If you follow me around for an extended period of time, you would frequently hear me say with a surprised tone, “Huh!” "Huh!" is the sound I make when I learn something I didn’t know. Much of the time the “fact” is random trivia which is more amusing than useful. Still, even though you can live your entire life without noticing the Fed Ex arrow, I bet you enjoy seeing it all the same! You’ve had three installments of these “Random Learnings” (Click here for installments One, Two, or Three), so I thought I’d update you on a few more.

Maybe one or two will make you say, “huh!” too.

Pineapples float.

I knew watermelons floated, but never realized that fact about pineapples. Thank me later if you’re stuck on a deserted island and build a raft out of pineapples to escape. You’re welcome.

Siri knows Monty Python.

And, truth be told, she knows Monty Python better than I!

Spiral hot dogs are AMAZING!

I watched a “how to” video (here) and started doing this little trick when I grill dogs, and it improves the taste in at least five ways as described in the video. #1 - The dog lays flat and cooks evenly. #2 - A flat dog has the chance to get the charred taste over more of the surface area. #3 - The dog is hotter inside than usual. #4 - The dog expands to actually fit the buns! And #5 – the spirals catch the toppings better. Nom. Nom.

New Airport Security Rules

Did you realize that during airport check-in both children AND the elderly are exempt from removing their shoes and jackets? This should make travel through Florida airports a tad faster. Now if they'd just make rules about people wearing presentable socks!

Earwigs don't bore into your brain!

Pardon my ignorance and surprise on this one, but growing up the most feared creatures around (except for maybe snakes) were the ugly earwigs. I heard these insects were called earwigs because they would crawl into your ear, lay eggs, and eat away at your brain. A quick Google search or review of Wikipedia corrects that myth, but I never bothered challenging the image in my brain. That said, I'm still not feeling warm and fuzzy towards these guys.

The wearer best knows where the shoe pinches - Irish Proverb

I learned three things about feet this week. #1 - There are 26 bones in each foot (unless you're a disobedient child, like me!). #2 - Your feet make up over 1/4 of the bones in your body. And # 3 - New Yorkers wear Christian Louboutin shoes in real life, walking down streets filled with subway grates (waiting to shred a heel!), and without concern for the development of blisters. Silly ladies...

Slug Bug Competitiveness Never Dies...

...the competition just hibernates until you have children (or nieces/nephews/neighborhood kids!) of your own. One family member of mine, who shall remain nameless (though her name may start with an R and rhyme with Azteca), is PARTICULARLY competitive with this game where you slug someone every time you see a VW bug on the road. The slug has to be accompanied by a shout of the color of the car. For Team Phenix we’ve taken to just making the game touch (versus slug) based. This has helped with the bruises (at least the kind you can see), but the competition is as heated as ever. We're still working on the rules of the game... exhibit A:Do YOU think I should get credit for a virtual tag? Comment if you agree that it should count. Otherwise, just ignore the question : )

Did you learn anything new this week?

Random Learnings, Part 4