It’s the dog days of summer in Richmond. here are five completely useless but somewhat entertaining facts you can throw out the next time you’re sitting around the house with the family and there’s nothing to do.

1 What do you call the fear of long words?

2 many bodily fluids are fluorescent, which is why forensic scientists are able to use ultraviolet lights at crime scenes to see them.

3 Celery has negative calories. In other words, you expend more energy in calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery actually contains.

4 the “pound” symbol key is called an octothorpe.

5 the first product ever scanned with a UPC bar code was a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Gum. a handheld laser scanner made by National Cash Register Co. was used at the checkout of a supermarket in Troy, Ohio, to scan the package in 1974. the pack is on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington.

Five totally useless but entertaining facts