When I was a wee trivia buff, I received a book called “2201 Fascinating Facts.” In fact, if I remember correctly, I actually received *two* copies of it within the span of a year or so. And I loved it. I read it several times in my youth and learned lots of wonderful facts. But in the internet age, you actually get to learn what is a fact and what is not, thanks to Snopes and the invaluable List of Common Misconceptions page on Wikipedia. And since that time, I have learned that A LOT of the “facts” in the book are not so. Such things include:

• The Great Wall of China is the only manmade structure visible from space (debunking)
• You can see the stars in daytime from the bottom of a well (debunking)
• The deer botfly can travel more than 800 miles per hour (debunking)

And the one that brought all this back to mind: a duck’s quack doesn’t echo (debunking). So now I’m totally skeptical of anything and everything I’ve read in that book. Here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to start reading it again to (a) brush up on my trivia knowledge and (b) brush away all the false facts I’ve learned by researching any claims that seem suspect.

A first one that has always seemed suspect to me: there is a claim that some royal figure described St. Paul’s cathedral as “awful and artificial” — meaning it as a compliment! Supposedly, “awful” meant “awe-inspiring” and “artificial” meant “full of great art.” This is actually retold in several places including some that inspire confidence, but no one seems sure of its accuracy and there doesn’t seem to be an official debunking (or, um, bunking). Can anyone find anything about that?

All right, this blog is going to start detailing my journey. There may not be as many mistakes as I think there are, but I have to know. And you’re all coming along for the ride.