Iceland does not have a railway system.
100 Mind-Blowing Does Facts
Because snow is composed of ice, it can be classified as a mineral. Water, however, does not fall under the same classification and is not a mineral.
California law does not allow or prohibit lane splitting – when motorcycles pass other vehicles within the same lane.
It costs almost $290,000 per year in fees to run a hot dog cart near the Central Park Zoo in New York City. This does not include cart incurred costs.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three wise men, just three gifts.
The word “peacock” does not apply to both male and female birds. It’s only the males that are called peacocks, while the females are called peahens. Together, the collective name for them is “peafowl.”
The Sun makes a sound but we can’t hear it. In the form of pressure waves, the Sun does make a sound. The wavelength of the pressure waves from the Sun is measured in hundreds of miles, however, meaning they are far beyond the range of human hearing.
Smells can pass through the liquid. Please don’t try smelling underwater (your nose will not appreciate it), but the smell does protrude through the liquid.
Sudan has more pyramids than any country in the world. Not only does Sudan have more pyramids than Egypt, but the numbers aren’t even close. While 138 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt, Sudan boasts around 255.
The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands. The Philippines is an archipelago, which means it’s made up of a group of islands—7,641 islands, to be exact. That figure does not include the thousands of sandbars and other landforms that emerge during low tide.
Antarctica is the only continent without any reptiles or snakes. Not only does the elusive continent of Antarctica lack McDonald’s joints – but it also doesn’t have any of our lizard friends. Why? Well – we all know that reptiles are cold-blooded – so they can’t produce their heat. Meaning, they’d get turned into popsicles in the frosty Arctic.
There is McDonald’s on all continents except Antarctica. Fast food giant McDonald’s serves 120 countries with about 37,855 restaurants worldwide – but you wouldn’t find a single McDonald’s joint in Antarctica. Not only does it have a McDonald ’s-shaped void, but Antarctica is the only demilitarised continent worldwide. Instead, the entire continent is relegated for educational and scientific purposes.
Queen Elizabeth II owns the swans in England. Not only does she own generations of corgis, but this monarch also co-owns most of the geese in England. Why? Swans are the British royal family’s symbol. As of the 12th century, legislation was passed stating that all mute swans were owned by the Crown. In the 15th century, two other entities were entitled to the swans in the River Thames.
Rubber bands will last much longer when they are refrigerated. When a rubber band is placed in the fridge, it causes the polymers to relax. This keeps the band from breaking down as fast as it normally does.
Buttermilk does not contain any butter. The butter in its name refers to the origins of the drink. Now that’s a confusing random fact you probably didn’t know.
Cats can’t taste sweet flavours. This is mainly because they do not possess the base pair of genes that detect sweet flavours. As a result, sugar does not code on their tongues as proper proteins.
Basenji dogs can’t bark. However, this does not mean that they are silent. The sound that they release is more of a warbling yodel. This specific breed of dog is the only dog that cannot bark.
‘Schoolmaster’ is an anagram of ‘the classroom’. Schoolmaster is an old term used to refer to a male teacher. This does not mean that they are the actual master of the school.
Dr Pepper does not have a period. This is mainly due to the font of the logo that would make it look like ‘Di: Pepper’. Many were confused by this, hence the change.
The backward punctuation mark is used to identify sarcasm. It can also be used to signify irony. Or does it⸮
The happiest countries in the world have the highest antidepressant consumers. These countries are ranked per capita. But at least now we know the medication does work.
One of the cleanest dog breeds in the world are poodle. This dog breed does not excessively moult and rarely smells. Often people who have pet allergies adopt poodles because of their grooming routine.
The human brain uses 20% of the oxygen in your body. This is continuous and it does not rest even when we sleep. This is why when people yawn it is believed to be the brain’s way of cooling down.
The fastest man in the world is not physically perfect. Usain Bolt suffers from scoliosis. However, he states that as long as he continues to keep his core and back strong, it does not bother him much.
White chocolate isn’t chocolate. This is made from a blend of sugar and milk products along with some cocoa powder and vanilla extracts. The reason why this cannot be classified as chocolate is that it does not contain any chocolate solids in its making process.
Light does not always travel at the speed of light. Research has found that the slowest recorded light moving was at the speed of 38 mph. The light can travel even slower if it is made to pass through obstacles such as water.
There is a species of frog that devours its prey through its eyes. This frog is known as the Northern Leopard Frog which uses its eyes to help it push food down its throat. It does so by retracting them into its head.
The tip of the Eiffel Tower does not lean towards the sun. This is because the metal that faces the sun is heated up and expands. The tower leans as much as 7 inches.
The cornea does not receive a blood supply. This is the only part of the human body that does not have a blood vessel. The cornea receives its oxygen directly from the air.
Australia is the only continent without an active volcano. The nearest active volcanoes are located off the continent of Australia but are still within its territory. One is located on Head Island and the other on McDonald Islands. The reason why Australia does not have any active volcanoes located on the continent is that it isn’t on a plate boundary.
Gold never erodes. This is because it is chemically inert. This means that it does not react to the oxygen found in the atmosphere.
Your brain uses 12 watts of energy to think and does not feel pain. The brain uses 20% of our resting metabolic calorie rate to keep functioning. It does not feel any pain because there are no pain receptors in the brain itself.
Saudi Arabia imports camels from Australia. When you think of Saudi, you automatically think of desert sands and camels. It seems like one of the funny facts that are hard to believe, but Saudi does get some of their camels from Australia. Native Saudi camels are used for racing and domestic purposes, but the imported camels are used for their meat.
Häagen-Dazs doesn’t mean anything. When Häagen-Dazs was started in 1961, it was named for “old-world craftsmanship.” the resulting name of Häagen-Dazs was a combination of Danish and Hungarian language that does not translate to anything.
When you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond. Ever let out a sneeze so hard, you feel like everything stopped for a moment? Well, your heart does stop when you sneeze, but only briefly. There’s another one of the WTF facts you could’ve gone without knowing.
No one knows why flamingos stand on one foot. Flamingos usually pose with one foot tucked under their bodies. A theory suggests that they do it to conserve body heat in the cold water of their feeding areas, but it has not been confirmed. Astonishingly, a study showed that this behaviour does not cause muscle strain in their legs, meaning they can do it without physical effort.
Bears don’t poop during hibernation. You might wonder, “How do animals keep in their poop when they hibernate?” Before an animal goes into hibernation, they will eat a lot to sustain them until they wake. So, where does all the food go? Bears keep their food in by eating grass and twigs, creating a plug or stopper in their bowels. With this stopper, they can sleep continuously without having to poop. However, once they wake up, it all comes out.
Mary Shelley allegedly lost her virginity on her mother’s grave. It is widely believed that the author of Frankenstein did the devil’s tango with her would-be husband, Percy Shelley, on her mother’s final resting place. Does it get any more gothic than that?
Ice cream warms the body. It might make perfect sense to eat ice cream when you’re feeling hot, but it does the opposite to our bodies. The high-fat content in ice cream warms us up rather than cooling down the body as it metabolizes.
The S in Harry S. Truman does have a meaning. Harry S. Truman may have said that the “S” doesn’t mean anything, but, likely, he was just trolling the media. The “S” stands for two names: his grandfathers Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.
Dark matter comprises 90% of outer space, and no one can tell what it is or what it does.
The film’s realism makes it difficult to watch. “Schindler’s List” does not shy away from depicting the brutal realities of the Holocaust, making it a challenging but essential viewing experience.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out. Crocodiles have a membrane which holds their tongue in place on the roof of their mouth so it does not move. According to BBC, this nearly makes it impossible for them to stick it outside of their narrow mouths.
The Sun is not silent. That Sun above us does make sound through pressure waves. But the weird science fact here is that the wavelength of the sun’s pressure waves is impossible to capture with human hearing.
The letter “Q” does not appear in any U.S. state’s name.
The Basenji, an African wolf dog, does not bark in a normal way but may yodel or scream when excited!
Your nose may not grow like Pinocchio’s, but it does get warmer when you tell a lie.
Venus spins clockwise. It’s the only planet that does!
Sound does not carry in space.
Not only does everyone have unique fingerprints, but humans also have unique tongue prints!
According to many astronauts, space does indeed have a smell. Many Spacewalkers describe space as smelling like “seared steak” or “hot metal.”
Pineapple is one of the best, natural meat tenderizers. This fruit contains bromelain, which breaks down the protein in chains. This enzyme is so powerful that people who work in pineapple factories have to wear protective gear so bromelain does not attack their skin.
Axolotls reproduce up to three times a year. We should point out, though, that this breeding regime does differ depending on whether the animals are living in the wild or captivity.
According to research, starting school at 10 am is better for your health. This is particularly true for teenagers, whose growing bodies require more sleep than they’re able to get with conventionally early start times. Not only does starting a few hours later reduce illness by up to fifty per cent but it’s been found to boost students’ grades significantly!
Books published in Norway are bought by the government to stock the country’s libraries. All books must first go through quality control, and one thousand copies will be purchased and distributed by Arts Council Norway if they pass this step. If it’s a children’s book, 1,550 copies are purchased instead. Not only does this keep small publishing businesses afloat, but it’s also of immense benefit to fledgling writers in Norway.
The moon has its Catholic bishop. You read that right; the Catholic church does claim the moon to be a part of their religious jurisdiction and has done so since man first landed on the moon. This is due to a Catholic law that states that any newly discovered territory falls under the jurisdiction of the bishop from whence the expedition departed. Because Apollo 11 was launched from the jurisdiction of Bishop William Donald Borders in Orlando, Florida, he became the bishop of the moon.
As many as 80% of Hong Kong’s toilets are flushed with seawater. In the 1950s, Hong Kong found the perfect solution to an overall lack of freshwater and installed a separate water distribution and waste-water management system. This system has since been installed in many coastal communities such as the Marshall Islands. Not only does it save precious drinking water, but it’s also even been found to be better for marine ecosystems!
How Much Does GPS Cost To Manage and Run? The average person doesn’t know GPS is funded by American taxpayers. Millions of people use GPS for navigation and location tracking each day. In 2020, $1.71 billion was required to fund the core program in the United States. The total budget for GPS tends to trend upward as the system is improved and updated. For 2021, the budget requested to run the GPS program and infrastructure is over $1.8 billion. Currently, the Department of Defence manages GPS as a whole. Extra funding is provided by the Department of Transportation for civilian upgrades to the system. US law ensures that GPS is available free of cost for direct users with no plans to privatize GPS in the future.
Over 1 billion Active iPhones in the World. Around 1.65 billion Apple brand devices are currently in use, says CEO Tim Cook. How does the company determine this number? Folks only need to use their Apple-branded device once within 90 days and the activity is added to the total. Having recently set both revenue and product sales records – with iPhones leading the way – further proof of this company’s record-setting numbers is measured by the number of “upgraders” also counted. Contributing to these statistics are FaceTime calls driven by the pandemic. It’s anyone’s guess whether chip shortages or supply chain issues will impact Apple sales in 2022.
Thomas Crapper’s toilet. Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Crapper did not invent the flushing toilet, though his name is often associated with it. Crapper did play a significant role in popularising the flushing toilet and developed related inventions like the ball cock. However, the word ‘crap’ does not come from his name; it has Middle English origins and first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1846.
Gravity is also the reason why our days are getting longer. Over a billion years ago, a day on Earth lasted around 18 hours. Our days are longer now because the moon’s gravity is causing Earth’s spin to slow down. In Earth’s earlier days, the moon wasn’t as far away, which caused Earth to spin much faster than it currently does. Longer days also mean shorter years—kind of. The time it takes the Earth to orbit the sun hasn’t changed, but the amount of days within a year has. Back when the dinosaurs ruled 70 million years ago, days were only around 23.5 hours long, and a year was made up of 372 of those slightly shorter days.
Daylight saving time does more than make people lose an hour of sleep. It can have some pretty concerning health effects. Studies have linked daylight saving time with an uptick in heart attacks, car crashes, and mining injuries. The extra hour of daylight is good for koalas, though: Researchers found that koala-car collisions went down by up to 11 per cent during daylight saving time.
Android is the most successful operating system on the planet — bar none — with over 2 billion active monthly users worldwide, according to Google. And what does Android run on? Why the Linux kernel, of course!
Human Intelligence: Unlike the CIA and DIA, the NSA does not publicly conduct human intelligence gathering. Instead, it focuses on SIGINT and cybersecurity.
The Queen didn’t have a passport: During her 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II has visited over 100 countries on official duties. Although every person in the world needs an identity card, she does not need a British passport during her travels. This is because passports are issued in the name of the Queen.
The US “$” sign has long been in use to represent foreign currency before the issue of the first US dollar in 1875. Not only that, but the “$” symbol never has, nor does it now, appear on any US currency.