It's been said that too many of us, especially nowadays, live in our own bubbles. If you limit your experience to just one media source, one type of food, or one genre of film, you're missing out. It also distorts your understanding of everything outside your bubble, making you think that perhaps these things are less visible or less popular than they actually are. Sometimes you might be convinced that something is very rare and little-known, when in fact, the opposite is true.
10. Bioluminescence is the most common form of communication on Earth.
We humans tend to be a little biased toward our own species when it comes to communication. We're the only species with language, and we're obviously masters of communication. But language and communication are not the same thing.
While speech or the written word may seem like the most common form of communication in the world, there's compelling evidence that this isn't the case. Thanks to the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean and all the life that exists where the sun never reaches, there's a more commonly used tool for communication: bioluminescence. While it seems strange and incomprehensible at first glance, that's simply because it exists in a world we don't spend much time in.
Research has shown that "76% of creatures living in the water column and 45% of creatures living on the bottom" have found a way to make their light shine in a way that conveys meaning to others.
Light signals generated by creatures that have never even seen the sun can be used to hunt prey and inform others of its presence. Some fish even emit light in a spectrum invisible to their prey, allowing them to hunt while literally preserving their dinner in the dark.
Luminescence can also identify potential mates, warn predators, and do almost everything that non-luminous displays can do for creatures living where natural light is available. The numbers are always a bit sketchy when dealing with things that live so far away from us, but they are considered potentially the most widespread form of communication in the world.
9. Falling in love is the most common type of retail theft
Retail theft losses in 2022 totaled $112 billion. A lot of stolen goods went missing from Walmart shelves. However, retail losses aren't limited to someone smuggling Goldfish crackers out of the self-checkout lane. Shoplifting is the cause of many retail thefts, but almost as common is the cute one.
In 2018, the National Retail Federation found that employee theft accounts for 33.21% of retail losses annually. A significant portion of this is due to what's known as a favor. This means that the employee doesn't actually steal the item from work. Instead, a friend or family member comes in to buy it, and the employee either discounts it without permission or gives it to their friend for free.
According to a survey on the practice, 67% employees admitted to doing it in the two months prior to the survey, with costs estimated at $80 million.
8. Walking is the most common leisure activity
Do you like walking? There's a certain reputation that walking, one of the simplest and most mundane activities a person can do, is the realm of old and boring people. For example, there's a stereotype of older people strolling through shopping malls. And many older people actually enjoy walking malls for their simplicity, convenience, and safety. But walking is far more popular than all of that.
Walking is literally the most common physical activity for adults. In some ways, it's so obvious that it seems easy to overlook. If you think about your favorite physical activities, you might be inclined to overlook walking, since for many it's as mundane as breathing or blinking, but that's the point. People who do nothing else still walk.
Although transportation accounts for 29% of walking time, in 2010, 50% of people reported doing it for leisure. According to CDC statistics, by 2015, this figure had reached 65% for women and 62% for men.
7. The $100 bill is the most common
If you still shop with cash, you know that many stores don't accept hundred-dollar bills. This problem has been around for years, and one of the reasons is that hundred-dollar bills are popular with counterfeiters, so stores don't want to take the risk.
For most people, this isn't a problem, because when you have cash, how often do you carry hundreds? Well, statistically, these are the bills you should carry, as they are the most common form of currency in the US.
In 2017, the $100 bill surpassed the $1 bill to become the most widely circulated banknote. If you don't see the correlation in your wallet, fear not. The other half of this fact is that the majority of $100 bills circulate outside of America. American hundreds are huge in other countries, especially for use in black market transactions and other criminal enterprises. They're small, very lightweight, easy to transport and conceal, and they have high value. They're perfect for all your legal and illegal monetary needs.
6. The most common form of entertainment for school shooters is writing.
School shootings have been a nightmare in the United States for far too long. Every time one occurs, potential causes and solutions are discussed by experts and talking heads, and of course, most of us agree that nothing effective will be done.
In research into the perpetrators of these horrific crimes, there's a strong public belief, thanks to media reports and statements from those same talking heads, that certain media outlets are to blame. Video games, in particular, often take the blame. Music and film have also been blamed since Columbine in 1999.
According to the FBI, about 27% shooters show an interest in violent films, which is extremely rare. A more common interest? Writing. The largest group, 37%, expressed an interest in violence in their writing, including poetry and essays. So, if you're looking for warning signs, you should worry less about Call of Duty and horror films, but more about magazines and stories.
5. Faro is the most common form of gambling
If you're a fan of Wild West movies and shows, you've probably seen more than your share of poker scenes. Even in video games like Red Dead Redemption, Poker is part of the storyline. Kenny Rogers famously gave us the combination of song and film. «"Player"» . Thus, poker and Westerns have been linked in pop culture for several decades.
Ironically, poker wasn't as popular in the Old West. The most popular game of the time was faro, but in today's world, it's practically extinct. Faro was found in every gambling house, and no other game, including poker and craps, could match the popularity it once enjoyed.
According to the good folks at Bicycle Cards, the game originated in the court of Louis XIV. By the time of the Civil War, there were 150 gambling houses in Washington, and Faro was very popular in every one of them.
The game involves a banker, against whom all other players play. Players bet on a card ranging from ace to king. Then the banker is dealt a card, and then each player is dealt a card. If you bet on the banker's card, you simply lose. If you bet on the player's card, you win. There's more to it than that, but in a nutshell, that's how it worked. It was quick, easy, and everyone loved it.
4. The herb called "Laser" was the most valuable and widespread in Ancient Rome.
Before lasers meant "pew-pew," they were just grass in ancient Rome. It may not even be a living thing anymore, as it appears to have been hunted to extinction. Yet, lasers were once everywhere and in everything.
This plant, also known as silphium, was a wild crop native to what is now Libya. For many years, it was the region's largest export, and the city where it was harvested became one of the wealthiest in the Mediterranean.
Caesar kept 1,500 pounds of this plant's resin in the Roman treasury, and it was worth its weight in silver. Apparently, it was used as a medicine, a food seasoning, perfume, and in basically anything else one could imagine with a plant. And because of such widespread use, without regard for sustainability, it was destroyed.
3. Plasma is the most common form of matter.
If you reached a certain age, you were taught that matter exists in three forms: solid, liquid, and gas. Later, in science class, you learned that there's a fourth form, called plasma. So, there are four types of matter. Without getting into more advanced science, there's degenerate matter, Bose-Einstein condensate, and quark-gluon plasma. But that's all—seven types of matter. Okay, there could be 30, but never mind. Let's stick with the top four.
If you had to decide which state of matter is most common, you might guess liquid. There's plenty of water on Earth, right? But there's also plenty of solid matter, and probably plenty of gas, too—it's just hard to see. Luckily for you, we won't keep you guessing. The most common form of matter is plasma. You rarely see it sitting on a lawn, but there's plenty of it out there. In fact, it's thought that 99% of matter is plasma.
Plasma is very similar to gas, but it's so hot that it strips away most of its electrons, leaving the rest as ionized gas. These are stars, nebulae, and all those bright, shiny cosmic things we love about «Star Trek» и «Star Wars» . If you see it in space, it's probably plasma. Also, if you don't see it, it's probably still plasma.
2. Opus number one is the most widespread music
Have you ever heard that crazy synth music with a soft percussive rhythm in the background on your phone? If you've ever been on hold, you definitely have, because it's one of the most audible pieces of music in the world. This hold music, the most widely used hold music in the world, is used by over 65 million corporate phones worldwide.
A song called Opus No. 1 was written by a 16-year-old named Tim Carlton in his parents' garage back in 1989. A few years later, a friend of his was working at Cisco and remembered the track. He called Carlton and asked if he'd be willing to let the company use it as their hold music, and he agreed. He likely had no idea it would spread worldwide and be used decades later, but here we are.
1. Lysol is the most common form of suicide in Australia.
Suicide is a very serious issue, and if you suffer from depression or other issues that cause you to feel the urge to harm yourself, we strongly encourage you to find someone you can trust to talk to and get help.
Historically, people have committed suicide in a variety of ways, and in today's world, firearms remain the most popular method. About 521,000,000 people use guns to end their lives. But, as we've discussed, methods have changed over time.
In Australia, as early as 1911, Lysol inexplicably became the most common choice for people wishing to end their lives. It was cheap, readily available, and extremely toxic, making it an easy option for anyone who wanted to finish the job.