Llamas can be used as guards against coyote attacks on sheep herds. Studies have proven that just one guard llama is an effective protector and can even kill the attacking coyotes.
100 Mind-Blowing Even Facts
Chicken Run is the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film, even beating The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Julius Caesar’s only son, Caesarion, was the last Pharaoh of Egypt. Even though Cleopatra swears he is Caesar’s son, Caesar never officially acknowledged him.
Brain fibres lose 10% of their total length every decade. They can shrink even more so under acute stress.
Even though Irish is the official language of Ireland, Polish is more widely spoken.
Nepal has the most mathematical flag in the world. It even has an article in its constitution that details the steps of drawing the flag.
Until 2007, slavery was legal in Mauritania. Even still, 1-4% of the population is still living as slaves.
By applying even pressure to an egg, it is nearly impossible to break the shell by squeezing it.
High heels are nothing new to the world. In the 18th Century, they were fashionable even for children.
One of the smartest bird species is the magpie. They can even recognise themselves in mirrors.
A woman was elected to the House of Representatives four years before women even won the right to vote.
Red pandas have no living relatives – they aren’t even related to giant pandas.
Even though drugs are officially illegal in the Netherlands, it is legal to be under the influence of any drug to encourage people to seek medical help.
While most people think of Neil Patrick Harris as an actor, he is also a writer, producer, comedian, singer, and even amateur magician!
English accounts for 50% of visited web pages, even though the amount of English users is only 26%. Russian accounts for the 2nd most visited pages at only 6%.
Even a small amount of alcohol placed on a scorpion will make it go crazy and sting itself to death.
Anna Bagenhold fell through a frozen stream while she was skiing and was stuck for over an hour. She made a full recovery and became the person to survive the lowest body temperature ever recorded at 56.7 °F (13.7 °C), even though she was clinically dead.
The call of a Kookaburra is used as the stock jungle sound effect in many movies and shows set in the jungles of Africa or South America, even though they are only in Australia and New Guinea.
Even though smoking has been banned on aeroplanes, ashtrays are mandatory on every plane. This is for safe disposal in case someone breaks the law.
The state vegetable of Oklahoma is the Watermelon, even though it is indeed a fruit.
The social media website, MySpace, was founded in 2003 and sold for $580 million in 2005. At this time, it was the most visited social networking site in the world and even surpassed Google as the most visited website in the United States!
Comets smell like rotten eggs. A comet smells like rotten eggs, urine, burning matches, and… almonds. Traces of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, sulphur dioxide, and hydrogen cyanide were all found in the makeup of the comet 67P/Churyumove-Gerasimenko. Promotional postcards were even commissioned in 2016 carrying the pungent scent of a comet.
There’s no such thing as a straight line. Zoom in close enough to anything and you’ll spot irregularities. Even a laser light beam is slightly curved.
Hippos can’t swim. Hippos do have big bones, so big and dense that they’re barely buoyant at all. They don’t swim and instead perform a slow-motion gallop on the riverbed or the sea floor. Hippos can even sleep underwater, thanks to a built-in reflex that allows them to bob up, take a breath, and sink back down without waking.
Fish form orderly queues in emergencies. When evacuating through narrow spaces in sketchy situations, schools of neon tetra fish queue so that they don’t collide or clog up the line. Scientists interpreted this behaviour as showing that fish can respect social rules even in emergencies, unlike us humans.
Insects can fly up to 3.25km above sea level, at least. Alpine bumblebees have been found living as high up as 3.25km above sea level and could even fly in lab conditions that replicate the air density and oxygen levels at 9km – that’s just higher than Mount Everest.
Electrons might live forever. Scientists have estimated the minimum lifetime of the electron is about 6.6 × 1028 years – this is 66,000 ‘yottayears’. Since this is about 5 quintillion times the age of the Universe, even if electrons don’t live forever, they may as well do!
Bats aren’t blind. Despite the famous idiom, bats can indeed see, but they still use their even more famous echolocation to find prey.
Interesting facts aren’t just nice to have in your back pocket, but they can help foster a sense of connection with others, spark curiosity during a boring dinner conversation and even help you break past small talk on a first date. Get ready to show off your trivia prowess with one or more of the below fun facts across categories like food, travel, history, science, music and more. Be sure to bookmark this page for your next trivia night, and share it with your fellow fun fact obsessives. Dr Pepper was founded in Waco, Texas, by a pharmacist, in 1885, making it the oldest big soft drink brand in the country, per Southern Living.
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 world’s first animated feature film was made in Argentina. Even if you know a lot of Disney trivia, you might assume that the honour of the first animated feature film belongs to Walt Disney’s 1937 movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But 20 years earlier, a full-length animated feature film was made in Argentina. It was a political satire called El Apóstol made up of 58,000 drawings and had a running time of 70 minutes, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Professional athletes used to perform in vaudeville during the off-season. Before today’s big-league salaries, professional baseball and football players often had to take on jobs during the off-season, The Atlantic reports. Some of them took advantage of their name recognition and hit the vaudeville circuits, doing everything from comedy routines to reciting poems. Babe Ruth even sang—if you could call it that. Frankly, many of the athletes had no business being on stage, but it’s not like it was against the rules.
There’s only one letter that doesn’t appear in any U.S. state name. Can you guess the answer to this random fun fact? You’ll find a Z (Arizona), a J (New Jersey), and even two Xs (New Mexico and Texas)—but not a single Q.
A cow-bison hybrid is called a beefalo. You can even buy its meat in at least 21 states.
Samsung tests phone durability with a butt-shaped robot. People stash their phones in their back pockets all the time, which is why Samsung created a robot shaped like a butt to “sit” on their phones to make sure they can take the pressure. Believe it or not, the robot even wears jeans.
The current American flag was designed by a high school student. It started as a school project for Bob Heft’s junior-year history class in 1958, and it only earned a B-minus. His design had 50 stars, even though Alaska and Hawaii weren’t states yet; Heft figured the two would earn statehood soon and showed the government his design. After President Dwight D. Eisenhower called to say the design was approved, Heft’s teacher changed his grade to an A.
The man with the world’s deepest voice can make sounds humans can’t hear. The man, Tim Storms, can’t even hear the note, which is eight octaves below the lowest G on a piano—but elephants can.
A waffle iron inspired one of the first pairs of Nikes. Bill Bowerman was a track and field coach in the 1950s who didn’t like how running shoes were made. He first created the Cortez shoe but wanted a sneaker that was even lighter and could be worn on a variety of surfaces. During a waffle breakfast with his wife in 1970, he came up with the idea of using the waffle texture on the soles of running shoes. Waffle-soled shoes made their big debut in the 1972 U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon.
A woman called the police when her ice cream didn’t have enough sprinkles. The West Midlands police in England released a recording of a woman who called 999 (the U.K. version of 911) because there were “bits on one side and none on the other,” she says in the recording. She was even more upset when the ice cream truck man did not want to give her money back.
South American river turtles talk in their eggs. Turtles don’t have vocal cords, and their ears are internal, so scientists believed that turtles were deaf and didn’t communicate through sounds. However, research has found that turtles communicate at an extremely low frequency that sounds like “clicks, clucks, and hoots” that can only be heard through a hydrophone (a microphone used underwater). These sounds even come from the egg before the turtle hatches. Researchers hypothesize that this helps all the turtle siblings hatch at once.
Ice pops were invented by an 11-year-old by accident. In 1905, an 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson left soda powder and water outside overnight with its wooden stirrer still in the cup. The mixture had frozen in the chilly nighttime weather, and so the Epsicle was born. He sold the treat around his neighbourhood and a nearby amusement park and even patented the recipe. Years later, he changed the name to Popsicle because that’s what his kids called their pop’s concoction.
Adolf Hitler was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Don’t worry, the Swedish politician who sent the letter of nomination in 1939 meant it ironically and withdrew his nomination. In an even more ironic twist, Hitler had banned Germans from accepting the awards four years before his name was thrown in the ring.
The smallest country in the world (by landmass) is Vatican City. This is one of our favourite facts about Europe! The tiny country measures 0.02 square miles and even prints its maps!
You can’t move or touch William Shakespeare’s bones. William Shakespeare’s legacy doesn’t stop at his plays and how many words he created – but even in the afterlife, he leaves a lasting display of his wit. Buried in 1616, the playwright was said to have written his tombstone inscription which reads: “Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forebearer, To digg the dust enclosed heare; Bleste be the man that spares thes stones, And curst be he that moves my bones.”
The youngest Pope elected was 11 years old. Pope Benedict IX was one of the most controversial Popes – people aren’t even sure when he was elected as the Pope. However, the choices were 20, 11, or 12. If that were true, he was the youngest Pope.
Toto was paid $125 per week while filming The Wizard of Oz. In the 1939 hit The Wizard of Oz, Toto was played by a brindle Cairn Terrier named Terry. She was paid a $125 salary each week, which was even more than some of the human actors (ie: the Singer Midgets who played the Munchkins allegedly received $50 to $100 a week).
Palindromes are the most difficult kind of phrase to form. According to language experts, the hardest phrase to create is a palindrome: a sentence or group of sentences that are the same when reading forward or backwards. Examples include 01 A man, a plan, a canal – Panama; 02 Madam, I’m Adam; 03 Never odd or even.
The Kingsman underwater scene was not scripted. One of the most gruelling scenes in Kingsman is the underwater escape scene. The actors delivered a scene that even had you panicking. However, it’s closer to life than you think. The flooding was a technical mishap that derailed the rehearsed flow of the scene. Director Matthew Vaughn recalls it as a horrible first day of filming. The cut was still used in the film.
A pig was once held in trial for the death of a child. During the Middle Ages, it was normal for animals to be tried for human crimes. In 1386, a pig was even arrested for injuring a child. When the child died, the pig was placed on trial which ruled the pig’s public execution.
You could buy a town from eBay. Since eBay was founded in 1995, many unusual items have been placed on the online auction site. One of the weirdest fun facts is that someone even tried to sell the country of New Zealand on eBay. Turns out, it was part of the long-known rivalry between Australia and New Zealand – and Australia jokingly posted the auction. However, the bidding was stopped once the bid reached $3,000.
The Pokemon Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan are based on Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Pokemon is an RPG known for its world-building, which includes creating Pokemon inspired by animals, objects, space, and – turns out – even renowned martial artists. Generation 1’s Fighting type Pokemon Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were made as homages to the great kung fu masters.
The official plural form of a Prius is Prii. After an online poll in 2011, Toyota announced the official plural form of the Prius: it’s Prii. Add that to the fun facts you never even thought of, but know now. We hope you find peace.
There’s only one letter that doesn’t appear in any U.S. state name. You’ll find a Z (Arizona), a J (New Jersey), and even two Xs (New Mexico and Texas)—but not a single American state has the letter Q.
Armadillos have bulletproof shells. One Texas man was even hospitalized after shooting an armadillo – the bullet ricocheted off the animal and struck him in the jaw.
2 parts of the human body never stop growing. Our noses and ears never stop growing, even when the rest of the body has stopped.
Bees can fly higher than Mount Everest. Bees are endlessly interesting creatures with a lot of amazing fun facts. One of which is that bees can fly over 29,525 feet above sea level. That’s even higher than Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world.
Humans have jumped further than horses in the Olympics. The Olympics has been a good measure of humanity’s physical limits and capabilities. You’d be surprised that the world record for the longest human long jump is even greater than the record for the longest long jump done by a horse. When Mike Powell jumped 8.95 meters, he beat the record of Extra Dry who jumped at 6.10 meters.
Wild boars wash their food. At the Basel Zoo in Switzerland, zookeepers observed adult and juvenile wild boars bringing sandy apples to a nearby creek to wash before eating. They’re even neater than some people.
Ancient Egyptians used dead mice for toothaches. In Ancient Egypt, people soothed their toothaches by putting a dead mouse in their mouth. Sometimes, the Ancient Egyptians would even mix other ingredients with these mice, to form a paste that they would apply to the affected tooth.
Sailors consider black cats good luck. Some sailors use black cats as the ship’s cat in hopes of a safe voyage. Some fishermen’s wives would even keep a black cat at home as well in hopes of their husband’s safe return.
Ioannis Ikonomou has been the chief translator of the European Parliament since 2002. This Greek translator has 32 languages under his belt and even knows languages outside of the EU. How’s that for a hidden talent?
The inventor of the frisbee became a frisbee himself. During the 1950s, Steady Ed invented the frisbee, and later on the sport of disc golf in the 70s. He dedicated his life to frisbees and it was stated in his final testimonials that he wished to have his ashes turned into a frisbee itself. This was so that he would be able to play with his son even when he wasn’t around.
Dragonflies can’t walk. Even though they have six legs, they are unable to walk with them. Their legs are too weak for them to walk for long periods.
Ben & Jerry’s made a graveyard for their former flavours. These flavours all consist of discontinued ice cream flavours. Each flavour has its photo as well as its life span. Each one even has its epitaph for people to remember it by.
Every decade, brain fibres lose 10% of their strength. At times of acute stress, they shrink even more than the average amount. This decline continues between the ages of 20 to 80.
The human vagina always holds a small amount of yeast. Even without an infection, the vagina will always hold some kind of fungus. Regular cleaning of this area is advised to prevent the growth of bacteria and infections.
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.
An organism with a disappearing butt exists. Scientists named this the comb jelly or the sea walnut. Research has stated that there has been no documentation of a transient anus, not even under a microscope.
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.
A human being can live with only one kidney. A person may have one kidney removed to treat an injury or disease. Even with one kidney, they may still be able to lead normal and healthy lifestyles.
Your brain is active even if you are asleep. As an adult passes into deeper stages of sleep, brain waves begin to slow down and become bigger. As your sleep deepens, the brain activity moves into REM sleep. The muscles then relax and breathing is regulated to help the body recover from the long day.
The human teeth are as strong as a shark’s teeth. Scientists have found that human teeth are just as strong as the teeth of sharks. This is even though human teeth are made from a softer mineral compared to the ones found in a shark’s.
The chef of Charles the First is paid £500 a year to keep his ice cream recipe a secret. Charles treated his recipe as if it were a state secret. But he soon discovered that even a monarch cannot keep track of everything.
There are over 100 ways to cook an egg. Eggs are used as a main dish, in baking, and even in desserts such as flan and pudding. The traditional chef’s toque had 100 folds to symbolize the mastery of cooking 100 egg dishes.
The close door button on an elevator doesn’t do anything. Most elevators in the U.S. are modelled after the Americans with Disabilities Act. Namely, they come with braille and voice prompts. Additionally, these elevators are made to close in 3 seconds. The default time ensures that people with disabilities can board safely. The button you jab in a rush doesn’t even do anything: the actual close-door function can only be accessed by workers and emergency respondents with a key.
Coffee beans can cure bad breath. Coffee beans are a known odour neutraliser. Perfume shops even make customers sniff coffee beans when trying different fragrances. However, you must chew them if you’re going for deodorizing – drinking coffee can worsen your breath through bacteria. Science, right?
Thousands of people write to God yearly. Every year, Jerusalem receives an influx of letters from thousands of people addressed to “God.” It happens so regularly that there is even a “Letters to God” department of the Israeli postal service.
Eagles don’t mate while airborne. You may have encountered the myth that eagles mate in the air. However, eagles mate on branches or nests. The fact that people even think it’s possible is just one of the funny facts.
Forrest Gump has more CGI than Jurassic Park. When Forrest ran through a jungle in Vietnam, and showed his table tennis skills, that was CGI. Even the feather in the opening scene is computer-generated. Overall, Forrest Gump has more minutes of CGI screen time than Jurassic Park. Another one of those funny facts that are hard to believe.
Monica and Joey were supposed to be the main F.R.I.E.N.D.S. romance. The ‘90s hit show had fans swooning over the romance arcs, but the pairings that ended up together weren’t the original plan. Originally, Monica and Joey were supposed to be the endgame. Joey was also supposed to be extra sleazy, even hitting on Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe. However, Matt LeBlanc suggested toning down Joey’s character to only flirting with girls outside the main cast. This made Joey way more likeable and gave way to the romances that ended up developing through the course of the series.
People used to dream in black and white. The world may not be black and white now, but there was a time when even dreams were. Before colour TV was invented, 75% of people said their dreams were in black and white. However, only 12% do now.
The founder of Match.com lost his girlfriend to a man she met on Match.com. It may seem like another one of the darkly funny facts – but when his girlfriend left him for a man she met on his site, Gary Kremen didn’t even break a sweat. According to Match.com founder, Kremen knew his project was successful when his girlfriend left him for another man through Match.com.
There are more than 300 dead bodies on Mount Everest. Since 1922, 305 people have died on Mt. Everest. Some even died while attempting to retrieve another dead body. Since few brave the perilous climb and come out alive, the casualties on Everest now serve as markers for other hikers.
The longest hiccups lasted nearly 69 years. When Charles Osborne started hiccupping in 1922, he didn’t stop until 1990. Charles Osborne hiccupped non-stop for 68 years. He wasn’t even doing anything to trigger his decades-long hiccup – it just started while he was weighing a hog before slaughter. Initially, he hiccupped 40 times a minute. However, in his later years, it slowed to 20 hiccups per minute. After his long hiccupping episode, he managed to live a hiccup-less life for only a year until he died in 1991. One of the more unfortunate WTF facts.
About 100 people choke on pens each year in the U.S. Roughly 100 people choke on pen caps per year in America, which is why BIC adopted their iconic holed caps. The hole not only serves as a design feature, but it makes sure that a person can breathe even if they ingest it.
There’s an apartment inside the Eiffel Tower. When Gustave Eiffel designed the tower, he added a hidden apartment on the third level—but he never lived there, nor did anybody. Instead, Eiffel used this space to entertain guests such as Thomas Edison. Though it wasn’t big, the apartment was decorated with wallpaper, furnished with wooden cabinets, and even had a grand piano. Nowadays, you can get a peek at the unique space through a window if you ride up the tower.
The man who created Comic Sans used it once. Universally known as the world’s most hated font, Comic Sans was designed by Vincent Connare in 1995. Turns out, even Vincent Connare can’t take it seriously and only used it once for a complaint about his broadband service.
There’s a family of people with blue skin in Kentucky. One of the most bizarre WTF facts: For generations, the Fugates of Kentucky had a condition called methemoglobinemia that turns skin blue. It was a rare genetic condition that was even more triggered by inbreeding.
The man with the longest beard tripped and died because of it. Hans Steininger once became famous for having the world’s longest beard at almost 5 ft long. However, he became even more famous for dying because of his beard. One of the morbidly funny yet unfortunate WTF facts: he tripped on his beard during a fire, which made him fall downstairs and break his neck.
No one knows how Edgar Allan Poe died. If his works were any indicator of who he was as a person, Edgar Allan Poe was a deeply disturbed man. Aside from his macabre writing, a lot of mystery surrounds Edgar Allan Poe. Even his death is unclear. He was last seen in Baltimore’s streets in 1849. He was wearing someone else’s clothes and in bad shape. 4 days later, he died in a hospital. Allegedly, he kept shouting “Reynolds” before his death.
People in New England thought tuberculosis was vampirism. The 19th century was the height of the “New England Vampire Panic.” during this time, people thought that “consumption” (what they called Tuberculosis) was spread by vampires. People would even dig up Tuberculosis victims and stake them through the heart. Not a fan of Twilight, it seems.
Beethoven could still hear after going deaf. If you’re wondering how Beethoven still managed to be a great composer even when he was deaf, it was because of this method: He bit onto a metal pole connected to his piano. He then felt or heard his music through the vibration in his bones.
America accidentally dropped an atomic bomb on South Carolina in 1958. Talk about clumsy. Here’s one of the scary WTF facts: In 1958, a B-47 plane was headed to the United Kingdom with an atomic bomb even bigger than the Nagasaki bomb. During the flight, one of the pilots accidentally released the emergency pin. However, the critical part of the bomb needed to activate it was still on the plane. If it were already equipped with the bomb, it would have obliterated the entire state and even more.
The world record for the most egg yolks in one egg is 9 yolks. Certain conditions can cause abnormalities in chicken eggs, such as multi-yolks, no-yolks, or even no shells.
A man reached level 90 in World of Warcraft without leaving the starting zone, ever. The player Double agent spent 173.5 days mining and picking herbs for XP. Technically, he was stuck in the Wandering Isles for life – he couldn’t even play PvP since you’d need to have a faction for that.
Corn Flakes were invented to prevent masturbation. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg believed that sex was a sin (he didn’t even sleep with his wife). He invented cornflakes because he believed that foods such as meat increased sexual desire, while cereal and nuts fought against it.
Bearcat urine smells like buttered popcorn. The smell of buttered popcorn is mouthwatering and even nostalgic to some – so much so that there’s even a jellybean flavour and candle scents for it. However, make sure you’re not getting duped – because that’s exactly what the Southeast Asian bearcat’s pee smells like. Bearcat urine contains the same compound found in buttered popcorn (2-AP). The Southeast Asian bearcat covers its feet and tail in its buttered popcorn-scented urine for other bearcats to smell.
A cockroach can live for weeks after its head has been cut off. If you’ve ever been assaulted by a cockroach, your instincts would be fight or flight – and the brave few who would fight can probably agree that cockroaches can be ridiculously hard to squish and kill. Even with its head cut off, a roach would survive because of its open circulatory system or using tiny holes in its body called spiracles to breathe. Additionally, cockroaches don’t need food like we do, so they’d be able to go for weeks without it.
A cubic inch of bone is four times as strong as concrete. Ounce for ounce, bone is even stronger than steel.
4 out of 5 children recognise the McDonald’s logo at 3 years old. These kids can recognise the golden arches before they even know their names.