Exciting! Trivia quizzes that you’ll want to tell others about. A collection of surprisingly little-known facts.

yen

The main building of the Bank of Japan’s head office is famous for looking like the kanji character “円” (yen) when viewed from above. The building was constructed in the Meiji era and was designed by Kingo Tatsuno. At the time, Japanese banknotes wrote “yen” as “圓,” so it doesn’t seem to have been intentionally designed that way—but it’s interesting, isn’t it? If you’re ever nearby, try imagining the shape from the surrounding streets, or take a look at it in aerial photos.

crispy

In “shortcake,” the word “short” doesn’t mean “short”; it means “crumbly.” It’s said to come from “shortening,” a processed fat used in pastries and doughs. In the United States, a dessert with whipped cream and fruit sandwiched in a biscuit is called “shortcake.”

Imaginary tree

The tree depicted on the 1-yen coin is not a specific real tree; it is a designed “young tree” created for the coin. The design was by Masami Nakamura and was selected from submissions gathered nationwide. Since Nakamura has stated that there was no particular model for the young tree, the correct answer is that it is an “imaginary tree.”

adidas

PUMA was founded by Rudolf Dassler, while his brother Adolf Dassler founded adidas. They initially worked together as the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory, but since their personalities didn’t mesh well, they eventually split and established their own brands. It’s impressive that both became so successful.

Donald Duck voice phenomenon

The phenomenon where your voice becomes higher than usual after inhaling helium gas is called the “Donald Duck voice phenomenon,” named after Donald Duck’s distinct high-pitched voice. Playing with voice changes using helium is a classic and fun activity. However, inhaling too much helium can be dangerous due to a lack of oxygen. Always use products designed specifically for this purpose and follow the recommended number of inhalations.

Mr. Pict

The emergency exit sign uses pictograms—simple icons that anyone can understand. The person depicted there is called “Pict-san.” The name was coined by writer Keiichi Utsumi, and there’s actually a unique book titled The Book of Pict-san as well.

crescent moon

Croissant means “crescent” in French. It is said to originate from 17th-century Austria, where crescent-shaped bread was made to commemorate a victory over the Ottoman Empire. Since the Ottoman Empire’s symbol was the crescent, people celebrated their victory by eating bread shaped like a crescent.