The pumpkin is a member of the cucurbit family, which are gourds, such as cucumbers and squashes.
100 Mind-Blowing Such Facts
Humans specifically have eyes that face forward to see in 3D. On the other hand, vegetarian dinosaurs such as the Triceratops had eyes that looked out to the side so they could stay vigilant, watching for danger as they ate.
Pitbulls rank high among the most affectionate and least aggressive dogs. Pitbulls are only aggressive when forcibly trained as such, usually for illegal dogfighting.
Dogs with pointed and long faces tend to live longer than those which have flatter faces, such as pugs.
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has such severe dyslexia that he didn’t read his first novel until he was 38.
There is such an expansive collection of books in the British Library in their archive that if a person could read 5 books per day, it would take 80,000 years to complete.
There was a man in the late 1700s who had such a constant and severe appetite that he was once kicked out of a hospital because they thought he ate an entire toddler.
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.
Dogs tilt their heads when you speak to them to better pinpoint familiar words. Your dog is tilting its head when you speak to it to pinpoint where noises are coming from more quickly. This is done to listen out more accurately for familiar words such as ‘walkies’ and helps them to better understand the tone of your voice. If a dog doesn’t tilt its head that often (as those with shorter muzzles might), it’s because it relies less on sound and more on sight.
The average dinosaur lifespan was surprisingly small. The Tyrannosaurus rex, for example, reached full size between 16-22 years old and lived up until 27-33. The largest dinosaurs such as the Brontosaurus and Diplodocus tended to live up to between 39-53 years old, maybe reaching the height of 70.
The first oranges weren’t orange. The original oranges from Southeast Asia were a tangerine-pomelo hybrid, and they were green. Oranges in warmer regions, such as Vietnam and Thailand, still stay green through maturity. Speaking of which, ever wonder which “orange” came first: the colour or the fruit? We found out!
Digging a hole into China is possible if you start in Argentina. One of the most intriguing fun facts about Argentina is that you could dig a hole in China from there. As a feat usually done by cartoon or comic book characters, travelling to China underground is possible in theory, but not so much in practice. Underground conditions such as heat, pressure, and lack of oxygen are just one of the few realities that keep this cartoonish concept just that – a concept for cartoons.
A man once won a horse race after he died. This one will have you saying, “What the fact?!” but this dark fun fact takes “winning spirit” to another level. Frank Hayes was a jockey who suffered a fatal heart attack mid-race. However, his horse still led and finished the race in first place. As such, Hayes was the first and only jockey to win a race posthumously in 1923.
Humans specifically have eyes that face forward to see in 3D. On the other hand, vegetarian dinosaurs such as the Triceratops had eyes facing both sides so they could look out for predators.
The Eiffel Tower leans away from the sun. Heat makes metals expand. As such, the top of the Eiffel Tower can move up to 7 inches in the summer.
In Ancient Egypt, priests plucked their bodies bald. Ancient Egyptians believed that body hair was unhygienic and shameful. As such, it was a common practice for men, women, and children to remove their body hair.
The Terminator script was sold for a dollar. James Cameron is an award-winning director who made his name with hits such as Titanic, Avatar, and The Terminator. However, his life wasn’t always that grand. In fact: to get his breakout hit made with The Terminator, he sold the script for US$1 and a promise that he’d get to direct.
The oceans contain 200,000 different kinds of viruses. Dive deep into this next fun fact: Marine viruses have been found in the ocean from the surface down to 4,000m deep and from the North to the South Pole. Most of these viruses are harmless to humans. However, they can infect marine life such as whales and crustaceans.
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.
The lyrebird can make chainsaw sounds. The Australian lyrebird can mimic not only animals, but it can imitate sounds from other inanimate objects such as cars, cameras, and chainsaws.
The Little Mermaid was Disney’s first princess movie in 30 years. When Disney released Sleeping Beauty, it was such a box office bomb that the company was put off creating princess movies. Disney didn’t make another princess movie until 30 years later when The Little Mermaid was released in 1989.
A waffle iron inspired one of the first iconic Nike shoes. Nowadays, running shoes have a wide range of different technology and materials. However, that wasn’t the case back in the 1950s. Bill Bowerman of Nike wanted to make a lighter running shoe that could be worn on different surfaces. As such, the idea of using a waffle texture sole came to him during breakfast with his wife. Check out the waffle sole on the recently retired Nike Tailwind ‘79.
The British Empire was the largest in the world. In the 1920s, the British Empire ruled over 23% of the world’s population. Their territory covered 13 million square miles. As such, the British Empire is considered the largest empire in history.
Cap’n Crunch was once sued for not using real berries. An American woman by the name of Jeanine Sugawara was shocked to find out the cereal was falsely advertising its contents. However, the complaint was quickly dismissed when the judge stated that there was no such thing as Crunch Berry.
There are more than 200 flavours of Kit Kat in Japan. You can find Japan-exclusive flavoured Kit Kats such as Adzuki (Red bean), Tamaruya Honten Wasabi (Japanese horseradish), Shinshu Apple and more. Don’t forget to bring these exotic flavours home to share with your loved ones on your next trip to Japan!
David Bowie helped topple the Berlin Wall. During a performance in 1987, Bowie’s performance of ‘Heroes’ near the Reichstag could be heard by the police in East Berlin. This resulted in a police crackdown because such music was forbidden there. Some say that the violent police crackdown during the concert was a necessity in changing the mood against the state.
Many oranges are green. Often when ripe, oranges are in their natural green. In some locations in the world such as South America and tropical islands, oranges are green all year round.
123456 is the most common password. Following this are several variations of this sequence such as 123456789, 012345, etc. Other passwords include ‘iloveyou’, ‘sunshine’, and ‘password’.
Mexican prisons do not punish you for non-violent attempts to escape. This is because it is part of human nature to want freedom, and therefore is not seen as a crime. However, factors such as property damage and violence will cause prison guards to practice the necessary punishments.
The Goodyear blimp is the official bird of Redondo Beach. While it may not be a bird per se, the coastal city still named it as such. Redondo Beach is situated near the Goodyear Blimp’s home airport in California.
Most wines are not vegetarian or vegan-friendly. Many wines include a fining agent such as eggs to soften astringency from tannins and remove other sediments.
Plants prevent erosion and landslides. They can do this by keeping the soil around them firm with their roots. Crops such as rye and clover are good choices for erosion control.
The scientific name used for flowering plants is Angiosperm. This name refers to the seeds that are borne in capsules or fruits. This group consists of many plants such as shrubs, grass, and most trees.
You can feel happier by crying. Research has indicated that crying triggers the production of endorphins which acts as a natural pain killer. It also releases feel-good hormones such as oxytocin.
Vegetable has no scientific definition. By this logic, it is acceptable to call a tomato a vegetable as well. Research cannot find any reason why vegetables are called as such nor why we continue to refer to them as such.
A 10-year-old mattress weighs double its original weight. This is due to the debris it absorbs over time such as mites, mould, dead skin cells, dandruff, etc. It also includes the sweat of the person using the mattress.
In China, seductively eating a banana during a livestream is illegal. This was done so that the number of underaged women in China could not attract older male audiences. The Chinese government deems such acts like this harm the social morality.
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.
Oak trees cannot produce acorns if they are under 50 years of age. While all oak trees produce acorns, they are not to be referred to as acorn trees. Some species of oak trees, such as the pin oak, can produce its first few acorns at a much younger age.
Cabbages are 92% water. Because of its high water content, the cabbage is considered a superfood. Other vegetables such as zucchini, celery, and radish are 95% water.
Sponges hold more cold water rather than hot. This is mainly due to the effect of heat on water on a molecular level. Cold and hot water will have two different densities, and as such their molecules will react differently when in contact with an object. The water molecules or colder water tend to move slower and do not go in opposite directions from each other.
Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards. They are also able to hover and change flight direction quickly. These birds are such skilled flyers that they are often referred to as the flying ninja.
70% of the world’s toys are made in China. Other countries like Japan only produce 19% of goods that are shipped internationally. Most manufactured toys are made from materials such as traditional plastics to wooden toys.
People laugh an average of 10 times a day. Laughter has many benefits such as being able to lower blood pressure and reduces stress hormones. It also triggers the release of endorphins and produces a general sense of well-being.
Moths do not have stomachs. This may be because most species of moths do not eat at all. Some moths such as the Luna moth emerge from their cocoon and never eat. This species lives for about a week long.
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.
Fire moves faster uphill. One of the fundamental rules of science is that heat rises. As such, a fire would move faster uphill than downhill or laterally. For example, a forest fire at the base of a mountain would spread faster towards the mountain incline rather than spreading around the base.
Apollo 11 only had 20 seconds of fuel when it landed. Before the Apollo landing was confirmed with, “The Eagle has landed” the crew nearly didn’t make it. The Apollo crew had to fly manually instead of following the plotted trajectory to avoid dangerous areas. As such, it cut down on their fuel. Before the successful landing, the 30-second fuel warning had already passed.
People born blind experience dreams of emotions, sounds and smells instead of images. Dreams are a product of our subconscious that is influenced by the stimuli we encounter in waking hours. For people who were born blind, their dreams manifest in other sensations such as smells and sounds.
Shoes can take up to 1,000 years to break down. If you thought clothes took crazy long to decompose, you’d have to look down at your shoes. Depending on different materials such as EVA and other foams, the average shoe will take 1,000 years before it is fully broken down.
Your lungs could cover an entire tennis court. The average adult has 300 million bronchi in each lung, which can cover an area of 180 m2. A tennis court has an area of 195.63 m2. Our lungs have such a large area because it needs to pump 160 litres of blood per hour.
Women were only allowed to wear shorts in public after WWII. With the scarcity of resources during the war, people had to wear less or opt for more cost-efficient clothing. After the war, it took time for countries to recover economically. As such, it was socially acceptable for women to wear shorts.
Since the beginning of newscasting, there has only been one day with no news. April 18, 1930, was such an uneventful day, that the BBC’s radio announcer said, “There is no news,” by 6:30 PM.
Before “bloopers” was coined, there were “boners”. Commonly shown at the end credits of any show or film, bloopers are the outtakes of scenes with errors or funny mistakes. However, it didn’t always have such a tame name. In the 1950s, people referred to outtakes as “boners” (boneheaded mistakes) or “breakdowns.”
Nutmeg can be poisonous. Who doesn’t love a little nutmeg in their hot chocolate? It may seem unlikely, but in certain amounts, nutmeg can be fatal to humans. Compared to other plants and herbs, nutmeg contains higher amounts of a narcotic substance called myristicin. Consuming more than 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg at once can cause side effects such as wild hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and a syncopated heartbeat. In large amounts, it can also lead to organ failure.
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.
Marsupials have three vaginas. Marsupials such as koalas, wombats and Tasmanian devils all have three vaginas. The vaginas on the sides carry sperm to the two uteruses since male marsupials have two-pronged penises. Finally, the middle vagina births their offspring.
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.
The first-ever winner of Survivor got jail time for tax evasion. Richard Hatch won US$1 million after the first-ever season of Survivor. However, he failed to declare his winnings on his taxes. As such, he served four years in prison.
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.
The metal studs on jeans are called “rivets.” Ah, such riveting WTF facts. In the late 1800s, rivets were introduced to reinforce clothing. Initially, riveted jeans were manufactured specifically for miners and other manual labourers.
In 16th-century England, pies were filled with surprises. Celebratory pies served in 16th century England contained live animals that were released when the pie was cut. Such animals were frogs, squirrels, and blackbirds.
A man once ate an entire plane. You read that right. Michel Lotito was a famous French entertainer known for eating inedible things. Lotito ate metal, glass, rubber and other industrial materials. He disassembled, cut, and ate items such as bicycles, shopping carts, televisions, and – most notably – a Cessna 150. The 680kg plane took roughly two years to be “eaten” by Lotito from 1978 to 1980.
Reindeer love grass. If you want to meet Santa on Christmas Day, you might want to consider keeping your lawn fresh instead of leaving cookies. Rudolph and his kind love greens such as willows, birches, and sedges. However, they would occasionally eat their old antlers for calcium.
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?
Non-dairy creamer is highly flammable. Non-dairy creamer powder contains highly flammable ingredients such as sodium aluminosilicate.
Over 10,000 Coca-Cola drinks are consumed per second worldwide. The 10,000 drinks per second include other Coca-Cola products such as Fanta, Dr Pepper, Sprite and other Coke varieties.
Peyton List has appeared in several movies. From starring in comedic roles to taking on more intense characters, Peyton List has showcased her acting prowess in films such as “The Thinning” and “Anthem of a Teenage Prophet.
She has worked with renowned brands. Peyton List has collaborated with big names in the fashion industry, such as Versace and Calvin Klein, solidifying her status as a sought-after model.
Peyton List has worked with renowned actors and actresses. She has had the privilege of sharing the screen with acclaimed performers such as Paterson Joseph, Karan Brar, and Debby Ryan.
Peyton List is a philanthropist. She uses her platform to give back to society and raise awareness for causes close to her heart, such as environmental conservation and youth empowerment.
Tiger sharks have such strong jaws they can crunch through sea turtle shells!
The term “southpaw” is often used to describe a left-handed person, especially in sports such as baseball.
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.”
Some of the world’s greatest composers, such as Ludwig van Beethoven and Sergei Rachmaninoff, were left-handed.
Switzerland prohibits the ownership of just one guinea pig. Since guinea pigs are such social creatures, one guinea pig would get lonely so having just one is considered animal abuse in Switzerland.
Froot Loops are all the same flavour despite their different colours. This is such a disappointment, but it makes sense when you think about it!
Identical twins don’t have the same fingerprints. Even though they may look exactly alike, environmental factors before birth such as position in the womb and umbilical cord length impact your fingerprints.
There’s no such thing as a straight line. No matter how hard you try, if you look closely, there will always be irregularities. We say things are “laser-focused,” but even laser beams are slightly curved!
In Switzerland, owning just one guinea pig is not allowed. It is considered animal abuse if you only own one guinea pig in Switzerland because the animals are such social creatures.
The heart of a shrimp is in its head. Because of their open circulatory system, there are no arteries in shrimp, and so their organs are floating around in their blood. They also have other vital organs such as their ventral nerve cord and stomach because the head is safer than their tail.
Parts of Africa are in all four hemispheres. Africa is such a large continent, covering nearly 12 million miles, that there are parts of the continent-spanning all four hemispheres.
You could survive for a couple of minutes in a leaky spacesuit. Although films such as Total Recall show instant explosions and rapidly puffed-up spacesuits, the effects of being exposed to space are slightly less dramatic. Although it would be unpleasant, you could survive for a couple of minutes. After around 10 seconds, you would lose consciousness. The lower pressure of the vacuum would cause your blood to boil, along with other body fluids (the moisture on your tongue, for example) – but this boiling alone would not be fatal due to the pressure maintained by our blood vessels themselves. Gas bubbles would form in your bodily fluids, causing your body to swell up and bloat. The low humidity of space would cause you to cool down rapidly, and your eyes may freeze over. Within one to two minutes, the lack of oxygen would be deadly. The stress of the situation may make these symptoms worse – you would become oxygen-deprived more quickly. A rapid decompression would cause damage to your lungs, eardrums and sinuses, along with bruising and bleeding from soft tissues.
5 billion Suns could fit in UY Scuti, one of the biggest known stars. Compared to the rest of the worlds of our Solar System – even colossal Jupiter – our Sun is pretty big. But it’s nothing compared to the biggest stars we know of red hypergiant stars that would positively dwarf our Sun if ever there was a cosmic ‘who’s the biggest star?’ contest. UY Scuti is one such stellar giant. It’s often referred to as the biggest known star in the Universe (although this can’t definitively be proven). But what calculations have revealed is that if UY Scuti were to replace our Sun, its outer edge would sit beyond the orbit of Jupiter. 5 billion Suns, 7 trillion Jupiters or 7 quadrillion Earths would fit inside UY Scuti! What’s more, UY Scuti is 300,000 times brighter than the Sun but is so far away you wouldn’t know this when observing it in our night sky.
There are 222 owl species in the world. Most are nocturnal, but a few are active during the daytime, such as the Barred Owl.
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.
Antarctica is home to the largest ice sheet on Earth. More than six times as large as Greenland, Antarctica is the southernmost continent and is the coldest and windiest place on Earth – with temperatures that can drop as low as -89.2°C and winds that can exceed 320 km per hour. Antarctica is home to the largest ice sheet on Earth, containing a staggering 30 million cubic kilometres of ice. This represents an incredible 70% of Earth’s freshwater and 90% of its ice. As a result, changes to the Antarctic ice sheet can have significant implications for global sea levels and ocean currents. Monitoring the Antarctic ice sheet is therefore of paramount importance and satellite data plays a crucial role in this effort. Data from satellites such as CryoSat, ESA’s ice mission, allow scientists to track changes in the thickness and movement of the ice sheet over time, providing insights into how it is responding to a changing climate. ESA has recently teamed up with NASA and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to carry out an ambitious campaign in Antarctica which involved taking simultaneous measurements of sea ice from ESA’s CryoSat and NASA’s ICESat-2 satellites. This research is essential for informing policy decisions on issues such as climate change and sea level rise, and for developing strategies to mitigate their impact on coastal communities around the world.
WHALES ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO MAIN GROUPS. There are two types of whales: the baleen whales and the toothed whales. Baleen whales, including humpbacks and blue whales, have fibrous ‘baleen’ plates in their mouths instead of teeth, which help them filter out and consume huge quantities of zooplankton: small prey including krill, fish or crustaceans called copepods. Whereas toothed whales, such as orcas, beluga and sperm whales, have teeth which enable them to feed on larger prey such as fish and squid. All dolphin families, including porpoises, are also classified as whales, as they are more related to their toothed counterparts.
KILLER WHALES ARE DOLPHINS. Orcas, also known as “killer whales”, are the largest members of the dolphin family. They are one of the ocean’s top predators, preying on a diverse range of marine species, which include many fish species, penguins, seabirds, sea turtles, cephalopods and marine mammals such as seals and even whales larger than themselves.
Ancient pagan cultures, such as the Celts, believed that benevolent and helpful spirits lived in trees. Knocking on tree trunks roused a spirit for protection, which led to the saying “knock on wood.
The “O” before an Irish name, such as “O’Reilly,” means “descendant of.”
Smaller animals tend to perceive time as if it is passing in slow motion. Insects and small birds, for example, can see more information in one second than a larger animal such as an elephant.
Fish eggs can survive being eaten by a duck. The fish eggs can still hatch after going in one end and coming out the other. Not all fish species can survive such a journey, and even then, not all eggs eaten are pooped out in a pristine condition. Still, it’s a good explanation for how seemingly disconnected pools and lakes can suddenly become teeming with fish!
The FBI had a 1,427-page file on Albert Einstein. When Albert Einstein moved from Germany to the US in 1933, he was already an internationally renowned physicist. One year before that, the FBI began keeping tabs on him because he was outspoken against various social issues, such as nationalism and racism. Later, Einstein took a stand, particularly against the US nuclear ambitions, which led the head of the FBI to become deeply suspicious of him and even label him as a communist.
Seven out of ten US youths would fail to qualify for military service. While many of them fail because of health reasons such as obesity, many others are disqualified because of poor education. Others fail because of prescription medication they take or lifestyle choices such as tattoos or certain piercings. It’s estimated that only one per cent of US youths are eligible to join the military and are interested in doing so.
It turns out that most people don’t procrastinate because of laziness. Instead, many factors have been found to cause this crippling condition, such as task aversion, perfectionism, fear of failure, and overall anxiety issues. Other key factors that influence how much we procrastinate come down to the goals we set for ourselves and how concrete or abstract they are. The key to combating procrastination is identifying the specific factors that cause it and combating them individually.
The Pentagon has twice the number of bathrooms it needs. The US Department of Defence’s headquarters was constructed during the time of racial segregation, and as such, an extra set of facilities was created for African American employees. In 1941, before the Pentagon’s construction was complete, President Franklin D. Roosevelt prohibited racial segregation within federal organisations. Not only did the Pentagon end up with twice as many bathrooms as necessary, but twice as many cafeterias too!
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!
The US Army has its private herd of bison. Unfortunately, it’s not part of some sort of secret plan to create a mounted bison regiment. Instead, the US Army base of Camp Pendleton in California was gifted the bison back in the 70s. The San Diego Zoo entrusted the bison to the base for safekeeping, and they’ve done such a great job at it that the herd has grown from 14 to 90 or so! The herd is constantly monitored, not just to ensure they’re in good health but also because they’re quite dangerous wild animals!
Cartoonist Mort Walker, the creator of Beetle Bailey, came up with names for the things we often see in comics and cartoons: “briffit” is the dust cloud a character makes when he runs away quickly; “plewds” are the beads of sweat when a character is under duress; and “grawlix” are symbols such as “#@*%” that stand in for curse words.