20/50
Teacher drove 3.2 million miles in a 1966 Volvo.

Irv Gordon, a former teacher, drove his 1966 Volvo P1800S for over 3.2 million miles, earning a world record for the highest mileage in a single car before passing away in 2018.

19/50
In 1999, NASA lost a Mars orbiter because of a mix-up between metric and imperial units.

In September 1999, NASA lost communication with the Mars Climate Orbiter as it entered Mars’ atmosphere. The failure was later traced to a unit conversion error—Lockheed Martin engineers used imperial units (pound-seconds) for a calculation, while NASA’s team used metric units (newton-seconds). This mismatch caused the spacecraft to enter the Martian atmosphere at the wrong altitude, leading it to either burn up or skip off into space.

18/50
A vast 1875 locust swarm vanished within decades due to extinction.

In 1875, a massive swarm of Rocky Mountain locusts stretched 1,800 miles long and 110 miles wide. The swarm was so dense that it blocked out the sun for several days as it passed over the central United States. Remarkably, within just a few decades, the species went extinct.

17/50
Starlings introduced in 1890 now number 200 million, causing havoc.

In 1890, 60 European starlings were released in New York’s Central Park to bring Shakespeare’s birds to America. Today, their population has surged to over 200 million, causing significant agricultural damage and hazards at airports.

16/50
Japan’s phones are waterproof due to popular in-bath phone usage.

In Japan, about 90 to 95 percent of mobile phones are waterproof because many people, especially the youth, use their phones while taking a bath. This cultural preference has made waterproofing a standard feature in the Japanese market.

15/50
Humans perceive only small portions of light and sound frequencies.

The human eye detects light between 430-770 THz, and our ears hear sounds between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. These ranges are small portions of the total electromagnetic and sound spectra, meaning much exists that we cannot perceive.

14/50
Paralyzed man walks again after experimental stem cell treatment success.

A man paralyzed from a neck injury sustained in a surfing accident regained the ability to walk thanks to an experimental stem cell treatment. The procedure involved injecting stem cells from his stomach fat into his spinal cord.

13/50
Man lost 542 kg, setting record for the largest weight loss.

Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari, who was once the heaviest man on Earth, weighing 610 kg (1,340 lb), underwent an extraordinary weight loss journey. Over just four years, he shed 542 kg (1,195 lb), bringing his weight down to a healthy 68 kg (150 lb). This transformation stands as the largest recorded weight loss ever achieved.

12/50
Firefighter vanished skiing in New York, reappeared 3,000 miles away in California.

Toronto firefighter Danny Filippidis disappeared on a skiing trip in New York, only to resurface six days later in Sacramento, California. He was found 3,000 miles away, still in his ski gear, with no memory of how he got there.

11/50
A teen’s memory resets every two hours, making her believe it’s always June 11.

After being accidentally kicked in the head, Riley developed a condition where her memory resets every two hours, causing her to wake up each day believing it is still June 11, the date of her injury.