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33 Disturbing Science Facts That We Don’t Really Think About But Should
Science is amazing, fascinating, and, if we’re being honest, sometimes absolutely terrifying. While we usually hear about cool breakthroughs and feel-good discoveries, there’s a darker side of science that doesn’t make it into textbooks or dinner conversations. These are the facts that make you pause, blink twice, and quietly think about how unsettling it all is.
To our fascination, netizens revealed the most terrifying science facts most people don’t know about. Some facts challenge how safe we think we are, while others remind us how little control we actually have, and as usual, we have rounded up some of the best, most interesting ones for your entertainment.
More info: Reddit
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#1
That your brain can make up entire memories that feel 100% real. and you’ll never know the difference.
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#2
1. The Y chromosome is disappearing and males will eventually become extinct.
2. We’re destroying our environment and letting unregulated market forces dictate our priorities in how we utilize our resources.
3. Astronomers have detected a mysterious "dark flow" pulling all galaxies toward a single, unknown point.
4. Helium, which makes up 24% of the universe, is escaping our atmosphere, and we are running out of it.
5. 50% of insects have disappeared since 1970. Insect population is down 27% in the last 30 years. Declining between 1 and 4% each year depending on the genus.
6. The world is literally running out of sand that is usable to manufacture concrete. Most of the world’s sand is in its deserts but usable sand only comes from river beds, shores and lake beds.
#3
In 1945 when the scientists on the Manhattan Project tested the very first atomic explosive (the trinity test) some of them had concerns that the blast might ignite the nitrogen in the atmosphere and burn the entire planet to a crisp.
My uncle was one of those scientists. He told me about this during a visit when I was a teenager. He said, “The math said it wouldn’t happen but on the other hand, no one had ever set off an atomic explosive before.”.
According to National Affairs, science, powerful as it is, comes with built-in limitations. Scientific knowledge relies on models that attempt to explain reality, but these models are always temporary and open to revision when new evidence emerges. Some boundaries come from the methods science uses, others from deeper philosophical issues, and many from the sheer complexity of the universe itself.
They further highlight that even with advanced technology and computing power, science cannot provide a complete picture of reality. While it is highly effective at observation, measurement, and prediction, it remains unable to answer certain fundamental questions about existence and meaning.
#4
Color is not an inherent property of an object. A red apple for example is not actually inherently red. It just absorbs all colors but red and reflects red light which then shines into your retina which your brain interprets as the apple being red. But it isn’t actually red.
#6
Half the population is on anti-depressants, HRT, birth control, and a host of other meds that show up in noticeable concentrations in urine. Those meds end up in sewerage, and ultimately back in the environment (including in human drinking water). We are microdosing the planet, including the entire human population, and we have no idea of the long term consequences.
Based on this understanding of science’s limits, the BBC notes that the stability of modern life may be more fragile than it appears. While technology and infrastructure create an impression of control, scientific research shows that complex societies often become more vulnerable over time.
While scientific models help us predict and manage risks, the inherent limits of knowledge mean that unexpected events or cascading failures can still occur. This underscores that even our most sophisticated systems operate within a fragile balance, highlighting a key theme from the research: the illusion of control.
#7
More sad than scary, but the fact that we will never reach the stars no matter how good technology gets is unfortunate. Even if we manage to travel decently fast, we'll get to a few nearby stars at best (there's maybe two dozen, with no earthlike planets). Not only is intergalactic travel utterly impossible, but we'll never even reach the end (or center) of our own galaxy. On an unrelated note, Marburg virus is pretty scary, if it were to mutate to be more transmissible...ditto for Ebola.
Michael Largey 1 hour ago
There must be a pretty good reason the universe has us quarantined like this.
#8
A volcanic eruption on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands could cause a landslide that would produce a megatsunami that could be over 300 feet high. It could travel all the way across the Atlantic and affect the east coasts of North and South America.
#9
The end of the Earth is inevitable. Eventually the sun will burn out and when it does it expands, and when that happens, Earth will no longer be in the habitable zone and will be too hot to sustain life.
Ed Blog reports that some discoveries reveal even more terrifying aspects of our world and biology. For example, ancient viruses, like Pithovirus trapped in Arctic permafrost for 30,000 years, can revive and infect hosts such as amoebas.
Also, did you know that misfolded proteins called prions trigger fatal chain reactions in the brain, causing diseases like Fatal Familial Insomnia, where victims experience total sleeplessness leading to their passing?
Furthermore, certain lakes hold massive CO₂ pockets that could erupt invisibly, while explorers have found plastic pollution in every crustacean sampled from the Mariana Trench, 36,000 feet deep, showing that even the most remote ecosystems are contaminated.
#10
A solar flare on the magnitude of the Carrington Event now would crumble most power grids on Earth for months to years. This one is probably the worst of the "most probable of the improbabilities" I have come across.
#12
A lot of the food you eat requires care that has to be provided by veterinarians. Veterinarians who have to take on crippling debt to go to school to do this job. We don’t have enough of them and it’s bigger than just nit enough vets to see puppies and kittens… it’s a shortage that also concerns food safety on not only a national but global level.
Mentalzon highlights that uncovering scientific truths often exposes unsettling aspects of the universe, human limitations, and existential risks. While this knowledge provides clarity, it can also amplify anxiety by challenging comforting illusions, such as the sense of control or permanence.
However, they suggest that grappling with these truths also promotes long-term resilience, showing that the tension between understanding and discomfort is a natural part of engaging deeply with science and the limits of our knowledge.
#13
Ovulation is just a "functional" ovarian cyst that ruptures at the right time. I'm sorry, but I don't think the words "rupture" and "normal anatomy" should be in the same sentence... 😭.
#14
Colors don't exist we create them in our heads. And we don't actually ever touch anything because of the smallest magnetic field.
PSA I might not have explained it right- I'm not a scientist I just like to learn things.
#15
Cockroaches 🪳 can live a week without their head.
At the core of these unsettling facts is a simple reminder that the world is far stranger, and less predictable, than we like to believe. Science doesn’t exist to scare us, but every so often it pulls back the curtain and reveals things that challenge our sense of safety and control.
Some people find comfort in knowing the truth, others wish they could un-read it entirely. Either way, these facts prove that curiosity can be both fascinating and mildly traumatizing, and we advise you to brace up as you keep reading through.
#17
A gamma ray burst could wipe out most life on the planet. The gamma ray burst can be dangerous even from several thousand light years away.
#19
The Ebola virus was brought to the USA by infected scientists and workers as well of infected monkeys. If that 🦠🦠🦠gets lose it will make Covid look like a bad cold.
#20
There is a real possibility that AI will evolve beyond our ability to prevent it from annihilating the human race.
#22
The "frozen methane ocean problem" refers to the risk that warming oceans could destabilize and melt large deposits of methane hydrate (methane ice), releasing methane into the ocean and potentially the atmosphere. This is a concern because methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and its release could accelerate climate change.
#23
Scariest - the amount of viruses that lurk in other animals that could jump to humans and almost literally wipe us out.
If you paid any attention during COVID your eyes should have been opened to this fact.
#24
The CDC has been eviscerated.
Global cooperation & preparedness are at a 60 year low.
The next major contagion will make Covid-19 look like a Disney story.
#25
Ocean acidification will inhibit any corals or hard shell ocean creatures to exist just a few years from now.
#26
Even if we fully stopped all carbon emissions today, the earth would still keep warming. We need to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere or we're done.
#28
The Cascadia Subduction Zone will likely produce an 8.0 or above earthquake in our lifetime and will wipe out the economies of Portland and Seatle as well as inundate the coasts of Vancover, Washington, Oregon and Northern California which will take out 14,000 people before the tsunami.
#30
You're told your entire life "oh my god, you have to learn to CPR!" And sometimes "you can't even work here until you learn CPR". The truth is that outside of the hospital, CPR only works 10-12% of the time, meaning 88% - 90% of the time the person is going to be gone no matter what you do. These statistics only go down the older a person gets. So, when you're pumping on a person who 70+ you're usually blowing into the mouth of a body. Ask a doctor, ask a nurse. Look it up if you don't believe me. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it, unless they're old or have a DNR order, then you shouldn't. But you're led to believe that it's like a 50-50 outcome or better, and it's most certainly not.
Now your odds are better in A-fib situations where you have access to an AED. A jolt of electricity is much more effective. But in flat-line situations, you're very often pumping on the body of a gone person, and it's going to traumatize you.
#31
If the Rabies virus gets into your blood, there is nothing that can be done to save you. Only one person has ever survived being infected.
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