Total.Randomness.
*Did you know that the word "trivia" is derived from the Latin
expression for "three ways" & meant the spot where three roads cam
together? People would often meet & stop to chat at such crossroads.
Eventually the talk itself came to be called trivia.
*A patron
telephoned asking if the library had any of William Shakespeare's books
on tape and, if so, were any of them actually read by Mr. Shakespeare
himself?
*A common myth is that "kangaroo" was an aboriginal phrase
for "I don't understand." According to this legend, Lieutenant Cook and
naturalist Sir Joseph Banks were exploring the area when they happened
upon the animal. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were
called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand
you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature. The Kangaroo myth
was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B. Haviland in his research
with the Guugu Yimithirr people. The word "kangaroo" actually derives
from the Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos.