We know how much you enjoy learning new things, dear Pandas. We do, too. Luckily for us, the internet has a nearly-inexhaustible supply of fun trivia, interesting facts, and intriguing tidbits about the world to whet our appetites for knowledge. If you’re constantly curious about things, then this article might be right up your alley.
Redditor u/Not_a_Replicant_ asked people to share the cool facts that they think others should definitely know, and they were not disappointed. Their thread quickly went viral and got over 41.5k upvotes in 3 days. We’ve collected some of the most interesting answers that are bound to reignite your curiosity about science, history, and other areas of knowledge. Perfect for that Ravenclaw living inside of you? We like to think so.
Scroll down and don’t forget to upvote the facts that you enjoyed learning about the most. Got some great trivia to share with all the other Pandas? Don’t be shy, drop on by the comment section.
Bored Panda reached out to Steven Wooding, a member of the Institute of Physics in the UK, to talk about how to keep ourselves constantly learning as we grow up, how we ought to approach random facts we stumble across online, and where to start if we feel that we’ve reignited our passion for science, history, and other areas. Steven is a member of the Omni Calculator Project and recently helped create the Weird Units Converter, a calculator that helps you make conversions from standard units to unusual ones like football fields, cats, and, yes, even Harry Potter books. They've even got a fun challenge set up.
“Getting information from a known, reliable source is an excellent shortcut to having to fact-check everything yourself,” Steven said that we should all put in the effort to find reliable news sources. “You should be very wary of believing something online from a source you don't recognize. When you do find something, search for it on other websites you have heard of and see if they are all saying the same thing.” Read on for the full interview.
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The Guinness book of records was invented by the Guinness beer folks. They figured a book of verifiable facts would help stop bar arguments.
If two drunks keep on arguing after showing them verifiable facts, whack them in the head with the book.
Steven agreed with Bored Panda that many of us can feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and feel like we don’t have much free time for leisure, let alone learning, as we grow up. However, all is not lost! There are ways to break out of the routine of stress and monotony.
“It's all too easy to get caught up in the stress of modern life and forget to notice extraordinary things around you. Go for a walk in nature and try to observe everything. Ask yourself, what's that? And if you don't know, take a photo and look it up,” Steven suggested.
One of the main things that you should aim to do is to remember what it was like to be a kid. Try to get back into the mindset you used to have when you were little to reignite your curiosity in the world. “The main problem is that once you're an adult, you think you know everything (or you think you should do), so you stop asking questions. You'll notice kids do it all the time. So to stay curious and learn new things, keep asking questions.”
Eugene Aldrin, the father of the famous moon landing astronaut Buzz Aldrin, not only witnessed the Wright brothers’ first flight but also went to see his son land on the moon in his lifespan.
We’ve been quick!
Corgi is a translation of the welsh for dwarf dog. Cor gi.
In the Mabinogion, the welsh book of myths and legends, corgis were the battle steeds of fairies
I was interested to get Steven’s opinion about where we could start learning about science and other topics if we feel completely lost. He told Bored Panda that a pretty good place to start would be mainstream science TV programs on the topics that we’re already interested in.
“They'll cover a subject with easy-to-digest information that you can rely on and could inspire you to investigate further. Then you could move on to popular science books that go a bit further and deeper,” he shared. “Science podcasts and YouTube channels can also be a good idea. If you can't think of a topic, you could look at the science section of Wikipedia and go through the featured articles. If one grabs your interest, read it in full and follow links that interest you.”
If you type the word "askew" into the Google search box, the entire page will tilt slightly.
The figure in Munch's 'The Scream' is not screaming but is, in fact, reacting to hearing the scream.
Bob Ross was a Drill Instructor. When he stopped working as that, he promised he would not raise his voice at someone again. That's why he was so soft spoken.
We shouldn’t believe everything that we come across online, whether it’s on social media, a news website, or Reddit, the front page of the internet. It’s vital to look at things from a scientist’s point of view so you don’t get lost in the morass of potentially fake news.
Previously, I spoke to Lee McIntyre from Boston University’s Center for Philosophy and History of Science about how to separate good news sources from bad ones and why it’s important to be well-versed in media literacy.
"Repetition is important in making us believe things, whether they are true or not. There is a cognitive bias called the 'illusory truth effect' which is when we are repeatedly exposed to false information over and over and, over time, it begins to seem more plausible," Lee explained to Bored Panda.
There was a phantom poop on an Apollo mission. A poop, floating around, that none of the astronauts said was theirs.
Upvoted because I’m imagining the astronauts all arguing about who was going to capture and dispose of the floating turd, whilst denying any responsibility for it and simultaneously worrying about catastrophic toilet failure.
If you skip to the end of a long YouTube video and press replay you can watch the whole thing without adds
The technology for the fax machine was invented in 1843. The feudal era in Japan ended in 1868 abolishing the samurai class. Abraham Lincoln lived until 1865. All of this combined lead to a 22 year period in which Lincoln could have received a fax from a samurai.
"Social psychologists have known since the 1960s that repetition works, for truth or falsity. In fact, this idea goes back to Plato who said that it didn't hurt to repeat a true thing. And of course, for falsehood, this was one of the main propaganda tactics in Nazi Germany, where Hitler's propaganda minister understood the 'repetition effect.'"
However, double-checking and cross-referencing every single fact that we find online and every tiny item we hear on the news would be utterly exhausting. So we need a different approach.
“It would be exhausting to fact check every single news item we hear. In fact, insisting on this degree of skepticism is something that demagogues use to get us to be cynical, because when we doubt that it is possible to know the truth—even when it is staring us in the face—we are riper to their manipulation. So I'd say the best thing with news is to do a little investigation into finding a reliable source," the expert said.
Human's ability smell petrichor (smell of wet earth from rain) is greater than a Shark's ability to smell blood in water.
Honeybees can be trained to sniff out land mines in war zones! Obviously dogs can do it but to avoid blowing up poor unsuspecting doggos, they figured out that bees could do the same thing and swarm the area without setting the mine off to alert people to its presence
You know that feeling like you’re falling you get when you’re falling asleep? That happens because sometimes your muscles relax and your heart rate slows down too quickly that your body thinks you’re dying. So, it gives you that falling sensation which jolts you awake.
"Look for an organization that does investigative journalism (and doesn't just repeat information from other sources), double sources its quotations, discloses conflicts of interest, etc. Once we've found that we can relax a bit and trust the reporting behind the stories. Do we still need to be on guard? Yes. Even The New York Times can make mistakes. Or individual reporters can have biases. But that doesn't mean 'all sources are equal.'"
Lee highlighted the importance of raising media literacy, as it helps sift through news and facts. "There are various sources for media literacy that can help. They teach this to KIDS in Finland! It's easy to learn. Is the story copyrighted? Is it dated? Is there a byline? Are other stories by the author solid? Is it published in a source that has been reliable in the past? Does it seem plausible— if not then you can do some research," he said what we should be aware of when looking at any news article.
Some birth control pills can cause vitamin B deficiency. Vitamin B is used to make seratonin. I’ve know a few people that got super depressed after starting birth control and taking B complex made a huge difference
*consult your doctor
That’s mighty interesting. My wife feels alot better since she doesn’t take the pill anymore, and that might have been part of the reason. I know she was low on Vitamin B, amond D, potassium and Iron. Besides Iron we were able to get the rest up to a healthy level mostly by changing our meal composition, and for Vitamin D supplements.
You sound like a very caring spouse. Wife is lucky to have you, Kanuli xx
Load More Replies... Indeed it does cause depression. Hormonal birth control causes many problems for a great many women. Condoms are a much better method, and also offer some protection from STDs. Never have sex with a man who whines about wearing one, either. Your health both physical and mental is MUCH more important than the little bit of extra sensation he wants to feel. Stay safe out there, ladies!
People who use condoms alone have a one in 50 chance of pregnancy per year with *perfect* use, and one in six with typical use. Those are not insignificant chances especially over 20-30 years of a woman’s sexually active pre menopausal life. Telling women to use condoms alone without a backup method is not safe or responsible advice. Women should discuss their best options with their doctors. For women who don’t tolerate hormonal methods well (and some do great on them) there are other methods like the copper IUD.
Load More Replies... Taking the pill for two years heralded the arrival of lifelong clinical depression for me.
You also lose any appetite for sex! The contradictions are many and unfortunately nobody really cares! they have improved but the amount of women that had serious problems in the past when they first came out is depressing while the men's contraceptive stopped for a lot less contradictions! It's not a secret that nobody finances for female problems and nobody pays so much attention to our issues!
Several birth control options result in depression of the person taking it. Doctors never mention this, but this is a very common side effect. To anyone reading this, please don't feel like you're being demanding, whining, lazy, or whatever people told you. Hormone imbalance can seriously mess you up!
If only for birth control, just use condoms!!! Pills are awful for that.
The pill is more effective than condoms for preventing pregnancy and both combined is more effective than either on their own. The most effective options are ones like the IUD and Nexplanon implants that don’t have room for human error.
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Even people with vitamin B deficiency can have trouble tolerating them, causing major irritability . Start low and slow to increase your ability to tolerate them.
It also thickens your blood and can cause clots, lower your sex drive (ironically) and increase risk of stroke (because of blood thickening). It also makes your body think it’s already pregnant with synthetic hormones so some people experience unstable moods (but some have the opposite effect). Solution? There’s contraception that men can take that’s not harmful like this and it’s been fda approved. Why is it not on the market? “Men won’t want to take it, or remember”. 🙄 🖕🏽
SAME DEFICIT WITH METFORMIN. Dangerously low vitamin B., Major depressive disorder. Also caused tingling fingers and toes. Regular Vit. B checks essential on METFORMIN.
This is something they should tell you when discussing birth control in the first place!!!!! Fml
Yes, that happened to me when I first got married. Where was the research then.
I heard a lecture once from someone who was opposed to use of contraceptives. She read from the fact sheet included with one brand, "May cause irritability, weight gain, and loss of libido." Then she said, "And guys, isn't that just what you want in your wife? That she be nasty, fat, and uninterested in sex?"
Back to back pregnancy also causes those effects.
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Ooohhh... a vitamin B deficiency can lead to anemia since B12 is needed to absorb iron in the intestines. Intriguing case of how taking 1 pill can lead to taking 3 others...
Or else, maybe your boyfriend should just take some responsibility and put on his 100% efficiency 0% inconvenience condom.
Eh a lot of us use it for heavy/irregular periods as well.
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I take a B complex daily b/c it helps me so much with fatigue and other PMS related symptoms.
that's why my doc advised to take vitamin B and magnesium complex, which i already did so not sure if my contraception is one of those
On the same note, men produce enough sperm on a daily basis to repopulate the earth in six months. Semen contains vitamin C, fructose, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B12, zinc, nitrogen, and calcium. Average male ejaculate is said to contain roughly as much protein as an egg white.
"I’ve know a few people" is the best argument since 2020, or so it seems.
Andrew Jackson had a interesting assassination attemp. The person who was going to kill him pointed his gun and it jammed. Jackson then beat him up wjth his cane. The guy got back and pulled out the second gun which also managed to jam. This is a 1 in 125,000 chance.
Australia is wider than the moon.
Also, Australia has more snakes per square foot than the moon does as a whole!
"Will we get fooled sometimes in doing this? Yes. But we're going to get fooled sometimes anyway. It's analogous to how scientists form their beliefs. They are skeptics, but they also—at some point when the evidence is sufficient—give their assent. Scientists deal with warrant, not 'proof.' They are what philosophers call 'fallibilists.' You give your belief to things that are well-sourced with evidence, while always holding out the possibility that if further evidence comes to light that contradicts your belief, you should give it up because you might be wrong."
Some people don’t have a inner dialogue, some can’t picture in their mind, and some have / can do both.
When the Rubix Cube was first released a mathematician said it would take the average person 30 years, working 8 hours a day, to solve a cube saying it was impossible for someone without a master's in mathematics to solve it in under a month.
NASA discovered a planet outside of the milky way a few days ago for the first time in human history
"Signs of a planet transiting a star outside of the Milky Way galaxy may have been detected for the first time. This intriguing result, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, opens up a new window to search for exoplanets at greater distances than ever before. The possible exoplanet candidate is located in the spiral galaxy Messier 51 (M51), also called the Whirlpool Galaxy because of its distinctive profile." — https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/chandra/images/chandra-sees-evidence-for-possible-planet-in-another-galaxy.html
German chocolate cake was invented by an English-American baker named Samuel German and has nothing to do with the country of Germany.
Yes. We would not even know this cake existed, except for the internet. (German here, obviously) If you want a German cake, then try Donauwelle, Marmorkuchen, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (that's a "Torte" tough - fancy cake), Böhmischer Apfelkuchen...... Edit to add: Frankfurter Kranz, Streuselkuchen, Käsekuchen, Bienenstich, Erdbeerkuchen, Kalter Hund and Hefezopf
Opossums generally cannot get rabies. Their body temperature is too low for the virus.
Also the stomach acid of a vulture is so highly acidic it kills rabies virus and most bacteria, which is why they can eat dead disgusting rotting things.
Castoreum, used as a substitute vanilla flavoring, is actually harvested from the an*l glands of beavers. They use it combined with urine to scent mark territory. Beaver butt also has a raspberry taste to it. It’s a common “natural ingredient” in raspberry-flavored sweets.
Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than the building of the pyramids
Putting enough eye drops in someone’s food or drink will, in fact, kill them.
There was an episode of CSI where someone was killed due to having eye drops put in their drink.
There’s a vast difference between a million and a billion. A simple way to visualize it: a million seconds is over 11 days. A billion seconds is just under 32 years.
The sun is not yellow. When viewed outside earths atmosphere it is white. It only looks yellow due to our atmosphere "pulling" the blue light out, leaving it looking yellow. It's an illusion.
When a Camel spider (or wind scorpion) is chasing you, it's just chasing your shadow. All they want is a little bit of shade! They'd never have the intent of harming you
sounds like a camel spider wrote this to stop its prey from running. im on to you camel spider
There was no “s” sound for the letter c in ancient Roman Latin. Thus Gaius Julius Caesar was pronounced “Gaius Julius Kaiser”. His name is where the Germans and Russians got their name for king (Kaiser and Tzar respectively).
When a person receives a kidney transplant they don’t take out the old kidneys, they just shove em to the side and leave em in there.
Makes sense. It would probably be unnecessarily traumatic for a sick body to lose an organ if it didn't have to.
Gases and particles in Earth's atmosphere scatter sunlight in all directions. Blue light is scattered more than other colors because it travels as shorter, smaller waves. Now you know why the sky is blue.
Wow, I have never been wondering why the sky was blue, but this is an interesting fact indeed!
Komodo dragons are the largest animals in the world capable of reproducing asexually
Edit: y’all I just found this on google when I was curious one day don’t ask me how it works I’m failing biology
Due to evolution, humans share genes with all living organisms. For example, 60% of your DNA is the same as a strawberry.
More people die from vending machines than sharks
Because no one suspects a vending machine will be lurking in the water
Emma Morano of Italy was the last (documented and verified) person to die that was born in the 1800s. 29th November 1899 - 15th April 2017
Stephen Hawking died on March 14, the Pi Day, which is also the birthday of Albert Einstein.
There was a short period of time when Picasso and Snoop Dogg were both alive together.
Butterflies and Moths can drink blood and tears in order to get nutrients. It’s called Mud-puddling. I think more horror movies should use this.
Butterflies will land on sweaty shoes or hiking pole handles even t shirts left on a river bank while the owner takes a swim in order for the insect to get to the salts and minerals left by sweat. Critters living in mountainous regions will do the same, more than one hiker has had hiking pole handles and gloves chewed on.
The amount of water in, on, and above planet earth does not increase or decrease. It's always in a constant cycle. Even the water humans use.
Ah, yes. There's a good chance the water you drink has been through a dinosaur's system.
90% of the population on Earth lives in the Northern Hemisphere.
Lamborghini started making supercars because Enzo Ferrari was being a jerk to Ferruccio Lamborghini.
The inventor of cruise control in cars was blind. Universities refused Ralph Teetor's applications based on his disability. He eventually got enrolled at the U. of Pennsylvania in the engineering department. He later became the President of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Your oral health is very important , poor oral health is more than just bad teeth / bad breathe it can lead to heart problems , infections and more
The “Easter Island Heads” actually have bodies, and some were excavated in 2017.
If you stare at your own reflection in dim lighting for a few minutes, your face will begin to distort and you will essentially begin to hallucinate. Don’t do it. It’s a trap.
Penguins trade nice rocks for sex.
Not as simple as that. Penguins give rocks during courtship. If the female penguin likes the rock/penguin she will take that penguin as a mate (most penguins are monogamous) and the female will use the rock gifts to help build their nests.
As the result of a collision with another moon eons ago, Neptune's moon "Triton" has a retrograde orbit; meaning an orbit in the direction opposite to its planet's rotation. Triton is the only large moon our solar system to have such an orbit. Not impressed?
The collision eons ago also altered Triton's orbit of Neptune in another, far more sinister way. Despite obviously emerging victorious from the collision, the impact ever so slightly threw Triton off course. Every year, Triton creeps a fraction of an inch closer to Neptune.
This means that one day billions of years in the future, Triton's orbit will get too close to Neptune and Neptune's superior gravitational pull will tear Triton apart.
Hyenas are actually more related to cats than dogs. Hyenas are part of the Suborder Feliformia along with cats.
You can make tasty fresh bread yourself in four or five hours with flour, salt, yeast and water, no kneading and zero skill. It literally takes less than 10 minutes of actual effort. Since finding out about this last year I've done it dozens of times. Google no-knead bread!
Big bird was almost in the Challenger explosion
Big bird was planned to go so they could do something to get kids interested in space, but the costume (over 8 feet tall) was just too f**king big to fit.
They sent a school teacher instead. And then the shuttle exploded
A platypus makes venom. One of several interesting things about them.
Shaq hit almost 12,000 baskets in his career. Exactly 1 of them was a 3-pointer.
Note: this post originally had 93 images. It’s been shortened to the top 52 images based on user votes.
I really like the additional Information from some of the users in this and in other threads. They help clarifying the facts. Thanks for your effort!
Except that a lot of those comments, especially on the animal facts, are NOT true. There are so many people spreading misinformation on this site. Seeing a comment that "corrects" the entry that is actually incorrect, have 80 upvotes, is incredibly depressing. Please do not believe everything that people comment on this site.
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Some of the facts need more explanation. Otherwise this article just keeps delivering some useless pieces of information, which I find quite frustrating.
I do love posts like this "useless information" but the facts must be true...I spent a LOT of time reading encyclopedias (before internet I'm old lol) and I retain quite a bit of information if I read it. Never stop learning it will help your brain age better and studies show an active engaged brain is far less likely than one that just sits and watches TV.
The only time the Capitol had fallen was in 1814 when the British army entered DC and burned down the Capitol during the War of 1812. In 2021 occurred the second invasion of the Capitol in its history, 207 years after the first one.
I mean the British left all the civilian stuff alone and just nicked Madison's wine and cutlery
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Oh, your day was going well? An official early warning sign of faulty blood transfusion(wrong blood type) is "sense of impending doom"
#28 kidney transplant fact isn't true. They don't "shove them to the side" they are left where they are if they aren't infected. The transplanted kidney is in the lower abdomen near the bladder.
Interesting. Thank you for sharing If your reading this I hope you have a great day and know. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV
“It would be exhausting to fact check every single news item we hear." I don't. If it comes from a left-leaning source, I usually fact check. If it comes from a right-wing source, I automatically assume it's bullshit.
These "fact" threads need both fact checking and editing. Some of the writing is downright sloppy.
The RMS Titanic only had enough life boats for half of the passengers, the richer passengers.
The bloke who invented the washing machine is the same person who invented the flame thrower used in the First World War, and then got writing in to the Geneva convention
If you enjoyed this article, look for books by the Useless Information Society, which is exactly what it sounds like. The Book of Useless Information, the Amazing Book of Useless Information, all the sequels. It’s great fun to read.
Is it true that some people can't have shivers and goosebumps on command?
There's a Grimm tale of a boy desperate to learn how to shiver.
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A fact for Brits: 'I was sat' and 'I was stood' are technically incorrect. 99 percent of the country gets this wrong.
I really like the additional Information from some of the users in this and in other threads. They help clarifying the facts. Thanks for your effort!
Except that a lot of those comments, especially on the animal facts, are NOT true. There are so many people spreading misinformation on this site. Seeing a comment that "corrects" the entry that is actually incorrect, have 80 upvotes, is incredibly depressing. Please do not believe everything that people comment on this site.
Load More Replies... Some of the facts need more explanation. Otherwise this article just keeps delivering some useless pieces of information, which I find quite frustrating.
I do love posts like this "useless information" but the facts must be true...I spent a LOT of time reading encyclopedias (before internet I'm old lol) and I retain quite a bit of information if I read it. Never stop learning it will help your brain age better and studies show an active engaged brain is far less likely than one that just sits and watches TV.
The only time the Capitol had fallen was in 1814 when the British army entered DC and burned down the Capitol during the War of 1812. In 2021 occurred the second invasion of the Capitol in its history, 207 years after the first one.
I mean the British left all the civilian stuff alone and just nicked Madison's wine and cutlery
Load More Replies... Oh, your day was going well? An official early warning sign of faulty blood transfusion(wrong blood type) is "sense of impending doom"
#28 kidney transplant fact isn't true. They don't "shove them to the side" they are left where they are if they aren't infected. The transplanted kidney is in the lower abdomen near the bladder.
Interesting. Thank you for sharing If your reading this I hope you have a great day and know. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NIV
“It would be exhausting to fact check every single news item we hear." I don't. If it comes from a left-leaning source, I usually fact check. If it comes from a right-wing source, I automatically assume it's bullshit.
These "fact" threads need both fact checking and editing. Some of the writing is downright sloppy.
The RMS Titanic only had enough life boats for half of the passengers, the richer passengers.
The bloke who invented the washing machine is the same person who invented the flame thrower used in the First World War, and then got writing in to the Geneva convention
If you enjoyed this article, look for books by the Useless Information Society, which is exactly what it sounds like. The Book of Useless Information, the Amazing Book of Useless Information, all the sequels. It’s great fun to read.
Is it true that some people can't have shivers and goosebumps on command?
There's a Grimm tale of a boy desperate to learn how to shiver.
Load More Replies... A fact for Brits: 'I was sat' and 'I was stood' are technically incorrect. 99 percent of the country gets this wrong.
