Factoid Friday

Hey, it's Friday! I love Friday. It holds all the promise of the weekend, and, for someone who is all about fun, this is a good thing.

I've decided to add a regular feature on Fridays. As you can tell by the title, it's .... Factoid Friday!

Why? Because I like how it sounds. And also because factoids are fun. In case you're not sure of what a factoid is (I had to look it up) here's the definition from wikipedia (because that's such a reliable source).

My favourite thing about the origin of the word is that Norman Mailer invented it back in 1973. He describes a factoid as 'facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper.' And if I may add to that, Mr. Mailer, 'or the internet.'

More recently, news sources such as CNN have re-defined the word as 'a small piece of true but valueless information.' aka, trivia.

Isn't the English language magnificent? We have so many words with multiple meanings, misconstrued definitions, and weird spelling. As a writer, I find it fascinating, and love to plumb the depths of vocabulary. It's also annoying when people use words in the wrong way. Or can't spell.

Case in point:

Aargh! This would be hilarious if it wasn't so stupid. Okay, it's hilarious. And stupid.

For the most part, Factoid Friday will riff on CNN's definition. I'll gab about a bit of trivia. Why? Because it's fun! Oh, I might squeeze in a wee bit of thoughtfulness here and there, but not too much. Don't worry.

So, obviously, today's factoid is all about that lovely little word, factoid. Could I use factoid any more in two lines? Factoid! hah! It's one of those words where, the more you say it or type it, the weirder it looks. Hmm....

Have a great weekend!

V