We know how much you enjoy learning new things, dear Pandas. We do, too. Luckily for us, the internet has a nearly-inexhaustible supply of fun trivia, interesting facts, and intriguing tidbits about the world to whet our appetites for knowledge. If you’re constantly curious about things, then this article might be right up your alley.
Redditor u/Not_a_Replicant_ asked people to share the cool facts that they think others should definitely know, and they were not disappointed. Their thread quickly went viral and got over 41.5k upvotes in 3 days. We’ve collected some of the most interesting answers that are bound to reignite your curiosity about science, history, and other areas of knowledge. Perfect for that Ravenclaw living inside of you? We like to think so.
Scroll down and don’t forget to upvote the facts that you enjoyed learning about the most. Got some great trivia to share with all the other Pandas? Don’t be shy, drop on by the comment section.
Bored Panda reached out to Steven Wooding, a member of the Institute of Physics in the UK, to talk about how to keep ourselves constantly learning as we grow up, how we ought to approach random facts we stumble across online, and where to start if we feel that we’ve reignited our passion for science, history, and other areas. Steven is a member of the Omni Calculator Project and recently helped create the Weird Units Converter, a calculator that helps you make conversions from standard units to unusual ones like football fields, cats, and, yes, even Harry Potter books.
“Getting information from a known, reliable source is an excellent shortcut to having to fact-check everything yourself,” Steven said that we should all put in the effort to find reliable news sources. “You should be very wary of believing something online from a source you don't recognize. When you do find something, search for it on other websites you have heard of and see if they are all saying the same thing.” Read on for the full interview.
#1
The Guinness book of records was invented by the Guinness beer folks. They figured a book of verifiable facts would help stop bar arguments.
Image credits: jmshub
Steven agreed with Bored Panda that many of us can feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and feel like we don’t have much free time for leisure, let alone learning, as we grow up. However, all is not lost! There are ways to break out of the routine of stress and monotony.
“It's all too easy to get caught up in the stress of modern life and forget to notice extraordinary things around you. Go for a walk in nature and try to observe everything. Ask yourself, what's that? And if you don't know, take a photo and look it up,” Steven suggested.
One of the main things that you should aim to do is to remember what it was like to be a kid. Try to get back into the mindset you used to have when you were little to reignite your curiosity in the world. “The main problem is that once you're an adult, you think you know everything (or you think you should do), so you stop asking questions. You'll notice kids do it all the time. So to stay curious and learn new things, keep asking questions.”
#2
That the patent for the fire hydrant was lost in a fire
Image credits: CorinRyptide
#3
Corgi is a translation of the welsh for dwarf dog. Cor gi.In the Mabinogion, the welsh book of myths and legends, corgis were the battle steeds of fairies
Image credits: TaffWolf
I was interested to get Steven’s opinion about where we could start learning about science and other topics if we feel completely lost. He told Bored Panda that a pretty good place to start would be mainstream science TV programs on the topics that we’re already interested in.
“They'll cover a subject with easy-to-digest information that you can rely on and could inspire you to investigate further. Then you could move on to popular science books that go a bit further and deeper,” he shared. “Science podcasts and YouTube channels can also be a good idea. If you can't think of a topic, you could look at the science section of Wikipedia and go through the featured articles. If one grabs your interest, read it in full and follow links that interest you.”
#4
Sharks existed before trees existed.
Image credits: prairiemountainzen
#5
Australia is wider than the moon.
Image credits: fruit_cats
#6
There was a short period of time when Picasso and Snoop Dogg were both alive together.
Image credits: ReadaboutitXD
We shouldn’t believe everything that we come across online, whether it’s on social media, a news website, or Reddit, the front page of the internet. It’s vital to look at things from a scientist’s point of view so you don’t get lost in the morass of potentially fake news.
Previously, I spoke to Lee McIntyre from Boston University’s Center for Philosophy and History of Science about how to separate good news sources from bad ones and why it’s important to be well-versed in media literacy.
"Repetition is important in making us believe things, whether they are true or not. There is a cognitive bias called the 'illusory truth effect' which is when we are repeatedly exposed to false information over and over and, over time, it begins to seem more plausible," Lee explained to Bored Panda.
#7
90% of the population on Earth lives in the Northern Hemisphere.
Image credits: Johndoe448
#8
Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than the building of the pyramids
Image credits: LobotomistPrime
#9
When the Rubix Cube was first released a mathematician said it would take the average person 30 years, working 8 hours a day, to solve a cube saying it was impossible for someone without a master's in mathematics to solve it in under a month.
Image credits: atombomb1945
"Social psychologists have known since the 1960s that repetition works, for truth or falsity. In fact, this idea goes back to Plato who said that it didn't hurt to repeat a true thing. And of course, for falsehood, this was one of the main propaganda tactics in Nazi Germany, where Hitler's propaganda minister understood the 'repetition effect.'"
However, double-checking and cross-referencing every single fact that we find online and every tiny item we hear on the news would be utterly exhausting. So we need a different approach.
“It would be exhausting to fact check every single news item we hear. In fact, insisting on this degree of skepticism is something that demagogues use to get us to be cynical, because when we doubt that it is possible to know the truth—even when it is staring us in the face—we are riper to their manipulation. So I'd say the best thing with news is to do a little investigation into finding a reliable source," the expert said.
#10
Honeybees can be trained to sniff out land mines in war zones! Obviously dogs can do it but to avoid blowing up poor unsuspecting doggos, they figured out that bees could do the same thing and swarm the area without setting the mine off to alert people to its presence#11
Some birth control pills can cause vitamin B deficiency. Vitamin B is used to make seratonin. I’ve know a few people that got super depressed after starting birth control and taking B complex made a huge difference*consult your doctor
#12
The figure in Munch's 'The Scream' is not screaming but is, in fact, reacting to hearing the scream.
Image credits: matthewloren
"Look for an organization that does investigative journalism (and doesn't just repeat information from other sources), double sources its quotations, discloses conflicts of interest, etc. Once we've found that we can relax a bit and trust the reporting behind the stories. Do we still need to be on guard? Yes. Even The New York Times can make mistakes. Or individual reporters can have biases. But that doesn't mean 'all sources are equal.'"
Lee highlighted the importance of raising media literacy, as it helps sift through news and facts. "There are various sources for media literacy that can help. They teach this to KIDS in Finland! It's easy to learn. Is the story copyrighted? Is it dated? Is there a byline? Are other stories by the author solid? Is it published in a source that has been reliable in the past? Does it seem plausible— if not then you can do some research," he said what we should be aware of when looking at any news article.
#13
If you type the word "askew" into the Google search box, the entire page will tilt slightly.#14
Gases and particles in Earth's atmosphere scatter sunlight in all directions. Blue light is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. Now you know why the sky is blue.#15
Bob Ross was a Drill Instructor. When he stopped working as that, he promised he would not raise his voice at someone again. That's why he was so soft spoken."Will we get fooled sometimes in doing this? Yes. But we're going to get fooled sometimes anyway. It's analogous to how scientists form their beliefs. They are skeptics, but they also—at some point when the evidence is sufficient—give their assent. Scientists deal with warrant, not 'proof.' They are what philosophers call 'fallibilists.' You give your belief to things that are well-sourced with evidence, while always holding out the possibility that if further evidence comes to light that contradicts your belief, you should give it up because you might be wrong."
#16
German chocolate cake was invented by an English-American baker named Samuel German and has nothing to do with the country of Germany.
Image credits: matthewloren
#17
Andrew Jackson had a interesting assassination attemp. The person who was going to kill him pointed his gun and it jammed. Jackson then beat him up wjth his cane. The guy got back and pulled out the second gun which also managed to jam. This is a 1 in 125,000 chance.#18
There was a phantom poop on an Apollo mission. A poop, floating around, that none of the astronauts said was theirs.
Image credits: chalk_in_boots
#19
If you stare at your own reflection in dim lighting for a few minutes, your face will begin to distort and you will essentially begin to hallucinate. Don’t do it. It’s a trap.
Image credits: Halo-Kai
#20
Due to evolution, humans share genes with all living organisms. For example, 60% of your DNA is the same as a strawberry.
Image credits: hoarchata
#21
The technology for the fax machine was invented in 1843. The feudal era in Japan ended in 1868 abolishing the samurai class. Abraham Lincoln lived until 1865. All of this combined lead to a 22 year period in which Lincoln could have received a fax from a samurai.
Image credits: Chef_Groovy
#22
When a person receives a kidney transplant they don’t take out the old kidneys, they just shove em to the side and leave em in there.
Image credits: zytz
#23
More people die from vending machines than sharks
Image credits: Jackpot09
#24
NASA discovered a planet outside of the milky way a few days ago for the first time in human history#25
The Michael Meyers mask is a William Shatner face mask painted white. Happy Halloween!#26
Putting enough eye drops in someone’s food or drink will, in fact, kill them.
Image credits: interlinkedenigma
#27
Some people don’t have a inner dialogue, some can’t picture in their mind, and some have / can do both.#28
Your oral health is very important , poor oral health is more than just bad teeth / bad breathe it can lead to heart problems , infections and more#29
Komodo dragons are the largest animals in the world capable of reproducing asexuallyEdit: y’all I just found this on google when I was curious one day don’t ask me how it works I’m failing biology
Image credits: SilvaIIy
#30
Shaq hit almost 12,000 baskets in his career. Exactly 1 of them was a 3-pointer.
Image credits: MrMister26
#31
Eugene Aldrin, the father of the famous moon landing astronaut Buzz Aldrin, not only witnessed the Wright brothers’ first flight but also went to see his son land on the moon in his lifespan.We’ve been quick!
#32
The amount of water in, on, and above planet earth does not increase or decrease. It's always in a constant cycle. Even the water humans use.#33
The shell is part of the turtle’s skeleton.
Image credits: haydensidun
#34
There’s a vast difference between a million and a billion. A simple way to visualize it: a million seconds is over 11 days. A billion seconds is just under 32 years.
Image credits: CollinZero
#35
If you thoroughly shuffle a deck of cards, the exact order they’re in has almost certainly never been duplicated in the history of shuffled decks.#36
Big spiders adopt little frogs and they protect their little spider eggs from predators.#37
Big bird was almost in the Challenger explosionBig bird was planned to go so they could do something to get kids interested in space, but the costume (over 8 feet tall) was just too fucking big to fit.
They sent a school teacher instead. And then the shuttle exploded
#38
Lamborghini started making supercars because Enzo Ferrari was being a jerk to Ferruccio Lamborghini.#39
Human's ability smell petrichor (smell of wet earth from rain) is greater than a Shark's ability to smell blood in water.#40
Penguins have knees
Image credits: revo_kid
#41
Opossums generally cannot get rabies. Their body temperature is too low for the virus.Also the stomach acid of a vulture is so highly acidic it kills rabies virus and most bacteria, which is why they can eat dead disgusting rotting things.
#42
If you were born in 80,000 BC and made 10k a day up till now.You still wouldn't be as rich as Elon Musk.
Not sure how accurate it is. Saw someone post it a few days ago here.
#43
1 billion people speak English. That's 1 in every 7 on Earth.#44
It takes ~108 atoms laid in a row to span the width of a human fingernail (~1 cm.) If the same number of standard wooden pencils were laid end to end, they would circumnavigate the Earth’s equator more than 47 times.#45
Butterflies and Moths can drink blood and tears in order to get nutrients. It’s called Mud-puddling. I think more horror movies should use this.#46
Penguins trade nice rocks for sex.#47
You know that feeling like you’re falling you get when you’re falling asleep? That happens because sometimes your muscles relax and your heart rate slows down too quickly that your body thinks you’re dying. So, it gives you that falling sensation which jolts you awake.#48
If you search for 'recursion' on Google, it will ask you if you meant to type 'recursion' instead. When you click the suggestion, you land on the exact same page and Google will ask you if you meant to type 'recursion'. Fun little easter egg#49
Acacia trees were shown to send chemical signals to other trees that they were being overgrazed on, causing the other Acacia trees to increase the production of a specific chemical that would kill the animals overgrazing on them.#50
Hyenas are actually more related to cats than dogs. Hyenas are part of the Suborder Feliformia along with cats.#51
There was no “s” sound for the letter c in ancient Roman Latin. Thus Gaius Julius Caesar was pronounced “Gaius Julius Kaiser”. His name is where the Germans and Russians got their name for king (Kaiser and Tzar respectively).#52
When a Camel spider (or wind scorpion) is chasing you, it's just chasing your shadow. All they want is a little bit of shade! They'd never have the intent of harming you#53
As the result of a collision with another moon eons ago, Neptune's moon "Triton" has a retrograde orbit; meaning an orbit in the direction opposite to its planet's rotation. Triton is the only large moon our solar system to have such an orbit. Not impressed?The collision eons ago also altered Triton's orbit of Neptune in another, far more sinister way. Despite obviously emerging victorious from the collision, the impact ever so slightly threw Triton off course. Every year, Triton creeps a fraction of an inch closer to Neptune.
This means that one day billions of years in the future, Triton's orbit will get too close to Neptune and Neptune's superior gravitational pull will tear Triton apart.
#54
The sun is not yellow. When viewed outside earths atmosphere it is white. It only looks yellow due to our atmosphere "pulling" the blue light out, leaving it looking yellow. It's an illusion.#55
In the pineal gland in your brain, over time it will start to form tiny calcification, little mineral buildups. There is no known function for these but scientists named it corpora arenacea also known as dream sand.#56
There are 5.6 popes per square mile in Vatican City.#57
A platypus makes venom. One of several interesting things about them.#58
Stephen Hawking died on March 14, the Pi Day, which is also the birthday of Albert Einstein.#59
The “Easter Island Heads” actually have bodies, and some were excavated in 2017.#60
Spit will instantly harden super glue.#61
David Dastmalchian, the actor who plays Polka Dot Man in the new Suicide Squad, actually has vitiligo irl and got called "polka dots" as a kid.#62
Beaver anal secretions have been used as a vanilla flavor substitute for certain foods and luxury cosmetics.#63
The word “Helicopter” isn’t a combination of heli and copter, but rather “helico” like a helix and “pter” like a pterodactyl.#64
If an alpaca has blue eyes it is most likely deaf#65
Madagascar has a larger population than Australia.#66
The state of California in the USA has a higher population than the entire country of Australia.(39,613,493 vs 25,892,511)
#67
Copper door knobs are self-disinfecting.#68
The skeletons used in the original Poltergeist movie were real skeletons, because it was cheaper.Blucifer of the Denver International Airport killed his creator when a part of him severed an artery in the leg of Luis Jiménez.
#69
The first person to write about tofu in the English language was Benjamin Franklin.#70
Kangaroos will eat cat poop even though it is poisonous to them -learned this when a local zoo had a stray cat problem.#71
Cows can see almost 360 degrees.Edit: Hi, I just woke up. Thanks for the awards!
#72
That the majority of people who get hurt on elevators are those who work on elevators#73
Twister was the first movie released on DVD#74
You can make tasty fresh bread yourself in four or five hours with flour, salt, yeast and water, no kneading and zero skill. It literally takes less than 10 minutes of actual effort. Since finding out about this last year I've done it dozens of times. Google no-knead bread!#75
If you skip to the end of a long YouTube video and press replay you can watch the whole thing without adds#76
It takes 7 grams of cocain to kill youMosquitos kill more humans than any other creature including humans
The Tsar bomba is capable of releasing around 1.5k times for energy than fat man
#77
The General Electric Company for many decades owned NBC. The three chimes of the NBC jingle are the notes G-E-C. During the radio era if that chime ever had a fourth note, that was a signal for NBC employees to go into work because a major news story (i.e. D-Day) was about to break.#78
Flamingos aren't born with curved beaks. They start to curve as they get older.#79
The Anglo-Zanzibar war. 38 minutes.#80
The first imaging satellites used to drop film from space which was either caught by aircraft or recovered in the ocean. Check out the Corona space program.#81
A banana is a berry#82
The European, Iranian, and North Indian languages are all related to each other and we've reconstructed some of what that original language might have looked like: Proto-Indo-European.With the notable exception of some languages like Finnish, Hungarian, and Georgian which are part of other language families.
#83
Emma Morano of Italy was the last (documented and verified) person to die that was born in the 1800s. 29th November 1899 - 15th April 2017#84
The average blue whale ejaculate is 5 gallons#85
Since anteaters had to break through termite mounds as strong as concrete to get their food, they’ve evolved claws bigger a than bears. This, combined with the fact that they’re legally blind, means these homicidal vacuum cleaners can put fucking jaguars in caskets.#86
If you log into your Netflix account in a web browser, you can reset your viewing history for certain shows and watch the series again without messed up start/end times#87
If you find a four leaf clover then there is a good chance you'll find more not too far away.#88
Tom Brady has thrown more TD passes in his 40s than he did in his 20s#89
President John Tyler was born in 1790 when George Washington was President. He has a grandson currently alive. 3 generations span all 46 presidencies.#90
Tigers are more likely to win in a fight against lions#91
Dogs that are slightly underweight live an average of two years longer than dogs that are slightly overweight.#92
Your eyeballs have a separate enclosed immune system than the rest of your body. If somehow the two become aware of each other, your body will think your eyes are invaders and literally attack and dissolve them.#93
Muscles do not develop the same in everyone and their exact origins/insertions can differ between people. In some the biceps have three or more heads, as opposed to the normal two. Some muscles are entirely absent, such as the psoas minor (found in about 40% of humans) and the sternalis (only 7.8%).from Bored Panda https://bit.ly/3ksW3UP
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