Turning Trivia into Business Blogging Treasure – Part II

This week’s Say It For You blog posts are inspired by the wonderful trivia book, The Book of the Bizarre, and to suggestions on ways to use the “freaky facts and strange stories” author Varla Ventura presents in it.

As I reminded blog readers earlier this week, stocking up on ideas for future blog posts isn’t all about trivia. The tidbit, though, can be the jumping off point for explaining what problems can be solved using that business' products and services, for defining basic terminology, and for putting modern-day statistics into perspective.

Just two of my favorite examples from the book:

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, stories circulated in the press about premature burial. Physicians were not particularly skilled at telling the difference between the dead and the unconscious, and burials happened fast (due to the heat and the absence of preserving chemicals). The Batteson Revival Device consisted of a small church bell attached to the lid of the coffin and connected to a cord strapped to the deceased’s hand.  If you woke up in a coffin, you could ring the bell and get rescued. Inventor John Batteson, Ventura explains, was made wealthy with that device.

 What kind of business blog might make use of this tale? Well, I’d suggest to freelance blog content writers, how about a patent law firm?   A funeral home might use that story to to discuss viewings, and so might educational institutions offering studies in mortuary science. The anecdote itself would serve as the “attention grabber”, leading to a discussion of ways the advice, services, and products offered by that business or practice help improve the lives of its clients and customers.

Speaking of funerals and mortuaries, the “A Tisket, a Tasket” was another little chapter in Ventura’s book that caught my eye: “The words ‘coffin’ and ‘casket’ are common substituted for one another, but they mean different things. A coffin is defined as a box or chest for burying a corpse and is generally wedge-shaped and simple.  A casket is almost always rectangular and fancier than a coffin.  In the fifteenth century, a casket was used to store jewels.”

Trivia needn’t be trivial. OMG Facts informs us that the issue with many coffins and caskets is that apart from not decomposing, they can be toxic from the finish and glue that hold them together, contaminating the ground. A business blog might include this information to promote a funeral company’s “green burial” practices.

Whatever the nature of the business or practice for which you’re blogging, my point is, start collecting trivia, and then find your own way to turn it into business blogging treasure!.