Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
40 Random Facts That Sound Fake But Aren’t, Shared In This Online Thread
Hang on to your hats, Pandas, because we’re going for a wild ride today. Down, down, down, deep into the Lands of Knowledge where we’ll visit the Caverns of Curiosity and the Tundra of Tantalizing Trivia.
Prompted by redditor u/da-genius-kid, internet users have been sharing some incredibly intriguing facts about the world. And some of these facts and tidbits of trivia, shared on the r/AskReddit subreddit, might just blow your mind and make you see the world in a different way. Scroll down, have a read, and remember to upvote the facts that you personally found to be the most interesting. Got any cool ones to share that we might have missed? Let us know in the comments.
I reached out to Steven Wooding, a member of the Insitute of Physics in the UK, as well as a member of the Omni Calculator Project that creates cool things like the Weird Units Converter, for a chat about fact reliability, avoiding stagnation, and what features a true scientist must have. He told Bored Panda that curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness are all very important for researchers.
"Scientists have to be curious about how the world works and persistent in their work, as it may take years for it to pay off. Creativity to imagine what might be possible and attention to detail to gain knowledge are also very important," he told me. "We have to be open-minded to new facts and let data guide the way, rather than just what we think. On the other hand, we should also be critical of data. One experiment doesn’t make a fact. A fact comes from experiments that can be repeated and verified many times over."
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Male reindeer lose their antlers in the winter but females don’t. Therefore Santa’s sleigh is pulled by a team of strong independent ladies.
Steven, from the Omni Calculator Project team, agrees that our attention spans appear to be getting shorter with the advent of platforms like Twitter and TikTok, as well as newsfeeds.
"If you feel you are time-pressured, it’s probably only natural that you don’t want to invest a chunk of time on one article but instead scan the headlines to get lots of little bits of information. I have certainly noticed myself being less likely to read a long article unless it’s something that genuinely interests me," he explained that our natural interests, as well as our desire to save our time and energy limit how much attention we give to each and every bit of news we come across. Unfortunately, this means that some of us tend to stay at a superficial level.
"The negative impact is that we won’t reach a deeper level of understanding of something and end up missing out. This is ironic, as people today rush around trying not to miss out on things," Steven explained.
#2
Natural redheads (of which I am one) have a genetic resistance to anesthesia + unusually high tolerance for pain. I guess the latter is to compensate for the former?
Anyway, that’s why I always had a terrible fear of the dentist; they’d give me the normal dose of novocaine, then think I was lying when I said it didn’t work. Fun times! Knew I finally found the right dentist when he walked in, took one look at me, and told the tech to load up four times the novocaine - what he called the “redhead dose.” And I’ve never had to feel that pain again.
Jo Johannsen 2 years ago
It's the truth, my dentist called me a fast metabolizer and the OB/GYN concurred.
#3
Juno, who was sent to Jupiter by NASA, was Jupiter's wife in Roman mythology. Jupiter's moons are named after Jupiter's mistresses. So NASA sent Jupiter's wife to 'spy' on him and his mistresses. Always thought this was pretty cool
The expert also gave Bored Panda his take on how to avoid getting stuck in a stagnant mindset, as though we already know absolutely everything.
"It’s essential to have a growth mindset and realize that you probably know very little. We can only gain more profound knowledge of the world by investing time in exploring it. This issue goes back to short attention spans, which gives us a broad, but shallow spread of knowledge. Take the time to read a book on a subject, and you are bound to learn more," he suggested that we find the patience to delve deeper into a subject.
#4
Most people know that dogs have a really good sense of smell, but I recently did some research into the full extent of it.
40% of the brain goes entirely to their sense of smell. They have a completely different organ that is designed purely to take in the smell, separately from the oxygen they breathe (unlike humans, we process it together).
To put this into perspective, we can taste a teaspoon of sugar in our coffee. They could smell a teaspoon of sugar inside two olympic sized swimming pools.
A cancer alert dog kept marking to one mole on a woman's arm. They had already tested it and it was negative. They decided to retest due to the dog's behavior, and found an incredibly small fraction of a cancer cell in the spot.
#5
Lemons aren't naturally occuring, they were created through the breeding of bitter oranges and citrons. So we made lemons, then made lemonade. Screw you life.
#6
The Sun is extremely loud, we just can't hear it because sound can't travel through the vacuum of space.
Chucky Cheezburger 2 years ago
Well yeah...its nuclear fusion or something going on in there. It's bound to make some kind hellish racket.
However fun the internet might be, we should still be aware that some information out there is spread to bamboozle us. An expert told Bored Panda just last week about the red flags each and every one of us should watch out for.
"Red flags to watch out for that a claim may be fake: it's outlandish, it's too good to be true, you haven't seen the claim anywhere else, you've never heard the source, the source isn't reputable, you can't find two other sources making the same claim, your gut tells you, ‘this can't be true,'" Mike Sington, an entertainment, pop culture, and lifestyle expert from Los Angeles, who knows how social and traditional media works, explained to me earlier.
He told Bored Panda that the reliability of information has suffered because of how popular social media has become. "The rise of social media has decreased the reliability of information because misinformation can spread so quickly before it can be corrected," he said.
#7
Cats don't meow to talk to other cats they use different language for that They meow to talk to us
Robert Martens 2 years ago
I knew it ! I thought I saw my cat speaking German and smoking a cigarette ! As soon as he saw me he dropped the cigarette and stepped on it while attempting to meow while coughing.
#8
People who are born deaf and develop schizophrenia see random hands signing to them.
#9
A sword made from the blood of your enemies is technically possible.
If you separate the iron out of the blood of 300 adults, you could smelt it down to an iron ingot. This ingot would be enough to be used to create a longsword.
According to the expert, one simple way to double-check the reliability of a source, fact, or news story is to start off with a simple Google search. If you can’t find any additional sourcing or evidence, remain skeptical.
"Do this and think before reposting or you may be contributing to the problem. Amplification doesn’t make a claim true or accurate," he said.
The sources that the expert trusts the most include Associated Press, Reuters, and The New York Times. "They employ fact-checkers and editors that ensure the information they post is correct. They’re basically doing the research and homework for you. There are literally too many online sources to list that can’t be trusted and should be avoided. Anyone can basically post anything they want… proceed with caution," the expert warned.
#10
Diamonds aren't valuable nor are they rare. De Beers (An international corporation that specialises in everything diamond) created a advertising campaign saying that a man should be spending a two month salary on a diamond engagement ring. They then raised price's, restricted supply and created this costly illusion that generations of people still consider it to be a mandatory part in marriage process.
#12
Woodpeckers tongues wrap around their skulls to prevent them getting concussions.
Space whale 2 years ago (edited)
So here lies the question.... Do the have big tongues or small skulls
"Our attention spans have been reduced to mere seconds at a time because that’s the way information and entertainment is fed to us now. People get tiny bite-sized bits of news by scrolling a Twitter feed, they entertain themselves by scrolling quickly through Instagram and TikTok. It’s creating a habit that doesn’t have to be," Mike warned that we’re being changed by what we consume.
"The good news is there’s plenty of long-form entertainment and news available, you just have to seek it out. I believe the benefit is worth it. I’ve discovered it improves your ability to focus, it’s more calming, you retain more information, and it gives you a more balanced and nuanced view of the world.”
#13
People live closer in time to T Rex than T rex lived to stegosaurus.
#14
Apple seeds DO NOT yield the same apple it came from... every apple seed yields a completely unique apple. If you want the exact same apple, you have to cut a branch off the existing apple tree and graft in onto another tree
Osgood_7 2 years ago
Farmers have to do this to get good tasting apples because apple trees have self-self recognition genes, so if pollen from let's say a Macintosh lands on another Macintosh, the second will recognize that they share too many genes and the physical tube that takes the pollen to the ovum will not form. So in order to fertilize the Macintosh tree so the delicious Macintosh fruits can form, you have to fertilize using pollen from another type of apple tree with different enough genes to register as non self to the Macintosh tree. The apple that forms on the Macintosh tree is still fully a Macintosh apple, but the *seeds* inside that apple are a Macintosh hybrid. The problem is that hybrids are really gross, so the hybrid seeds are useless.
#15
The smell grass emits after it is getting cut actually has quite the purpose: it's supposed to mark whoever hurt the plant so that predators of the animal would eventually start to associate the smell with prey. Therefore grass is literally trying to kill us once you start hurting it.
#16
Fathers can breastfeed..no meds or other intervention needed...in times of stress, mostly after the death of the mother in childbirth. Father's have attempted to breastfeed and, boom. Start producing viable milk. It's has been documented a non trivial amount of times..
#17
Axolotls can regenerate anything as long as they stay within their original climate and pool of water. If they stay outside of it or the pool changes chemicals, they become salamanders that can't regenerate anymore. I'm really hoping scientists will be able to clone their dna and start utilising that regeneration genome for people in need of regeneration therapy.
#19
The brain is the only thing that we know of that has named itself.
Marcellus the Third 2 years ago
I used to think the brain was the most important part of my body, but then I realized who was telling me this...
#20
Pineapple contains bromelain.
Bromelain is an enzyme that fulfills a proteolytic function, it degrades proteins producing amino acids that make it up.
So that stinging you feel when you eat pineapple is because the pineapple is also eating you.
#21
Crows have extremely good memory, they can even get their relatives to recognize people that they've already recognised
#22
The lighter was invented before the match.
Oopsydaisy 2 years ago (edited)
I fail to see why this is surprising. A lighter is just basically flint technology, which was what was used to light fires. Matches require a relatively high level of manufacturing capability.
#23
If you're within vicinity of a fallen powerline, bunny hop or slide your feet side-to-side to get away from the pole. This is to counteract "step potential" as lifting your feet off the ground will cause a difference in voltage causing an electrocution.
#24
Woman already have their lifetime supply of eggs in their bodies when they're unborn, inside their pregnant mothers as a fetus, so the egg that would become you as ultimately also existed inside your grandmother via your mother.
#25
Time scale stuff breaks my brain
Cleopatra lived closer in time to the building of the first Pizza Hut than to the building of the pyramids for example (to use a well known example)
It was only 66 years between the first successful flight test by the Wright brothers and landing man on the moon... Human ingenuity knows no bounds when money isn't an issue and barriers are removed.
Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago
The accumulation of information matters a lot too. Every invention builds on other inventions that came before.
#26
I did about two months of research into subliminal messaging and mental health through virtual environments for my psych class. It is commonly known that negative messages in the morning can cause people's day to be ruined, and can heavily influence mood and work ethic. With my research and experiment, I found that the opposite is also true. You see, the problem lies with the different brain waves as you wake up.
I'm no psychologist, and this paper was written a senior seminar ago, so I don't remember the waves exactly. The important part is that there are four waves your brain releases depending on consciousness. Going through all four are very important for your mental well-being. By looking at your phone in the morning, you skip from the forst to the last wave, which leaves you mentally and emotionally vulnerable.
As I mentioned, however, the opposite is true. I used a test group of 5 people, who all had diagnosed depression and/or anxiety, as well as one participant having no history of depression or anxiety. Every night, at around 3am, I would send them a text message personalized to each of them, with positive messages assuring them that they'll have a good day and that if times are hard, the best they can do is try their hardest. I put a lot of effort into these, and every week I checked in on them, taking into account changes in their personal lives.
When I connected all the data, what I found was that all the people with anxiety and depression had significantly better work ethic, and took more initiative to solve their problems. They also noted slightly lowered levels of anxiety, and thought of self harm were lowered, too. As for the participant who had no mental health problems, he noticed a general increase in positivity and work ethic, as well.
So I guess of you have someone who's been really down lately, and you love them, send them a text for when they wake up. The effects needed about a week to set in, and they cap out at around a month and an half in from what I noticed. This is not a cure to depression and anxiety, but it is a small thing that someone can do for a loved one.
It's this study that has made me realize that I want to use my computer science degree to help people's mental health, and why I decided to get my masters in computer science, and get a degree in Psychology while I'm at it. Technology had proven itself to be bad for humanity's mental health, and it's time someone tried to fix it. I don't think I'm that man, but I'd sure as hell like to help pave the road for the guy that is.
Tldr; encouraging messages to be read as soon as someone wakes up is a great way to slightly help someone through their mental health problems
Mazer 2 years ago (edited)
A better way to reduce depression is to actually help people to find and keep adequate and affordable basics like education, housing, health care, mental health care etc etc etc and a way to help them meet their basic needs. Words are cheap these days. Telling someone they are worthy and yet if that persons life is filled with no way to obtain the basics, then this is a bit like sending a person with stage 4 cancer, a get well card.
#27
That the placebo effect is real. It has to be accounted for in human trials of medical treatments.
This means that our minds have the capacity to affect real healthcare outcomes and this happens consistently.
#28
For 1 600 billionth of a second when a hydrogen bomb detonates, it is 100 million degrees Celsius, the core of the sun is 15 million degrees Celsius.
#29
Since it’s discovery in 1930 Pluto has yet to orbit the sun and won’t until 2178.
Lemuel Botha 2 years ago
Well would you finish your job after you were fired and kicked out of your group?
#30
In the time it takes you to read this sentence, you’ve traveled approximately 2,200 miles through space relative to the cosmic background radiation.
#31
Your tongue rests on the roof of your mouth, not the base.
#32
In the 70s, in the USA, it was believed that infants didn’t feel pain. My first operation was in 74, when I was a day old, to shove a sac full of exposed nerves back into my spine (spina bifida myelomeningocele).
Tracy Wallick 2 years ago
Yet in 2021, apparently it's still believed the cervix has no nerve endings (and thus anesthesia/pain relief and prevention are not administered), despite the fact that thousands of women report excruciating pain during procedures such as IUD insertion, cervical biopsy, etc.
#33
Multiplying any two digit number with eleven is the sum of the two digit inserted between the two digits 63×11=> (6+3) => 693
#34
If our Sun was the size of a white blood cell, our galaxy would be the size of the continental United States.
#35
Humans create as much heat as a 100 watt incandescent bulb. Which is why greenhouses have a single 100 watt bulb burning that workers turn off when they enter. Keeps the temperature constant.
Jo Johannsen 2 years ago
My presence seems to keep my studio apt adequately warm most of the time.
#36
The 1966-1967 UCLA Bruins Men’s Basketball team went undefeated and won the National Championship. They were ranked number 1 throughout the entire season. In those days, freshmen weren’t allowed to play on the varsity team, but every year, at the end of the season, the freshmen team played the varsity team in an exhibition game. UCLA’s freshmen team beat the undefeated varsity team by 15 points with a young center named Lew Alcindor, later changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
#37
The microgravity in space can cause an astronauts blood to run backwards
Marcellus the Third 2 years ago
The eye problems are the most striking: Astronauts leave with 20/20 vision (and otherwise in optimal health too), but over half have noticeable eye problems (headaches and farsightedness) when they return after 6+ months --- one came back with 20/100 vision after half a year; this is an obvious problem for a trip to Mars. This may have recently been solved by a new pressurized sleeping bag, https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59591301 .
#38
clown fish are hermaphrodite and, if the movie was realistic, Marlin in Finding Nemo would become a female and try to copulate with his son, as the mother was killed
#39
Purple isn't a real frequency of light like red or blue. It's how our brains interpret jumbled frequencies of red and blue light. It seems to be a byproduct of how our brains developed to interpret the light that hits the blue, green, and red cones in our eyes.
peter howard 2 years ago
There are colours that don't exist except within our brains (magenta for example) this is because magenta doesn't exist in the spectrum of light
#40
The last living person who was the child of a Civil War veteran, died in June of 2020. Her father was 83 when she was born.
What do you think ?
Summer Mason 2 years ago
The woodpecker is bothering me tho. I can't not picture that in my head. Nightmares.
Load More Replies...
Wandaluzt 2 years ago
You do know why this site exists right? And where they get their content from?
Load More Replies...
Summer Mason 2 years ago
The woodpecker is bothering me tho. I can't not picture that in my head. Nightmares.
Load More Replies... Wandaluzt 2 years ago
You do know why this site exists right? And where they get their content from?
Load More Replies... You May Like 50 Interesting Historical Pics From “That’s History” That May Change Your Perspective On Things 35 Fascinating Historical Pictures That Might Teach You Something New About Our World
Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Indrė Lukošiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
