50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real

Not everything that you read on the internet is true. In a similar vein, far from everything that sounds made up is fake. Fact is often stranger than fiction, and some truly bizarre things about life on Planet Earth are closer to reality than myth.

Reddit user u/Mmemyo sparked an interesting discussion on r/AskReddit. They invited everyone to share the “stupid facts” they knew which might sound suspicious and weird but are actually correct. We’ve collected the most intriguing ones to share with you, Pandas. Scroll down to check them out! Hopefully, you'll learn something new.

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50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real The vikings, who came from Scandinavia, used iron as their main ingredient for forging weaponry, but it was also common practice to add the bones of dead animals to the mix. The belief was that it would infuse the weapon with the spirit of the creature, making it stronger, but they ended up making a primitive version of steel because of the carbon in the bones mixing with the iron making the weapon stronger, just as they thought it would.

Nameless_Chad , CC BY-SA 3.0 Report

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50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Cows have best friends and can become stressed when they're separated from them.

berrybandz_ , Pixabay Report

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396points

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50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real You can go the rest of your life without breathing.

Janube , Kelvin Valerio Report

Final score:

277points

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Misinformation can spread just as quickly as—if not faster than!—legitimate info. So before you go sharing any random factoids or news snippets that you found in a dimly-lit corner of the digital realm, slow down and think about the claims. Double-checking every tiny little piece of info would be exhausting, so you need to consider the (un)reliability of the source.

Legitimate news sources that employ fact-checkers and editors, and have high journalistic standards are far more trustworthy than those that don’t. So you’re better off relying on sources like AP, the BBC, Reuters, and The New York Times, rather than random tabloids that survive on gossip and manufactured drama. You should consider what the goal of an outlet is, whether it’s to report on the news or to generate outrage (and clicks!).

In the meantime, you can consult fact-checking websites like Snopes which do most of the heavy lifting for you when it comes to outlandish claims.

When basketball was first invented, at every game, they would have a man who would go up a ladder to retrieve the ball after every basket. It took them around 20 years to figure out maybe it would be a good idea to cut the bottom of the basket out to make retrieving the ball a lot easier. 20 years!!!

SeanChewie Report

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50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real There are more planes in the ocean than boats in the sky

vexix , Wilfred Hdez Report

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250points

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50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real For every single human being on Earth, there are 2.5 MILLION ants.

Yes, this means that there are about 20 QUADRILLION ants on this planet.

If the ants decide to take over, are you strong enough to handle the 2.5 million that you'll be responsible for killing? If you've got kids, you might have to kill more because a 2 year old isn't going to accomplish a god damn thing if millions of ants are marching towards them.

PM-ME-FOR-CATNIP , Jimmy Chan Report

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The core idea is that nobody should blindly accept anything as “fact” without a pinch of salt. According to the Macdonald-Kelce Library at the University of Tampa, readers should also check the author’s credentials. Not only should the author be well-versed in the topic they’re writing about but they should also have a history of legitimate reporting.

Of course, everyone makes factual mistakes from time to time. The best journalists admit theirs and correct them. The worst of the bunch, however, report on semi-legitimate hearsay with impunity and don’t bother to provide a broader context for their news stories.

Bald eagles are not actually bald. Balde is old english for white.

whodunnitno Report

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242points

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Redheads require more anesthesia than non-redheads.

JohnnyWall Report

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50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Honey never spoils

willyw0nka_ , ROMAN ODINTSOV Report

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The more dramatic and emotionally charged a fact, claim, or topic, the more careful you should be. If the author leans heavily toward a particular point of view, it’s likely that they’re biased and ignoring some of the nuances. Life is rarely black and white, and most stories have at least two sides.

A good rule of thumb is that you should be very skeptical about sensational news. Try to build a broader picture of what’s going on by reading a wide range of sources from outlets with different leanings. And if your gut tells you that something is far too good or bad to be true, then it probably is.

#10

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Male rhesus macaques will pay to see pictures of female monkey butts. Payment is in the form of trading their juice rewards.

WantAllMyGarmonbozia , Charles J. Sharp Report

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209points

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#11

A man named Wilmer McLean owned a farm in Manassas, Virginia USA where the very first battle of the US Civil War was fought. After the battle he's like "I'm outta here" and bought a farm way out in the country at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia...where Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses Grant in McLeans living room four years later.

rgrtom Report

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205points

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#12

-40C and -40F are the same temperature.

feewak Report

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199points

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#13

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real The original name for the color orange was "geoluhread," which means "yellow-red" in Old English

willyw0nka_ , Sigrid Abalos Report

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190points

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#14

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real If you open your eyes in a completely dark room, the name of the color you will see is eigengrau, a kind of dark grey shade

Wisanbon , Ida Rizkha Report

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189points

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#15

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real A lot of averages.

Example: The average number of legs humans have is less than 2.

Uilamin , Dominika Roseclay Report

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178points

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#16

Some invader (don't remember specifics) sent a letter to sparta saying that "If I invade Lakonia you will be destroyed, never to rise again" and the Spartans sent a letter back with a single word in it. "If"

Jaxonhunter227 Report

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173points

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#17

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not true berries (in botanical terms berries are defined by their structure, and bananas fit the bill while strawberries don't)

willyw0nka_ , Kio Report

Final score:

168points

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#18

The Eiffel Tower can be 15 centimeters taller during the summer due to thermal expansion.

Light944 Report

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#19

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Pink is really just a light shade of red, but we think of it as a distinct color because we have a word for it that stuck. Not all languages have that. In Italian, they have a similar word for light blue, called “azzurro,” and it’s so common they actually think of it as a separate color from blue. We have the word “azure” in English, but it isn’t nearly as common, so we tend to think of that color as just a shade of blue.

Atheist_Alex_C , Juan Sauras Report

Final score:

162points

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#20

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Coffee is not a bean it is the pit of the coffee plant which is a fruit.

Chance-Personality50 , Daniel Reche Report

Final score:

156points

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#21

Racecar spelled backwards is racecar.

uncultured_swine2099 Report

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#22

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real A man named John Young brought a corned beef sandwich to space illegally and shared it with his colleague on board and he would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for the recording of them talking about the sandwich.

Watermelonseeds8U , jeffreyw Report

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151points

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#23

Our planet will exist long after humans go extinct

Vitaminpartydrums Report

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148points

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#24

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real I’m closer to being a millionaire than Bill Gates is.

i_am_cullivan , Greg Rubenstein Report

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147points

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#25

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real - [ ] Of the few people who have top secret clearance at the White House one of them is the person who writes all of the party invitations.

Eejaypea14 , angela n. Report

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146points

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#26

Crows can be trained to bring you money

Hotsteppa_85 Report

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143points

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#27

Pirates wear eye patches to see better in the dark (covered eye doesn't get used to sunlight and is more sensitive after uncovering).

henholic Report

Final score:

137points

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#28

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real 6X9+6+9=69

DushyantKhator , Louis Bauer Report

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133points

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#29

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Someone named the fear of long words hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.

Fynx_HD , cottonbro studio Report

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133points

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#30

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Less than 40% of great white sharks have filed their 2022 tax returns

Due_Essay447 , GEORGE DESIPRIS Report

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133points

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#31

The Earth is not round. It is an oblate spheroid.

MacduffFifesNo1Thane Report

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131points

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#32

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real There are 5.87 Popes per square mile in the Vatican City.

henfeathers , Aliona & Pasha Report

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#33

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real We thought to put wheels on luggage after we got to the moon.

The lighter the Roast the more caffeine coffee has.

A new car costs less than it's equal weight in Hamburgers.

Chance-Personality50 , Ketut Subiyanto Report

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130points

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#34

You have to kill about 400 people to get enough iron from their blood to make a sword

human_person27 Report

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#35

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real The longest place name in the world is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

x_Fairy_Daisy , foolfillment Report

Final score:

127points

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#36

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Im always seeing my nose ..its just that my brain ignores it

PYROMANIA6 , Engin Akyurt Report

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123points

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#37

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real There are clouds of alcohol floating around in space.

Unexpected_Waffles , Pixabay Report

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121points

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#38

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real There are more Hydrogen atoms in a single molecule of water than there are stars in the entire Solar System.

Wadsworth_McStumpy , Vlad Chețan Report

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120points

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#39

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Cleopatra is closer to the invention of the iPhone than the building of the Giza pyramids.

feedg , Louis le Grand Report

Final score:

108points

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troufaki13 1 year ago (edited)

That's not Cleopatra though, that's Nefertiti. (edit: they changed the picture and now I look like a fool 🤣)

188points

setsuriseikou 1 year ago

Here, I brought Nefertiti back, so nobody will dare think you a fool Nofretete_...4cdbd9.jpg

51points

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Michael Largey 1 year ago

Sure, but does she ever call?

2points

Francois 1 year ago

She could have called Anthony from Egypt instead of messing with men's war.

1point

Fred L. 1 year ago

Repeated so often. Meanwhile she could see and visit the pyramids and could have ordered one to be built for herself (though I'm not sure the knowledge would be easily available anymore).

1point

Russell Rieckenberg 1 year ago (edited)

Oh, just stop saying this without adding the words "in time". CLOSER IN TIME. CLOSER IN TIME. CLOSER IN TIME. Repeat after me, CLOSER IN TIME.

1point

John Harrison 1 year ago

Pretty sure "in time" is assumed. What else would she be closer in?

1point

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afia kooma 1 year ago

- in time or aactually? :p

0points

Mickie Shea 1 year ago

I was told that Cleo was the inspiration for the iPhone.

0points

Julia H 1 year ago

So is my date of birth. However, I won't be noted in the history books

0points

Fay Louise 1 year ago

A t-rex is closer in time to an iPhone than a stegosaurus

0points

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#40

The Atari 2600's release date and the last execution by guillotine happened less than 24 hours apart.

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#41

The average number of skeletons in a human body is more than 1.

BelmontZiimon Report

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104points

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#42

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real 18% of adult Americans claim they have seen or been in the presence of a ghost.

OJimmy , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:

101points

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#43

The plural of cul-de-sac is culs-de-sac

invasive-breaker Report

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95points

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#44

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Sloths are most vulnerable to predators when pooping. They have to climb down to the trees to the floors floor, and it is a bit of a process for them to actually poop leaving them at risk of predators.

Faultiergeist , Roxanne Minnish Report

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#45

A species of frog, the African clawed frog, was the most reliable pregnancy test for a few decades before at-home tests were widely affordable and accessible.

kawaiikaeru23 Report

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89points

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#46

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real New Mexico (the state) got its name before Mexico (the country)

HiThisIsMichael , TUBS Report

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#47

You are constantly clapping, but the claps are just spaced differently.

bigfatpoopbum Report

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#48

Dung beetles navigate using the Milky Way

Elementus94 Report

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#49

Chip Wilson, the founder of Lululemon

created the name (Lululemon) to have many L's so that it would sound western to Japanese buyers, who often have difficulty pronouncing the letter. He later remarked that he found it "funny to watch (Japanese speakers) try and say it" and that "it was the only reason behind the name"

Kashmir6 Report

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#50

A bone “break” is the same as a “fracture.” Fracture is just the medical term. It does not have any correlation with the severity.

Horror-Impression411 Report

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79points

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#51

Playing Tetris up to 6 hours after a trauma can help against PTSD

Alf973 Report

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#52

Bee keeper here. You can survive off of only Bee pollen and a roughage (provided you have water). You will literally never need to know that. Firstly because of how you collect pollen, and secondly and far more concerning, the amount of wild Honey Bees is quickly dropping.

BeatinOffToYourMom Report

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#53

Of all the mammals on earth, 36% are human, 60% are domesticated. That leaves only 4% wild.

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#54

There are 43 quintillion atoms in a grain of sand and there are more ways to shuffle a deck of cards than there are atoms in the Milky Way galaxy..

Thatswutshesed Report

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30points

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#55

Statistically you are more likely to lease an apartment if the apartment smells like lavender and chamomile than any other scent.

Iliveacrossthegreen Report

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28points

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#56

Sharks are older than trees

IndianaJonesDoombot Report

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27points

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#57

Looking at the sun (not recommended) is looking 8 minutes into the past, as it takes eight minutes for sunlight to reach earth.

Hades_minion440 Report

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26points

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#58

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real Pirates are why the US isn't on the metric system.

DarthDregan , Pixabay Report

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#59

You can loosen a tight jar lid if you clasp and interlock both hands and fingers over the lid and give it a squeeze with both your palms. It should instantly do the pop sound your dad does when he smacked it on the bottom.

BlunGold Report

Final score:

23points

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#60

A pound of feathers, indeed, does weigh more than a pound of gold. Gold is measured in troy weight which is 12 ounces to a pound, whereas feathers would use 16 ounces to a pound.

dantelebeau Report

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#61

The guy that invented dynamite also created the Nobel Peace Prize. What a bang up guy 😁

Tuesday2017 Report

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#62

Incorrect is spelled incorrectly in the Oxford English Dictionary and it’s funny yet annoying

Cal0872 Report

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20points

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#63

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

wildthinking_ Report

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#64

Apparently not many people know that 3rd degree burns are the worst, most think it's the other way around

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#65

Don't know if it's stupid. But 1 ding on the elevator going up and 2 doing down

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#66

For all of human history every single dead human body has been in earth's atmosphere

Except for a few seconds on June 29, 1971.

Ok_Whatever_Buddy Report

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15points

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#67

There are no outlets of Five Guys on the moon

Adcro Report

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6points

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What do you think ?

DramaDoc 1 year ago

My favorite is that octopuses will sometimes randomly and arbitrarily punch passing fish...for no apparent reason other than to be a d*ck. Makes me laugh every time.

24points

Lene 1 year ago

My fav fact about octopuses and squids is that the ink they produce and use to get dangers to go away, is actually poisonous to them. I learned this at an aquarium where a guest told one of the guys working there that the octopus just inked in the aquarium and the worker looked horrified and called for backup and ppl came running with equipment to catch the ink and get it out of the water. Never seen so much action at an aquarium before. Lol. In nature it's not a big deal because the animal just swims away. But in a closed fish tank they can't flea far.

10points

ƒιѕн 1 year ago

When you sit on your toilet your butt is connected to every one elses toilet that is on that same sewer system, and if they are sitting on the toilet your butts are connected.

CPooh 1 year ago

Wtf is the one from the cover photo on the main page? “Pirates are why the US isn’t on the metric system” ???

8points

BW Gibson 1 year ago

Scroll up from this post, before the 50th fact, and look for underlinex ohrase that says something lol me 67 more posts - click on that. You'll find it as #56. Sometimes BP only shows you the most popular posts by votes, and the rest are hidden. Spoiler alert; you might be disappointed by the post, I'm abt to read comments for more info

4points

All facts, stupid or otherwise, are correct. Otherwise, they wouldn't be facts.

3points

General Anaesthesia 1 year ago

But here and elsewhere on the internet, not every "fact" is factually correct.

5points

Joe Publique 1 year ago

You can go skydiving without a parachute. But only once.

50 “Stupid Facts” That Sound Fake But Are Genuinely Real

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