The Librarian's Internet- Trivial Pursuits

Dictionaries define trivia as unimportant matters, facts, or details. What romantic message do pineapples send? What's the origin of blessing someone who sneezes? When someone needs the answer for a research paper or a speech, suddenly these things don't seem so trivial. But where to go?

www.cwgh.com/pages/links/curiosi.html

Cox, Wootton, Griffin, Hansen and Poulos. Sounds like a law firm, doesn't it? It is, and their Web site is chock full of interesting law stuff, but their curiosities/offbeat/unusual link is worthwhile, too. The Area 51 Research Center link tells about any aliens in storage. The Invisible Library is a collection of books that appear only in other books. Don't miss: Mike Keith's World of Words and Numbers for anagrams, palindromes, the Lady in Pi, and other mathematical oddities. Warning: one of the links ("World Sexual Records") is strictly for adults.

gwu.edu/~gprice/handbook.htm

Fastfacts is the place to go for quick facts from almanacs, factbooks, and statistical reports. Fastfacts has links to U.S. and world census reports, current information fact sheets on every state in the U.S., and a handy guide to who's who in the federal government. Creator: Gary Price from George Washington University. Don't miss: "New to the Compilation" offers the latest additions, such as "Soft Drink Companies and Their Brands" (to learn exactly what's in that can of diet Coke). Check out the Voice of America's Pronunciation Guide of foreign names in the news.

www.refdesk.com

Yes, you could search for all the individual addresses of all the reference sites you need, but why bother? They're all here at Refdesk. Creator: Bob Drudge, a self-confessed organizer. Pay attention to the middle column where the Reference Resources are listed (hint: check out Fast Facts 2001). Here are links to Robert's Rules of Order, Convert Anything, the Social Security Death Index and Everyrule.com, a site with every rule for every game ever made.

www.snopes2.com

Will Sylvester Stallone capture bin Laden in Rambo IV? Is Walt Disney really in cryogenic storage? Learn what Neil Armstrong actually said when he stepped onto the moon. Middle schoolers and high schoolers love to repeat urban legends, but you (and they) can put the rumors to rest with the truth in this amazing collection. Ask students how the Internet helps perpetuate the myths. Creators: Barbara and David P. Mikkelson.

www.uselessknowledge.com/index.shtml

The "one-stop shopping" Internet site for trivia fans everywhere. Their motto: "If it isn't here, it isn't trivia!" Creator: TheWebPro.com, LLC. This is a great place to find the answers to these pesky puzzlers: Who invented braces for teeth? Why do flies land upside down on the ceiling? If anyone brings up the riddle concerning English words that end in "gry," you'll find the definitive answer here.

www.yourdictionary.com

Formerly "A Web of Online Dictionaries," yourDictionary is headed by Paul J.J. Payack and supported by a who's who of noted linguists from around the world. Most sites mentioned have usable dictionary links, but for the most thorough defnitions, cut to the chase and head here for the best. Claiming to be "the most authoritative/comprehensive Web site about language—any language," yourDictionary explains why there's a "stan" in Afghanistan, along with providing the usual dictionary tools.