this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024
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[–] clickyello 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

a factoid is something that is commonly believed to be true but isn't, which I guess this kinda is because it's not just extremely likely. there is a 1/80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000 chance that it's been arranged that way before. 52!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Ahhhh I’ve been ignorant about the definition of factoid!

Also I read your post as if you had exclaimed at the end: FIFTY TWO

[–] clickyello 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

haha that's what I was thinking when I typed it tbh, also the meaning of factoid has changed but was originally meant as I had claimed, see my other comment if you want the context :)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Aha! Then, while I’m a huge fan of original meanings of words (AN IMAGE MACRO IS NOT A MEME UNLESS IT DEPICTS A MEME AAAAA), I will continue to use the nü-version of the word FACTOID!

[–] Zoomboingding 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

A factoid isn't inherently untrue, it just means it's a bit of trivia

[–] clickyello 4 points 4 months ago

"The term was coined in 1973 by American writer Norman Mailer to mean a piece of information that becomes accepted as a fact even though it is not actually true, or an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print. Since the term's invention in 1973, it has become used to describe a brief or trivial item of news or information."

from Wikipedia, so I suppose the meaning of the word has shifted from its original meaning and my claiming otherwise was a Classic Factoid™️, if you will.