It has recently occurred to me that I would know practically nothing if I didn’t write books.

Like most of us, I’m ridiculously busy with family and hobbies and housework and careers. Which is where my weird need for trivia comes in. You see, I’m currently editing my final Hope Springs book, Finally Home, which is set in the Black Hills of South Dakota, while concurrently working on my first romantic suspense, which is mostly set in Colombia, South America. So the research has been coming at me fast and furious.

Here are a few of the fun facts I’ve learned in the past few days:

A man named Justin McBride is the top bull rider in the United States today. He’s grossed over $5,000,000 in his 15 year career and looks like this.  Or this. Let’s hear it for the cowboys!

The poison dart frog is a member of the Dendrobatidae family. This little fellow has enough venom to kill ten full grown human beings. Or twenty…depending on which website you choose to believe.

Premarin is a drug used to alleviate symptoms in post-menopausal women. It is manufactured from pregnant mare urine. The mares are confined to stalls, with catheters installed for 6-9 months out of every year. Often their water is restricted to make their urine more potent. Thousands of unwanted foals are born to these horses annually. Personally, my head would have to be hotflashed right off my body to convince me to use this drug, especially since there is a synthetic substitute available.

Double names disappeared from the top ten listing for Spanish girls in the 1990s. In 1970 the top two girls’ names were Maria Carmen and Maria Jose. Now it is simply Maria. Hmmmm

Land value in South Dakota has increased by an average of 28% in the past year. Some of that land looks like this. I would move there in about 32 seconds if I could convince all my children to go with me.

More than 3000 people were kidnapped in Colombia in the year 2000. It would take me more than 32 seconds to move there, even though it’s beautiful and purportedly produces some of the best organically grown cocao (chocolate) beans in the world.

So there you have it…little tidbits of trivia I pick up as an author. True, I may not remember a word of it tomorrow when I’m researching the mating rituals of the honey bee or the hair styles of the 1820s, but don’t let anyone tell you romance readers don’t learn anything while enjoying their chosen genre.

How about you? Any fun facts you’ve learned recently?