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In the Middle Ages, people thought farting in jars and sniffing them would help prevent death. True or false? Weirdly enough, it actually checks out as true. In fact, during the Great Plague of London in the 1600s, some doctors would recommend that people keep “fart jars” to ward off the bubonic plague.

While it more than likely did not save many people, the strange piece of information has been forever immortalized in history books. And it's just one of many very strange but fascinating tidbits that can be found on the Weird Facts IG page. Over 1.2 million people follow the account for their daily dose of oddly interesting information.

Bored Panda has picked out a few of our personal favorites from the page for your scrolling pleasure. Upvote the ones that leave you intrigued, and enjoy sharing your newfound knowledge with your family and friends this holiday season.

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    #8

    Sea lion on a rock with ocean waves behind, highlighted by an intriguing weird fact about a rescue story.

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    Riley Quinn
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Kevin Hines claims the man next to him on the bridge got photos showing a sea lion holding him above water. Kevin was 19yo and in the throes of bipolar disorder and depression when he jumped. He is now a speaker, author, and advocate for mental health.

    Jossh Nine
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I watched a documentary about people jumping from the GGB. The guy who survived was interviewed for it. It's called "The Bridge". It's a bit sad, but also interesting.

    LaserBrain
    Community Member
    17 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The sea lion was rather inconvenienced but helped him anyway.

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    #14

    Illustration of a stressed woman with text about weird facts related to a 2013 survey on mothers' stress sources.

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    Tyranamar Suess
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I'm often relieved to not have a husband. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have one to help. Then I remember all the stuff they'd probably want me to do for them.

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    #15

    Doris Miller during Pearl Harbor attack, manning a gun; historical bravery depicted in 2001 film.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Pearl Harbour might have turned out to be a good film if it concentrated on this character, rather than all that silly romantic gubbins and Ben Affleck.

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    #21

    Old haunted house linked to carbon monoxide and hallucinations, illustrating weird facts about eerie experiences.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    All the devices these ghost hunters use incorrectly whilst searching for ghosts, they just need a carbon monoxide detector.

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    #23

    Tomb of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier in Paris adorned with potato plants, highlighting an interesting historical fact.

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    Brian Droste
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If I die I think I might want potatos plants each year planted on my grave site. My favorite food when growing was mashed potatoes and gravy. Either that be cremated and my ashes be spread in a potato field.

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    #33

    Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh, noted for realistic psychopath depiction in "No Country for Old Men" by psychologists.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The strangulation scene still haunts me. It seems to take so long, when compared to strangulation scenes in most movies. Yet it is supposedly realistic. Strangulation is not a quick death.

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    #35

    Man sitting, mentioned as RADAR inventor caught speeding, expressing surprise at use of his invention.

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    Kira Okah
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    One of the designers that created the breathalyser was recently done for drunk-driving and has been banned from driving for a year, was in the local news yesterday, think they did use a breathalyser on him too.

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    #39

    Crowd of students in South Korea preparing for Suneung, a major exam day, highlighting unique cultural practices.

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    Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_Scholastic_Ability_Test On test day, the KRX stock market opens late, and bus and metro service is increased to avoid traffic jams and allow students to get to the testing sites more easily. Planes are grounded during the listening portion of the English section so their noise does not disturb the students. In some cases, students running late for the test may be escorted to their testing site by police officers via motorcycle.

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    #45

    Bowl of tomato sauce on a table with a spoon, highlighting a weird fact about its Mexican origins.

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    LilliVB
    Community Member
    8 hours ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Mmm, yes? I'm Italian, but even I know that tomatoes weren't endemic in Europe. It's quite obvious that tomato sauce was a thing in the place where tomatoes naturally grew.

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    #50

    Actors in a comedic barbershop scene, wearing capes, highlighting a weird fact about "Dumb and Dumber" salaries.

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    Kira Okah
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They didn't want him in the role because he hadn't done any comedies, so they made him an offer they thought he'd refuse, but he didn't because he wanted to get into comedy and wanted to act with Jim. Context: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jeff-daniels-dumb-dumber/

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    #52

    Astronaut with moon background, text describes a weird fact about Neil Armstrong visiting Langholm, Scotland.

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    Kira Okah
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    iirc the law was in place because a Johnnie Armstrong royally plssed off the King with an insult, so he was hanged.

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    #55

    Black and white image of a distressed man with head in hands, highlighting a weird fact about a unique legal case.

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    Deborah B
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He lost - the court found that human tissues and organs are not "marital property" and can't be considered an item of property to be valued in a divorce suit. The court also warned Batista that his attempt to extort money for the kidney was legally unsound and could expose him to criminal prosecution.

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    #56

    Ancient artwork depicting a man pouring a drink, illustrating weird facts about historical traditions.

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    Max Fox
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It comes from pouring a libation to the Gods or spirits. Sometimes to honor them, and sometimes to honor a friend, like somebody would do when donating to their place of worship in honor of a friend or family member who passed away.

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    #59

    Skeleton on a couch with a caption about a weird fact related to the discovery of skeletal remains in Tokyo.

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    Hippopotamuses
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Apparently, this is more common than you might expect, and may be responsible for claims of Japanese longevity.

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    #61

    White coffin with flowers in hearse, highlighting weird fact about body donations to science due to rising funeral costs.

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    John Boy
    Community Member
    16 hours ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I used to be an organ donor, and we had a cheap funeral arrangement where the casket was "rented", and the silk liner was actually a body bag. Our corpses would be put in a styrofoam "box", then our remains interred into a double-deep cement vault. Years later, I decided to give my body to our State University for as long as they wanted it, in order to train future Doctors. Yes, they will cremate it when they're done with my body & put the ashes into a memorial wall. The best part?, that wall is less than a stone's throw away from our cemetery plot. (And, no, they don't sell the organs, they study them. Previous poster is a liar.)

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    #67

    Two historical figures, one in formal attire, with a text about the weird fact of Hiram Maxim and his son Hiram Percy Maxim.

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    TotallyNOTAFox
    Community Member
    21 hours ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And that's indirectly the fault of Thomas Edison, as he sent his employee Maxim to Britain to get rid of him as competitor. Maxim got bored with doing paperwork and developed the first real machine gun

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    #71

    Mugshot of a man with text about a peculiar fact involving locked doors and a serial killer.

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    Huddo's sister
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Glad he wasn't around my place last night. I fell asleep on the couch and woke at 4am and went to bed. After lying there for about 10 minutes I suddenly wondered if I had locked the front door. Glad I got up to check, because I hadn't.

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    #73

    South Pole station in snow, scientists watch "The Thing" during six months of darkness, showcasing weird facts.

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    Max Fox
    Community Member
    1 day ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No, you thick-skulled ignoramuses, it's THREE months of darkness. Some terminally ignorant person on Weird-facts posts something astoundingly moronic, which is then copied by an equally ignorant person on BP, because some of the "writers" on BP evidently failed out of school before they learned about the tilt of the earth in third grade.

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    #76

    People enjoying a thrilling roller-coaster ride; weird facts about the physics of the 'stomach in your mouth' sensation.

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    keyboardtek
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My daughter recently went tandem skydiving. You fall at terminal velocity which is close to 150mph. She said she was told not to look down. And the reason was it was so hard to take a breath into her lungs from the pressure on her ribs. Apparently when you look up you can catch a breath.

    #79

    Director discussing scene with actor in "Passion of the Christ," highlighting a weird fact about its production challenges.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I watched this film once. It was such relentless violence I got bored of it. It did make me think what kind of Christians would watch this, seeing Jesus getting the sh!t kicked out of him for a whole movie?

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