301 Interesting Facts To Share With Your Friends

by Shweta Anand9 months ago

There’s nothing like a random and interesting fact to keep a circle of friends entertained. And if you’re on the lookout for some juicy facts that will entertain your buddies, we’ve got just the thing for you. So, here’s a list of unusual and interesting facts that you can share with your loved ones. Enjoy!

Table of Contents

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China’s Reverse Zoo

China’s Reverse Zoo

Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo in Chongqing, China, puts the visitors in cages while the big cats and bears roam around freely.

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Brazilians Take More Showers than Anyone Else

Brazilians Take More Showers than Anyone Else

On average, Brazilians take at least two showers every day, more than people in any other country in the world.

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Financial Definition of “Deadbeats”

Financial Definition of “Deadbeats”

In the world of finance, anyone who pays off their credit card balance on time in full every month is known as a “deadbeat.

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Eggplants Are Really Fruits

Eggplants Are Really Fruits

Just like tomatoes and peppers, eggplants are fruits, not vegetables, because they come from a flowering plant and have seeds.

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There Are More Sheep than People in New Zealand

There Are More Sheep than People in New Zealand

As of 2022, there were 25.3 million sheep in New Zealand and only 5.15 million people.

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Most Intense Heat Wave in Antarctica

Most Intense Heat Wave in Antarctica

Researchers found that the most intense heatwave ever recorded happened in March 2022 in the coldest region on Earth – Antarctica. It is believed to be due to anomalous air circulations in Australia.

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Relaxing Japanese Park with 800 Statues

Relaxing Japanese Park with 800 Statues

Village Where You Can Meet Statues is a Japanese park where you can relax and meditate among 800 statues that help you ease your mind.

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Californians Among Americans

Californians Among Americans

As of 2022, California is the most populous state in the US, with one out of every eight Americans living in California.

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Changing Size of the Eiffel Tower

Changing Size of the Eiffel Tower

In summer, the Eiffel Tower grows in size by six inches as the iron undergoes thermal expansion and shrinks by the same amount in winter.

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Ancient Roman Coins Discovered by Construction Workers

Ancient Roman Coins Discovered by Construction Workers

In 2016, construction workers in Seville discovered 1,300 pounds (600 kilos) of ancient Roman coins from the 3rd century worth millions of euros.

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Pink Lake of Australia

Pink Lake of Australia

Lake Hillier is an Australia saline lake known for its unique pink-colored water caused by red algae and halophilic bacteria in the salt crust.

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Architecture of Masouleh

Architecture of Masouleh

In the Iranian village of Masouleh, the streets are above the homes.

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Wavy Walls Require Less Bricks than Straight Walls

Wavy Walls Require Less Bricks than Straight Walls

Known as “Crinkle Crankle Walls” in England, these serpentine brick walls withstand more lateral stress than straight walls of the same thickness and use less bricks than a straight wall that can withstand the same amount of stress.

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Crazy Time Zones of France

Crazy Time Zones of France

France has 12 different time zones, more than any other country in the world.

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Women Are Good at Identifying a Cheating Man

Women Are Good at Identifying a Cheating Man

According to a study, women guessed right 62% of the time if a man had been cheating just by looking at his face, while men were right only 23% of the time about women.

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Fish that Causes Severe Hallucinations

 Fish that Causes Severe Hallucinations

Sarpa salpa, also known as “dreamfish,” is a species of sea bream that, if eaten, can cause severe hallucinations that last up to 36 hours. It was claimed to have been used as a recreational substance in the Roman Empire.

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Mallard Ducks Spread Fish Species

Mallard Ducks Spread Fish Species

Researchers found that when mallard ducks eat fish eggs of some species, some of the eggs survive the duck’s digestive track and come out the other end unscathed to hatch successfully when they find water. That explains how fish materialize out of nowhere in unconnected lakes or pools.

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Japanese Monkeys Learned to Clean and Salt Their Sweet Potatoes

Japanese Monkeys Learned to Clean and Salt Their Sweet Potatoes

On the Japanese island of Kōjima, monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes with fresh water. Generations later, they learned to immerse them in seawater, which researchers believe was because they enjoy them with salt.

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The Screenwriting of The Godfather’s Mario Puzo

The Screenwriting of The Godfather’s Mario Puzo

When Paramount approached the author of The Godfather books, Mario Puzo, to write an adapted screenplay, he had no idea what he was doing. After he won his first Oscar for the first movie, he bought a book on screenwriting only to find the words “The best screenplay ever written was The Godfather” on the first page. He threw the book away.

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Mel Gibson’s Passion for His Film

Mel Gibson’s Passion for His Film

When Mel Gibson couldn’t secure money for his film The Passion of the Christ due its controversial take, he put in his own money, $30 for production and $15 million on marketing. He had to rely on small-scale TV marketing with support from various church groups. The film went on to earn $612 million worldwide, with majority of the profits going to Mel Gibson.

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The Plane that Glided Over a Racetrack

The Plane that Glided Over a Racetrack

In 1983, a Boeing 767 ran out of fuel forcing the flight crew to glide for 17 minutes before making an emergency landing on the crowded racetrack of Gimli Motorsports Park, Canada, without major injuries to anyone. Nicknamed the “Gimli Glider,” its re-enactment by several other crews in flight simulators only ended in crash landings.

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Qatar’s Embarrassing Performance During FIFA World Cup

Qatar’s Embarrassing Performance During FIFA World Cup

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar became the first country to play without qualifying and second to do so as the host since 1934. Qatar was the first host nation to lose its opening match as well as all three matches. It was also the first host nation to be eliminated from the tournament and finish last with zero points in the group stage.

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Transylvanian Village with just One Divorce in 300 Years

Transylvanian Village with just One Divorce in 300 Years

In the Transylvanian village called Biertan, the church has a “matrimonial prison” where couples who want to get a divorce have to live in a small room for six weeks sharing a small bed, cabinet, table, and chair. Over the past three centuries, there has been only one divorce.

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Hippos Have Zero Fat

Hippos Have Zero Fat

Despite their rounded appearance, hippos have little fat in them. Their 1,500 kilos of body is mostly made of organs and muscle, and a six-centimeter thick skin.

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Gas Requirements to Mow American Lawns

Gas Requirements to Mow American Lawns

It takes 800 million gallons of gas every year to mow American lawns

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Real Estate Holdout From Seattle

Real Estate Holdout From Seattle

In 2006, 84-year-old Edith Macefield refused an offer of $1 million from commercial real estate developers to leave her 108-year-old Seattle farmhouse. So, they had to build their five-story mall around her house instead.

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There Are an Incredible Number of Centenarians in Japan

There Are an Incredible Number of Centenarians in Japan

As of 2022, there are over 90,000 people who are more than 100 years old in Japan.

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Cruise Ship Resort Atop a Cliff

Cruise Ship Resort Atop a Cliff

That cruise ship isn’t stuck. It’s the Sun Cruise Resort & Yacht, an eccentric hotel resort on the east coast of South Korea.

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Two Women Gave Birth to the Other’s Baby Due to an IVF Mix-Up

Two Women Gave Birth to the Other’s Baby Due to an IVF Mix-Up

In 2019, two Californian mothers gave birth to the other’s baby because of an IVF mix-up. Following a DNA test, the babies were swapped four months later and returned to the real parents.

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The Rent Remains Unchanged Since the 16th Century in a German Housing Complex

The Rent Remains Unchanged Since the 16th Century in a German Housing Complex

The rent in Fuggerei, the world’s oldest housing complex in Germany, is just $1 for a whole year and has been so since the 1520s.

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Annie Oakley’s Remarkable Marksmanship

Annie Oakley’s Remarkable Marksmanship

Annie Oakley was such a great sharpshooter that from 75 feet away, she could split a playing card that’s held on its edge and riddle an airborne card with holes before it fell to the ground.

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Bolivia’s Limestone Wall with Thousands of Dinosaur Footprints

Bolivia’s Limestone Wall with Thousands of Dinosaur Footprints

Bolivia’s Cal Orcko quarry has a limestone wall with over 5,000 dinosaur footprints, many of them dating back to the Cretaceous Period over 68 million years ago.

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Billy Joel’s Trick to Have Real Fans in the Front Seats

Billy Joel

Billy Joel never sells tickets to his front row. Instead, he gives them to random audience members in the cheap seats so that he could look at his real fans who would enjoy the show rather than the rich who just want to show off.

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Efficiency of the Japanese Railway System

Efficiency of the Japanese Railway System

Japanese train operating companies have sensitive seismometers installed. On March 11, 2011, the Kinkazan seismometer recorded an 8.9 magnitude earthquake, triggering automatic stop signals and emergency brakes on 33 bullet trains 12 seconds before the disaster. Only one test train without passengers derailed that day.

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Ancestor of Every Blue-eyed Person

Ancestor of Every Blue-eyed Person

Every blue-eyed person in the world shares a single common ancestor dating back to the Neolithic period.

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A Man Accidentally Swallowed and then Excreted an Intact AirPod

A Man Accidentally Swallowed airpods

A man swallowed an AirPod while sleeping and realized it was beeping from inside his stomach when he used the iPhone’s tracking feature after waking up. The medics at Kaohsiung Hospital gave him a laxative and it passed out of his body naturally. After washing and drying it, he found it still worked and the battery was at 41%.

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The Origin of Super Mario’s Name

he Origin of Super Mario’s Name

As the legend goes, Super Mario was named after the real-life businessman Mario Segale who rented a warehouse to Nintendo and stormed into the office one day because the rent was overdue. After the crew convinced him that they’ll pay, they nicknamed their main character after him due to similarities in appearance. The name stuck.

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Newly Discovered Green Comet

Newly Discovered Green Comet

Comet Nishimura, a newly discovered half-a-mile-sized green comet, will come closest to Earth at 78 million miles on September 12th. The comet last visited 430 years ago and will disappear again for that same length of time before its next visit.

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The Youngest Person to Visit all Countries

The Youngest Person to Visit all Countries

At just 21 years of age, Lexie Alford set the world record for being the youngest person to visit every sovereign country in the world.

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The Long-living Apple Tree that Inspired Newton

The Long-living Apple Tree that Inspired Newton

The apple tree that inspired Newton’s theory of gravity still stands to this day, 350 years later, at his family’s estate, Woolsthorpe Manor.

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The Swindon Police Apology that Went Viral

The Swindon Police Apology that Went Viral

In 2015, police apologized to residents of Swindon, UK, for repeatedly using sirens. They were trying to settle a debate among a group of four-year-olds during an emergency services presentation whether the siren goes “nee-nah” or “woo-woo.”

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“La Tomatina” a Traditional Spanish Festival

La Tomatina

In Spain, there’s a fun tradition called “La Tomatina” where folks throw tomatoes at each other in a big food fight just for fun.

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The Exceptional Memory of Elephants

The Exceptional Memory of Elephants

Elephants have such a good memory that they are not only capable of recognizing other members of their group, but also other species who leave an impression on them. Shirley and Jenny, two elephants that performed in the same circus, were able to recognize each other when they met again 23 years later.

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Trail Trees of North American Forests

Trail Trees of North American Forests

Native Americans have intentionally bent trees horizontally to mark trails or important places.

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US Airways Flight’s Emergency Landing on the Hudson

US Airways Flight land on the Hudson

In 2009, an US Airways flight made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in New York after getting struck by a flock of birds, all in under four minutes.

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Qatar’s Fight Against Heat

Qatar’s Fight Against Heat

In 2019, Qatar painted some of its roads blue as part of a pilot project to reduce heat radiating from asphalt.

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Why Do I Wake Up Before My Alarm Goes Off?

Why Do I Wake Up Before My Alarm Goes Off

You wake up right before your alarm goes off because your body wants to avoid the shock and stress the alarm would cause. A regular sleep cycle prepares the body for waking up by gradually releasing hormones, increasing temperature and blood pressure. To prevent getting startled during this time, your body schedules its own clock to wake up before the alarm goes off.

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Oreos Are Safe in Case of an Apocalypse

Oreo constructed a concrete bunker in Svalbard

In October 2020, Oreo constructed a concrete bunker in Svalbard, Norway, to protect their recipes in case of an asteroid impact. The vault also contains Oreos wrapped in Mylar and vials of milk powder.

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IKEA Heights, Guerrilla Filmmaking at IKEA Store

IKEA Heights

In 2009, a spoof soap opera was covertly filmed in Burbank’s IKEA store for a whole year without the knowledge of anyone working there. The cast and crew shot in different areas of the store creating a seven-episode show called IKEA Heights.

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Ever-constant Icelandic Language

Ever-constant Icelandic Language

Owing to its remote location and the purist movement in the 19th century, Icelandic language has changed so little that Icelandic speakers can easily read texts created in the 10th through 13th centuries.

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Jane Kazmarek – Seven Emmy Nominations, No Wins

Jane Kazmarek – Seven Emmy Nominations, No Wins

Jane Kazmarek who played Lois in the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle received seven Emmy nominations, one every year the show aired, but never won.

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Samoyeds Are Too “Smiley” To Be Guard Dogs

Samoyeds Are Too “Smiley” To Be Guard Dogs

Samoyeds make for terrible guard dogs because of their naturally friendly disposition. When there’s a threat, they most likely “smile” and bark at it rather than attack.

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Comeback of Airships

Comeback of Airships

By 2026, people will be able to fly on The Flying Bum, the world’s largest modern airship that can achieve lift using both aerostatic and aerodynamic forces. It can take-off from and land anywhere like a helicopter and stay airborne for five days.

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Chris Hemsworth’s Salary for His First Appearance as Thor

Thor

For the movie Thor, Chris Hemsworth was paid just $150,000, and the film grossed nearly $450 million total worldwide.

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The Range Rover that Climbed Up the Tianmen Mountain

The Range Rover that Climbed Up the Tianmen Mountain

Professional racer Ho-Pin Tung drove a Range Rover up the 999 steps of Heaven’s Gate at a 45-degree angle after taking 99 hairpin turns over the infamous Tianmem Mountain Road – all in just 22 minutes and 41 seconds.

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Majority of the World Has Never Flown

Majority of the World Has Never Flown

As of 2018, 89% of the world’s population have never flown on a plane.

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Smell of Good Old Books

Smell of Good Old Books

The wonderful smell of good old books is caused by deterioration of compounds like cellulose and lignin in the paper.

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Karl Benz’s First Modern Car

Karl Benz’s First Modern Car

This is the Benz Patent-Motorwagen – the world’s first modern automobile built by Karl Benz in 1886. Its top speed was 16 kilometers per hour.

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A Sunflowers’ Center Is Full of Tiny Flowers

A Sunflowers’ Center Is Full of Tiny Flowers

Sunflowers are really hundreds of mini, five-petaled florets arranged in interconnected symmetrical spirals.

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Episodes of British Sitcom Mr. Bean

Episodes of British Sitcom Mr. Bean

The British sitcom Mr. Bean only has 15 episodes made and aired over a period of six years.

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ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 Breaks Live Stream Viewership Number Records

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 Breaks Live Stream Viewership Number Records

With over 8 million concurrent viewers, Chandrayaan-3 became the world’s most watched live stream on YouTube, pushing FIFA World Cup matches to second and third. The mission’s success is a significant milestone for India’s space exploration as the only other countries that managed a landing on the Moon until now were the United States, the Soviet Union, and China.

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A Rare Celestial Event Called a Super Blue Moon

Super Blue Moon

The Super Blue Moon on 30 Aug 2023 is going to be the last one until 2037. Super moon is when the moon is closest to the earth and a Blue Moon is when there’s a second full moon in a single calendar month. The unification of both events creates a rare celestial event called a Super Blue Moon.

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Bizarre No-Walls Hotel in Switzerland

Bizarre No-Walls Hotel in Switzerland

This Swiss hotel named “Null Stern Hotel” is known for its rooms without walls. It is located on a picturesque mountain and, also bizarrely, beside a gas station. It has a waiting list of over 6,000 people.

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Ultrasonic Cry of Plants when in Distress

Ultrasonic Cry of Plants when in Distress

Scientists at Tel Aviv University discovered that when cut, plants scream in ultrasonic staccatos that are inaudible to humans.

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Dogs Love to Make Humans Laugh

Dogs Love to Make Humans Laugh

Dogs have evolved to understand that when there’s laughter, it’s play time. So, they are known to deliberately make humans laugh.

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The Origins of Tomatoes

The Origins of Tomatoes

Tomatoes are actually native to the Americas. This means that there was no Italian tomato sauce until the 16th century.

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Funny Anecdote from Apple’s Early Days

Funny Anecdote from Apple’s Early Days

In the early days of Apple, when employee ID numbers were given, Steve Jobs was offended that he got #2 when Steve Wozniak got #1. He felt he should be second to no one, so he took #0 instead.

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Pay Gap Between Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels

Pay Gap Between Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels

For the original Dumb and Dumber, Jim Carrey was paid $7 million while Jeff Daniels was paid just $50,000.

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The First Thai Typewriter Caused the Extinction of Two Consonants

The First Thai Typewriter Caused the Extinction of Two Consonants

In 1891, Edwin Hunter McFarland, Thai-born son of a well-known American missionary, developed a Thai typewriter leaving out two consonants due to space constraints which led to their obsolescence.

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The Connection Between Physical and Mental Pain

The Connection Between Physical and Mental Pain

Anxiety and depression has a reciprocal relationship with physical pain.

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One of the Smallest Habitable Islands in the World

One of the Smallest Habitable Islands in the World

The Just Enough Room Island has just enough room for a house, a tree, shrubs, and a tiny beach.

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First Image of Chandrayaan-3’s Lander

First Image of Chandrayaan-3’s Lander

This is the first image taken by Chandrayaan-3’s lander, Vikram, after its historic touchdown.

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Historic Success of Chandrayaan-3’s Lunar South Pole Landing

Historic Success of Chandrayaan-3’s Lunar South Pole Landing

On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 landed near the lunar south pole, making India the first country to do so. The mission’s budget was just ₹615 crore. That’s $74 million.

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Carpet Alarm Clocks to Turn You into an Early Bird

Carpet Alarm Clocks to Turn You into an Early Bird

There are “carpet alarm clocks” that won’t turn off unless you get up and stand on them.

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Aerial Root Bridges of Meghalaya, India

Aerial Root Bridges of Meghalaya, India

Meghalaya tribes of India are experts at guiding aerial roots of rubber fig trees to build natural suspension bridges that last over 500 years. The longest bridge known is over 160 feet.

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Sudden and Short-lived Royal Status of Pineapples

Sudden and Short-lived Royal Status of Pineapples

In 18th century England, having pineapples was considered such a show of status that the less wealthy would rent the fruit for an evening party.

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Weirdest Upside-down Buildings

Weirdest Upside-down Buildings

WonderWorks has some of the weirdest upside-down exhibition buildings in the USA.

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Fire Isn’t the Same Without Gravity

Fire Isn’t the Same Without Gravity

A candle flame in zero gravity is spherical and blue.

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Canine Best Friends of Humankind

Canine Best Friends of Humankind

MRI scans of dogs have shown that their brains prioritize the smell of humans above anything else.

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“Snickers Salad” – Dessert or Salad?

“Snickers Salad” – Dessert or Salad?

There is a dish from the Upper Midwest of the US called “Snickers salad,” which is a mixture of chopped up Snickers bars, Granny Smith apples, Cool Whip, and pudding, and it is often served at potlucks. Popular lore has it that whether it’s a salad or dessert depends on which end of the table it’s sitting on.

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Learned Bodily Habits Caused by Digital Technology

Phantom Vibration Syndrome

Phantom Vibration Syndrome” is a thing. Around nine out of 10 people mistakenly think that their phone is vibrating when it isn’t.

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James McAvoy Broke His Knckles While Shooting Split

James McAvoy Broke His Knckles While Shooting Split

While shooting Split, James McAvoy accidentally hit the metal door instead of safety padding when throwing a stunt punch. He didn’t realize he broke his knuckles and kept filming until the end, thinking the pain would go away. His hand can be seen swollen in some scenes.

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Japan’s Love for Vending Machines

Japan’s Love for Vending Machines

There is at least one vending machine for every 30 people in Japan.

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Air Conditioning in American vs European Homes

Air Conditioning in American

At least 88% of American homes have air conditioning, but only 20% of European homes do.

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Japan’s Kayabukiya Tavern Had Monkeys for Waiters

Kayabukiya Tavern Had Monkeys for Waiters

There was a restaurant in Japan where monkeys served as waiters. At the end of their shift, they got paid in bananas.

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Egyptian Man’s Deepest Scuba Dive Record

deepest scuba dive

In 2014, Ahmed Gabr set the record for deepest scuba dive at a depth of 1,090 feet. He needed four years to prepare for the dive in addition to a decade’s worth of experience as a diving instructor. It took 14 minutes for his descent, but he needed more than 13 hours for the ascent.

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Time Traveling at the Planet’s Geographic Poles

Time Traveling at the Planet’s Geographic Poles

Standing at the geographic South Pole or North Pole gives you the ability to time travel from today to yesterday or tomorrow. Since all the longitudes converge at the poles, you would literally be standing in all 24 time zones.

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World’s Longest Bike Is More than Half the Length of a NYC Block

World's Longest Bike

The world’s longest bike stretches 155 feet 8 inches. That is more than half the length of a New York City block.

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Overzealous Breaking Bad Fans Recreated Pizza-throwing Scene

Overzealous Breaking Bad Fans Recreated Pizza-throwing Scene

Breaking Bad creator Vince Galligan had to ask overzealous fans to stop tossing pizzas over the roof the way Bryan Cranston’s character did in a scene because it has become an annoyance to the lady who’s the real life owner of the house used in the show.

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Honey Is Essentially Eternal

honey never spoils

When properly sealed, honey never spoils. Archaeologists found honey in pots from ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to the 14th century BCE that’s still edible.

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MIT’s Pirate Certificate

MIT’s Pirate Certificate

If you take archery, fencing, pistols, and sailing classes in PE at MIT, you will be awarded the MIT Pirate Certificate.

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Genetic Limitations on Getting Picture-perfect Abs

Genetic Limitations on Getting Picture-perfect Abs

The number of abs you can achieve is actually genetically predetermined and depends on the number of fascia bands you’re born with. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, can only have a four-pack. Though a six-pack is most common, some can have an eight-pack or a ten-pack in rare cases.

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Kit Kat-Ception

Kit Kat-Ception

There are Kit Kats within Kit Kats within Kit Kats, and so on. Every broken or rejected Kit Kat gets mashed up and turned into the filling between the wafers to make new Kit Kats, which, if imperfect, will undergo the same fate as their imperfect predecessors.

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The Exceptionally High Metabolism of Hummingbirds

The Exceptionally High Metabolism of Hummingbirds

Humming birds operate at such a high metabolic rate that if we were to consume the equivalent amount of calories per unit of body weight to keep up the way they do, we would have to eat 300 hamburgers per day!

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Almost Half of Internet Traffic Is Bot Related

Almost Half of Internet Traffic Is Bot Related

In 2022, 47% of Internet traffic came from bots, according to the Imperva Bad Bot Report.

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Italy’s Tree Within a Tree

Double Tree of Casorzo

In Piedmont, Italy, there is an unusual tree called the “Double Tree of Casorzo,” which is actually a cherry tree growing on top of a mulberry tree.

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Sweden’s Positive Initiative to Encourage Blood Donors

Sweden’s Positive Initiative to Encourage Blood Donors

In Sweden, blood donors receive a text message thanking them every time their blood is used to save a life. The initiative hopes to attract and encourage donors by stressing their importance so they feel excited about making a difference.

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Japan’s Building with a Highway Passing Through It

Japan’s Building with a Highway Passing Through It

There’s a 16-floor office building in Japan called the Gate Tower Building whose 5th, 6th, and 7th floors have a highway passing through them.

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Beggar Returns a Woman’s Expensive Engagement Ring

Beggar Returns a Woman’s Expensive Engagement Ring

In 2013, a woman accidentally dropped her $4,000 engagement ring along with coins into the cup of a beggar named Billy Ray Harris. He felt he shouldn’t sell it and sure enough, two days later the woman came back for it. When he returned it, she set up a fundraiser for him in gratitude which reached $185,000.

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Svalbard’s Visa-free Zone

Svalbard’s Visa-free Zone

Svalbard, Norway, is the only place in the world where you can live and work indefinitely without a visa no matter where you come from.

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The Timelessness of Dolly Parton’s Songs

The Timelessness of Dolly Parton’s Songs

As of 2021, Dolly Parton’s two songs, “Jolene” and “9 to 5,” alone rake in $6 million to $8 million in royalties each year.

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The Story Behind the Calhoun Shot

The Story Behind the Calhoun Shot

In 1993, Chicago Bulls fan Don Calhoun won the $1 million dollar free throw shot in a promotional event. The insurance company used a technicality that he was a basketball player in college to disqualify him, but the team and event sponsors paid instead. Years later, he met Michael Jordan who told him “We made them give it to you.”

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Decline of Close Friendships in America

Decline of Close Friendships in America

Over the past two decades, the number of Americans with no close friends has risen from 3% in 1991 to 12% in 2021 – that’s at least one out of every 10 Americans. The number of people with 10 or more close friends has declined from 33% to just 13%.

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Two of the Biggest Series’ Budget

 Two of the Biggest Series’ Budget

Both Game of Thrones and Friends had the same budget, $10 million per episode.

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Alaska’s Absurdly Large Vegetables

Alaska Giant Vegetables

With the Sun shining for over 20 hours a day, vegetables in Alaska can grow absurdly large. Many of these vegetables are record holders, like a 138-lb cabbage, a 65-lb cantaloupe, or a 35-lb broccoli. The extra sunlight provides them a photosynthesis bonus and, interestingly, also makes the produce much sweeter.

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World’s Oldest Functioning Astronomical Clock

Prague Astronomical Clock

The Prague astronomical clock is the world’s oldest functioning clock built 613 years ago. Apart from time and date, the clock also shows the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, Earth, as well as zodiac constellations.

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Nepal’s Festival of Man’s Best Friend

Kukur Tihar

There is a Nepali festival known as “Kukur Tihar” dedicated to worshipping dogs as they are considered the messengers of Yama, the Hindu god of death. On this day, dogs are celebrated and pampered for their friendship and loyalty to humans.

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Matt LeBlanc Changed how Joey Was Portrayed

Matt LeBlanc Changed how Joey Was Portrayed

Originally, Joey’s character in Friends was not meant to be dumb. But when Matt LeBlanc auditioned, he put a “different spin” on it and gave the character heart. Though the creators weren’t into it, the network insisted on casting him for the role.

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Fascinating Friendship of Wolves and Ravens

Fascinating Friendship of Wolves and Ravens

Wolves and ravens have a symbiotic relationship. Ravens lead wolves to prey to hunt or to cadavers with tough hides so they could have the leftovers. They even play games, with the ravens pecking at the tails so the wolves chase them.

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How Long Does It Take to Develop Different Levels of Friendship

A recent study out of the University of Kansas revealed that it takes approximately 50 hours of socializing to become a casual friend, 40 more hours to become a “real” friend, and a total of 200 hours to reach close friendship.

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The Cruise Ship that’s also an Apartment Complex

MS The World

MS The World is a cruise ship where residents can live permanently on board in apartments traveling the world.

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Japanese Remote Village Train Station Stays Open for One Student to Commute

Japanese Remote Village Train Station Stays Open for One Student to Commute

In 2016, a train station in a remote Japanese village was going to close for good. But when they noticed a single student using it to commute to school, they decided to keep it open until she graduated.

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Dubai’s Quickly Growing Skyline

Dubai’s Quickly Growing Skyline

Dubai has grown incredibly fast over the last two decades. Until 1999, it had only one skyscraper, the DWTC. Now, there are over 251.

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The Man-Versus-Horse Marathon

The Man-Versus-Horse Marathon

Since 1980, every year a horse with a rider and human runners have been competing in Man versus Horse Marathon races. Humans have only won three times – in 2004, 2007, and 2022. All other times, a horse did.

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One of the Largest and Longest Owned Privately Owned Island

Gardiners Island NY

Off the east end of New York’s Long Island, there is an island that has been privately owned by the same family for almost 400 years.

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Reducing Airborne Pathogens After Flushing a Toilet

Reducing Airborne Pathogens After Flushing a Toilet

Dispersal of airborne pathogens can be reduced by 30-50% when a toilet is flushed with the lid down.

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Japan’s Museum for Rock Faces

Japan’s Museum for Rock Faces

There is a museum in Japan that’s dedicated to rocks that look like faces.

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Healthcare and Pension Benefits of Major League Baseball Players

Healthcare and Pension Benefits of MLB Players

In MLB, playing just one day qualifies the player for lifetime healthcare. Being on the active roster for 43 days qualifies them for a minimum of $34,000 annual pension.

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Engraved Guidelines for Humanity’s Restoration in Georgia

Engraved Guidelines for Humanity’s Restoration in Georgia

Nicknamed the “American Stonehenge,” the Georgia Guidestones provide instructions on building a better world after a catastrophic event. It also functions as a compass, calendar, and clock.

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Does the “p” in “pH” Stand for Anything?

Nobody knows what the exact meaning of “p” in “pH”

Nobody knows what the exact meaning of “p” in “pH” because the chemist who introduced the concept never explained what it stood for.

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Vietnam Has the Lowest Obesity Rates in the World

Vietnam Has the Lowest Obesity Rates in the World

At only 2.1%, Vietnam has the lowest obesity rate in the world. It’s less than the obesity rate of Uganda (5.3%) and far less than that of the USA (36.2%).

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The Maldives’ Capital City Covers a Whole Island

The Maldives’ Capital City Covers a Whole Island

The capital city of the Maldives, Malé, is so heavily urbanized that its built-up area covers the entire island it stands on.

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Popularity of Pink Panther Character

Pink Panther

The animated series, Pink Panther, was actually created because the character in the credit sequence of the films became so widely popular.

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The Netherlands’ Love for Bicycles

The Netherlands’ Love for Bicycles

In the Netherlands, there are 23 million bicycles and just 18 million people.

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Amy Schumer Was the Original Barbie

 

 

Amy Schumer,the Original Barbie

Amy Schumer was originally cast as Barbie for a different version of the movie meant to premiere in 2018.

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The 1920s Soviet Human Chess

The 1920s Soviet Human Chess

Back in 1924 Leningrad, two chess masters had a match with real members of the Soviet Navy as white pieces and the Red Army as black pieces.

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World’s Tiniest McDonald’s

World’s Tiniest McDonald’s

The tiniest McDonald’s in the world is in Sweden. But it’s just for bees.

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Canada Has the Most Number of Lakes

Canada Has the Most Number of Lakes

Canada has the highest number of lakes in the world. In fact, 62% of all the lakes in the world are in Canada, that’s more than the rest of the world’s lakes put together.

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Pokémon Anime Banned in Turkey Due to Fear of Children’s Safety

Pokémon Anime Banned in Turkey

In 2000, Turkey banned the Pokémon anime when a seven-year-old girl jumped off a fifth story balcony believing herself to be a Pokémon with superpowers and broke her leg.

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A 25-Year-Old Frozen Embryo

A 25-Year-Old Frozen Embryo

In 2017, Emma Gibson, who was frozen as an embryo in 1992, was born to a mother born in 1991.

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Happiest Country in the World

Happiest Country in the World

Finland ranks No. 1 as the happiest country in the world.

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Restaurant Grills Food Over a Volcano

Restaurant Grills Food Over a Volcano

The Spanish restaurant El Diablo grills its food over an active volcano.

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The Entire Population of this Alaskan Town Live in Two Buildings

The Entire Population of this Alaskan Town Live in Two Buildings

The entire population of the Alaskan town of Whittier lives in just two buildings. The bigger, 14-floor building, has a grocery store, school, post office, church, bed and breakfast, and the whole city government. Located 60 miles from Anchorage, the town can be reached by sea, air, rail and a one-way tunnel.

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The Incredible Vastness of Australia’s Shoreline

Australia has more than 12,000 beaches

Australia has more than 12,000 beaches along its 50,000-kilometer shoreline. It would take you more than 32 years to visit them all if you visited one beach per day.

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The World’s Smallest Park Is Only Two Feet in Diameter

Mill Ends Park

This is Mill Ends Park, a tiny urban park two feet in diameter in Portland, Oregon, that holds the Guinness World Record for the Smallest Park.

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Pepperoni Is Not as Old as You Might Think

Pepperoni Is Not as Old as You Might Think

Pepperoni is a relatively new invention created by Italian immigrants to America in 1919.

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The French Road that Disappears Twice a Day

Passage du Gois

This road in France, known as Passage du Gois,can only be used twice a day. This is because twice a day, it disappears under 13 feet of water due to the high tide.

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Jet Li Turned Down The Matrix Reloaded Role to Keep Rights to His Moves

Jet Li Turned Down The Matrix Reloaded Role

Jet Li turned down the role of Seraph in The Matrix Reloaded because the producers wanted to own the IP rights to his moves by recording and copying them into a digital library for future use.

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HP’s Oversight that Could Have Led to Potentially Grave Security Issues

HP security issue

In 2017, a security researcher found keylogging code preinstalled on HP laptops which, if enabled, could record keystrokes and lead to serious security issues. Over 460 models including EliteBook, ProBook, Pavilion, and Envy ranges were affected by it more than once.

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Least Densely Populated Country in the World

Greenland is the least densely populated country

At only 0.14 people per square kilometer, Greenland is the least densely populated country in the world.

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Colonel Sanders’ Surprise Visits to KFC Restaurants

Colonel Sanders’ Surprise Visits to KFC Restaurants

Even after he sold KFC, Colonel Sanders often made surprise visits and declared the food a “God-damned slop” if he was disappointed or threw trays of chicken onto the floor. In 1975, the owner brought an unsuccessful libel suit against him for publicly calling the gravy a “sludge” with “wallpaper taste.”

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Japanese Artist’s Zipper Ship that Seemingly Opens the River

Zip fastener ship

Japanese artist Yasuhiro Suzuki designed this “Zip-Fastener Ship” so that its wake looks like a zipper opening the river.

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The Real Reason Treadmills Were Invented

The Real Reason Treadmills Were Invented

Invented in 1818, the original purpose of treadmills was to punish English prisoners.

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The Single Basketball Shot that Saved Thousands from a Tornado

Single Basketball Shot that Saved Thousands from a Tornado

In 2008, Alabama basketball player Mykal Riley made a three-point shot sending the game into overtime keeping the 15,000 fans inside the Georgia Dome stadium when an EF2 tornado passed by. Had he missed the shot, many of them would’ve been in the parking lot right in the tornado’s path.

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The Bridge that Turns Into an Underwater Tunnel

Øresund Bridge

This stunning Øresund Bridge transforms into an underwater tunnel on the way from Sweden to Denmark.

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Keanu Reeves Was Never Nominated for These Awards