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50 Random Facts That Seem Too Hard To Believe Yet Are Completely True, As Shared On This Encyclopedic Instagram Account
If we allow our curiosity to roam around freely, it can take us to interesting places, both in real life and online. Like the Instagram account 'Facts And Science.'
Just like the famous subreddit 'Today I Learned,' it doesn't limit itself to just one subject and revolves around a vast specter of themes, ranging from human behavior and popular culture to the animal kingdom and beyond.
Being huge fans of trivia, we at Bored Panda decided to go through the account and hand-pick our favorite posts. After all, if 381K people follow it, the content has to be worth it, right?
More info: Instagram
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#2
Random Panda 3 years ago
Um, that's a f****d up law. However I'm happy this little girl now has a loving father.
Going through obscure facts isn't just temporary fun. Turns out, it's also good for our mental health. For example, experts say that playing trivia games can provide a dopamine rush much like gambling, but without the negative effects.
Even if our trivia games differ, the benefits are there. Whether we're playing Trivial Pursuit at home or attending a pub trivia night, the basic premise remains the same: we experience the thrill of providing correct answers to questions about lesser-known facts.
"You get a rush or a neuroreward signal or a dopamine burst from winning,” John Kounios, Ph.D., professor of psychology and director of the doctoral program in applied cognitive and brain sciences at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, told Healthline. “I think whenever you’re challenged with a trivia question and you happen to know it, you get a rush. It’s sort of like gambling.”
Kounios said the benefits can also be similar to those of playing a video game.
However, unlike gambling and even video games, Kounios said trivia is generally not a problematic habit.
“I don’t think there are any pitfalls,” he said. “Like anything else that’s fun, it takes up time.”
#10
Katy McMouse 3 years ago
His little face just made my morning. I'm going to go squeeze my good puppy right this instant.
#12
Wilf 3 years ago
Famously goes back a long way in the German military tradition- for officers at least- right back to the Austro-Prussian war in the 1860s when supposedly a Prussian officer defended himself from reprimand by arguing that he was simply "following orders". His commander, Prince Frederick Charles, reportedly replied: “His Majesty made you a Major because he believed you would know when not to obey his orders.”
Party Poison (They/Them) 3 years ago
This has more to do with WWII and the non-existing concept of "Befehlsnotstand", than with the Prussian army. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befehlsnotstand https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_obedience_in_the_Bundeswehr
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James G. Currie 3 years ago
Soldiers in most countries are Required to disobey Illegal orders.
Pixie 3 years ago
The thing is that it is not about illegal orders, but about morally wrong orders.
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Oki 3 years ago
Israeli soldiers are also allowed and even expected to disobey a blatantly/obviously (tough translation) order.
Ara 3 years ago
Really? That would pretty much rule out anything they do in the Occupied Territories.
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Paul Davis 3 years ago
Soldiers from every army are supposed to be allowed to disobey any order that violates the Geneva Convention.
Kitti B. 3 years ago
yes, it's international law. I was surpised it was here. It's not a German thing.
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Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
This should be worldwide. “Just obeying orders” didn’t work for the Nazis at Nuremberg, didn’t work for Lt Calley at My Lai, and doesn’t work anytime the order is unethical and would violate human dignity. Anyone old enough to be in the military should be old enough to realize what’s right and what’s wrong. If they can’t differentiate between right and wrong, they don’t need to be in the military, they need to be in very intensive therapy or a mental hospital.
Mosheh Wolf 3 years ago
This was one of the reasons that Nazi soldiers were held responsible for individual actions. In fact, there is no verified case in which a German soldier was killed for refusing an order related to murder. That was also why the Nazis used SS forces for their mass murders, since these soldiers were fanatically loyal to the Nazi Party and had zero compunctions about smashing baby's heads against a wall, or marching thousands of people into the forest at once and gunning them all down, before going off for a beer or two.
Colin Matthews 3 years ago
Sorry that's something of a myth. The German army soldiers were involved in virtually every massacre going. The idea that there was this "professional" Wehrmacht frowning at all the dirty deeds of the SS has been debunked over the last 20 years. Look at the Eastern Front in particular where operation Barbarossa was called "the holocaust by bullets" German Staff Officers and enlisted soldiers were perfectly happy with killing non-combatants
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Phil Green 3 years ago
This is not particularly unusual. The same can be said of almost any army or armed service, you have the right to refuse to obey any order that might be considered unreasonable.
YaMaOnToast 3 years ago (edited)
Was this the case during WW2 when they were killing millions of innocent people and conducting all manner of horrific experiments?
Bina Cobbler 3 years ago
Obviously not, but even though they are German, those are two very different armed forces. They were able to learn from horrible past experience and put rules in place to ensure that it would never happen again.
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AnnaBanananna 3 years ago
So all the nazis who claim they were just following orders could have refused???? They seem to use this excuse “I was following orders” a lot in trials when defending themselves for their actions
Riley Quinn 3 years ago
If I'm not mistaken, this is an international law via the Geneva Convention. But history has proven that soldiers rarely act upon it. Example: My Lai
Guido Pisano 3 years ago
Also in italy - you can disobey also to orders that are a violation of consitution or illegals.
Dawn Depietro 3 years ago
Yeah that is what they say but if u believe they instill it u kidding urself
RafCo (he/him) 3 years ago
When i was in the US army, we had a similar rule. We were required to disobey any illegal order.
Kamie Jones 3 years ago
This should be #1. I legit never even thought this would be a thing in the whole world!
Trish Smith 3 years ago
Wow! So progressive in its thinking. I wonder how many times orders have been disobeyed??
Jody Foote 3 years ago
This would never work in the US. As a whole this country is like the early teen annoying kid who has hormones raging through them. I hope we last long enough to mature.
Jeremy Van Portfliet 3 years ago
That is not true. We are sworn to obay lawful orders.
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RoanTheMad 3 years ago
Well this just makes certain things even more awful. Speaking of the obvious, here. I don't want to actually say it but I'm like. 110% sure that greatly violated human dignity. :/
Bina Cobbler 3 years ago
That rule was instilled only after the end of WWII. WWII armed forces were called the Wehrmacht, modern armed forces are the Bundeswehr. Two very, very different armies.
Load More Replies... Party Poison (They/Them) 3 years ago (edited)
It's more like they can't be punished by law for disobeying these orders. And it's not only orders that violate human dignity, it's all orders that are not “of any use for service,” or cannot reasonably be executed. It has to do with the history of soldiers using "being under orders" as an excuse after WWII. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befehlsnotstand https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_and_obedience_in_the_Bundeswehr
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#13
A librarian from California, Sarah Kishler, loves trivia games and enjoys attending a monthly pub trivia night in which a team of librarians participates.
"Learning facts so that I can get better at trivia is definitely a passion of mine," she told Healthline. "Getting a question right is definitely very satisfying to me."
#15
Jenny Pugh 3 years ago
I'm not sure about this. It seems that everyone relied on Robin to make them laugh and lift their mood, but who was there for him?
Over the past decade or so, pub trivia nights that are popular in the United Kingdom appear to have grown in other parts of Europe and the United States.
Enthusiasts like Kishler enjoy getting to interact with people at these events, especially compared to electronic trivia games.
She has learned that doing well at these social trivia games gives her "a feeling of validation" and increases her self-esteem.
#18
#20
Olga Posedaru 3 years ago
It looks like some rare steampunk gem that they need to power their cities in a utopian future :D
#21
Ranger Kanootsen 3 years ago
What a great thing to do! It's often extremely difficult to re-integrate into society when no one will employ you. Well done Gordon
"I love general knowledge, geography, literature, music, science trivia," Kishler explained. "I just love to accumulate knowledge. I like the exercise that it gives my brain and memory."
She doesn't think of herself as a competitive person but nevertheless enjoys getting a bit amped up at trivia games.
“People really like to have some expertise on something and the brain is very good at focusing on things that you’re interested in,” Deborah Stokes, Ph.D., L.P.C., B.C.N., a psychologist in Virginia, who focuses on neurotherapy, also told Healthline.
According to Stokes, learning large bodies of knowledge can often start with trivia. And people who are interested in trivia can be brainy, have a high IQ, and be smart on a lot of levels.
However, Kounios said that people aren’t necessarily better at trivia games just because they’re more educated.
"Some people soak up facts,” Kounios added. "Plenty of people with a lot more education may not remember what they had for breakfast yesterday morning."
"In typical people, my observation, not backed up by any research, is that their interest in trivia is confined to topics that they are generally interested in. So if a person is very interested in history, then they may either seek out history trivia, or they might just naturally pick it up in the course of learning about nontrivial aspects of history."
Stokes also pointed out that trying to retain information about things we're interested in can be like a good exercise for the frontal cortex as the brain ages.
#33
Firstname Lastname 3 years ago
While that's really cool, my mind is hiccuping on the fact that 3 million dollars can only cover 33 students, meaning that a full lecture hall earns a college a couple million of suckers paying 90K plus to try to have a successful life.
#34
Saint Thomas 3 years ago
Marie Curie is not radiating joy, and Einstein seems relatively bored. Not as much as Niels, though.
#36
Chris Kane 3 years ago
I'm sorry 4 years? Is it just me or does that seem like a long time to put some lights in windows connected to a small pc?
#42
Jrog 3 years ago
Not really. The contract includes a lot of binding clauses, and the final product can only be a noncommercial, short (<45 min), short movie non meant for distribution. It comes with a lot of strings attached regarding the ownership of related IPs, including original ones from the filmmaker, that are transferred to mr. King on agreement of the contract. I am not saying it is a bad thing per se, but the way it is stated here overlooks a lot of the complexity of the contract involved.
#43
DennyS (denzoren) 3 years ago (edited)
The first time I saw the movie I thought it was Timothy Olyphant. It's the second time I realized it was him.
#44
Rachel Grig 3 years ago
But also, he put in the actual work after she gave him the motivation.
#45
#46
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
That must be such a pain in the neck when he wants to buy a beer or... do literally anything only grown-ups are supposed to do, really. "Are you lost, sonny jim?" "No, I work here." "Very funny - where are you parents." "I'M THE MANAGER!" "You're playing truant from school, for a more-like." "Ugh."
#53
Katie Lutesinger 3 years ago
Obnoxious airport official: "Ha! A likely story! Take your shoes off."
#66
Random Panda 3 years ago (edited)
I'm sorry, but this gives me the creeps. Using someone's genetic material, without their conscent, to create a child that will never know its' parents and would lose all living family pretty early in life. Ew.
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CA3 3 years ago
Since you didn't say anything posted here was untrue I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted (-2 when I first saw it) for merely stating a basic fact. I used my other phone to Google many of these to garner more information. Although I probably would have done some of this anyway, it would have helped greatly to have the most basic background information included. In fact, that would have even made it easier to Google.
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Thecoolbonnie 3 years ago (edited)
My favorite hard to believe fact is that 'Sharks are older than trees' I always thought that was so cool
CA3 3 years ago
Since you didn't say anything posted here was untrue I'm not sure why you're getting downvoted (-2 when I first saw it) for merely stating a basic fact. I used my other phone to Google many of these to garner more information. Although I probably would have done some of this anyway, it would have helped greatly to have the most basic background information included. In fact, that would have even made it easier to Google.
Load More Replies... Thecoolbonnie 3 years ago (edited)
My favorite hard to believe fact is that 'Sharks are older than trees' I always thought that was so cool
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