When “fake news” is fast becoming the norm over various social media platforms, it is hard to distinguish just what is the truth. But, not all hard-to-believe things are false. Sometimes, our minds apply logic and do not let us believe something as true even if it is a fact because it sounds unusual. For example, would you believe us if we told you that the cheetah cannot roar and can only meow like cats, or that most ground coffee cannot be drunk by those who are allergic to cockroaches? What if we told you there was an art museum on the moon? There are facts in the world that sound completely made up but aren’t. Here is a list of ten facts that sound fake but are actually 100% true.

1 You can save your knocked-out tooth by putting it back into your mouth. It will reattach itself eventually.

Even if you are an adult, you can save your knocked-out tooth, and no, you will not need tooth fairy for that. Dentists refer to knocked-out teeth as “avulsed” teeth. If you take some care and act quickly when your tooth falls out, you can get it replanted and eventually it will reattach itself to the bone. First, pick up your tooth and try to place it back into the socket, applying gentle pressure.

If it is dirty, clean it with milk—never use tap water. Also, it is necessary to keep the tooth moist during the time it takes you to get to a dentist (try to reach the dentist within thirty minutes as the entire process of replanting must be done within an hour).

If the tooth does not fit into the socket easily, place it in a cup of milk. Avoid touching the roots of the tooth and hold it only by the crown area. The dentist or the endodontist will replant the tooth, and it will reattach itself to the bone in three to four weeks. (source)

2 Soon after Saddam Hussein became the President of Iraq in 1980, he was given the key to the city of Detroit, United States.

When Reverend Jacob Yasso of Chaldean Sacred Heart Church congratulated Saddam Hussein on becoming the President of Iraq in 1979, he had no idea that his church would receive a donation of 250,000 dollars in return.

A year later, the Reverend and two dozen others traveled to Baghdad as guests of the Iraqi government when they were invited to Saddam Hussein’s palace.

That is when the Reverend, acting in accordance with the then Mayor of Detroit, Coleman Young, presented a key to the city to Hussein.

In response to this gesture, Hussein donated another 200,000 dollars to the church after asking the Reverend, “I heard there is a debt on your church. How much is it?” In 2003, the same Reverend called Hussein “an American puppet.” (source)

3 Most Koreans do not produce any body odor.

Body odor is known to have a strong genetic basis, and most Koreans do not have the body-odor gene. The non-functional ABCC11 gene is predominant in most East Asians, mostly Koreans. This gene not only affects a person’s body odor but also the kind of ear wax the ear produces.

While most people in the world would have a wet-type ear wax, Koreans have a dry-type ear wax. But they do sweat; they just do not produce an odor.

Many traveler accounts talk about how tough it is to find deodorants in Seoul as most Koreans do not use deodorants. When a Korean pop star admitted to using deodorant on a Korean show, the audience laughed and he was trolled over it. Yes! It is that unusual! Around 2% of Europeans also lack the gene for body odor. (1, 2)

4 A child of a Civil War veteran who is 88 today receives money every month from the government for her father’s services 153 years ago.

Irene Triplett collects $73.13 every month from the U.S. government for her father’s services in the Civil War that ended in 1865.

She is the last surviving beneficiary of the Civil War who is entitled to the pension as per Title 38 of the United States Code which states that when the spouse of a Civil War veteran who has served for more than 90 days is no longer alive, their children are entitled to the benefit. Irene’s brother died, so she is a lone beneficiary now.

But one must wonder how is this possible. It is because Mose Triplett, the Civil War veteran, remarried a woman named Elida Hall who was 50 years younger than him. When Irene was born in 1930, her father Mose was 83-years-old. When the Civil War ended, Mose Triplett was only 18. (source)

5 The 10^th President of the United States, John Tyler, was born in 1790 but had two living grandchildren as of 2017—not great-grandchildren but grandchildren who live on for 156 years after his death.

Lyon Gardiner Tyler Jr. born in 1924 and Harrison Ruffin Tyler who was born in 1928 are grandchildren of John Tyler, the 10^th president of United States. This is because John Tyler’s first wife passed away and he married again. When he was 63-years-old, his wife gave birth to Lyon’s and Harrison’s father. Their father, Lyon Gardiner Tyler Sr. was one of the 15 children John Tyler had.

A similar fate repeated with Tyler Sr. His first wife passed away too, and he married again. When he was 71 years old, his wife gave birth to Lyon Jr. and four years later to Harrison. It was not uncommon for men to get married to women who very much younger than them in the time John Tyler lived. He passed away in 1862. (source)