110+ “Fun Facts” for Interviews, Introductions, & Icebreakers

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Best ways to reply when someone says, “Tell me about yourself.”
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“Tell us a fun fact about yourself” may be one of the most dreaded requests when meeting someone new. And yet, it commonly pops up in everything from job interviews to dinner parties. While this request can be a little nerve-racking, it doesn’t have to be! This article gives you examples of fun facts from a variety of categories to help you answer with confidence. Plus, we’ll tell you how to choose an interesting and memorable fun fact that tells people something about who you are.

Section 1 of 9:

Professional Fun Facts about Me

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  1. Did you want to be an optometrist when you were a kid? Or maybe you’re also a certified acupuncturist. Giving a client, colleague, or potential employer an unusual answer makes you stand out. Ask yourself these questions to come up with a great professional fun fact to give others insight into what makes you you .
    • What professional accomplishment are you proudest of?
    • What job did you want when you were 10 years old?
    • What was the first job you ever had?
    • What’s your favorite app to use at work?
    • What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done at work?
    • What’s your favorite corporate buzzword?
    • What is your latest passion project?
    • Is there anything non-traditional about your career path?
    • What’s your #1 professional goal for the year?
    • What’s the worst job interview experience you’ve ever had?
    • What’s your personal mission statement?
    • What do you do better than most people?
    • What’s the biggest professional lesson you’ve learned in the past few years?
    • What person in your industry would you love to meet?
    • What are the top 5 things on your career bucket list?
    • What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever gotten?
  2. 2
    Go with unique answers that highlight your professional experience. When answering this question for a job interview or professional networking event, try to think of answers that give others an idea of your career. Focus on your professional background, goals, accomplishments, and experience. For example, say something like:
    • I opened my first business when I was 10. It was a neighborhood dog-walking service. Now, I’m launching a tech startup that connects pet owners with verified pet sitters.
    • About 5 years ago, I quit my corporate job to spend a year as an apprentice to a traditional Japanese woodworker. It completely transformed how I think about product design and craftsmanship.
    • After college, I drove a food truck specializing in fusion tacos. That experience managing inventory and predicting daily sales sparked my interest in optimizing supply chains, which is now my specialty.
    • I’m working toward my goal of opening a chain of cafes that double as community learning spaces. The idea was inspired by my experience teaching English to adult learners at a coffee shop in Columbia.
    • I used to manage outdoor music festivals, which gave me a strong desire to understand weather patterns, which led me to earn a degree in meteorology, which is something I’m most proud of.
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Section 2 of 9:

Personal Fun Facts about Me

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  1. 1
    Reveal a fun fact about your personal life or background. Think about your family and background. Are there any funny moments you can share without revealing uncomfortable details? Or maybe you love to volunteer at your local soup kitchen. If all else fails, talk about your pets, recommends dating coach and matchmaker Laura Bilotta. “Most people have a pet, and if they don’t, they usually like pets.” Then, you can reply by asking if they’re a cat or dog person. Or, ask if they have any pets of their own.” Use these questions to come up with an interesting fun fact.
    • Do you have an irrational fear?
    • Do you collect anything unusual?
    • What TV show do you binge when you just want to relax?
    • Have you ever run into a celebrity?
    • Have you ever had an unusual pet?
    • Have you ever won any contests?
    • Do you have any poems, songs, or scenes from a movie memorized?
    • If you could be any animal, what would it be?
    • What was the first concert you ever went to?
    • What song is your go-to for karaoke?
    • How many houseplants do you own?
    • What weird smell do you kind of like?
    • Do you own any unusual clothing that you can’t seem to get rid of?
    • Is there anything you do every week, no matter what happens?
    • How many books do you own?
    • What did your parents almost name you?
    • Are you a “cat person” or a “dog person”?
  2. 2
    Share “fun facts” that reveal something fun and memorable about you. Focus on abilities and experiences that are not only light-hearted and fun but also meaningful to you. Make sure you back up your “fun fact” with an explanation of why you chose it. Here are a few examples of personal “fun facts” to get you started.
    • I have an irrational fear of automatic car washes. Being trapped in the dark while giant brushes swing over and around my car reminds me of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and I break out into a cold sweat.
    • I rewatch the Great British Bake Off when I need to decompress. There’s something so soothing about watching people stress out about making the perfect pavlova while being relentlessly kind and polite. I don’t even know what a pavlova is.
    • My go-to karaoke song is “Mr. Roboto.” I choreographed a dance routine for the entire song when I was 11. I used to make my brothers perform it every time the song played. I still use that choreography.
    • I once ran into Morgan Freeman in a bookstore in Chicago. I was blocking an aisle, and he said, “Excuse me,” in his Morgan Freeman voice. I was so surprised I dropped my coffee all over his shoes. I was horrified and started apologizing. He just laughed. When I walked to the front of the store, the barista had another coffee waiting for me, courtesy of Morgan Freeman.
    • I can recite the “What a piece of work is man” monologue from Hamlet . Not because I’m a Shakespeare scholar, but because I was a musical theater nerd who listened to the Original Cast Recording of Hair constantly.
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Section 3 of 9:

Fun Facts about Travel & Adventure

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  1. Whether you’ve traveled to the wilds of Tanzania or taken a road trip to Branson, Missouri, a fun fact about your journey is always appreciated. Or, maybe you’ve been on an adventure you can’t wait to talk about. Try asking yourself a few of these questions to come up with an engaging travel-related fun fact.
    • What is a place you’ve always wanted to go but haven’t yet?
    • What’s the longest travel delay you’ve ever experienced?
    • Is there a place you can’t believe people actually travel to?
    • What destination has left a lasting impression on you?
    • Can you speak more than one language?
    • What’s the longest road trip you’ve ever taken?
    • Have you ever visited one of the world’s wonders?
    • How many states have you been to?
    • Have you ever lived in another country?
    • What is your wildest travel story?
    • What’s the best city you’ve ever visited?
    • What’s the coldest temperature you’ve ever experienced?
    • Are there any interesting facts about your hometown?
    • What’s the most adventurous activity you want to try?
    • What’s your favorite airport?
    • How many National Parks have you visited?
    • Are there any historical sites you want to explore?
    • What’s the most exotic place you’ve ever been?
  2. 2
    Choose answers that cast you in a positive light. Try to think of a story that combines an unexpected situation with a specific location. The best “fun facts” about travel often include a surprising twist, like getting lost and finding something truly wonderful or making a new friend in an unlikely place. Try to focus on memorable moments that changed your perspective in some way.
    • I accidentally crashed a wedding in Morocco looking for a restaurant I saw on Instagram. I ended up being the unofficial wedding photographer and learning a few traditional Berber dance moves.
    • I once got lost hiking in New Zealand and ended up being adopted by a family of sheep farmers. I was with them for three days. They taught me how to shear sheep, and now I can't wear wool without thinking about Bessie, my favorite ewe.
    • My most prized possession is a key I found while snorkeling in Greece. The local dive master swore it matched the lock on a century-old shipwreck nearby. I think he was just pulling my leg, but it’s a good excuse to go back to Greece someday to check it out.
    • While camping in Iceland, I got to see the Northern Lights for the first time. I was in so much awe that I fell backward into a hot spring. Thankfully, it was a shallow one, but my backpack still smells like sulfur.
    • During a train ride in Japan, I helped a man translate his grandfather’s love letters into English. We still exchange New Year's cards, and he sends me some of his homemade umeboshi pickles every year.
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Section 4 of 9:

Fun Facts about Hobbies

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  1. 1
    Share a fun fact about one of your hobbies. How you spend your free time says a lot about who you are. Talking about your hobbies also makes you more interesting to other people. Everyone would rather be around someone who is passionate about something. Plus, if you share a passion, it’s the perfect way to forge a new bond. [1] Try asking yourself a few of these questions to give you ideas for fun facts about your hobbies.
    • How many musical instruments can you play?
    • Do you have an unusual hobby?
    • What’s the hobby you’ve done for the longest?
    • What’s your newest hobby?
    • Have you ever created anything?
    • Have you finished any books or TV shows more than once?
    • Have you ever taken a class in a random subject?
    • Have you ever read a book that changed the way you see the world?
    • Have you ever given up a hobby?
    • What hobby makes you lose track of time?
    • Have you ever won first prize for a hobby?
    • What’s your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
    • What’s your most expensive hobby?
    • Do you have a hobby you wish was your full-time job?
    • What’s the strangest hobby you’ve picked up as an adult?
    • What’s the biggest DIY fail you’ve ever had?
    • What makes you feel the most creative?
  2. 2
    Choose a more unusual or impressive hobby to be more memorable. When sharing a “fun fact” about your hobbies, try to combine your genuine enthusiasm with an unexpected or amusing reason you chose that hobby. Share how your interest has led to unique skills that most people don’t have or wouldn’t expect.
    • I got so invested in birdwatching that I learned to perfectly imitate a barred owl's call. It sounds impressive, but it backfired spectacularly when I accidentally summoned twelve owls during a romantic moonlit walk on my first date with my now-spouse.
    • When I first got into knitting, my obsession was so intense that I once turned my entire living room into a giant yarn maze while trying to untangle my stash. My cat still hasn't forgiven me for dismantling her personal amusement park.
    • My passion for origami led me to fold 1,000 paper cranes for good luck, but I ran out of regular paper halfway through and had to use old receipts, candy wrappers, and even a parking ticket. I can now make a paper crane out of any piece of paper.
    • I've gotten so into indoor gardening that I've developed a complex pulley system to rotate my 127 houseplants so they get the most sunlight. My house looks like a botanical Rube Goldberg machine.
    • My love for stargazing got slightly out of hand when I converted my car's trunk into a mobile observatory. I'm now the person who turns every rural gas station stop into an impromptu astronomy lesson.
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Section 5 of 9:

Quirky & Interesting Fun Facts

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  1. 1
    Choose a unique fun fact to help you stand out. Your personality, with its many quirks, is what makes you interesting and unique. In fact, it’s your quirks and everyday behaviors that say the most about who you are as a person. [2] Sharing your unusual experiences and unique talents gives someone new hints about the real you. So, ask yourself these questions to uncover your quirky fun facts.
    • Do you have any superstitions?
    • Do you have a secret talent?
    • Who was your childhood celebrity crush
    • Is there anything that’s common knowledge that you just found out?
    • Are there any words you can never remember how to pronounce?
    • If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
    • What was your childhood nick-nickname?
    • What’s your weirdest story from high school?
    • What famous person shares your birthday?
    • How many books do you read in a year?
    • What is your all-time favorite song?
    • What was your high school’s mascot?
    • Why did your parents give you your middle name?
    • What is your favorite season?
    • Have you ever broken a bone?
    • What fictional universe would you live in?
    • What’s your favorite guilty pleasure movie?
    • What song do you listen to at least twice every time it pops up on your playlist?
  2. 2
    Choose a “fun fact” that others might find surprising and relatable. Try to think of moments or habits that are delightfully weird. Share something about yourself that your friends or family would describe as “typically you.” Consider sharing odd talents, strange coincidences, or peculiar habits you didn’t even think were unusual until someone pointed them out. Here are a few examples to help you think of one of your own.
    • I’ve kept a log of every day of my life for the past 15 years. It’s in a database, so I know that I get sick at roughly the same time every winter.
    • I've developed such a specific preference for the perfect shower temperature that I can tell when it's off by half a degree. My roommates call me ‘The Water Whisperer’ and make me deal with our ancient water heater every time it acts up.
    • When I’m nervous, I unconsciously alphabetize everything. My friends know I'm stressed when they find me reorganizing the condiments at restaurants or sorting the magazines in waiting rooms.
    • I have an uncanny ability to find four-leaf clovers. It’s gotten to the point where I'm no longer allowed to participate in St. Patrick's Day clover hunts because it ‘ruins the fun for everyone else.’
    • I have a collection of rocks that look like famous people. My pride and joy is a pebble that looks exactly like Danny DeVito. People have offered me money for it, but I’ll never sell.
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Section 6 of 9:

Fun Facts about Food & Cooking

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  1. Research shows the types of food you like to eat can reveal hints about your personality. People who enjoy sweet foods are kind and helpful, while those who like bitter foods may be less agreeable. [3] Ask yourself a few of these questions to share fun facts about your food preferences that may give others a glimpse of your inner self.
    • What is your favorite food?
    • What food do you hate that everyone else loves?
    • If you could pick your last meal, what would it be?
    • What’s the most unique food you’ve ever tried?
    • Do you have a favorite snack from another country?
    • Do you have a recipe you’re famous for making?
    • Is there a type of food you’d like to try but haven’t?
    • Have you ever won a cooking competition?
    • Do you have a family recipe that’s been passed down for generations?
    • Are you a better baker or cook?
    • What is your favorite restaurant?
    • Would you rather have salty or sweet food?
    • What’s your favorite comfort food?
    • What dish do you always make when you have company?
    • What candy did you hate when you were a kid?
    • What food do you secretly eat too much of every time you have it?
  2. 2
    Think of personal stories that show your interest in food culture. The best “fun facts” about food show your personality and share your passion for culinary experiences. Focus on specific incidents or habits that give people a glimpse into your life while sparking their curiosity.
    • I once got so obsessed with perfecting my sourdough starter that I named it Friedrich von Yeastoven and took it on vacation with me. It now has its own Instagram account with more followers than I do.
    • I once tried to master eating with chopsticks by using them at every meal for a solid month. I even used them for soup, sandwiches, and pizza. I still reach for chopsticks every time I eat popcorn.
    • My spice cabinet is organized like a color wheel, and I've developed such a precise sense of smell that my friends use me as a human expiration date detector for their questionable leftovers.
    • I learned to cook by making every recipe in my great-grandmother's recipe box, but since half the instructions just say ‘add some’ or ‘cook until done,’ I had to make 17 versions of her apple cake before figuring out what ‘a reasonable amount of cinnamon’ means.
    • I've maintained the same batch of kimchi for six years. It's outlasted three relationships and two jobs. My friends call it as ‘The Eternal Fermentation.’
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Section 7 of 9:

Fun Facts for Kids

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  1. 1
    Use “fun facts” to help kids get out of their shells. Some kids are anxious with new people or take a while to warm up. This can lead to fewer chances to practice their social skills. [4] Try some silly, kid-friendly icebreakers to help them relax and start talking. Use some of these easy questions to help your little ones be more confident, make friends, and try new things.
    • What's your favorite school subject?
    • What is your favorite song?
    • What's your favorite food?
    • If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
    • What's your favorite animal?
    • If you had $1 million, how would you spend it?
    • Who's your favorite superhero?
    • What's your favorite holiday?
    • What's your favorite book?
    • If you had superpowers, what would they be?
  2. 2
    Ask kids “why” to get answers that spark conversations. One way to get kids to talk about their “fun fact” a little more is to follow up the original question with “why” to encourage them to share more information about themselves. It takes courage to share information about yourself with new people, so praise your child whenever they share a “fun fact” about themselves. Here are a few answers to the “fun facts” for kids to help you know what types of answers to shoot for.
    • Elephants are my favorite animal. I like to pretend to be an elephant so much that I figured out I can wiggle my ears without touching them.
    • My favorite movie is Mary Poppins . I watched it 7 times when I had chicken pox and had to stay home. I can say ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ backwards.
    • If I had a million dollars, I'd build a giant trampoline park in my backyard and make it free for everyone in my class.
    • Spider-Man is my favorite superhero because he has a bedtime just like me, and his aunt packs his lunch. Plus, I've been practicing shooting webs with my silly string.
    • I really want to meet Mary from 'Mary Has a Little Lamb' because I need to know if she got in trouble for bringing a sheep to school. My teacher won't even let me bring my hamster for show and tell.
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Section 8 of 9:

How to Choose a Fun Fact

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  1. The best fun facts intrigue the other person, so they want to learn more. The best way to do that is to avoid giving general answers that are too broad to really say anything about you or invite more questions. [5]
    • Instead of saying something like, “I love K-pop music,” try something like, “I’m a huge fan of the K-pop group ATEEZ because they have elaborate and interesting stories behind every album.”
  2. 2
    Make sure your fun fact is appropriate for your audience. The point of asking for a fun fact is to help others learn something unique and interesting about you. The asker isn’t trying to pry into all uncomfortable or controversial topics. Bilotta recommends avoiding bad experiences that might bring up negative feelings. Keep the conversation light. Don’t share political, religious, financial, or medical “fun” facts. [6]
    • Instead of saying, “I lost 50 pounds and quit smoking after a heart attack last year,” try something like, “I’m really committed to staying active and enjoy yoga, swimming, and kickboxing.”
  3. 3
    Prepare a fun fact that communicates something unique about you. The best way to give a fun fact is to know what you want to say before someone asks for one. Think about the things you enjoy and try to think about why you like them. Really dig into your reasons to find the most interesting one. [7]
    • Instead of saying, “I like cheeseburgers,” try something like, “The best cheeseburger I ever had was in a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia.”
  4. 4
    Always be honest and authentic with your answer. It’s sometimes tempting to act how you think others want you to act or try to impress new acquaintances. However, other people see through inauthentic behavior pretty quickly and are put off by it. The best way to build genuine connections is to be your authentic self . [8]
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Section 9 of 9:

When to Share Fun Facts

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  1. “Tell me a fun fact about yourself” is a light-hearted way to get a conversation started . It helps people relax and get to know each other without pressure. [9] Part of giving a good answer is having one ready. Prepare to share a fun fact about yourself in the following situations:
    • Job interviews: “Tell me a fun fact about yourself” is often used at the beginning of a job interview to get a conversation going. Plus, your answer can demonstrate your communication skills and how you’d fit in with the company culture.
    • Icebreakers: Sharing fun facts is an easy icebreaker that helps people relieve tension and start to bond as teammates or acquaintances. People often use them at the beginning of a meeting or team-building exercise to help focus attention and raise their energy level.
    • Networking events: Networking events can seem overwhelming, especially if you aren’t used to them. Exchanging fun facts is a great way to make it less stressful because you’re sharing something about who you are, which can help you find common ground and build a connection.
    • Introductions: Whether introducing yourself on the first day at a new job or when volunteering at a local non-profit, sharing a fun fact helps others in the group get to know you.

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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-trails/201509/six-reasons-get-hobby
      2. ↑ https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170518-the-everyday-habits-that-reveal-our-personalities
      3. ↑ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666315300428
      4. ↑ https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/shyness-and-children
      5. ↑ https://www.scienceofpeople.com/fun-facts-about-me/
      6. ↑ https://www.inc.com/alison-green/what-subjects-are-off-limits-for-work-chat.html
      7. ↑ https://www.scienceofpeople.com/fun-facts-about-me/
      8. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hope-relationships/201503/4-ways-be-more-authentic-person
      9. ↑ https://www.calacademy.org/educators/why-do-icebreakers-with-adult-learners

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