We all know we don’t always get what we want from life. But sometimes the universe wouldn’t mind going that extra mile to ensure that behind our favorite movie or food or adorable child actress there is a much darker story that is bound to burst our cozy bubble of cheer. So here are some a**hole facts that will ruin that special place you’ve built up in your mind. Part 1

1 The filming of Disney’s straight to video movie Snow Buddies had five puppies die on set. The puppies were infected with a parasitic disease and were just replaced by flying in new puppies which subsequently fell ill because of parvovirus. 

For the movie, Keystone Productions purchased 25 golden retriever puppies from a town near New York City and flew them to Seattle where they were picked up and brought to the set in British Columbia. Five more puppies were bought from a Canadian breeder. When the American Humane Association, which monitors filming with animals, arrived at the set, of the thirty puppies, they found fifteen were on set while the other fifteen were being treated by vets for a parasitic disease. They also found that instead of using puppies that are eight weeks and older, puppies that were as young as six weeks old were being used. Three of the puppies were euthanized due to intestinal problems and two others died. The remaining sick puppies were all sent back and twenty-eight new ones were brought in. These new puppies were subsequently exposed to the parvovirus and the shooting had to be suspended for a while. In the end credits, the usual “No animals were harmed during filming” message was replaced by “The American Humane Society monitored the animal action”.(source)

2 If you live to be 70 years old you will have spent ten years of your life on Mondays.

To get a rough estimate, since there are seven days a week, in seventy years each day of the week would be worth ten years of your life. The precise number, of course, varies depending on the set of start and end date you use for the calculation. For example, the number of Mondays between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2070, are 3.653.(source)

3 The smell of freshly cut grass is actually the scent of trauma released by the plants. 

Leafy plants release what are called “green leaf volatiles” (GLVs) when they are injured or when the animals are eating them, you are cutting them, or they are for some reason mutilated. There are a few reasons why this happens. For one, these emissions help the blades of grass heal faster at the wound site. It acts as a warning signal for the parts of the plant that are not wounded so that it can protect itself. Scientists have found that the GLVs released by coyote tobacco plants react with the saliva of certain caterpillars to attract big-eyed bugs that eat those caterpillars.(source)

4 Judith Barsi, the girl who voiced Ducky in The Land Before Time, was abused and shot dead in her sleep by her father.

Judith Barsi was an American child and voice artist and actress who worked in several movies including Jaws: The Revenge, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven. She also performed in commercials and had guest roles on various TV shows. Her father, József Barsi, was an alcoholic and became increasingly abusive after her success towards her and her mother, Maria. He even once threw pots and pans at her resulting in a nosebleed. The abuse had severe negative effects on Judith. She started putting on weight and engaged in disturbing behavior such as plucking out all her eyelashes and the whiskers of her cat.

On the evening of July 25, 1988, her father shot her in the head while she was asleep and then killed her mother. After spending the next two days wandering around the house, he told Judith’s agent that he was leaving for good and needed time to “say goodbye to my little girl”. He incinerated the dead bodies with gasoline and shot himself in the head in the garage.(source)

5 Decomposing potatoes can kill you.

Potatoes contain toxic compounds known as glycoalkaloids. Among them is solanine which is found in plants such as deadly nightshade, henbane, tobacco, eggplants and tomatoes along with potatoes. Solanine affects our nervous system causing weakness and confusion. The glycoalkaloids are generally concentrated in the leaves, sprouts, stems, and fruits of the plants and its potency increases with age, exposure to light, and physical damage. They cause headaches, diarrhea, cramps, coma and, in severe cases, even death. However, they are neutralized when properly cooked.

In a rare incident, an entire Russian family, excepting a young eight-year-old girl, was killed by poisonous fumes which accumulated in a cellar filled with rotten potatoes. Unaware of the danger, the girl’s father went into the cellar and fainted due to the toxic fumes. Worried, her mother entered next and met the same fate. Her brother went next to find out what happened only to suffer the same tragic end as his parents. Her grandmother then informed the neighbors that something was wrong before entering the cellar herself and meeting the same end. She, however, left the door open which helped the fumes escape, and when the girl entered the cellar she found all her family lying dead.(source)