There are basic facts that people know to be true. But then there are secret facts. Well, not exactly secret. But there are fascinating facts out there that most people don’t know about.
These facts are so amazing that you might not even think that they’re true. Or you’ll at least wonder how the heck you’ve never heard about it before. Either way, prepare to have your mind blown.
These facts will shock you. These facts will perplex you. These facts just might rock your world.
Check out these 60 weird facts most people don’t know:
Human woman are known to gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. But female polar bears gain a lot more. They can gain up to 400 pounds to prepare for a pregnancy and sustain herself during winter.
Singer Ella Fitzgerald was known for her incredible vocal timing and inventiveness. She had perfect pitch and sounded like an instrument when she sang. It was so perfect that band musicians could tune their instruments to her voice.
Greece’s National Anthem consists of the first two versuses of the poem “Hymn to Freedom.” The poem consists of 158 four-line verses. The first 24 were established as Greece’s National Anthem in 1865.
You’d think that by the year 2020, most countries would have orchestras that are bigger than their armies. Too bad that’s not the case. But it is for the Principality of Monaco, according to chathamsa.org.
Looking for a caffeine kick? You can eat caffeine instead of drink it. According to Fox News, chocolate has the stimulant in it since it’s made from the cocoa bean. Most candy bars have around 10 milligrams of caffeine in them but darker chocolate has a lot more. A Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate bar has 31 milligrams of caffeine, which is almost the same amount as a can of Coca-Cola.
We all know that Stephen Hawking was a pretty amazing guy. Not only did he live a full life to the age of 78 after he was told he would die within months of his ALS diagnosis in his early 20s, but he became one of the most important scientists and smart people of our time. But he didn’t measure his intelligence. In fact, he had no idea what his IQ was. “People who boast about their IQ are losers,” he told The New York Times when asked about his IQ.
Pluto was officially discovered as a planet in 1930. It was downgraded to a “dwarf planet” in 2006. In that time, it never made a full orbit around the sun. It won’t complete it’s first orbit since its discovery until March 23, 2178.
8) Australia is Bigger
Pluto is actually smaller than a country. Australia is almost twice as wide as Pluto. Australia is about 4,000 km wide and Pluto is about 2,370 km wide, according to Daily Mail.
This one is a real mind-blower. Brace yourselves. Wombats… they poop squares. They are the only animal in the world to have cube-shaped poop, according to National Geographic.
Instead of trees, the earth was once covered with mushrooms. These giant mushrooms were about 24 feet tall and three feet wide. But that was about 420 to 350 million years ago, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Hummingbirds have crazy fast metabolisms. If a hummingbird was the size of a human, it would have to drink a can of cola every minute just to keep going as fast as it does. That’s a lot of soda.
Disney’s Noelle pushed iPads hard continuously going out of their way to show how kids all wanted iPads for Christmas. But that wouldn’t have flown in Apple founder Steve Jobs’ house. He didn’t let his kids use iPads because “it’s too dangerous for them in effect.” According to Business Insider, he realized how addictive it was. Apparently, his company is OK with peddling it to other people’s children without even a warning.
Moose are pretty strong animals. But you’d be surprised to learn about some of their unlikely predators. Sometimes they are murdered by Killer Whales, according to Sea World.
15) Michigan Treasurer Falls For Nigerian Prince Scam
Thomas Katona was in charge of the money in Alcona County, Michigan. He was their treasurer. But he fell for a Nigerian Prince scam and embezzled about $1.2 million to cover his fallout.
Some people say that Betty White is better than sliced bread. That’s a matter of opinion. But she is older than sliced bread. Sliced bread was invented in 1928. Betty White was born in 1922
Australian cats don’t really care for catnip. They don’t get a buzz from it. This is because they are bred from a very small population of cats that didn’t respond to catnip.
Legos have been popular since they were created in 1932. But they sell like hotcakes during the holiday season. About 28 Lego sets are sold every second during Christmas
Baggage claim at Houston’s airport is as far away as possible from the planes. This was done on purpose. This way flyers have longer walks to the baggage claim which results in shorter wait time to get their page.
Nintendo was first started in 1889. That means they were around when the Ottoman Empire was still around. The empire was formally dissolved in 1922. But Nintendo was selling playing cards back then.
President Lyndon Johnson was quite the prankster. In fact, he used to scare the shit out of people with his amphibious car. He used to drive guests around the ranch and then drive straight into a lake at the bottom of the hill pretending the brakes were malfunctioning. They had no idea that the car was made to float in the water.
Every year Swedish families hold the tradition of watching a Donald Duck cartoon on Christmas Eve. It’s the 1958 Walt Disney Presents “From All of Us to All of You.” Known in Sweden as Sverige, Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul or “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas.”
Catherine the Great commissioned the very first roller coaster. She just added some wheels and a track to create a summertime version of a winter sledding passtime. It was built on her palace grounds in 1784.
When we see flamingos bending their legs, we assume it is at the knees. But it’s not. Flamingos actually stand on their tip-toes and bend at the ankle. Their knee is actually hidden by their feathers and is close to their body.
The first American roller coasters were built as a distraction from sin. Businessman LaMarcus Thompson was tired of seeing people hanging out in brothels and saloons. So, he built a roller coaster to create good clean fun in the seediest place he could think of, Coney Island, NY.
An 11-year-old invented ice pops by accident. He left out soda powder and water overnight with the wooden stirrer still in the cup. The boy, Frank Epperson, named it the Epsicle and sold it around his neighborhood and even patened the recipe. He later changed the name to popsicle because that’s what his kids called them.
30) Sloths Can Hold Their Breath Longer Than Dolphins
Sloths can actually hold their breath longer than dolphins can. They can hold their breath for about 40 minutes underwater by slowing their heart rates. Dolphins need to come up for a breath after 10 minutes.
There was a female elected to Congress before women had the right to vote. The right for women to vote was won in 1920. But Rep. Jeanette Rankin, a Republican, was elected to Congress in 1916
Apples at the grocery stores aren’t exactly fresh. They are usually picked between August and November. Then they are given a wax coat, dried, and put in cold storage. They don’t hit grocery stores shelves for about six to 12 months.
Back in the 1840s, people used to say “prunes” instead of “cheese” when taking a photograph. That’s because a giant grin was considered to be childish. It would probably work well today since people like making that duck face.
How appetizing does fast food spaghetti sound? Not at all if you ask me. But McDonald’s sells it in the Philippines with beef tomato sauce and a piece of fried chicken.
Dunce caps were once a sign of intelligence. Philospher John Duns Scotus thought that the pointed hat would allow knowledge travel from the tip to your brain. His followers wore them as a badge of honor. The meaning was later turned on its head.
Yeah, someone thought it would be funny to nominate Hilter for the Nobel Peace Prize. Hilter had actually banned Germany from accepting the awards for four years before he was even nominated. He was nominated in 1939 by a Swedish politician
The royal family took their name from Windsor castle. The House of Windsor changed it’s name in 1917 from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The wanted it to sound less German and more English.
The original 3 Musketeers bars came in three flavors in 1932. Each pack came with different bars containing, chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla. The company cut down to one flavor during World War II when rations made things more expensive.
43) You Can See the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Simultaneously
It is possible to catch a glimpse of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at the same time. You can see it from the highest peak in Panama. Volcán Barú is 11,398 feet high.
You’d think it would be Manhattan but it’s not. The most crowded island in the world is Santa Cruz del Islote. It’s a part of some tiny islands in Colombia’s Gulf of Morrosquillo and is home to 1,200 people. It’s four times as dense as Manhattan and 2.4 acres in size.
A 250-year-old tree in Kolkata, India is bigger than the average Wal-Mart store. The Great Banyan tree has roots that cover 3.5 square acres or 156,000 square feet. Most Walmarts are between around 105-square-feet.
There is a Pepto Bismol colored lake in Australia. It’s called Lake Hillier. It looks most pink when you’re flying overhead, but still has a pink hue when poured into a container. The water isn’t toxic and is super salty.
The foundations in the City of Chicago were raised between four and 14-feet-tall to increase drainage in 1855. This work took more than two decades to complete but didn’t disturb daily life. It even attracted tourists.
48) Highest Point on the Interstate is Underground
The highest point in the U.S. interstate system is underground and called Loveland Pass. It’s a super twisty road road across the Continental Divide located about an hour west of Denver. Loveland Pass is at about 11,990 feet high.
There are more synapses in the human brain than stars in this galaxy. There are an estimted 200 billion stars in the Milky Galaxy. But the average human adult brain contains about 500 trillion synapses.
Imagine having a beer with the Queen. You can in Liechtenstein. Their royal family invites about 33,000 residents to their home once a year and beer is on the menu.
There is a National Monument that’s actually in the wrong place. Four Corners is a monument where the borders of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico meet. But because of faulty surveying technology in the 19th-century, the true four corners is about 2,000 feet away.
Cleopatra actually lived closer to the construction of the first Pizza Hut than the Pyramids. The Pyraminds of Giza were built between 2550 and 2490 B.C. Cleopatra lived between 69 B.C. and 30 B.C. while the first Pizza Hut was built in 1958.
A charity event thought it would be a good idea to launch 1.5 million ballons into the sky. Balloonfest 1986 unfortnately ended with a storm that released some of the balloons early. They ended up falling into Lake Erie and the surrounding area. This prevented the United States Coast Guard from searching for two boaters who were later found drowned. It caused lots of problems and many people sued the charity putting the even in the red.
This concrete structure is a country. It’s the Principality of Sealand. It was created by a pirate radio broadcaster and has a flag, anthem, and soccer team.
Heroin was once used to treat children’s coughs. It was sold by Bayer in the 1890s until about 1912. Heroin was later restricted to prescription-only in 1914 and then banned in 1924.
Joan Pujol Garcia was given medals of honor by both the Allies and Axis in World War II. He was a Spanish spy working as a double agent. He not only fed the Nazis wrong information but he created 27 fake agents who the Nazis paid salary and expenses to.
Alaska is the U.S.’ most eastern, western, and northern state. This is because its Aleutian Islands are right up to the edge of the Western Hempisphere and lie across the Eastern Hemisphere. It’s obviously the most northern state.
In the winter, Grüner See park in Styria Austria has gorgeous trails, benches, and a small lake that’s about three to six feet deep for park goers to enjoy. But when the snow and ice melt in the spring, the park becomes submerged in 30 feet of water. Scuba divers enjoy the park during this season.
There’s a town in Norway that’s name is one letter long. It’s called Å and pronounced “aw”. It means “small river” and what’s even weirder is that there are at least seven other towns with the same name.
60 weird and interesting facts most people don’t know
D.G. Sciortino
08.10.20
There are basic facts that people know to be true. But then there are secret facts. Well, not exactly secret. But there are fascinating facts out there that most people don’t know about.
These facts are so amazing that you might not even think that they’re true. Or you’ll at least wonder how the heck you’ve never heard about it before. Either way, prepare to have your mind blown.
These facts will shock you. These facts will perplex you. These facts just might rock your world.
Check out these 60 weird facts most people don’t know:
