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The Internet is loaded with all sorts of information to feed our curious minds. That’s why lots of people use it to find academic sources, books, or other ways to learn new things about the world. There’s also online content creators who cover an abundance of interesting topics; and luckily, there are some dedicated ones out there who have plenty to share.
One of them is Doug Sharpe—a true fun fact aficionado. His Instagram account is brimming with information on the most random of topics that have attracted nearly 200k followers already. Also known as the Fact Guy, the Canadian content creator covers everything from spiked self-defense high heels to acts of kindness while traveling or even babies ordering home delivery. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Today, we have gathered some of Doug’s most interesting fun facts on this list for you to get acquainted with. Scroll down to find them and enjoy.
Bored Panda has reached out to Doug and he was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. Scroll down to find our interview with him in the text below.
Canadian content creator, Doug Sharpe, uses his Instagram account to share random fun facts
Image credits: dougiesharpe
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
While on a speaking tour in Japan, former President Jimmy Carter told a very funny joke. Or did he? While on a speaking tour in Japan, former President Jimmy Carter was giving a speech at a Japanese college graduation ceremony. During his speech, he made a joke which made the crowd erupt in thunderous laughter. After he had finished giving the speech, former President Carter wanted to figure out how the translator had translated the joke so perfectly. But when Carter did ask the translator how he had done it, the translator sheepishly admitted he had not translated the joke at all. He had told the crowd instead "President Carter has told a very funny joke. Please laugh now"
Doug shared with Bored Panda that his journey started with a random fact about chickens: “In 2018, I was at my parents’ house with my family and I was in the kitchen with my mom and sister. My mom was talking about how she wanted to get chickens for the backyard. I said, ‘Oh, fun fact, did you know you can’t add a new chicken to a chicken coop during the day or the chickens won’t accept it? You have to add it at night and then the chickens just wake up and are like, oh cool, new chicken’.”
It made his mom and sister laugh and they asked him how he knew so many random facts about nothing. His sister then suggested he should record some fun facts and put them on Instagram. The content creator said he filmed the first video a few days after that.
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#2
Humans feel more empathy for dogs than we do for other humans.
#3
A border collie who was ejected from their owners car during a crash was found 1.5 miles away herding sheep
“I made them on and off from 2018 onwards and people always liked them and encouraged me to make more,” Doug said. “I originally just made them for my friends and family because they were just fun and interesting internet videos.
“I posted a couple on Instagram in the summer of 2021 and they did pretty good views and I was like ‘oh cool, maybe I should make more of these’,” he added.
The fun fact connoisseur said he got on TikTok in October of 2021 and grew his account to 32k thousand followers after posting a bunch of content. However, a couple of months later, in December, he put a pause on the activity.
#4
In 2016, a 70 year old man robbed a bank because he rathered be in jail than have to spend anymore time with his wife. he was later sentenced to 6 months of house arrest.
#5
Box Wars is an Australian event series where people build elaborate cardboard suits of armour, get together at a festival ground and then have an epic battle. The event was started in 2002. There are 4 rules during a battle. 1. There are no winners, only losers. 2. Use common sense during a battle. 3. Only recycled carboard allowed. 4. After the battle, kids plunder the battlefield. And if a kid asks you for your armor, you must give it to them.
“My sister sent me a fact in July of 2022 and I needed something and making fun fact videos just kind of filled the hole. I started posting on TikTok Daily on August 1st, 2022 and have been so happy people have enjoyed the facts as much as they have, it’s crazy to see where all my accounts are at today. I’m just really stoked people like the content,” Doug shared with Bored Panda.
“It’s been a really long process to get my production to where it is today,” he added. “The fun facts were not good at the start but they got better and better with time and practice and I’m really happy and grateful everything is where it is today.”
He also pointed out that TikTok is no longer his main account, and that he mostly focuses on his YouTube channel nowadays.
#6
Bedtime procrastination is the act of staying awake later than you meant to for no reason while at the same time being conscious that not going to sleep now will negatively affect you tomorrow as you know you will be tiered.
Stardust she/her 1 year ago
It gives me some comfort knowing that nobody at home is awake and that I’m free to do what I want so I binge watch some of my favourite shows
#7
During the British rule of India there were far too many cobras in Delhi. To combat this problem, the British Government offered a bounty to the local Indians, telling them they would pay them for every dead cobra they brought in. Initially, the program was a success. The Cobra population in Delhi was decreasing and people were making money. But somehow the number of dead cobras being turned in every week stayed consistent. And that was because some entrepreneurial Indians started setting up Cobra Farms in their homes to make a little extra cash on the side. The British Government found out about the Cobra Farms, so they canceled the Cobra Bounty and stopped paying for dead cobras. So the Indians shut down their Cobra farms and let their cobras go free in the streets, resulting in there being significantly more cobras in Delhi than before the program started.
Saint Thomas 1 year ago (edited)
This is since known as the "Cobra effect" : when the actions you take to solve a problem result in said problem getting worse. Another well known example happened in 1900, in the then french colony of Vietnam, with rats. From internet : "Civilians were paid a bounty for each rat they killed. In order to reduce the space needed for entire corpses, only the severed rat tail was required for payment. While the rat population decreased initially, large numbers of tail-less rats suddenly appeared on the streets. It turned out that rat hunters simply cut off the tails, received their payment, and released the rats for further breeding and tail-making. Even worse, health inspectors discovered new farms on the outskirts of Hanoi dedicated to importing and breeding rats."
#8
When Denny’s the 24/7 breakfast house decided to give it’s employees Christmas Day off work in 1988, it set off a very strange series of events because no one knew how to close the restaurants. They also didn't have the keys to the doors as they were always open
Doug revealed that one of the things he likes most about creating the videos is also one of the most challenging ones. “Because I create a new fact daily, I like the time crunch,” he said. “I have very poor time management skills so most of the time when you see a fact posted I more than likely just finished it. It’s a constant push to create and be consistent in my creativity.
“Creativity can get stagnant at times. So many people have a pet project they’ve been working on forever because it has no deadline. I like the constant movement of the creation process.”
The Fun Fact Guy also mentioned he really likes researching and writing the material. “When I’m researching, I get to treasure hunt the best parts of the fact. I usually use 3-6 sources and will pull the best piece of information from each and use them in my script. I like that I can highlight what I think is most cool, interesting or funky about the fact.”
#9
Bob Ross never made any money from the syndicated Joy Of Painting TV show which aired weekly on over 330 PBS station across North America.
#10
In 2019, a man wearing a TV on his head dropped off TV’s on random porches in Henrico County, Virginia. Nothing is known of the TV Man
#11
A pair of twin satellites nicknamed Tom and Jerry chase each other around the earth to map the earth’s gravity field
Since Doug now focuses most on creating YouTube Shorts, his videos can be no longer than 60 seconds. However, he told Bored Panda that finding the best bits of information and fitting it all into a concise, interesting one-minute video is another challenge he enjoys.
He revealed that it encourages him to work on his vocabulary and sentence-building skills; by making him think about what short words to use instead of long ones, for example, or what to cut to make it shorter. He also said he has to consider how one word lines up into the next so that he doesn’t “eat” a word mid-sentence.
“Building the scripts, especially when I have a minute [to fit] twenty worth of material and have to figure out how to piece it into a one-minute video, is very satisfying.
“I think one of the things people appreciate about my videos is that there is no fat on them. Nothing extra; just bare bones, clean, concise, information video.”
#12
A German man who had become completely paralyzed by ALS was implanted with 2 brain electrodes which allowed him to communicate again, he promptly asked his care givers for a beer.
#13
For $10 you can pay to have a cockroach named after your ex and fed to a zoo animal as part of the San Antonio Zoo’s Cry Me A Cockroach Fundraiser.
#14
Working on the cinematic masterpiece, Shrek, was actually a punishment for Dream Works animators who were underperforming on other projects.
Doug told Bored Panda that he usually stumbles upon the facts while browsing online. “They just come to me during my travels around the internet. A lot of them are underreported news stories or fringe news stories. I also spend a lot of time on Reddit.
“I also have a very curious mind. If I ask a question throughout my day I’ll have to immediately google it to get the answer,” he added.
#15
A 15 year old boy playing hide and seek with his friends ended up being found in a different country 6 days later.
#16
Bluetooth is named after viking king Harald Bluetooth Gormsson, who united Denmark and Norway in 958 through non violent negotiations.
Serial pacifist 1 year ago
He negotiated peace with Magnus Ipad Applesson and Ragnar Wifi Signalfried.
#17
In 2012 a woman joined a search party for a missing tourist in Icelands Eldgja volcanic region. The only problem was she was the tourist they were looking for.
Vix Spiderthrust 1 year ago (edited)
"We're looking for me? Wait...I'm me. I've done it! I've found me! I'm a fuc*ing hero!"
The mastermind behind the fun fact videos also revealed that he feels very grateful for every person who watches his content and usually tries to read as many comments as he can. Doug said he’s really interested in what people take away from his videos. “The comments also frequently make me laugh, I love a nice internet roast,” he added.
Doug said he has big plans for the future and advised us to keep our eyes open for longer form content on his YouTube channel coming up August this year.
#18
Joshua Jack thought he was about to get fired, so he brought an emotional support clown with him to his meeting with his boss.
Gustav Gallifrey 1 year ago (edited)
I've seen workplaces with support clowns. They're there to support management, and they go under the generic name of 'H.R.'.
#19
The Cemani Chicken is thought to be the most deeply pigmented creature in the world
#20
During a traffic stop in Florida a police officer was searching a car and came across two bags labelled “bag full of drugs” when he opened the bags they were in fact full of drugs.
#21
The reason water bottles have an expiration date on them is not because the water goes bad, its because the bottle does.
Laugh or not 1 year ago
Bottled water companies don't produce water, they produce bottles - most of them plastic.
#23
A hiker who was lost in the Colorado wilderness ignored multiple calls from search and rescue because they came from an unknown number.
#24
Princess Leia’s iconic double cinnamon bun hair style was inspired by real life rebel Clara De La Rocha who was a colonel in the Mexican revolution fighting against long standing dictator porfirio Diaz.
#25
A woman in Ohio was arrested for breaking into a home, cleaning it and then leaving them a bill with her name and phone number.
White Paper Tsuru 1 year ago
Lol. You can break and enter my place any time, lady, there's an annoying stain on the couch that could use some attention.
#26
In 1998, the car flame thrower designed to prevent car jacking went on sale in South Africa.
#27
On March 30th, 1987 an Alaska Airlines 737 that was taking off from Juneau airport hit a fish mid air.
#28
In 2012, scientists from the US, UK and Germany crashed a Boeing 727 in the Mexican desert for a tv program
Gustav Gallifrey 1 year ago
...andthe lesson was 'avoid first/business class at the front of the plane. Those people are doomed'.
#29
A man went searching in a field for a hammer his friend had lost and instead found buried treasure.
#30
The thinnest building in Beirut, Lebanon is known as the grudge and was built by one brother specifically to block his brothers view of the ocean and lower his property values
#31
Squirrels will eat meat when given the chance and are known to hunt and kill snakes
#32
For over 30 years teams of house keepers from the best hotels on the Las Vegas strip have been competing in the House Keeping Olympics.
#33
Trabajo, the Spanish word for work, comes from the Latin verb Tripaliare meaning punishment, torture or pain. Tripaliare comes from the word Tripalium, which means three sticks and was a torture device used in ancient times where a person was tied to three sticks with their limbs extended and tortured
#34
In 2009, a man parked a car registered in his ex girlfriends name in a secure airport parking lot. The car went on to rack up $105,000 in parking fees.
liam newton-harding 1 year ago
This guy was, and is an a*****e. He did this to try and destroy her life. It took her months, and thousands of dollars to reclaim her car, and try to get some of the debt cancelled. This man is an tw*twaffle of the highest order.
#35
To solve a rodent problem at the White Settlement Library in Texas, the librarians brought in a cat from the local shelter; 6 year later White Settlement Town Council passed a motion that said the cat had to find a new place to live and leave the library within 30 days.
What do you think ?
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
yep, annoying because they are overt b******t.
Load More Replies...
Leo Domitrix 1 year ago
I call BS on so much of it. Beards, btw, make great ways to *grab someone* in close combat, which is why *soldiers and martial artists don't wear 'em*. (Insert insult about neckbearded incels here if you want.)
Rahim Carlock 1 year ago
The art of marginal and misguiding language is strong here. Very Annoying. I applaud all my fellow victims. Your responses have been admirable.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
yep, annoying because they are overt b******t.
Load More Replies... Leo Domitrix 1 year ago
I call BS on so much of it. Beards, btw, make great ways to *grab someone* in close combat, which is why *soldiers and martial artists don't wear 'em*. (Insert insult about neckbearded incels here if you want.)
Rahim Carlock 1 year ago
The art of marginal and misguiding language is strong here. Very Annoying. I applaud all my fellow victims. Your responses have been admirable.
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