People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn’t Know

Today, you can learn anything on the internet. Whether it’s historical, psychological or just plain weird bites of information, people can’t seem to get enough of the tantalizing trivia being shared online. But if you want to see the whole picture, some knowledge might be as interesting as it is disturbing. However, facts are facts, no matter how uneasy they might make us feel.

So when someone on r/AskReddit asked what is a not fun fact, redditors quickly rolled up their sleeves. The thread went viral, amassing more than 82.4K upvotes and 35.1K comments full of the most strangely fascinating pieces of information.

We collected some of the best answers this thread had to offer, so continue scrolling! And after you’re done, don’t forget to share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below.

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People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know The search and rescue dogs on 9/11 were getting so sad from finding only deceased bodies, the human helpers buried themselves in the rubble so that the dogs could find them and be happy.

superbunnyblob , Loco Steve Report

Final score:

503points

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Mazer 2 years ago

This began at the Oklahoma bombing. I had a friend go. He came back so traumatized that he did not speak for years. People love to over generalize and rag on police officers and other first responders. There are more good cops than bad ones, some have witnessed some truly horrific scenes in the line of duty

280points

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People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know There are more deaths due to mental health issues than all forms of violence combined. People are struggling.

pepeman931 , Claudia Wolff Report

Final score:

352points

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A B C 2 years ago

And seeking psychological help is still stigmatized. If I break my arm, I go to a body doctor to have them fix it. So if my mind is broken, why can't I go to a mind doctor to have them help me without being called a loon?

18points

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Bored Panda reached out to Daniel T. Willingham, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and author, most recently, of Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy. He was kind enough to share some insights about why humans are so drawn to learning new facts and how we benefit from them.

According to the professor, one reason why we find facts interesting is that they are very context-specific. “For example, if I said ‘Would you like to know how guitars are made?’ you wouldn’t necessarily say ‘Yes!’ immediately. You’d more likely say ’Uh … maybe. Is it interesting?’”

“What’s odd about facts is that the content matters less to whether or not you’d like to learn about it than you’d think,” he explained. Being a psychologist, Willingham is absolutely fascinated by human memory but sometimes it happens that when he goes “to professional meetings and attend talks about human memory that I find boring.”

“And then sometimes, I watch a documentary on something—for example, making guitars—that I didn’t think I’d find interesting in the least and find myself fascinated.”

That your brain erases your nose from your vision, until you actively think about it. You nose is obstructing your vision 100% of the time, but your brain interrupts it as useless information, and removes it. When you start thinking about it, or close one eye, you can see your nose again.

This might seem harmless until you realize the implications.

Your brain, without asking, erases something very real from your awareness. Imagine the possibilities of other things it's doing on it's own like that. There could be a literal 2nd world right in front of us, and it might just be being erased as useless information.

watch_over_me Report

Final score:

305points

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Jaaawn 2 years ago

Doesn't apply to everyone though- I can always see my nose, it is massive though.

122points

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People who survived the Holocaust and get Alzheimer's often think they are back in the camps. So they escape one of humanity's greatest horrors only to die in it 50 years later.

digitaldavegordon Report

Final score:

281points

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Mushroomlover 2 years ago

I had the honor of taking care of several people who had been in concentration camps(they had the tattooed numbers) and this is very true. One guy with dementia could only get baths, no showers because just the word shower sent him into a horrible memory sequence. Their stories were heartbreaking to say the least.

193points

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Curiosity is an innate drive we share with many other species, he told us. It prompts us to learn about our environment, which obviously helps individuals to survive: “We are not curious about everything—we are curious when we think a little exploration will lead to a lot of learning.”

Still, what we gain from learning new information depends on what we already know: “Suppose you say to me: ‘Would you like to know which, of all the bottled sauces made in Kenya, is the most popular?’ I can’t name even one … so if you tell me, that fact isn’t very informative.”

“But suppose I knew a lot about African cuisine. Now that information would be informative, because I have some context to put it in, some existing knowledge to connect it to,” Daniel T. Willingham explained.

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know If 2 male flat worms meet, they will sword fight with their penises until one loses. The loser will become female and they will mate.

YoutuberCameronBallZ , S. Rae Report

Final score:

264points

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XSpooky_Mint 2 years ago

Kinky

208points

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People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know People with extreme scurvy start to have ALL of their old wounds open up. Everything with a scar is held together via an active process with collagen and without vitamin c just sort of...stop.

Hell_If_I_Care , Jonathan Borba Report

Final score:

259points

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Luther von Wolfen 2 years ago

Also, bones that have broken and healed come apart at the site of the break. It's an amazingly horrific disease.

107points

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People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know Quokkas, the worlds happiest animal, will throw their babies at attackers if threatened.

coreyboi66 , Barney Moss Report

Final score:

256points

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Rijkærd 2 years ago

So yeeting babies is the secret to happiness we have searching all along.

365points

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However, some say that taking the time and energy to learn interesting facts is a waste of time since this information is accessible with a few Google searches and quick clicks on the links. The professor disagrees, saying that factual knowledge is a really important driver of reading comprehension and other high-level thinking skills, like problem-solving.

“Think about how much easier it is to read a passage if you’re familiar with the general topic—I don’t care how ‘skilled’ a reader you are, if (like most Americans) you’re unfamiliar with the game of cricket, you will not be able to make sense of a newspaper account of the game,” Willingham elaborated.

On the other hand, “a ten-year cricket fan in India or other cricket-mad country would have no problem.”

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know A blue ringed octopus, found in the Pacific, is a tiny and cute little guy, but one painless bite gives enough venom to take the lives of 25 male adults.

iwastoldnottogohere , pen_ash Report

Final score:

246points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Marine venoms are some of the most potent on earth

99points

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In countries that require you to opt-in to organ donation, fewer than 15% of people register. In the US (an opt-in country), 18 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant.

“Opt-out” countries see over 90% of their population registered for organ donation.

geronimotown Report

Final score:

246points

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Grumble O'Pug 2 years ago

US should adopt opt-out

126points

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#10

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know The image that most people have of blobfish is based on a misconception.

people think that’s what they look like all the time but blobfish adapted to live in deep waters, which means the deeper you go, the more water pressurethere is. Their bodies are not meaty like fish but more gelatinous because they adapted to the water pressure. if you accidentally pull them to higher levels but with less water pressure, their bodies don’t handle it well bc there’s nothing keeping their bodies in tact, so their bodies explode.

Basically, every photo you’ve seen of a blobfish where they look big and pink and, of course, blobby is a photo of a dead blobfish.

Merchandise and cartoons designed after what they look like dead. Hell, they’re referred to as what they look like dead.

loryhasreddit , Grufnik Report

Final score:

244points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Spot on

57points

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While many blame the internet for overloading our brains with tons of information, we are the ones putting the knowledge into context. When the time is right, we can connect the dots and come up with brilliant ideas. So if you catch yourself wondering if you're ever going to use this stuff, just remember—someday you actually might.

#11

Men's belts are the dirtiest item of clothing. Touched after pooping and before washing hands, never washed, and worn daily for years.

flowers_are_red Report

Final score:

236points

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シ *’-BLOODLUST-‘* シ 2 years ago

This is why I hate belts

51points

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#12

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know If you are an identical twin it is possible that you and your siblings identity’s were swapped and your parents never caught it.

m00n-b4b3 , Cleyder Duque Report

Final score:

234points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Subtle differences are noted, and staff will sometimes use different colors for each child

61points

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#13

There is more slavery in the world right now then at any time in history.

eternalrefuge86 Report

Final score:

228points

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Mazer 2 years ago

And human trafficking

108points

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#14

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know You can smell your own lungs. Your brain just filters out the smell.

anonymous , Anna Shvets Report

Final score:

227points

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Grumble O'Pug 2 years ago

My mask might be helping me buck that trend

119points

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#15

If you shine a flashlight/smartphone on a newborn sea turtle for too long (which could be only minutes), it will start crawling around in circles. Known as the "Ring of Death", it means that the turtle's eyesight has been permanently damaged due to mistaking your lights for the moon that guides it to the sea. By doing this, you have doomed the sea turtle to death right after birth.

Seuui Report

Final score:

225points

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Rijkærd 2 years ago

Who was the first fuckwad that did this s**t...need to find him. I know it was a guy. Dont ask me questions.

256points

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#16

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know Most power outages in the US are caused by squirrels.

HunterSeparate651 , cottonbro Report

Final score:

220points

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Rijkærd 2 years ago (edited)

Those f*****s have to get the energy of a kabillion wattage running around looking for nuts...they seem to never stop running

61points

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#17

Vasily Arkhipov was a Soviet navy officer who was the second in command of a B-59 submarine equipped with nuclear weapons at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. When the ships commander was told to launch the entire nuclear arsenal onboard, Arkhipov refused to authorize the attack, after realizing that the launch from the US was an error in their system.

If he wasnt on that submarine, the United States and Russia would be a big, grey spot on the globe.

CrystalPalace1983 Report

Final score:

211points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Apparently there has been a number of close calls in the last 40-50 years

78points

The Scout 2 years ago

This act lead to a lot of uncertainty on the part of the USSR - They simply did not know whether to execute him for insubordination or to give him a medal for saving the day. After thorough consideration they settled for the latter. He died of kidney cancer in 1998, probably as a late effect from radiation leaks on atomic submarines.

17points

Rob Chapman 2 years ago

On September 26, 1983, at a nuclear bunker near Moscow, the computers reported a U.S. first strike was under way. Colonel Stanislav Petrov, on duty at the time, chose not to report the "attack" to the Kremlin, thus violating orders, as he believed it was a computer error. He was proven right. Had he blindly followed orders that day, most of the Northern Hemisphere would have become an irradiated wasteland.

14points

The Scout 2 years ago

Another close call. The authorities could neither publicly commend nor punish him, as that would have exposed the vulnerability of the rocket systems. So they just ignored the event, but a little while later - and of course completely without any ties to his role in this - Petrov was promoted and given a medal for his merits at "improving the facility".

9points

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Tami 2 years ago

The only winning move is not to play.

9points

jk nbt 2 years ago

somebody nominate that guy for the Nobel Peace Prize.... he deserves it so much!

3points

Phil Vaive 2 years ago

Reading this in 2022, I'm not so sure that would be the worst thing in the world. (Mostly sarcasm...mostly)

3points

Earl Grey 2 years ago

That is very inaccurate. That “entire nuclear arsenal” consisted of exactly one nuclear torpedo, and launching the “special weapon” required the consensus of the three senior officers on board. The sub was out of radio contact because it was running deep to avoid detection. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_submarine_B-59

2points

Ya boi Jakobi 2 years ago

if im correct, there had to be 3 people to launch those nukes on that sub

1point

Steve Fischer 2 years ago

Unfortunately it is still a very real possibility

0points

Shortstuff 2 years ago

And the rest of us wouldn't exist either.

0points

Viki Banaszak 2 years ago

Following orders. Not always the right thing to do.

0points

Guido Pisano 2 years ago

and also all the countries between them

0points

Chrissie Mörbe 2 years ago

You mixed something up. Arkhipov decided to go against the wishes of the other two commanders who held launch keys and were prepared to turn them, because he wanted to wait for clearer commands from the USSR government. There hadn't been a faulty US launch in that situation, however, the US launched explosives to force the USSR submarine to emerge. What you mean is Stanislav Petrov in 1983, as Rob Chapman described in the comments.

0points

KrabbyGramps666 2 years ago

anyone hear that story of a nuke accidentally dropping in the swamps of Louisiana and only didn’t explode because one of it safety locks didn’t break this is just off the top of my head the infographics show made a video on it on YouTube.

0points

CJ M 2 years ago

Fking miracle we’re all still alive

0points

EEF🤓 2 years ago

That's why I firmly believe humans wont be around for very long. We will be our own destroyers. Yaaaaay nuclear winter

0points

Chich 2 years ago

We owe our lives to several inelligent and stubborn people.

0points

Thomas Sweda 2 years ago

It is AMAZING, that he wasn’t executed.

0points

Sakura 2 years ago

...why would they execute him? There would be no point.

0points

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Frankenfrog 2 years ago

I mean... would that really be that tragic? Considering the childish pissing contest they still have to this day

-3points

Silre 2 years ago

Maybe the world would be a better place if we were a big gray spot.

-3points

Frannie Kaplan 2 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Jon S. 2 years ago

Which bit isn't true and what is the correct interpretation of events as you understand it?

6points

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#18

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know There is a (genetic) disease called FOP where your muscles and tissue turn to bone. Often called "human statue disease"

Eventually people may have to decide whether they want to become "frozen" in a sitting or flat/standing position.

mortokes , Joh-co Report

Final score:

205points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Lots of horrific diseases out there

106points

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#19

Your intestines will “wriggle” themselves back into the correct position.

Doctors who do any type of intestinal surgery don’t have to worry (too much) about how they put the intestines back in.

H010CR0N Report

Final score:

205points

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Rijkærd 2 years ago

Yep..after a heavy meal mine sound like they're having an argument about their preferred positioning..

188points

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#20

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know Horses can't throw up.

So if they eat something bad or get a bad gas bubble, they just lay down and die.

ABucketofBeetles , Sara Kurfeß Report

Final score:

202points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Which is why you should never feed any horse anything without talking to its owner first

204points

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#21

Between 10 and 20% of US adults are functionally illiterate (this does not mean they can't read or write at all, but that they cannot comprehend what they are reading at a high enough level to do many basic tasks, like filling out a form). To make matters worse a very large proportion of these people do not realize they have a problem with literacy and self report as being fine at reading and writing.

thegallary Report

Final score:

199points

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Grumble O'Pug 2 years ago

We see them daily on the socials. Zero surprises

156points

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See Also on Bored Panda

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#22

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know Migraines and strokes carry a lot of the same symptoms so if you suffer regular migraines you may not notice you're actually dying one day.

InkMaster59 , Andrea Piacquadio Report

Final score:

195points

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Tamara Kroonen 2 years ago

Do strokes give auras too?

34points

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#23

The reason you’re supposed to contact a doctor if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours is because prolonged priapism can lead to gangrene of the penis. Blood goes in, deoxygenates, but can’t leave, so there’s no way for fresh oxygenated blood to come in, causing the tissue to turn black and die.

Don’t worry, though! This can be treated by using a big syringe to suck the trapped blood out.

boopbaboop Report

Final score:

183points

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Grumble O'Pug 2 years ago

Fun times all around!

120points

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#24

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know Spider - Rain (you read that right) is a real and naturally occurring phenomenon.

MachuPicchu1232 , snowytheteddybear Report

Final score:

173points

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Mad Dragon 2 years ago (edited)

It’s a rare phenomenon where thousands of spiders use tiny strands of webbing to float thousands of feet into the air, landing several miles away.

101points

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#25

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know A third of the world's population live in areas that are projected to suffer extended periods of unsurvivable heat by 2070.

zissouo , Jonas Weckschmied Report

Final score:

169points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Yup, and storms will get more intense. Humans are highly adaptable, mother nature’s critters will suffer the most

62points

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Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

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#26

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know The reason dogs love squeaky toys is because they sound like small animals dying.

hux_square , Jesper Brouwers Report

Final score:

164points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Not exactly. It’s the sound of some animals when they are in distress, they may not be dying

88points

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#27

Bed bugs procreate by traumatic insemination. Males literally stab females with their genitals. So, just another reason to hate them then.

moudre_plus_de_rouge Report

Final score:

161points

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Lorrie Rothstein 2 years ago

Bed bugs are awful. They are extremely difficult to get rid of

10points

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#28

There is a mysterious illness called the 'sweating sickness' that hit in multiple small epidemics in the early modern era. It was incredibly contagious and massively deadly, with about a 50% average death rate, but it could be higher. It began with an ominous sense of apprehension, followed by severe pains in the neck and giddiness. They then abruptly stopped and switched to heavy sweating, headaches and delirium. Finally, the person was hit with an extreme urge to sleep, and it was thought to be fatal if you fell to it.

We know almost nothing about it, nothing about how it spread, how it was caused, only that if you got it you were either surviving or dead within 24hrs. There are horror stories of people leaving town on hunting trips and returning the same day to find almost everybody in the village dead, with only a few scattered survivors.

The worst thing was, you did not gain immunity. You could live through the sweating sickness once, and then get it a few days later and die. Or live through it two or three times, and then get it and die. It was horrific, and we don't know why it disappeared and we don't know if it will ever return.

OverchargeRdt Report

Final score:

159points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Happened in the British Isles. a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning in 1485. The last outbreak occurred in 1551, after which the disease apparently vanished. It occurred near the time of The War of the Roses, speculation includes it was linked to the outrageous living conditions and bad sewage disposal or a hantavirus virus type of disease. All very fascinating

98points

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#29

The glaciers of the Antarctica shelves have melted (and continue to melt) at so fast a rate that even if we enacted radical and worldwide climate change laws today, it's going to take hundreds of years to recover them to their pre-industrial levels.

starstarstar42 Report

Final score:

154points

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Mazer 2 years ago (edited)

And if every human acted to reduce their carbon footprint, it still wouldnt be enough. Corporations are the biggest polluters

120points

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#30

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know It was once thought for birds (parrots, magpies) to learn to talk, you had to release their tongue. This was done by cutting their tongue completely or partly off, of course without any anesthesia or pain killers. The tongue release plays absolutely no role in the birds' ability to talk.

Penkinvaltaaja , Caio Report

Final score:

147points

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Grumble O'Pug 2 years ago

This was a terrible practice.

139points

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#31

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know There is a non-zero maximum threshold for the amount of cockroach that can be present in ground coffee because it is literally impossible to keep them out entirely.

jjonesdagreat , Andrea Tummons Report

Final score:

146points

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Mad Dragon 2 years ago

The accepted level is apparently 10 mg per pound of ground coffee. Time to get a coffee grinder and switch to whole-bean coffee!

116points

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#32

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know In Australia there is a plant called the Gympie-Gympie which has such a severe sting that horses who brush against it throw themselves off cliffs because they’d rather die than continue to experience the pain

ottersintuxedos , Steve Fitzgerald Report

Final score:

141points

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Serial pacifist 2 years ago (edited)

It’s the same with trying to explain science to antivaxxers. Several scientists have reportedly jumped off a cliff rather than experiencing the pain. Antivaxxers believe they just fell off the edge of the Earth.

208points

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#33

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know The threat of a deadly bird flu spreading to humans is always there. It takes just a little bit of negligence in screening chickens for this to happen.

barnorth , William Moreland Report

Final score:

140points

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Mazer 2 years ago

Chickens are not the only issue when dealing with bird borne or hosted viruses. And thank GOD their are researchers all over the world learning about all of these issues

37points

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#34

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn't Know A man once had a tapeworm get cancer. That cancer metastasized, and the man passed away from tumors of tapeworm throughout his entire body.

WrongJohnSilver , CDC Report

Final score:

134points

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Deja Katz 2 years ago

I heard about that story: the man involved was already immunocompromised from hiv and must have picked up tapeworms. Rather than the worm itself getting cancer, it is thought one of their eggs penetrated the lining of his intestines, mutated and ultimately became cancerous. By the time doctors discovered the cause, he’d become too sick to treat.

88points

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#35

Live Chat support agents can see what you type before you send it, so they can reply quicker.

Proactivealex Report

Final score:

128points

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Grumble O'Pug 2 years ago

If they could see what I type before I think it, I’d be more impressed

105points

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Note: this post originally had 80 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.

What do you think ?

Lovin' Life 2 years ago

Very interesting to read. Not sure that all are true but interesting.

12points

Croquet Cases 2 years ago

"they say" is not a credible source.

4points

Rissie 2 years ago

If you care, look it up.

Tracey Arthur 2 years ago

Still fascinating

Virtually Fabulous 2 years ago

How about no more internet

Sources or gtfo. So tired of these posts by BP

-2points

Gavin Johnson 2 years ago

Jees this isn’t Encyclopaedia Britannica. If you are THAT tired either a) don’t read ‘em or b) head off to one of the thousands of alternatives that are on the internet.

LynzCatastrophe 2 years ago

If something interests you enough, you'll research it. Most of us just want to read quick facts and move on.

Nah, it's a great starting point if you see something you care enough about. Don't be lazy.

5points

People Are Sharing 35 Not Fun Facts They Wish They Didn’t Know

Games

Ieva Gailiūtė

Ieva Gailiūtė

Austėja Akavickaitė

Austėja Akavickaitė