Have you ever wondered why you can easily remember seemingly useless facts, but are incapable of recalling important dates? Do you marvel at the ease at which you can sing all the words to a song you haven’t heard in years, but you can’t remember what you ate for lunch yesterday? As it turns out, emotion plays a huge role in memory formation. In short: when we attach emotional significance to a piece of information, we’re much more likely to be able to recall it. But if you’re worried that being a random knowledge retainer is fruitless, fear not: obscure knowledge is actually good for your mental health. Psychologists explain that knowing the answer to a question that others might find arcane causes a rush of dopamine to the brain, similar to the effects of gambling or playing a video game (but with virtually no downside). Check out these four sources to learn new facts on a daily basis. If nothing else, the random knowledge you’ll acquire will make you an excellent team member at your next trivia night.
2. HQ Triviais the latest app to sweep the nation (even Dan Rather has played--and won!). Available on both Apple and Android platforms, HQ is played twice daily at 3 pm and 9 pm Eastern time and regularly draws hundreds of thousands of competitors, all vying to win a cash prize. Each game consists of 12 rounds, which progress from easy to hard, and competitors have ten seconds to answer each question. Many players admit to being ousted well before getting to the final round, meaning that the answer they got wrong is likely emblazoned in their memory. In fact, research shows that getting questions wrong actually helps you to learn better--meaning that thousands of people are learning something new twice a day. 3. How Stuff Works has become a veritable empire of random facts on subjects ranging from health & science to entertainment to home & garden. The website, which has extended into podcasts (including the popular Stuff You Should Know), apps and video content series, boasts nearly 30 million unique visitors per month, with millions more engaging via other channels. If you’ve ever wondered about safe ways to remove earwax, how big hail can get, or any other number of facts that are totally applicable to daily life or downright bizarre, sign up for the How Stuff Works newsletter. Whether you’re looking to bolster your chances of winning Quizzo or are simply game to add some random knowledge to your memory bank, these four sites, apps and podcasts have you covered.
--