Did you know that Iacob Heraclid, a soldier from Birkirkara, was crowned Prince of Moldova in 1561?

Or that Żejtun had its own unofficial currency in the 1930s?

Or that pieces of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World may be found in Cospicua?

Some may find this information trivial but for one veteran journalist, the more obscure the facts are, the better. 

Not only does Terence Mirabelli research and collect trivia but his new book, The Truly Useful Book of Useless Information, answers questions we never thought to ask.

“One of the reasons I became a journalist is that I’m naturally curious and I enjoy researching facts,” Mirabelli said.

“The more obscure the facts are, the more they appeal to me. For example, how much ink is there in a pen? No idea, right? But I want to find out.”

From a young age, Mirabelli knew he wanted a career in journalism, with the thrill of researching information and learning about people’s stories. 

With a career spanning over 50 years, from working as a night sub-editor for Times of Malta and editor of Middle East Travel, he knew that, eventually, he would also want to try something longer form.

“I believe every journalist, at some point in their career, wants to write a book,” the 72-year-old said.

“I always wanted to do so but I knew the book would have to be non-fiction. I find storytelling a little difficult since I’ve been trained to always be factual.”

The coronavirus pandemic gave him the perfect opportunity to research quirky facts, which he began to compile. The first thing that came to him was the title of his book.

“It just popped into my head straight away. It’s nonsensical and contradictory,” he said, smiling. 

Best ‘useless’ fact

Mirabelli likes all facts, as long as they are obscure. 

“Sometimes, I read something, it piques my interest and I start researching,” he said. 

When it comes to publishing the information, he sticks to an old journalistic rule. “You always need three confirmations to make sure something is right,” he said. Once his facts are in order and all his information is tallied together, he knows it is ready to be added to his collection.

Prince of Moldova

Among the first few entries in the book is the story of Heraclid, a man born in Birkirkara, who rose to power in an unusual manner, ultimately declaring himself Prince of Moldova.

Known for his tenancy to fabricate his genealogy, Heraclid’s early life in the 1550s was marked by scandal, including being wanted for murder in France.  Escaping justice, he ingratiated himself with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who had given Malta to the Order of St John. 

Heraclid’s journey took him across northeastern Europe, where he served as a soldier, mathematician and missionary.

After failing to assassinate Alexandru Lapusneanu, the ruler of Moldova, Heraclid returned with a mercenary army supported by Charles V and the Order of St John.

In 1561, he defeated Lapusneanu’s army at the Battle of Verbia and seized control of Moldova. By the time he proclaimed himself ruler two years after taking power, his subjects had enough of him, and he was killed with a mace in 1563.

Another fact Mirabelli added to his collection is how a coin that would secure a parishioner a seat in Żejtun’s church later became accepted as payment by shopkeepers in the locality.

At the turn of the 20th century, Fr Spir Grixti suggested that the parish of Żejtun mints its own coins, each one worth one farthing. He commissioned Giovanni Critien to stamp 6,000 aluminium coins with the word Żejtun on each of them. 

Żejtun’s unofficial currency was in circulation for about five years, until the early 1920s, when a dockyard worker insisted on using a token in Cospicua to pay for his tea. As a result, a dispute broke out and the police were summoned. Grixti was given two weeks to gather all the coins in circulation or risk being arrested.

The 'Truly Useful Book of Useless Information' is full of trivia from the origin of handshakes to how a Maltese woman became the only female knight with the Order of St John.

Mirabelli said some of the book’s entries come from researching things we take for granted and never question. 

“Why do we shake hands with each other? We take it for granted and we never know how or why we started to do that,” he said.

If people are curious about how one of the oldest forms of greeting began, they can learn about it in The Truly Useful Book of Useless Information.

“I would like to see people reading the book and enjoying it. In Malta, we are always talking about politics, religion, traffic or the weather and, hopefully, this book will spark a different conversation among friends and families.”

Does Mirabelli have a favourite fact? 

“I really enjoyed researching about how some of Mausolus’s mausoleum stones are found in the dockyard. Truly enjoy researching fascinating facts.”

And if you have some quirky or interesting facts which you believe should be known, you are in luck because Mirabelli is already working on his second book of trivia. 

‘The Truly Useful Book of Useless Information’ is published by Faraxa Publishing and is available from Agenda Bookshops or from Faraxa Publishing at https://www.faraxabooks.com/product/the-truly-useful-book-of-useless-information.