Father Asks Strangers To Suggest Interesting Facts He Could Tell His Daughter, Gets 40 Responses

You might say collecting weird facts don't really translate into anything useful. However, experts believe that playing trivia games can provide a dopamine rush much like gambling, just without the negative effects. And scrolling through posts filled with things to know might just prepare you for these competitions.

"You get a rush or a neuroreward signal or a dopamine burst from winning," John Kounios, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the doctoral program in applied cognitive and brain sciences at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, told Healthline. "I think whenever you’re challenged with a trivia question and you happen to know the random fact, you get a rush. It's sort of like gambling."

Also, remembering these little pears of wisdom is easier if you're really passionate about the subject matter. "People really like to have some expertise on something and the brain is very good at focusing on things that you’re interested in," Deborah Stokes, Ph.D., L.P.C., B.C.N., a psychologist in Virginia, who focuses on neurotherapy, said.

"In typical people, my observation, not backed up by any research, is that their interest in trivia is confined to topics that they are generally interested in," Kounios added. "So if a person is very interested in history, then they may either seek out history trivia, or they might just naturally pick it up in the course of learning about nontrivial aspects of history."

But being a killer at trivia games doesn't necessarily mean you're more educated. "Some people soak up facts," the professor said. "Plenty of people with a lot more education may not remember what they had for breakfast yesterday morning."