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In a world that’s in a constant state of change, you can never stop learning. That’s why many of us are always hungry for tasty knowledge bites and nibbles of information to help us better navigate our surroundings. However, as much as it is easy to be amazed by what humanity and nature are capable of, there’s also a darker side we often overlook.
So quite recently, Redditor RefrigeratorDry495 decided to learn more about it and reached out to AskReddit to start up a thread about simple yet incredibly disturbing and scary facts. People from far and wide rolled up their sleeves and started typing out responses that really are not for the faint of heart.
From creepy stuff about our past to alarmingly unsettling statistics, we at Bored Panda handpicked some of the most popular answers from the thread. So if you’re ready to witness how real life can be far more terrifying than fiction, continue scrolling and share your thoughts with us in the comments! A small note of warning, though, some of these facts can seem a bit overwhelming, so if you’re in great need of something lighter, take a look at our recent post full of wholesome stories right here.
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#1
Sharks have been around for at least 420 million years, meaning they have survived four of the “big five” mass extinctions. That makes them older than humanity, older than Mount Everest, older than dinosaurs, older even than trees. Yet we could potentially see them extinct in our lifetime
#2
If a biological trait is common in almost every human, then it evolved for a reason. Almost everybody has the same response to the "uncanny valley," or in other words we are made uncomfortable by things that look almost human but not quite. This implies humans once had a reason to fear something that looks human but isn't.
#3
Egyptian mummies wouldn’t be so rare today if the Victorian British hadn’t eaten most of them.
If there’s one thing that never ceases to amaze us, it's the amount of knowledge in the world. We can spend a lifetime trying to make sense of our surroundings by gathering new information every chance we get. One additional perk is that we get to spice up dull conversations and come up with new brilliant ideas to make this planet just a tad better.
More often than not, however, we applaud and celebrate the technological breakthroughs that we humans manage to create and also the mesmerizing beauty of the natural world. Let’s be honest, the disturbing and scary facts about real life may catch our attention, but they’re bound to send shivers down our spines. Sure, it’s better to be safe than sorry, but who really wants to know about massive super volcanos or missing nuclear weapons that have never been recovered? That's nightmare material right there.
#4
You have no way of really knowing if everyone experiences reality and consciousness the same way you do.
Poultry Geist 2 years ago
We don’t all experience color the same so I would say no we don’t ! Actually when I think about the conversation I had with my mom just yesterday I know we don’t experience reality the same and we are just 2 people !
i'm in therapy for a reason 2 years ago (edited)
This is late, but my psychologist told me that I see colors differently than the rest of the world.
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Prune Tracy 2 years ago
They don't, it's proven by how people can have disorders and not realize it, thinking that it's just how EVERYONE is.
Roseriver_DSMP 2 years ago
Time is thought to be a 4th dimension, the three we can experience are height, length and width, different movement experiences. But if time was that 4th dimension, and we could experience it, we could move back and forward in time as easily as walking a few steps forward. You never know, there may be celestial beings out there that can experience the 4th dimension.
Tom Hanlin 2 years ago
We do experience time. That doesn't mean that we can walk in our choice of directions. For that, you might want to experience the fourth dimension as material and the fifth dimension as time.
Load More Replies... Susie Elle 2 years ago
I'm not sure this is true or just an urban legend, as you could compare brain structures and brain activity when exposed to specific stimuli. There's no reason to assume someone experiences reality vastly different than you if your hardwiring and reaction to stimuli is statistically comparable.
Notyomama 2 years ago
I have dysosmia. My reality is very different than others.
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APL 2 years ago
Wrong. Some people, unlike me, are synaesthetic. Therefore I know for a fact that not everyone experiences reality the same way I do.
JessG 2 years ago
But you have no way of knowing what their reality is like...
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James Puliatte 2 years ago
When I was a kid I always wondered if colors were the same for everyone or if they were completely different but since we all called them the same thing no one knew. I don't know if that makes any sense. hah
MAKtheknife 2 years ago
But nobody seems to realize this when they criticize someone else's point of view.
LaToya Mack 2 years ago
They don’t. We see things as we are not as it is. Sharped my our drama and traumas.. same with death God is SO good you get whatever you think you deserve or should be experiencing.
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
Then OP has never argued over paint swatches with anyone before. Or walked out of a movie completely flummoxed while everyone else is praising it.
Richard Head 2 years ago
Synesthesia is a step towards this, the ability for some people to literally see music or hear colors, taste shapes...... this has been documented and proven with brain scans.
Vision Jinx 2 years ago
I talked to my friend about this before. He was like how do you even know someone actually cares about you for sure especially when everyone has different feelings/emotions that make them who they are; and how can we ever measure your feelings and their feelings? There is no actual way to know. In your reality your feelings are the only things known to exist. The other person's feelings might as well be hearsay from his conclusion.
Lisa Intally 2 years ago
People who care about you are there in the bad times. People who are ethical won't kick you when you are down or betray their ethics just because they can. And you will find both true friends and ethical people are in shorter supply than you were comfortable imagining.
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Josurf 2 years ago
However... if you are experiencing reality as in the picture above you are definitely living in "Inception"... or eventually in "Dr Strange".... or you've been using too much of that white powder you shouldn't have bought.
Xan Maranya 2 years ago
On the other hand, people who are awakening in awareness begin to see the world, and experience themselves, quite differently... more connected and inclusive, for one thing.
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Todoroki Simp 2 years ago
My grandpa the other day said "School isn't stressful" HAVE YOU SEEN MODERN SCHOOL?!
Moya Satterwhite 2 years ago
This is something that haunted be at the age of six. I did an awful lot of worrying about it that year. It slowly faded. Now you want me to start up again now I’m old!
Helen Witten 2 years ago
I sort of figured that out at around the age of 45. Der on my part. There are a lot of nutters out there trust me on that one :)
LynzCatastrophe 2 years ago
I tend to use this reasoning when arguing with my husband. His scientific brain instantly kicks in.
Lisa Intally 2 years ago (edited)
These days, I guarantee you that's true. And the default setting ISN'T worshipping some reality TV star who tells people to drink bleach and wants to bomb the Mexican cartels because "no one would know." As if you could bomb the cartels out of existence, anyway. Nutcase.
Xan Maranya 2 years ago (edited)
People who are awakening in awareness begin to see the world, and experience themselves, quite differently... more connected and inclusive, for one thing.
Holly Caelyn Followell 2 years ago
I know I see a rainbow differently than the rest of my family, They see lines that separate the colors.
velocirrober 2 years ago
We can't even know what's going on right behind our heads (where we can never see) right now.
Hyper_lightning11 2 years ago
My grandma told me once and I did not believe, but i am not sure if I do not now...
Megan Williams 2 years ago
I get paid over 190$ per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I never thought I'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 10k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. The potential with this is endless. Heres what I've been doing.. :) AND GOOD LUCK.:) HERE====)> https://www.hmjobz.com
User# 6 2 years ago
Well, one reason could be to look at, say, US politics. If everyone experienced reality in the same way, would it be so extremely polarised as it is now?
Load More Replies... #5
Statistically speaking, if you are a woman and get murdered, it was most likely by a family member, partner or ex-partner, in your own home.
If you are a man and get murdered, it was most likely by an acquaintance or stranger, in a public place.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
I watch a lot of true crime, and when a woman gets murdered it's actually surprising when it turns out NOT to be the boyfriend/husband.
#6
Maximum part of oxygen came from sea/oceans. But people always talks about protecting trees not sea/oceans.
And i was like WTF!! 2 years ago
If i am not mistaken (correct me if i am) algae and corrals do most of the work converting Carbon dioxide to oxygen
But it looks like turning a blind eye to the uneasy side of life is not that easy. You see, there’s one thing we humans are wired to do — seek out the gloom. As daunting as that may sound, we have this tendency to give more significance to negative thoughts than positive or neutral ones, something the experts call the negativity bias.
Rick Hanson, Ph.D., psychologist and author of Hardwiring Happiness, explained that humans evolved to be fearful, and it helped keep us alive. "This vulnerability to feeling threatened has effects at many levels, ranging from individuals, couples, and families, to schoolyards, organizations and nations," he wrote and stressed how important it is to be aware of how our brains become wary if we want to regain some amount control in the way we perceive the world.
#7
the world invests more money in viagra and botox than in the study of Alzheimer
#8
Moving back the start time for school in an area resulted in 70% less car accidents.
Similarly at each daylight saving, heart attacks and accidents decrease with an hour of extra sleep and increase with an hour less of sleep.
Sleep is crazy important.
Jenny Michelle 2 years ago
Moving back the start time would mean less sleep though right? ..I'm just confused on that part because it resulted in less accidents when school was earlier but similarly the extra hours sleep meant less heart attacks and accidents..sleep is important but wouldn't you be losing sleep if the school run was earlier ?
#9
Cotard's syndrome, also called "walking corpse syndrome," is a condition wherein the patient believes they are dead, dying, missing parts of their bodies, or don't exist.
Some people with Cotard's syndrome may stop speaking or eating since they believe they're dead.
Hanson stated that the nervous system has been evolving for 600 million years. "Our ancestors had to make a critical decision many times a day: approach a reward or avoid a hazard,” he wrote. People had to find food, have children, and hide from predators to survive and avoid threats.
However, if our ancestors missed out on food one day, they could easily find some more the next. But if they failed to dodge potential dangers, they didn't get the chance to pass on their genes to future generations. "Consequently, your body generally reacts more intensely to negative stimuli than to equally strong positive ones," Hanson explained.
#10
You can condition someone with zero personal/family history of mental illness into having some very severe mental illnesses within about a week.
#11
The entire planet could be immediately destroyed by any one of a number of cosmic events that we have no way of seeing or stopping like rogue black holes.
Worse...there are some events we can very much see coming, but do absolutely nothing about.
Karri Berkowitz 2 years ago
Like killing Earth. Last I knew of we can't just move to another planet.
#12
I read somewhere ( don’t remember where) that you are more likely to be bitten by someone in New York than to be bitten by a shark.
"The alarm bell of your brain — the amygdala (you’ve got two of these little almond-shaped regions, one on either side of your head) — uses many of its neurons to look for bad news: it’s primed to go negative in most people," the psychologist continued. "Once it sounds the alarm, negative events and experiences get quickly stored in memory — in contrast to positive events and experiences, which are not prioritized in the same way."
But while this is a great way to pass on gene copies, our quality of life has been improving significantly and proving we don’t actually need to feel afraid or anxious all of the time. To lead a healthy and fulfilling life, we need to better grasp this tendency to focus on the negativities and understand that things are usually not as bad. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the discomforting things around you, try to pay attention to what’s in front of you.
#13
Yellowstone is a giant super volcano. If it blows, things on this planet will go really bad really fast.
Libby Tailor 2 years ago
Is there any geologist here? How many super volcanoes do exist on the Earth?
#14
Every time you move your eyes from one spot to another, you go blind for the instant your eyes are moving. It’s called “Saccadic masking”, it’s an evolutionary trait to stop us from getting motion sick.
Your brain fills in the blank spot with whatever you end up looking at and context clues. It’s why when you first look at a clock, the second hand seems to take longer to click the first time
#15
Chimps don't attack to kill. Instead they aim for the genitals, face, and fingers and will leave the opponent alive.
There have been many people who have owned chimps who have turned on their owners and left them incredibly disfigured. One case, the chimp ripped a man's junk off. In all cases, faces were mutilated and fingers were chewed off. It's pretty much how they instinctively fight in the wild.
So if you think that chimp is going to be a cute pet, better think twice. Even if you raised it since it was born, they'll turn on you at any second. A disfigurement roulette waiting to happen.
Vile creatures.
Ann Pattinson 2 years ago
I think anyone who keeps a chimp as a pet is rather asking for problems. They aren't meant to be pets!
"Focusing on the things we can control alleviates some of the fear. Change is a part of life. It is in acknowledging this fact that we can live a healthier, less stressful life from day to day," Shari Botwin, LCSW and author of Thriving After Trauma, explained to Bored Panda in an earlier interview.
"It is natural for us to go into flight or fight mode when we feel scared or in danger," she said and added that it’s best to take a minute and assess the situation you are facing. "Ask yourselves, 'Is the fear I am experiencing in my mind and body matching the current situation, or am I also reacting to other events that left me feeling traumatized or stranded in the past?'"
#16
If given access to it, butterflies will happily drink blood.
#17
Despite literally all war propaganda from every country saying otherwise, you are not going to make an individual impact in glorious battle and die valiantly in a hail of bullets. Statistically, you are overwhelmingly more likely to be killed by an explosive device launched miles away by a vehicle you will never see, long before you ever get a chance to pull the trigger.
El Dee 2 years ago
And literally EVERY country runs its own propaganda in all wars. That includes OUR side in the Ukraine war. Some things are not reported, some things that are reported are not true and some is exaggeration. Some of it isn't even news but is designed to make you support the war itself. Keep your eyes peeled for it. Harder to do when the propaganda involves limiting the outlets for news to their own side only. You have nothing to compare it to..
#18
idk why this freaks some ppl out, but gelatin is made out of bones. That's right - your melted marshmallow in your hot chocolate is melted animal bone. It's good stuff.
That's why the traditional marshmallows aren't vegan or halal...
The trauma specialist suggested that it is best to respond to your fear with words of reassurance and compassion. "Try and put the fear in perspective. Don't go through these feelings alone. Call a friend or talk to a family member. Process what you are feeling so you can sort through where the fear is coming from. Remind yourselves it is perfectly normal to feel afraid at times. It is an emotion that comes and goes, especially if you have experienced anything that left you feeling afraid," Botwin advised.
#19
If it's sufficiently dark, you will hallucinate your reflection as a different entity and it will appear to start moving on it's own.
#20
A male honey bee's ejaculation is so strong it makes his d**k explode, killing him.
#21
I’m friends with a professor of soil ecology here in the Midwest. She says that if we don’t change our current farming practices, much of the Midwest’s soil will be infertile with one to two generations.
#22
Capgras Syndrome is a mental delusion where you believe that the people closest to you have been replaced by impostors
#23
Squirrels carry all the same diseases as rats but humans don’t mind because their cute.
#24
Your phone is likely spying on you right now as you're reading this
#25
The leap in technological advancement from us to a race that could *actually* traverse the galaxy/universe is astronomically ludicrous. We are absolutely nothing in comparison to any race that has created ways to reach us.
Meaning any race capable of finding us would be so advanced and so much more knowledgeable than us that they could observe us without us ever knowing. They would have technologies, weapons, etc outside our realm of understanding and would be able to annihilate us with ease, just given the fact that their ability to generate/harness power would be unparalleled.
If any alien ever came to earth with hostile tendencies, short of a miracle, we’d be doomed.
InfiniteZero 2 years ago
Good thing they only come here for the a**l probing. Speaking of which...
#26
Alligators can climb trees
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
Thank goodness there are no alligators here in Australia! *crocodile the size of a van appears* D'OH!
#27
6 nuclear weapons have been lost and never recovered since the 1950s.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
By the time someone thinks to check out the mysterious object stashed under my house, it will be too late to stop me. MWAHAHAHAH!
#28
Your eyes have a seperate immune-system from the rest of your body. Once your body's immune system discovers you have eyes, it will attack and inflame the blood vessels in the back of your eyes. This can lead to your vision decreasing or even going blind.
#29
The odds of dying in a car accident are 1 in 107.
Not only that you can die in a car only going 40mph and something like 30-percent of the people driving after 10pm are driving drunk.
Driving is super dangerous and most people take it for granted.
Turt_Le 2 years ago
I recently learned of 'floppy' physics which explains the phenomena of drunk drivers escaping from fatal accidents with minimal injuries because the alcohol is a relaxant and stops them reacting and tensing during the crash. Other non-intoxicated occupants/pedestrians are not so lucky
#30
Dell computers were so bad that there was a website where you could click a button and it would show someone's random webcam without them knowing.
#31
If you live in a major city there is a nuke aimed at you
#32
If you have a parasite in your body, there's only a slim chance you'll know about it before it pops out of your skin or leaves through the back door.
Also, some parasites pop out of skin.
thEBOrdeSTpaNDA 2 years ago
I had a nightmare about a worm coming out of my leg when I was like 6 or 7. Still remember it
#33
You can be seriously Injured from a sneeze
Scagsy 2 years ago (edited)
I was washing up and had plates in both hands when a sneeze came at me. I didn't want to drop the plates so I braced myself for an uncontrolled sneeze. It put my back out. I thought I had slipped a disc and was bedridden for two weeks! The pain was tremendous and I couldn't walk. I had to crawl to my bed. Beware of sneezes, yes they spread diseases but nobody ever talks about the injuries they cause. Beware.
#34
1/3 of US murders go unsolved.
#35
We have trace amounts of iron, gold, nickel, and silver within our bloodstream which means with enough people you could drain them of their blood, dilute it down to separate it, and eventually be able to make a full ingot of iron, gold, nickel, and silver.
#37
If chronic wasting disease jumps to humans, the Zombie Apocalypse may become a real thing.
Josurf 2 years ago
Enough with the vampires and zombies already... can't you guys come up with something original... like a virus ... no not a virus, ... a crazy warmongering president...no, not that either...a....let's see... what didn't Hollywood or the World come up with yet...? Aliens, revolting monkeys, sharknados, tornados, tsunamis, World freezing, World burning, giant worms, giant insects, dino's, nuclear catastrophe, asteroids .. damn, not much left.... There I know: a black hole coming in close...
#39
If a panda finds a fresh carcass, they'll eat it
What do you think ?
mammaM 2 years ago
You would think they'd get their s$%t together by now..
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John Baker 2 years ago
As is the case with all of BP's "facts lists", some of these are questionable to say the least.
I like……. food 2 years ago
Honestly the New York one is pretty believable tbh
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RafCo 2 years ago
This is a 100% true fact. 97% of the time 72% of people are spending 23% of their attention on made up facts. Like this one.
Emmett O'Brian 2 years ago
I'm surprised. I didn't know four of these. I collect factoids so this is up my alley
WoodenLion 2 years ago
myself and my brother. yesterday i sneezed 13 times in a row. i never, ever sneeze less than 3 times and sometimes as much as 18. i have had to pull over while driving if they decided to come rapid fire.
Ryan Collins 2 years ago
Here's one: There are these tiny little creatures called pinworms that infect about 20% of children. Here's the process: 1) A child swallows a pinworm egg. 2) The pinworm hatches and chills out in the child's intestines. 3) The female pinworm exits the child's a*s while they sleep, and lays eggs around it. 4) This itches, so a child will likely scratch their a*s 5) Eventually after that, a child is likely to touch their mouth, getting the eggs back into their digestive tract. This cycle continues forever :D
Aisling Raye 2 years ago
I'm surprised no one posted about how the human body contains about as many microbial cells as it does actual human cells.
RafCo 2 years ago
Accurate: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.19136#:~:text=It's%20often%20said%20that%20the,to%2Done%2C%20they%20calculate.
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Lynne Hammar 2 years ago
Please, BP, stop with the "unalived" euphemism!!! It trivializes the trauma, plus it's way more jarring than just saying "killed"
Jill Tremblay 2 years ago
Most all of these really bothered me. Hurt my heart. Very sad things here.....
mammaM 2 years ago
You would think they'd get their s$%t together by now..
Load More Replies... John Baker 2 years ago
As is the case with all of BP's "facts lists", some of these are questionable to say the least.
I like……. food 2 years ago
Honestly the New York one is pretty believable tbh
Load More Replies... RafCo 2 years ago
This is a 100% true fact. 97% of the time 72% of people are spending 23% of their attention on made up facts. Like this one.
Emmett O'Brian 2 years ago
I'm surprised. I didn't know four of these. I collect factoids so this is up my alley
WoodenLion 2 years ago
myself and my brother. yesterday i sneezed 13 times in a row. i never, ever sneeze less than 3 times and sometimes as much as 18. i have had to pull over while driving if they decided to come rapid fire.
Ryan Collins 2 years ago
Here's one: There are these tiny little creatures called pinworms that infect about 20% of children. Here's the process: 1) A child swallows a pinworm egg. 2) The pinworm hatches and chills out in the child's intestines. 3) The female pinworm exits the child's a*s while they sleep, and lays eggs around it. 4) This itches, so a child will likely scratch their a*s 5) Eventually after that, a child is likely to touch their mouth, getting the eggs back into their digestive tract. This cycle continues forever :D
Aisling Raye 2 years ago
I'm surprised no one posted about how the human body contains about as many microbial cells as it does actual human cells.
RafCo 2 years ago
Accurate: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2016.19136#:~:text=It's%20often%20said%20that%20the,to%2Done%2C%20they%20calculate.
Load More Replies... Lynne Hammar 2 years ago
Please, BP, stop with the "unalived" euphemism!!! It trivializes the trauma, plus it's way more jarring than just saying "killed"
Jill Tremblay 2 years ago
Most all of these really bothered me. Hurt my heart. Very sad things here.....
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