Sales- 50% sell less than a dozen copies. Why bother writing a book? Way more than a dozen people read this blog!) and #34 (Roger Federer- it shows the importance of persistence and being consistent. He won the vast majority of his matches- but during those matches, he only won 54% of the points. i.e. it's not like he won every game/set 50-0 or 5-0, yet with a win percentage of 84%, you think he would). Let me know which ones you found most interesting, in the comments section below.
This will be my last post of the year. So as the sun sets on 2024, I will take this opportunity to firstly thank each and every one of you for reading. One comment or one like on any given post makes it all worth while. Secondly, I look forward to interacting with all of you in the new year with fresh topics to dissect. Most importantly, I want to wish each and every one of you, and your loved ones, a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and continued peace and health in 2025. See you next year.
Ciao