Fun Fact

So I’m at my aunt and uncle’s house for Christmas, and they have these little toys from Sonic. They’re cubes that you can fold and refold in various different ways, like puzzles, and as you put the sides together, they show various information to read. The geologic time scale, multiplication tables, what is a compound, what are hurricanes, etc.

One thing caught my eye. On one side of the cube, they had information about Canada and Mexico. Area, population, language, currency — the usual stuff. For both countries, they also had a fun fact, which I found to be rather odd.

Canada’s Fun Fact:

During the War of 1812, U.S. forces tried unsuccessfully to invade Canada.

Mexico’s Fun Fact:

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was destroyed by the Spanish in 1521.

Hmmm… What’s wrong with these fun facts? Could it be that the degree to which they’re fun is dependent upon the cultural group you were a part of? I’ve always been struck with how our culture can so blindly see things from only the American / Christian / [insert political party here] point of view.

It’s just backwards to me, as I think striving to see things from other’s points of view is the most basic of Christian theology. You know, that whole “Love your neighbor as yourself” thing. I think this kid’s toy just reminded me how we tend to get blinded by our own perspective.

Next time Sonic does one of these cubes, they should call me. I’ve got just the suggestion for them. Highlight Poland. It’s fun fact could read:

At the start of World War II, Hitler’s forces marched through Warsaw and devastated Poland in the fall of 1939.