I am a plethora of useless information.

It’s true.  I know some of the most random facts.  It’s funny how you work at a job and learn all these really weird, random facts that you never ever would have thought of before.

For years I used public restrooms and never gave a second thought to the paper towel dispensers or the toilet paper rolls.  They were just there and I used them and forgot them.  Then I went to work for a company that did packaging and janitorial supplies.  I learned all about different towel dispensers and different kinds of paper towels.  I learned about the different kinds of toilet paper and dispensers for that.  I learned about hand soap and just how cheap it can be and how most companies buy the really cheap crap that dries your skin and they really don’t save that much by doing it!  The point is…here we are in 2011 and I haven’t been with that company since 2008.  Still…to this day, I check out the dispensers in every public bathroom I go into.  I still recognize which ones are which and think of the sales pitches we were given for them.  I know who is incredibly cheap and who cares a little more about comfort.  Yes…this information is completely useless.

Before that I worked at an electrical supply company.  I learned all kinds of weird things about connectors and fuses and wire gauges.  I got a cool set of jumper cables from there and it was that job where I learned how to properly jump start a car.  I learned to use a heat gun and crimping tools and I spent some time in the purchasing department learning all about promotional items and camera ready art and set up charges for logo imprinting.  Once again…not a bit of it useful.  Well, except for knowing how to jump start a car.  That’s actually pretty handy.  Thanks Larry Farley!  But the rest of it?  I’ll never use this knowledge again.

My husband is fantastic at trivia.  When we play as a team at a board game with trivia, I will defer to him every time because he almost always knows the answers.  Why don’t board games ever ask you what the difference is between shrink wrap and stretch wrap?  Because hey, I know that!  Why don’t they ask if all hook and loop is Velcro?  Or if all facial tissue is Kleenex?  Or what a butt connector is?  Because hey…I know that!  Quick!  Somebody ask me what LED stands for!  Hint: It does NOT stand for “little explosive device”.  Hee…but that’s another story.  So yeah…if you ask me any of these questions…I have an answer!  But if you ask me who directed some random 1994 Blockbuster action film?  Yeah, I’ll look at my husband and bat my eyelashes because I know he’ll have the answer.

So before I close this random bit of rambling…I’ll drop some knowledge on you because I know you want it.

Kleenex and Velcro are name brands.  Not all facial tissue is Kleenex.  But because they are the most popular…everyone calls facial tissues “Kleenex”.  Same with Velcro.  The industry term is “hook and loop” and there are several different manufacturers.  Velcro is simply the one that started it all…thus people calling it all “Velcro”.

Shrink wrap is the crackly stuff that you wrap around your package and heat seal.  It has to run through a heat tunnel and it shrinks down to fit around your package.  Thus it’s being referred to as “shrink wrap”.  Stretch film is stretchy – go figure.  It stretches around your product to hold it place and once it’s stretched, it sticks to itself enough to hold but doesn’t stick to your product.   Many people refer to stretch wrap as shrink film but they are distinctly different products.

A butt connector is an electrical connector that is has a receptacle at both ends so you can put wire in each end and extend the length of one wire.  The two pieces of wire “butt up against each other”…thus making it…TA DA….a “butt connector”.

And oh yeah…L.E.D.?  Light Emitting Diode.

Now you too are a wealth of completely useless knowledge.  Go impress your friends!  I just did!