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Parent Asks For Mind-Blowing But Simple Facts That Would Satisfy A 3-Year-Old Before Bedtime, Gets 30 Responses

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Kids see their parents as their superheroes and think that they know everything there is to know about the world. But being a parent to an inquisitive child is like living with the constant possibility of a pop-quiz coming up—you never know when they’ll ask you why the sun shines, whether aliens exist, or when they’ll want to hear random facts about the universe.

That’s exactly the challenge that Reddit user MoonBaboon was faced with. The redditor asked the online community what mind-blowing but simple facts would satisfy their 3-year-old son’s daily request for one fact before bedtime. And people delivered!

From facts like pink dolphins actually being real to interesting trivia tidbits like somebody having had the hiccups for 68 years, these bits of knowledge are fun for everyone, not just parents. We’ve collected the best mind-blowing facts, so scroll down and remember to upvote your faves. When you’re done with this list, have a look at Bored Panda’s earlier post about a father who asked strangers for interesting facts to tell his daughter.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

Crows can see a color that we can't called ultraviolet. Their feathers have pretty patterns on them, like peacocks, but they're all colored ultraviolet, so even though they look black to us, they all look really fancy and colorful to each other.

surt2 , Govisity.com Report

Final score:

141points

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#2

There is a species of burrowing tarantula that lets tiny frogs live in their burrows. The frog eats pests that are too small for the spider to get, and in return, the frog is kept safe by the big ol' spider. This is pretty much how the domestication of cats went.

Tiny frogs are tarantula housecats.

The_First_Viking , David Boté Estrada Report

Final score:

128points

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#3

sea otters hold hands while they are sleeping to not drift apart

gecko_007 , seabagsmaine Report

Final score:

121points

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MoonBabboon’s post got over 55.3k upvotes on r/AskReddit and the redditor received several awards for their wholesome question.

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Sure, random facts are cool, but they’re more than just that—they actually help turn your child into a more capable person, preparing them for the future. UK researchers conducted a study about the link between how engaged parents were in their children’s learning and how well the kids did academically later on.

#4

Crows have the critical thinking skills of a 7 year old child… which is far superior to most animals

chainsaw_penguin Report

Final score:

118points

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#5

Manatees fart to sink deeper in the water, it's like letting the air out of a balloon.

insertcaffeine , U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Report

Final score:

117points

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#6

The male emu goes around and collects the eggs that the female lays, painstakingly moves them all to a nest, then sits on them until they hatch. After they hatch he is their only caretaker. The mother isn't involved at all.

WifeofTech , Cathy Stanley-Erickson Report

Final score:

116points

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The researchers found that kids do well in school when their parents read to them, listen to them read aloud, help them learn their letters, numbers, songs, and nursery rhymes.

And when the kids got a bit older, they excelled in school when their parents remained active in their education.

So going with your kid on field trips, participating in the classroom, showing genuine interest in how they’re doing at school, and monitoring their progress with homework and tests all lead to better results in school. In other words, honest, dedicated care and attention pay off.

#7

Most elephants weigh less than a blue whale’s tongue is my favorite

MoonBaboon , antoine Report

Final score:

116points

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#8

The word "Arctic" doesn't mean "cold" but rather comes from the Greek word for "bear."

Therefore, Arctic means Bear-place and Antarctic means Not-bear-place

LifesHighMead Report

Final score:

115points

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#9

A baby octopus is about the size of a flea when it is born.

slingtwit Report

Final score:

114points

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#10

The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

nyrmac2152 , Lemon~art Report

Final score:

111points

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#11

If you shave a tiger you’ll see striped skin.

mixiship Report

Final score:

110points

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#12

Blue whales have the loudest voices in the animal kingdom, up to 180 dB. (Jet engine is this loud). They have been known to modulate their calls so as to not hurt the ears of divers. Mothers and calves have also been discovered “whispering” to each other to avoid attracting predators.

bombkitty Report

Final score:

103points

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#13

Hummingbirds offer some cool facts:

They're the only bird that can fly backwards or hover and this is due to their wings flapping in a figure 8 pattern.

They eat by sticking out their tongues which is covered in barbs.

They often hitch rides on bigger birds for migration.

They build their nests using gossamer (spider webs) so that the nest will expand with the babies as they grow, they always lay 2 eggs at a time.

When they rest, they go into this catatonia called torpor which lowers their heart rate to less than a quarter of beats per minute as when they're active so that they don't starve to death while they sleep.

urmama22 Report

Final score:

101points

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#14

Elephants think humans are cute like humans think puppies are cute

frenchoffry Report

Final score:

98points

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#15

Cats can be allergic to people

Break_Away_1776 , Lilithis Report

Final score:

95points

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#16

If you were 66 million light years away from Earth and had a telescope that could see Earth, you could still see the dinosaurs.

DaKittyWhisperer , Stock Catalog Report

Final score:

94points

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#17

Queen Elizabeth can’t sit on the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. - the ruling monarch can’t sit on a foreign throne, even if it’s fictional.

xenobia92 , Joel Rouse Report

Final score:

93points

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#18

It rains diamonds on Jupiter

retreatedkeys , tonynetone Report

Final score:

92points

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#19

Both boys and girls used to wear dresses. It was only when boys got older they started wearing pants.

chcampb , Midnight Believer Report

Final score:

89points

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#20

A small child could swim through the veins of a blue whale.

xenobia92 , National Marine Sanctuaries Report

Final score:

86points

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#21

Wombats poop in cubes.

chcampb , Fifinator Report

Final score:

82points

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#22

Squirrels forget where they hide about half of their nuts.

xenobia92 , Kathleen Christiansen Report

Final score:

81points

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#23

Crows and Ravens can learn to imitate human speech.

insertcaffeine , David Michalczuk Report

Final score:

79points

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#24

Squids have doughnut shaped brains!

Juturna_ , Chris Frazee and Margaret McFall Report

Final score:

76points

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#25

There are pink dolphins in the amazon river

astroturtle1212 , NilbleysNihilism Report

Final score:

76points

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#26

If you lift a kangaroos tail of the ground it can't hop (but he will not be happy).

xenobia92 , Tambako The Jaguar Report

Final score:

74points

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#27

You can hear a lion roar from up to 5 miles away.

xenobia92 , Tom Driggers Report

Final score:

74points

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#28

Nutella was invented during WWII, when hazelnuts were mixed into chocolate to extend chocolate rations.

xenobia92 , Willis Lam Report

Final score:

74points

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#29

There are more plastic flamingos in the world than real flamingos.

riano25 , Alan Levine Report

Final score:

68points

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#30

Before he became president, Abraham Lincoln was a wrestler.

NakedOlsenTwins , Alexander Gardner Report

Final score:

62points

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#31

Penguins have a small organ in their skull that desalinates water.

MeatyOakerGuy Report

Final score:

26points

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#32

There are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand on the earth (approximately 10 times more)

chenafe124 Report

Final score:

24points

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#33

hippos excrete a red liquid that acts like a natural sunscreen

bigdaeh , s9-4pr Report

Final score:

24points

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#34

If you cut a hole into a net, there are less holes than there were to begin with.

Woohoo1964 Report

Final score:

24points

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#35

Jelly fish don't have brains.

xenobia92 , Bruce.Emmerling Report

Final score:

23points

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#36

Termites in Australia by mass weigh more then humans on earth.

mcfear , Heather R Report

Final score:

23points

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#37

emus won a war in Australia.

Pixel_221 Report

Final score:

23points

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#38

Babies don't have kneecaps! They form around two years of age.

jugglingspy Report

Final score:

23points

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#39

The word buffalo eight times in a row is a real sentence.

It means that there are buffalo from Buffalo that other buffalo from Buffalo intimidate, and they themselves also go on to intimidate other buffalo who are also from Buffalo.

Robobvious Report

Final score:

22points

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#40

bananas are berries

roterpuffle , Department of Foreign Affairs Report

Final score:

21points

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#41

Only girl bees have stingers.

mixiship , dasWebweib Report

Final score:

21points

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#42

You share 50-65% of DNA with bananas

MrTiger23 , Jason Kaechler Report

Final score:

21points

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#43

Most of the mass trees and plants get to grow comes from the carbon dioxide in the air, not from the soil. Trees are built from air.

Final score:

21points

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#44

Great white sharks have been known to run away from killer whales.

Pixel_221 Report

Final score:

20points

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#45

Mammoths were still wandering around somewhere whilst the Pyramids were being built

TGC_Films Report

Final score:

19points

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#46

T-rex actually lived closer in time to us than it did to the stegosaurus.

Modest_Gaslight Report

Final score:

18points

#47

Coconts aren’t nuts at all, they’re fruit.

mixiship , Lindsey Turner Report

Final score:

18points

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#48

Flamingos get their pink color from pigments in the organisms they eat.

mixiship , bdunnette Report

Final score:

18points

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#49

Starfish don't have brains

Final score:

18points

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#50

The average human produces enough saliva over their life to fill 2 swimming pools.

xenobia92 , Alexander.Hüls Report

Final score:

17points

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#51

All of the other planets can fit in the space between the Earth and the Moon.

decitertiember Report

Final score:

17points

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#52

Giraffes fall about 1.8 meters when they are born

Pixel_221 , Regina Hart Report

Final score:

17points

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#53

Baby whales drink milk from their mothers nipples, just like baby humans. Except they do it under water.

mixiship Report

Final score:

16points

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#54

Ants don’t have eyelids, so they can’t blink.

mixiship , Maciej Report

Final score:

16points

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#55

Pink used to be a boys color

Break_Away_1776 Report

Final score:

16points

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#56

The average person farts over 500,000 times in their life.

TannedCroissant Report

Final score:

16points

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#57

Platypus don't have stomachs.

thuskindlyiscatter , imgur Report

Final score:

15points

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#58

Older lobsters guide younger lobsters down migration routes.

Iseeasong Report

Final score:

15points

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#59

A baby spider is called a spiderling.

xenobia92 , L Church Report

Final score:

14points

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#60

It's debated what the largest flower on Earth is, but the two leading contenders Amorphophallus titanum, (Titan arum) and the rafflesia, both smell like rotting meat. This vile smell is used to attract flies and other insects that act as pollinators.

Necator_americanus Report

Final score:

13points

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#61

Flamingos eat with their heads upside down.

mixiship Report

Final score:

13points

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#62

Mantis shrimp can see more colours than humans can.

Pixel_221 Report

Final score:

13points

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#63

A tortoise’s shell is joined to its back

--TheSenate-- , Neil Turner Report

Final score:

12points

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#64

By the time an Elk reaches adulthood it has shed more bone from losing its antlers than the bone contained in its entire skeleton!

Pr3ttyWild Report

Final score:

12points

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#65

Cuttlefish can change its texture and shape to anything in it's environment but it actually cant see all that well!

septlaxer Report

Final score:

11points

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Jonas Grinevičius

Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

Justinas Keturka

I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

I'm the Visual Editor at Bored Panda, responsible for ensuring that everything our audience sees is top-notch and well-researched. What I love most about my job? Discovering new things about the world and immersing myself in exceptional photography and art.

What do you think ?

Martha Meyer 4 years ago

Some awesome and interesting facts but quite a few don't seem easy to understand for a child that young.

5points

Anna Locmin 4 years ago

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Sandra Luz 4 years ago

Not only for 3-year-old. I'm 51 and loved those little stories.

2points

Christina Uhlir 4 years ago

.....even though some were pure nonsense?

1point

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togcrewsc 4 years ago

Fun fact: humans are bioluminescent. We can glow in the dark, our eyes aren't strong enough to see it.

2points

Eunice Probert 4 years ago

I need my eyes testing. I read that as "humans are blancmange". Mind you, that explains a lot.

1point

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Martha Meyer 4 years ago

Some awesome and interesting facts but quite a few don't seem easy to understand for a child that young.

5points

Anna Locmin 4 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

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Sandra Luz 4 years ago

Not only for 3-year-old. I'm 51 and loved those little stories.

2points

Christina Uhlir 4 years ago

.....even though some were pure nonsense?

1point

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togcrewsc 4 years ago

Fun fact: humans are bioluminescent. We can glow in the dark, our eyes aren't strong enough to see it.

2points

Eunice Probert 4 years ago

I need my eyes testing. I read that as "humans are blancmange". Mind you, that explains a lot.

1point

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