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31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online

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Not all facts seem intuitive. Some take people by surprise or feel strange even after knowing them for a while. The reasons for this may vary from limited knowledge of the area, something having very different features from other things of a similar kind, to our senses perceiving something in such a way that it is tempting to the mind to draw some false conclusions, as is the case with various optical illusions, such as one line looking shorter than the other when that isn’t the case. People are sharing these kinds of facts, answering one Redditor’s question: “What’s something that sounds completely illogical but is actually correct?”

More info: Reddit

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#1

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Aluminum is infinitely recyclable and one of the worlds most recycled metal

ComplexSolid6712 , La Mary Anne Report

Final score:

194points

Multa Nocte 10 months ago

You mean aluminium? 😉

165points

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#2

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Saudi Arabia imports camels from Australia

goth_mary , Wolfgang Hasselmann Report

Final score:

169points

Pedantic Panda 10 months ago

And their sand, needed for building.

63points

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#3

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Sloths can hold their breath under water longer than dolphins

havoc_ado , Javier Mazzeo Report

Final score:

165points

dayngerkat 10 months ago

They need to cause it'll take them so long to get out

139points

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#4

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Mail is still delivered via donkey to a place at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

jetmech725 , David Selbert Report

Final score:

164points

30ninjazinmybag 10 months ago

Aw look at his haircut, he's so cute 😍

135points

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#5

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online The double-slit experiment in quantum physics, where you're firing electrons at a barrier with two slits. Logic suggests you should see two lines on a screen behind the barrier, but instead, you get a pattern like waves interfering with each other, implying each electron goes through both slits simultaneously.

Yet, if you observe which slit they go through, the electrons revert to acting like particles, forming only two lines, as if they 'know' they're being watched. It's a mind-bending phenomenon that sounds illogical but is scientifically proven.

Hindsight_DJ , wiki commons Report

Final score:

150points

Luke Branwen 10 months ago

I tried to get a gist of quantum physics because of a book I was writing. It's the most bonkers thing imaginable. Infinite respect for people who study it in-depth.

20points

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#6

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Sharks existed before Saturn’s rings did.

Moakmeister , Gerald Schömbs Report

Final score:

147points

Michael Largey 10 months ago (edited)

Each year, the number of people killed by sharks averages only a few dozen more than the number of people killed by Saturn's rings.

11points

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#7

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online You hear your own voice differently than others, that's why a lot of people get shocked when they listen to their own recordings.

purpleoyster67 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:

145points

geezeronthehill 10 months ago

Your head is a resonator but only you can hear it.

85points

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#8

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Water expands when frozen but almost everything else contracts when frozen

tsmitty24 , Simon Berger Report

Final score:

143points

dayngerkat 10 months ago

Hey it was cold in the pool!

154points

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#9

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Cashews grow on the outside of a cashew apple

NoFinish4978 , Quang Nguyen Vinh Report

Final score:

136points

Midoribird Aoi 10 months ago

The apple sneezed it out. Cashew! 🤧

222points

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#10

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Inflammable means flammable

hexagon_son , www.pexels.com Report

Final score:

127points

Aerial Wombat 10 months ago

People also ask What is difference between flammable and inflammable? Flammable and inflammable do not mean the same thing. If something is flammable it means it can be set fire to, such as a piece of wood. However, inflammable means that a substance is capabble of bursting into flames without the need for any ignition.

40points

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#11

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online There is a nerve that connects your brain to your larynx (voice box), but first it goes down your neck, into your chest, and under your aorta before coming back up.

Giraffes also have it despite the length of their necks.

Symnestra , camilo jimenez Report

Final score:

110points

Panda Boi 10 months ago (edited)

More proof that evolution is true.

55points

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#12

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online The US Army tried a "Camel Corps" in the Southwest, in the early 19th century, mostly as pack animals or using for mail service, as far West as southern California; when the Civil War interrupted their experiment, they sold the camels off, but some escaped. As a result there were feral camels at one point in the Angeles National Forest.

ThaneOfCawdorrr , إبن الصحراء Report

Final score:

108points

bigoldthor 10 months ago

I heard they tried to breed to ensure their survival, but they just couldn't get over the hump.

64points

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#13

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Both the moon and Sun are about 400 times farther from Earth than the sizes of their respective diameters. This means that the moon will block out, or “eclipse,” anything behind it that has the same ratio. This is the “cosmic coincidence” that makes solar eclipses possible.

Seed_Is_Strong , Sebastian Voortman Report

Final score:

107points

geezeronthehill 10 months ago

Luna used to orbit a lot closer. It is gradually moving away from us. Eventually the eclipses will not be total. Not in our time, however.

41points

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#14

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Spaces between words weren’t introduced until the 7th to 9th centuries, with more widespread adoption occurring in the 10th century.

Goddamnpassword , Dominika Roseclay Report

Final score:

105points

Pedantic Panda 10 months ago

WellIneverknewthisSeemslikeitwouldmakereadingcommentsquitehard.

176points

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#15

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online It took decades after the invention of the can to invent the can opener.

theTenebrus , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

102points

Mad Dragon 10 months ago

The first cans were made of wrought iron (like fences) and lined with tin. The suggested method of opening (according to the manufacturer) was a hammer and chisel.

55points

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#16

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online One day on Venus is longer than one year on Venus.

SuvenPan , Kevin Gill Report

Final score:

97points

bigoldthor 10 months ago

To be specific, one day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days, while one year on Venus takes only about 225 Earth days. Meaning it travels around the sun faster than it rotates on its own axis.

130points

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#17

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online We live closer in time to the reign of Cleopatra than she did to the building of the pyramids.

caughtinfire , wiki commons Report

Final score:

97points

geezeronthehill 10 months ago

Cleopatra ruled Egypt at the very end of true Egyptian history. After the time of Alexander the great. She was Macedonian Greek by heritage.

56points

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#18

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online If you have 23 people together in a room there is a 50% chance that 2 of them share a birthday (same day and month, not necessarily the same year).

realmofconfusion , Robert Anderson Report

Final score:

87points

LizzieBoredom 10 months ago

There is a 100% chance that while you're busy doing statistics, someone eats your cake.

205points

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#19

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Hmm, did you know that technically speaking, a strawberry isn't a berry, but a banana is? Sounds weird, but it's true!

eva_curls_ , Phong Thanh Report

Final score:

85points

Pedantic Panda 10 months ago (edited)

And a peanut is not a nut. (Edited. Thank you Impasta) And Stonehenge is not a henge. Meanings of words change over time, more so than names.

42points

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#20

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online If your mayonnaise is too thin add more oil to thicken it. Emulsions are weird.

_BlueFire_ , Sara Cervera Report

Final score:

82points

Timbob 10 months ago

What, like, WD 40 ?

3points

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#21

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online When magnesium is burned, the ashes weigh more than the magnesium.

whatintheactualfeth , Geoffrey McKim Report

Final score:

80points

Pedantic Panda 10 months ago (edited)

Because you're adding Oxygen. The ash is Magnesium Oxide. But some mass will be lost as smoke so will only work in a closed environment.

68points

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#22

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online That your skin lacks the receptors to feel wet.

Odd_Will_3557 , Ron Lach Report

Final score:

79points

Pedantic Panda 10 months ago

Only experience it through temperature or touch.

54points

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#23

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online The western end of the Panama Canal is the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern end is the Pacific Ocean.

gbrell , wiki commons Report

Final score:

73points

bigoldthor 10 months ago

When building it, someone misunderstood the directions.

25points

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#24

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online That 1,000,000 (one million) seconds is ~11.6 days, and 1,000,000,000 (one billion) seconds is ~31.7 years.

jfincher42 , Maël BALLAND Report

Final score:

62points

Zaphod 10 months ago

And one trillion seconds is 31710 years.The scary thing about that is the US national debt passed 34 trillion dollars on Dec 29, 2023. For reference, it was 1 trillion dollars in 1981.

31points

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#25

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online There are more hydrogen atoms in a single water molecule than there are stars in the entire solar system.

AlmostSane67 , Pixabay Report

Final score:

61points

Ima Manimal 10 months ago

There’s one star in our solar system

174points

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#26

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online "Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a complete, grammatically correct sentence in the English language.

Eclectophile , Pixabay Report

Final score:

59points

Pedantic Panda 10 months ago

For those seeing clarification; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo#:~:text=%22Buffalo%20buffalo%20Buffalo%20buffalo%20buffalo,linguistic%20constructs%20through%20lexical%20ambiguity.

30points

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#27

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Hmm, did you know that lighters were invented before matches? Sounds kinda weird, right?

eva_curls , Thomas Despeyroux Report

Final score:

57points

arthbach 10 months ago

It totally depends on what you mean by 'matches'. Lighters were brought out in 1824, and friction matches in in 1827. However, the first self-lighting match was created in 1805. by Jean Chancel.

20points

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#28

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online If you somehow managed to fold one piece of paper 42 times, its thickness will actually be equal to the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

SlapDatBassBro , NASA Report

Final score:

57points

Lynn 10 months ago (edited)

Come on guys, maybe try the maths at least before calling this BS... Common paper thickness is ~0.09 mm. Fold it once, it's now 0.09 x 2 = 0.18 mm. Fold it a 2nd time, 0.09 x 2² = 0.36 mm. Fold it a 3rd time, 0.09 x 2³ = 0.72 mm. etc. Fold it 42 times, 0.09 x 2⁴² = 395,824,185,999.36 mm = 395,824 km. Earth-Moon distance is on average ~384,400 km.

9points

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#29

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online Babies will sleep in longer if you put them to bed earlier

Romnonaldao , Pixabay Report

Final score:

54points

Spannidandoolar 10 months ago

My experience shows that babies will do whatever they flipping please regardless of what science seems to think

442points

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#30

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online The speed of light is constant on all reference frames

Key_Card4539 , Pixabay Report

Final score:

47points

Steven 10 months ago

The speed of light is constant to all reference frames within the same medium. Someone underwater watching light travel through water will perceive a different (slower) velocity from an observer in space measuring light's velocity in a vacuum.

5points

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#31

31 Facts That Took People By Surprise When They First Heard Them, As Shared Online You can’t know both what the exact position and the exact momentum of a quantum particle will be.

HyperConnectedSpace , Gerd Altmann Report

Final score:

44points

Apatheist Account2 10 months ago

This is Heisenberg's uncertainty principle - almost. It's actually the speed, not momentum (although they are related). In order to measure its velocity, one has to know its position; but to measure its position more accurately, the less accurately one knows its velocity.

25points

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Aura Vyšniauskaitė

Aura is a writer at Bored Panda. She finished her BA in Philosophy at Vilnius University. She lived in Prague for a few years, where she worked in Trade Compliance at DHL Express. Finally, she came back to Vilnius to continue her studies in Philosophy.

Aura is a writer at Bored Panda. She finished her BA in Philosophy at Vilnius University. She lived in Prague for a few years, where she worked in Trade Compliance at DHL Express. Finally, she came back to Vilnius to continue her studies in Philosophy.

Monika Pašukonytė

I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.

I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.

What do you think ?

Aerial Wombat 10 months ago

Enjoy the entertainment, but PLEASE don't think people who post on here know what they are talking about, and don't bother trusting the comments. Use a dictionary or an encyclopedia that has actually been peer reviewed and published. Thank-you, rant over

21points

Xổ Số A Trúng Rồi 10 months ago

I also think like you, we just need to watch, know and find out the information for ourselves.

5points

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Dariusz M. D. 10 months ago

This post, as so many other here, can be described at the best as mildly interesting. I can go on with my life without knowing them. Some, I saw here many, many times. Boooring.

2points

Margaret Zahn 10 months ago

Alligators are native to only the US and China.

0points

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Aerial Wombat 10 months ago

Enjoy the entertainment, but PLEASE don't think people who post on here know what they are talking about, and don't bother trusting the comments. Use a dictionary or an encyclopedia that has actually been peer reviewed and published. Thank-you, rant over

21points

Xổ Số A Trúng Rồi 10 months ago

I also think like you, we just need to watch, know and find out the information for ourselves.

5points

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Dariusz M. D. 10 months ago

This post, as so many other here, can be described at the best as mildly interesting. I can go on with my life without knowing them. Some, I saw here many, many times. Boooring.

2points

Margaret Zahn 10 months ago

Alligators are native to only the US and China.

0points

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