Trivia

What is trivia???
Some say it is useless facts or just something to prove that you are more intelligent than the next person.
I believe that trivia is a very important part of gaining and retaining knowledge. To some it may seem "trivial", but you must admit that trivia is interesting.
Let me give you a couple of trivial quotes. Some will say that they are not true, but I would like to think that they are actual statements.
The first I would like to share is a quote by Winston Churchill. It is reported that he was attending a function well before he became British Prime Minister and was quite drunk at the time. He was approached by an "upper-class" woman who said to him: "My God Sir, but your are very drunk." He replied: "Maybe so Madam, but you are very ugly and I will be sober tomorrow." I suppose it didn't really put him in good standing with the hoy-polloy of the time, but I also think that it wouldn't really worry him either.
It has also been told that, during World War I in the trenches, a high-ranking "toffee-nosed" General, or some such rank, ventured into the Australian Diggers' lines and fronted up to a young bloke. He asked the Digger straight out, with the English Public School accent: "Did you come here to die, my good man?" And the Digger replied: "No mate. I came here yesterdie." Of course, it translates as yesterday, but the story really tickled my fancy.
One conversation I was involved in, happened in 1971 while I was serving in HMAS Sydney on our way to America. The sea was very rough and the breakfast lines were understandable short. I elected to have bacon and a fired egg, but when I got to the end of the line my egg had a very well fried cockroach sitting on top of the yolk, and very well presented. I approached the Chief Petty Officer Cook and pointed out the fact that there was a "cocky" in my egg. He said, without even a grin, "Shh. Not so loud. If they hear you they will all want one!!!" That is a true story!!!!!

Anyone who really knows me knows that I am a true trivia buff. I enjoy learning about new things and the more obscure, the better. Since I am a smoker and have recently changed from tailor-made cigarettes to "roll-your-own", I have found a wealth of knowledge on the covers of the cigarette papers. Whoever thought of putting trivia on the packets was a genius. I use Tally-Ho papers and the trivia on them is mainly Australian, so I will educate you in my next blog with some "little-known facts" and "useless information" about Australia and why we love this country and our own bit of this wonderful, big earth.