A study from Harvard University finds that having no friends can be just as deadly as smoking. Both affect levels of a blood clotting protein.
100 Mind-Blowing Study Facts
A study at Florida State University discovered that playing Portal 2 is better for your brain than brain-training games like Lumosity.
The U.S. government gave Indiana University $1 million to study memes.
The Universe’s average colour is called ‘Cosmic latte’. In a 2002 study, astronomers found that the light coming from galaxies averaged into a beige colour that’s close to white.
Wearing a tie can reduce blood flow to the brain by 7.5 per cent. A study in 2018 found that wearing a necktie can reduce the blood flow to your brain by up to 7.5 per cent, which can make you feel dizzy, and nauSEOus, and cause headaches. They can also increase the pressure in your eyes if on too tight and are great at carrying germs.
A horse normally has more than one horsepower. A study in 1993 showed that the maximum power a horse can produce is 18,000W, around 24 horsepower.
Your signature could reveal personality traits. A study in 2016 purports that among men, a larger signature correlates with higher social bravado and, among women, a bigger signature correlates with narcissistic traits.
Deaf people are known to use sign language in their sleep. A case study of a 71-year-old man with rapid eye movement disorder and a severe hearing impairment showed him using fluent sign language in his sleep, with researchers able to get an idea of what he was dreaming about thanks to those signs.
There are more bacterial cells in your body than human cells. The average human is around 56 per cent bacteria. This was discovered in a 2016 study and is far less than the earlier estimates of 90 per cent. As bacteria are so light, however, by weight, each person is over 99.7 per cent human.
0.5% of the male population are descended from Genghis Khan. (Scientists did a study in 2003 showing that about 16 million dudes share a Y chromosome with the famous Emperor.)
According to a OnePoll study commissioned by IHG in 2023, 71% of travellers said they’d likely need a separate vacation after their trip home from the holidays to unwind and relax.
Pigeons can tell the difference between Picasso and Monet. What?! A 1995 study shows that the birds can differentiate between the two artists.
Video games help surgeons perform better. According to a 2007 study, surgeons who play certain video games at least 3 hours a week performed 27% faster with 37% fewer errors during surgery.
Over 70% of people would reveal their passwords for chocolate. In a 2004 study, 71% of office workers stopped on the street agreed to give up their computer passwords for a chocolate bar. Who could blame them?
The average person will spend six months of their life waiting for red lights to turn green. According to a 2016 U.K. study, the most common activity while waiting at a red is adjusting the stereo (59%). More than a third of people adjust the air-conditioner (38%) and a similar number eat a snack (36%).
Marie Curie’s belongings still have radioactive residue in the present day. Marie Curie’s contributions to science had her named by many as the mother of modern physics. One of the works she was most known for was her study of radioactive materials and the discovery of elements such as polonium and radium. However, her research took a toll on her health. Radioactive exposure not only led to her death due to aplastic anaemia – but her clothes, furniture, and books remain radioactive to this day. Now, over a century later, her notebooks have to be stored in a lead box, as they will still be radioactive for another 1,500 years.
Kids ask about 300 questions a day. A 2013 study showed that the average kid asks one question every 2 minutes and 36 seconds. Of all types of children, girls aged four are the most curious, asking 390 questions per day. Interestingly, 82% of children would ask their mother first before their father.
Watching horror movies before viewing abstract art will enhance the experience. This comes from a recent study that proved our reaction towards abstract images improves when frightened. This is especially so for those who are not big fans of the movie genre.
Playing dance music helps ward off mosquitoes. According to a study in 2019, the song ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’ contains both low and high frequencies that yellow fever mosquitoes dislike. Just dance the mosquitoes away.
The average male will become bored after 26 minutes of shopping. However, a study found that most women will not get bored until two hours later. Maybe next time you should just leave your boyfriend or husband at home.
People who post their fitness routines on social media are more likely to have psychological problems. A study finds that this may lead an individual to addiction for attention and esteem. More often, people who share all of their physical activities online have a goal to boast about their activities.
Left-handed people are better at particular sports. Mainly those that involve spatial judgment and fast reactions. This was stated by a research study comparing the performance of left-handed and right-handed athletes.
Dogs and cats also have a dominant side like humans do. A research study from Washington, D.C. states that these animals can be left or right-handed. They favour either the left or right paw when they move.
A lit candle creates 1 million tiny diamonds per second. According to a 2011 study, 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles are created by a candle’s flame for each second it burns. However, the nanoparticles are quickly burned away by the flame.
Swearing can relieve pain. A Keele University study revealed that volunteers who used profanity could endure pain 50% longer than those who did not curse.
Musicians have shorter lifespans. Musicians live fast and die hard. According to a University of Sydney study, the average lifespan of a musician is 25 years shorter than the average U.S. population. The study examined artists’ deaths between 1950 and June 2014.
90% of U.S. money has cocaine on it. Either from exposure or drug use, a study revealed that 90% of the dollars circulating in the economy have cocaine on it. Traces of cocaine were found to reach 0.006 micrograms (several thousand times smaller than salt). The green dye on dollars causes cocaine residue to stick to the bills.
Cows hate country music. You’d think that cows would vibe with country music, but that’s not the case. According to research, cows produce 3% less milk when listening to country music. The study was conducted on a Scottish herd of 45 cows, which were made to listen to classical music and country music. With classical music, their milk production increased, with one particular cow making 1 litre more milk than usual. However, with country music, 44 cows were observed to yield 3% less milk.
People once claimed that coconuts kill more people than sharks yearly. In a 1984 study “Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts,” it was claimed that falling coconuts kill 150 per year, which is a lot more than shark-related deaths at 5 per year. However, it was only a misinterpretation of the statistics gathered from Papua New Guinea. However, there have been several documented cases of coconuts killing people. Falling coconuts can cause fatal injuries to the head, neck, shoulders, and back.
Bananas glow blue under UV light. Bananas may be associated with yellow, but according to one study, the fruit glows an “intense” blue colour under black light (or UV lights). Scientists later found that the degradation of chlorophyll as the fruit ripens causes the blue glow.
An actor’s brain activity is different when in character. Some actors are so good, you forget that they’re acting. However, the actors themselves seem to forget that too. During a study, researchers scanned performers’ brains while the actors answered questions either as themselves or in character. According to the results, the brain activity of participants differed between answering as themselves or as a character – almost as if the character is possessing the actor.
Cats can be manipulative. When cats need food or affection, they’ve been shown to exhibit “solicitation purring,” or more baby-like meows. According to a study, humans perceive this solicitation purring as more urgent than their usual cries.
Air pollution now kills more people than smoking. A study found that air pollution kills almost nine million people every year.
Lefties are kinky, supposedly. A 2008 study found that paraphilias (atypical sexual interests) have been linked to higher rates of left-handedness.
In a 2007 study in Taiwan, about 59.3% of children studied had been forced to convert from left-handedness. Asia is notorious for collectivist societies, and this shows how some parents might force their children to change handedness to be more “normal”.
A head of human hair is strong enough to support 12 tons. If you’ve treated your hair with anything other than your natural hair colour, you’d know that it is stronger than you think. Science has proof to back it up. According to a study, a strand of hair can hold up to 30 ounces, and an entire head of hair can withstand up to 12 tons (or, the size of two elephants).
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.
Women blink more often than men. In a study, women blinked an average of 19 times, while for men, it was only 11 times.
Junk food is as addictive as drugs. The struggle to quit and the tendency to lose control may sound like a drug problem, but it’s a similar problem for junk food. According to a study, eating junk food has a similar effect on brain activity as narcotics do. This phenomenon is more common with highly processed food such as fast food and instant food. Isn’t that one of the useless facts you wish you didn’t know?
You spend 92 days of your life on the toilet. Based on a study with 2,500 respondents, the average man spends 1 hr and 45 min on the toilet, which is 92 days a week.
Just like people, some animals, such as cats and dogs, have a preference for using their left paws. Scientists even study this in animals, and they call it “lateralisation.”
Deaf people use sign language in their sleep. During a 2017 case study, a 71-year-old man with severe hearing impairment and “rapid eye movement disorder” was observed using fluent sign language in his sleep.
Wearing a tie can reduce blood flow to the brain by 7.5%. According to a 2018 study, in addition to increasing eye pressure and carrying germs, wearing a tie too tightly can make you feel nauSEOus and dizzy, as well as cause headaches.
We sent out Mars Rovers (which are like robots) on missions to explore Mars collect samples and record scientific data for scientists on Earth to study. Some of these Rovers include Viking 1, Viking 2, Mars 2, Mars 3, Spirit, Phoenix, Pathfinder, Curiosity, and Opportunity.
The heat from the Big Bang is still around today. The early Universe consisted of a hot soup of ionised gas: a sort of opaque plasma. About 380,000 years after the Big Bang, this gas cooled sufficiently enough that atoms were able to form. Radiation left over from the Big Bang is still around us today and is known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB). It can’t be seen with the naked eye, but various missions over the years have been able to study it in microwave light, including ESA’s Planck satellite and the WMAP mission.
Earth has a squishy interior. Earth’s interior is not solid but rather has a semi-solid or ‘squishy’ consistency owing to high temperatures and pressures. This squishy consistency allows the mantle to flow and move over geological timescales, which is responsible for phenomena such as plate tectonics, volcanic activity and Earthquakes. One consequence of this squishy interior is a process known as post-glacial rebound. During the last ice age, large portions of Earth’s surface were covered by glaciers, causing the underlying mantle to deform and sink. As the glaciers melted and receded, the mantle slowly rebounded back to its original position over thousands of years, causing the land above it to rise. This process is still occurring today in places such as Canada, Scandinavia, and Greenland, where the land is still rebounding from the weight of the glaciers that once covered the region. Recent research has found that West Antarctica is rising faster than anywhere else in the world, thanks to data from ESA’s GOCE gravity mission. The study of post-glacial rebound provides important insights into the structure and behaviour of Earth’s interior, and how it responds to changes in the surface environment over long timescales.
According to a Yale study, people who read books live on average 2 years longer than those who do not read at all.
Madame Curie’s notebooks are still radioactive. Researchers wishing to study them must sign a waiver to do so.
The doctor who claimed there was a link between autism and vaccines created fraudulent data for his study and lost his medical license.
Study Reveals Surgeons Need To Play More Video Games, But Why? Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York recently carried out a study with 33 of its surgeons. The surgeons took a surgical skills test in Laparoscopy that lasted almost two days. In the study, researchers tracked performance in the skills test on an individual level. They then recorded each surgeon’s habits about playing video games. Nine of 33 surgeons played an average of three hours of games per week. They outscored surgeons that never played video games in various categories. For instance, they committed 37 per cent fewer errors and completed the test 27 per cent faster. The study concluded a strong correlation exists between surgical skill and Laparoscopy performance.
Facebook: It’s Become a Leading Factor in Divorce. Facebook has been the subject of myriad research studies, but few are as intriguing as one published in the Journal of Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking that investigated relationship break-up rates. Findings, that “more frequent social media use and monitoring of one’s partner could lead to misunderstandings and feelings of jealousy,” in addition emotional and physical cheating can be traced to Facebook interactions. Additionally, another study undertaken by British attorneys using evidence culled from Facebook for divorce proceedings, concluded that Facebook can hurt people in committed relationships and even offer tips on how to avoid splitting up.
Individual people can experience time differently, too. You’ve probably noticed how time seems to speed up when you’re racing against a deadline or having fun, and how it tends to drag when you’re bored. This is because when you’re focused on something, like a big work project or a party, your brain pays less attention to how time passes. But when you’re bored, or your brain is less stimulated, you become more aware of the passing of time, making it feel slower. One study proposed that dopamine—the neurotransmitter and hormone that helps us feel happy—may be an additional culprit. It showed that increased dopamine production, which happens when you’re enjoying something, may slow down your body’s internal clock, making time feel like it’s flying by.
Only About 50% of Smartphones in the United States are Secure by an Antivirus. A study from BitDefender showed that only 50% of mobile device owners in the US safeguard their phones using antivirus apps.
Men are the Most Users of Antivirus Software Programs. According to a study from AV-Test, 62% of its users were men, while the remaining 38 were said to be women.
62% of Antivirus Users are Aged 34 Years and Younger. As per a study conducted by AV-Test, 62% of antivirus clients are aged between 18 and 34, 23% are aged between 35 and 54, and 15% are 55 and above.
Linux is the favourite operating system of 83.1% of developers according to one study.
Cost of Redeveloping the Linux Kernel: Redeveloping version 2.6.0 of the Linux kernel in a traditional, non-open source way was estimated to cost around $612 million in 2004. Another study in 2006, funded by the European Union, suggested that redoing version 2.6.8 would be even more expensive, at about $1.14 billion. These estimates show how much money could be saved by using the open-source approach of developing Linux.
53% of users haven’t changed their password in the last year (LastPass): Despite numerous reports in the last couple of years highlighting the impact of a poor password on data security and hacking issues, 53% of users worldwide haven’t changed their password in a year. 42% of customers say they believe a password should be easier to remember, rather than secure. 80% of users in this study said they’d be concerned if their password was compromised, but 48% wouldn’t change their password if it wasn’t required. When asked where they’d be tempted to create strong passwords, 69% of users said they would do so for financial accounts, and only 29% said they would create a strong password for work-related accounts.
The most Instagrammed mountain is Scafell Pike: Represent Clothing published a study in July 2022 where they found the most Instagrammable mountains in the UK. They did this by investigating the number of geotags photos of the mountains had on the app, and the top English mountain was Scafell Pike with 85,100 tags. Across the UK Scafell Pike came in third place, with Snowdon sitting in first place with 168,000 tags and the Brecon Beacons peak of Pen y Fan in second place with 146,000 tags. There was little doubt that a Lake District mountain would make the list, with the national park sporting a wealth of beautiful peaks. If you want to explore Scafell Pike yourself and snap a picture from the summit, why not give the Scafell Pike Circular Walk a go?
Money Is Dirtier Than You Think: Both paper currency and coins can carry viruses and bacteria that can live on surfaces and easily transfer to your skin or onto other objects after touching them. Research has found physical currency changes hands at least 55 times a year or almost once a week. One recent study found banknotes made with cotton or linen fibres, such as U.S. dollar bills, present increased areas for germs and the capacity to retain moisture, which can make it an easier place for bacteria to thrive.
The Study or Collection of Money Is Called “Numismatics”
Based on a 2013 study, 60% of the 1,000 most viewed YouTube videos are banned in Germany.
A Lot of People Are Unaware That They Use AI Platforms: One of the strange Artificial Intelligence facts is that only 34% of consumers realize that they are directly experiencing AI, according to a study published by Pegasystems Inc. However, when surveyed about the technologies they use, it was found that 84% use one or more AI-powered devices or services.
Almost All Smartphone Users Take Advantage of AI Voice Assistants: According to a study by Creative Strategies, 96 per cent of Android consumers and 98 per cent of iPhone consumers use Google and Apple’s AI-based digital assistants – ‘OK Google’ and ‘Siri’. The study further highlights that 51 per cent of consumers use digital assistants in cars, 39 per cent in homes, 6 per cent in public places, and 1.3 per cent at work.
Asset Maintenance Is at the Forefront of AI Automation: According to Artificial Intelligence stats published in a Capgemini study, the most popular AI use cases in the manufacturing sector include predicting when machines are likely to break down and recommending the best time to perform maintenance. The study shows that nearly 29 per cent of AI applications in the manufacturing industry are for keeping production assets up and running.
Top Retailers Aim to Implement AI in 2023 to Facilitate Price Optimisation: Aware of the fact that 60 per cent of consumers choose the best-priced offers, leading retailers are planning to implement AI systems by 2021 to optimise the pricing of their products, according to Artificial Intelligence stats released in a study by IBM.
A fun AI fact: according to a study by Bespoken, Google’s AI far exceeded that of Alexa and Siri.