150 Weird, Maybe Useless, But Definitely Fun Facts To Know, As Shared In This Online Thread

If you’re here, no doubt you’ve heard about how trivia is a medium of knowledge. Originally, the word is derived from the Latin triviae, which denotes a place where a road splits into two, thus creating a three-way intersection.

Much, much, later, roughly in the 1960s, some students introduced the idea of trivia as a game by informally trading questions and answers about pop culture.

It was only in 1965 that trivia became official. A Columbia Daily Spectator column kicked it off with author Ed Goodgold later joining forces with Dan Carlinsky to organize trivia contests and even writing a book in 1966 of the same name.

The concept took the world by storm and it spawned a huge following of people getting together and competing against each other through trivial knowledge.

There are quite a number of reasons why people like trivia games—an idea in and of itself being a testament to how approachable it is.

One major reason ties in with the idea of personal knowledge. Trivia games mean that you have to know your stuff, but you have to know very particular stuff. Thus, it encourages you to sharpen your mind all the while making use of what you already know and learning new things along the way.

But there is a huge social aspect to the game as well. While trivia games can be played individually, they are more often a team sport, one that connects people in healthy competition.

The best part is that the idea of intellectual competition makes it accessible to many age groups and, honestly, you don’t have to be all that smart to enjoy the vibe.

It goes without saying that, despite it being a very social game, there is much to be had on a personal level. Trivia games are known to improve self-esteem and, just like any game, they often help reduce stress.

And hey, there’s the added bonus of next to no physical exertion and the fun doesn’t really need to stop because the possibilities for questions are limitless.

Other reasons to play include the classic it just makes you feel good because winning a game releases dopamine. This, by proxy, also explains the addictive nature of trivia games and competition.

And, hey, you can one-up this burst of dopamine with another burst caused by food and drinks—no wonder why many competitions are held in bars.