The fact collector
How many hours will you work in a lifetime? An average of 100,000! That’s a solid 11 years! #fact
— Facted Up (@GetFactedUp) July 2, 2013
Being out in the working world for more than 10 years, it’s easy to lose focus on a lot of the things that matter, in exchange for a lot of the things that keep you focused on the corporate ladder.
“Will this make me better at my work?” you ask yourself of the cooking enrichment class you’ve always thought of joining. “Nah, I’ve got that big conference to prepare for, and then countless meetings and targets to meet“, and you convince yourself to put that on the back-burner for the fourth and probably last time it will surface.
You find yourself working consistent 12-hour days, and have little room for anything else save a little holiday at the end of the year to catch your breath.
You’re great at your job, but what about everything else?
It’s important to strike a balance between career and interests, for a more sustainable and fulfilling life. And I think I’ve found it. Or one of it.
Down the rabbit hole I go
Some people collect things. Stamps, toys, wine, watches, used panties. I’ve recently started collecting too.
I’ve started collecting facts.
You see, as we grow older, it seems like our knowledge of the world is shrinking. We know a lot about our work, and probably the industry we’re in. Beyond that however, we don’t seem to be learning very much anymore. So, I’ve started fact-searching. I’ve found it to be a fun, entertaining and definitely very enriching experience. At the very least, I’ve gained some ice-breaking conversations at pubs?
I’ve collated them onto a website at http://getfactedup.com. There’s also a twitter account set up. So if you’re into learning new and fun facts, why not getfactedup?
Below are some interesting facts I’ve found.
Guess how many times we blink in a day? 28,800 on average. — Facted Up (@GetFactedUp) June 13, 2013
Early Earth spun so quickly we only had 5-hour days. Still feel we don’t have enough time? http://t.co/d2yPHfsIuo
— Facted Up (@GetFactedUp) June 14, 2013
The oldest known living tree is 5,062 years as of 2013, lives in California and is still unnamed. We vote ‘Treebeard’.
— Facted Up (@GetFactedUp) June 15, 2013
On average, a single worker ant would take 250 naps each day, with each one lasting just over a minute.
— Facted Up (@GetFactedUp) June 18, 2013
Underneath all that white, polar bears actually have black skin. http://t.co/thxaYjrmWm
— Facted Up (@GetFactedUp) June 26, 2013