FactoidFactory

Brazilian-Canadian, thirtysomething librarian. I run this sideblog for fun, but if you have any topics you'd like me to cover feel free to ask!

[factoidfactory]

Pride Month Fact 4

Despite being considered to be the embodiment of manliness, the Norse god Thor can pass for a really gorgeous babe when he chooses to dress up as a woman (which he canonically did in Þrymskviða).

[suncaptor]

linked tree (includes options to donate to Ghanaian projects)

petition to show support

[factoidfactory]

Pride Month Fact 3

One of the first instances of a neopronoun being used was in 1789, when William H. Marshall recorded the use of "ou" as a pronoun.

"Thon" was originally a Scots version of "yon" and means "that" or "that one". In 1858, it was introduced as a gender-neutral pronoun by the American composer Charles Crosby Converse.

[factoidfactory]

Pride Month Fact 2

What do neopronouns look like in different languages?

In Portuguese (at least in Brazil) nonbinary folk tend to use elu/delu or eli/deli (the traditional pronouns are ela/dela [she/hers] and ele/dele [he/his]).

In Spanish, elle is typically used.

In French, iel and al have caught on.

In Galician, it’s elu or eli.

In German a popular one is sier/sies/dier

In Finnish, hán (a blend of the gendered pronouns hann and hún) is popular.

[factoidfactory]

“Back in my day girls were girls and boys were boys” has been a complaint for at least 100 years.

[depsidase]

[barkingbarghest]

Here is an article from NPR about it (May 22, 2026):

Carolina Milanesi, an independent technology analyst, said Google is trying to make its cash cow business — search — richer and more personalized, and it will make shopping easier. But there is a risk that users may have fewer choices about what to click. "Right now it's: I ask a question, I get a bunch of answers and I feel that I'm in control as to which answer I take, or if I'm looking for something, which product I'm going to end up buying. That is going to be less so going forward," she said. Milanesi envisions AI-enabled search and agents proposing products to consumers — perhaps even those they have requested — but with less clarity or choice around where it's coming from. "If you're going to say: 'I want a pair of Jordans, go find them,' you're not necessarily sure what steps have been taken and whether the AI has used a source or a store that was paid for and therefore came up in the search results," she said, "or if AI actually went and did their due diligence and picked the best for me as a customer."

And here's one from Time magazine (May 20, 2026):

While Google already has “AI Mode,” the company will now power the whole search bar through its new Gemini 3.5 Flash model.  Instead of the classic list of blue links, Google Search will now also generate a custom page with an AI-generated summary of what you’re searching about, which will then trigger a conversation with AI Mode on the main page, allowing users to ask follow-up questions—similar to the kind of layout you would see when opening ChatGPT.

And a little more from Time's article on how this may affect the websites that we are trying to search for:

When Google first started implementing AI-assisted results, news publishers warned of “catastrophic” impacts on the industry, much of which relies on Google search to drive users to their websites.  Last year, news websites saw significant traffic declines as chatbots increasingly replaced Google search as the primary way to find sites and ask questions.  Small businesses also noted drops in traffic to their sites from Google, which has traditionally delivered customers.   Lily Ray, vice president of SEO strategy & research at Amsive, a digital marketing agency, warned as early as last year that Google’s planned changes to search are “going to have a devastating impact on the Internet.”  “It will severely cut into the main source of revenue for most publishers and it will disincentivize content creators who rely on organic search traffic, which is millions of websites, maybe more,” she told Technology Magazine.  

[the-crying-bitch]

[cythraul]

This is you reminder that, even in Google's own Chrome, you can set the default search to DuckDuckGo.

[i-like-reblog-maps]

What month were you born in?

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Voting ended onMay 28

Doing a final project in my stats class, we have to pick a subject and collect data on it. We need at least 100 data points, and I figured this blog is big enough that a poll on here could get to that pretty easily!

Doing my project on if it’s more likely to be born in certain months :]

I have gotten the OK from my teacher to collect data using a Tumblr poll, btw. I’m also going to have to send her this post as proof of where I got the data from / proof I didn’t just make up the numbers. So. Behave

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,775

The longest river in the world is the Nile, followed closely behind by the Amazon.

^ The Nile.

[pnwpol]

hey, here's a link to look up your local MP's email to let them know that 1. we want to see the environmental assessment 2. no more data centres until regulatory law catches up.

for those in BC, write to your MLA.

[viridianmasquerade]

If you want to write your politicians but don't know what to say, under the cut you'll find what I just sent to my MP and MLA, feel free to copy and rework it however you like:

Dear [your MP], [your MLA],

My name is [something] and I have been a resident of [city] for the past [x] years. I have seen the recent government announcements regarding AI data centres in British Columbia and I have serious concerns about the viability of these projects.

I am writing you both, as my MP and MLA respectively, to express these concerns in the hopes that you will push back against these plans as an obvious disaster in the making for BC and Canada.

AI data centres consume massive amounts of power and water, in addition to producing significant noise, heat, and air pollution. We are already living in a world where Vancouver has enacted its Stage 2 water restrictions - in May! Within the last year, BC Hydro has stated that the province will need an enormous increase in our power supply in the upcoming decade to account for rising demand - where on earth is that going to come from if these centres are getting 85% of their enormous power needs from BC Hydro? 

Are we really so short-sighted that we intend to commit ourselves to projects that will consume disproportionate amounts of our precious natural resources, over and above the needs of the actual citizens who live, work, and importantly, pay taxes here? Where are the environmental and viability assessments for these centres? What is the regulatory scheme that will provide oversight and enforcement for these centres? Who is responsible for ensuring that they don't create a negative effect on the lives of your constituents? 

As a [city] resident, I hope you will be pushing back against these plans and raising these concerns in your upcoming legislative sessions. Canada and BC should be investing our limited natural resources in sustainable, renewable projects that will benefit residents in the long term, not line the pockets of Telus executives in the short term.

With respect,

[sign it however]

[raccoonmilf]

Tell people about the critically endangered pygmy raccoon (Procyon pygmaeus) that is found only on the island of Cozumel, Mexico.

It is fun and free to do so. To tell people about the pygmy raccoon. There are less than 120 left in the world. They are a completely separate species from the raccoons found elsewhere.

You should tell people this so they will know (because right now the do not know.) It is fun andfree

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,775

The Dewey Decimal System is a library organization system used throughout Canada and the US. It divides all knowledge into 10 categories (numerically organized from 000 to 900) and then subdivides each category further into 10 further categories.

Of the 10 subcategories of the Religion section of the DDS, 7 are about Christianity, with all other religions being lumped together under one subcategory (290 - Other Religions).

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,774

When treating someone with heat stroke, it's best to wet their lips with water or a sports drink instead of having the person drink quickly.

Drinking a lot of fluid quickly may cause the person to vomit.

[libertineangel]

Cuba has run out of diesel and oil, energy minister says

The minister says the situation in Cuba is "extremely tense", as a US-led blockade of oil to the country causes widespread power cuts.

Fucking sickening, heartbreaking, disgusting. Hospitals, ambulances, water pumps, so much infrastructure shut down and so many lives hurt and lost because of it, all of this at the whim of the world's most brutal empire because they can't stand to have their will resisted so close to their shores by a society that has chosen time and time again to stand proud for the dream of a better world, a world without this blood-soaked hegemony.

[stillnaomi]

I don't think there's any way to help Cuba get fuel directly, but links below if you want to help them with other goods in this terrible time

CSC campaigns in the UK against the US blockade of Cuba and for the Cuban peoples' right to self-determination and sovereignty

[factoidfactory]

Ever since the revolution, Cuba has always been there for other countries, now it's out turn to be there for them.

If you're in Brazil, here's how you can help:

PCdoB e Cebrapaz lançam campanha por remédios para Cuba; saiba como doar - PCdoB

A sede nacional do PCdoB, em São Paulo, se tornou um ponto de coleta de doações para a campanha “Solidariedade Brasil-Cuba”. O objetivo é am

If you're Canadian, the Red Cross is accepting monetary donations here:

Donate to the ​​​Cuba Humanitarian Crisis Appeal​

The Canadian Red Cross is continuing to help those affected by the ongoing and evolving humanitarian crisis in Cuba, including the impacts o

Other places you can donate to:

Canada pledges $8M in aid as Cuba faces humanitarian crisis. Here is how you can help from home

Canada has pledged $8 million in food aid to support Cuba during a worsening humanitarian crisis and U.S. oil blockade. Learn how you can do

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,773

The United States used to have laws (known as "ugly laws") that made it illegal for people with disabilities, significant scarring, or otherwise "unsightly" looks to be seen in public.

The only exception was if they were being paraded around for show, which is why so-called "freak shows" were common -- it was the only way people who were affected by ugly laws could earn a living.

Ugly laws were in place in the US until 1974.

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,772

The song "A Whole New World" from Disney's Aladdin was translated in Brazilian Portuguese to "An Ideal World" (Um mundo ideal).

[factoidfactory]

Random Fact #6,771

The Amazon rainforest encompasses an area of 5,500,000 sq kilometres, two times the size of Argentina.

[intothestacks]

(Canadian) Indigenous Issues 101

Are you interested in learning more about Indigenous issues in Canada but don't know where to begin?

Here are four books to get you started.

Talk Treaty to Me: Understanding the Basics of Treaties and Land in Canada by Crystal Gail Fraser

You’ve probably either heard or seen a land acknowledgement before; that blurb on sites and the beginnings of meetings where someone says something along the lines of “We are on Treaty 6 land.” But what does that mean, exactly?

This book concisely delves into the history of treaty-making between Indigenous Peoples and Britain/Canada, and the subsequent dishonouring of said treaties. It also explains concepts like unceded territory and Indigenous sovereignty.

Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers by Mark Cronlund Anderson & Carmen L. Robertson

A deep dive into how the media has portrayed Indigenous people from 1869 to the early 2000s. The book was originally published in 2011, but was recommended as a must-read about the Indigenous experience in North America in a 2023 CBC article, so it remains as relevant as ever.

21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph

Based on a viral CBC article, this is a book about the 1876 Indian Act, and its subsequent effect on Indigenous people in Canada ever since.

Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity by Darryl Leroux

This book focuses on a recent trend where French descendants with no Indigenous people in their family history have begun to appropriate the term to claim Indigenousness.