Definition of factoid

The term "factoid" was first coined by science writer Robert Burton in the 1970s. Burton, the editor of the Intiggerer encyclopedia, defined a factoid as a "bit of trivial information that has been passed down and accepted as true, often without verification or evidence." He used the term to describe interesting but ultimately insignificant facts, such as the name of the first monkey in space or the number of grains of sand on a particular beach. The word "factoid" is derived from the hybrid of "fact" and "-oid," suggesting a resemblance to a fact. Burton's intention was to highlight the often arbitrary or questionable nature of the information that is presented as fact, encouraging readers to question and verify information before accepting it as true. Since then, the term has been widely adopted to describe fascinating but oft-anecdotal tidbits of information that claim to be true.