Discover the Magic: Top 10 Fascinating Fun Facts About the Art of Storytelling

1. Storytelling Releases Oxytocin

Once upon a time, in a world with brains far, far away, the storytellers roamed free, casting magical spells of empathy and camaraderie upon their receptive listeners - and no, we're not talking Hogwarts or Jedi mind tricks: Research by Dr. Paul J. Zak has found that storytelling actually releases oxytocin in the brain, fostering feelings of connection and even motivating action such as making purchases or donating to causes, making it a powerful tool for businesses to wield.
Source => convinceandconvert.com

2. Prehistoric PowerPoint Presentations

Before there were emojis to depict every nuance of our hunting skills and therianthropic tendencies, our cave-dwelling ancestors were already way ahead of the curve when it came to prehistoric PowerPoint presentations: a newly unearthed cave painting on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, dating back to roughly 44,000 years ago, boasts one of humanity's earliest known storytelling attempts, complete with a detailed scene of eight human-like beings and six animals engaged in communal hunting, and even sprinkled with a dash of ancient spirituality through the presence of half-human-half-animal therianthropes.
Source => learningenglish.voanews.com

Did you know the infamous Zodiac Killer may have been inspired by a 1932 movie adaptation of a short story? Discover the chilling connection and how it played a role in one of his tragic attacks.

=> Fun Facts about Literature

3. The Epic of Gilgamesh's Pop Culture Legacy

Before gods had iPhones and flat screen TVs on Mount Olympus, they got their kicks mingling with old-timey mortals: The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient tale that began as oral tradition, was recorded on clay tablets and has withstood the test of time, making it one of the oldest surviving works of literature. The story from ancient Sumer is a testament to divine-human crossroads, and has made appearances throughout history and pop culture, even making its way into graphic novels and films.
Source => vpl.ca

4. Neurons Dancing the Tango

Once upon a time, in a brain not too far away, a simple tale had neurons dancing the tango and unleashing the floodgates of human kindness: Research by neuroeconomist Dr. Paul Zak revealed that storytelling can alter brain chemistry, causing the release of oxytocin, which subsequently increases generosity, compassion, trustworthiness, and sensitivity to social cues, even driving people to donate more to causes after experiencing an emotionally powerful story.
Source => arielgroup.com

5. World's Oldest Detective Story

Before Sherlock Holmes even scribbled his first mustache or Hercule Poirot tried his first Belgium waffle, there was an ancient gumshoe on a case that would leave a murder mystery fan in a scrumptious tizzy: "The Three Apples" from The Arabian Nights features the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, as the world's oldest detective, solving the case of a deadly locked chest with multiple plot twists, flashbacks, and arguing murderers, paving the way for modern whodunit stories far before the invention of the chalk outline.
Source => memories2memoirs.wordpress.com

6. West African Griots: Wizards of Words

If Hogwarts had a School of Beats and Rhymes, the West African griots would be the professors: These magical history keepers rap and sing their ancestors' sagas accompanied by instruments like the kora, ngoni, and balafon, all while maintaining a treasure trove of thousands of songs and stories spanning generations, but not complete genealogies. Talk about real-life wizards of words!
Source => seckoukeita.com

7. Poetic Robots

Feeling poetic? Robots have you covered: Recurrent neural networks can now whip up verse from images, and XiaoIce, a sassy Chinese AI, has penned more than 12 million poems since her debut in July 2017, putting Shakespeare to shame with her prolific prose.
Source => arxiv.org

8. The Seven Plot Kingdoms

Once upon a time, in a land ruled by the magnificent Seven Plot Kingdoms, a man named Christopher Booker embarked on a treacherous journey to dissect the very stuff of which stories are made: Lo and behold, his tome "The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories" reveals that all tales worldwide can be whittled down to seven main plot templates. But alas, not all fellow travelers were amused, as some critics argue that Booker's strict allegiance to the plot templates dismisses works of art that dare dance to the beat of their own drum.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. The Ultimate Ancient Soap Opera

You thought binge-watching Netflix was an epic pastime? Try getting through the ultimate ancient Indian soap opera: The Mahabharata is considered the longest poem ever written, boasting over 100,000 verses and lengthy prose passages – that's about ten times the combined length of the Iliad and the Odyssey or four times as long as the Ramayana, its Sanskrit epic counterpart!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

10. Ancient "Yo Mama" Jokes

Before "yo mama" jokes were served alongside a bowl of alphabet soup: A 3,500-year-old Babylonian tablet, written in Akkadian language using cuneiform script, demonstrates that humor has played a role in storytelling for millennia. Containing some of the earliest known riddles, jokes, and even a mother-related insult, this ancient artifact offers a glimpse into the timelessness of humor in human communication, long before sitcoms and stand-up comedians.
Source => allthatsinteresting.com