Our minds on media.

Today I would just like to share with you this fascinating collection of factoids brought to you by Susan Stepney of the University of York. It truly astounds me when people do this sort of thing — collect facts of their own interest and share them with people. Who knows. I’m just feeling sentimental today. And so on that note, I tell you this: Factoid was coined in 1973 by Norman Mailer. He says, “Factoids … that is, facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority.” [Thanks, guys]