"If I have provided you with any factoids in the course of Atlantic Trivia, I apologize, because a factoid, properly, is not a small, interesting fact. A factoid is a piece of information that looks like a fact but is untrue. Norman Mailer popularized the term in 1973, very intentionally giving it the suffix -oid. Is a humanoid not a creature whose appearance suggests humanity but whose nature belies it? Thus is it with factoid."
"So what of those fun, itty bits of info that are correct? In the 1990s, William Safire suggested factlet for the small-but-true fact (and The Atlantic in 2012 agreed), though minifact is sometimes used. And for the statements somewhere in between interesting and untrue- factini, perhaps? Start with five parts fascinating to one part wrong; adjust to taste. Find last week's questions here, and to get Atlantic Trivia in your inbox every day, sign up for The Atlantic Daily."
Factoid denotes a piece of information that appears factual but is untrue. Norman Mailer popularized the term in 1973 and deliberately used the suffix -oid to signal deceptive appearance. The -oid suffix suggests an appearance that belies true nature, as with humanoid. William Safire proposed factlet in the 1990s for small-but-true facts, and The Atlantic accepted that usage in 2012; minifact is another occasional term. Factini is suggested for statements partly interesting and partly wrong. The text also includes several trivia questions and notes United States half-cent pieces were wholly copper, featured Lady Liberty, and had greatly reduced purchasing power by their end.
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