Article created by: Kotryna Br

They say truth is stranger than fiction. And if you ask me, reality is also scarier than fiction. A horror movie about zombies or monsters will have me yawning, but reframe that same film to feature deadly bacteria or diseases lurking in swimming pools, and I won’t be sleeping for a week. So for all of you pandas out there who are interested in hearing about real-life terrors, we’ve got the perfect list for you.

Below, you'll find some of the scariest things that scientists have proven to be real, that sadistic Reddit users have been kind enough to share. Enjoy freaking yourself out by reading about these things that sound too crazy to be real, and be sure to upvote the responses that make you question whether scientists really need to keep making discoveries…

#1

Healthcare worker in protective gear handling a swab test, illustrating science proving chilling realities. Nurse here.

COVID.

Now, let me explain what I mean. I am an ICU nurse and I have been in the "front lines" during the worst of the pandemic, first as a nurse manager in elderly homes, and later in Intensive Care Units.

Thing is... I cannot really express how terrifying this disease can be. I have seen young, healthy people dying and not being able to do anything for them. I have seen people that did everything right get the disease and end up under my care for months. Problem is that, no matter how hard I try, if you don't have a basic knowledge of intensive health care, you cannot really make your mind around what the word "critical" actually means.

Let me try to make your mind around this if you don't get what I mean.

Imagine getting sick and rapidly deteriorating to the point you cannot breath on your own. You are taken to ICU, fully analgosedated (so you are asleep and pain free), you get paralising agents (so all your muscles, including breathing, are fully relaxed), get a tube to your lungs, connected to a machine that will breath for you, and having all sorts of medicines whose only job is to keep you alive as your body fights off the disease with the help of different medications.

But then, even so, it is not enough, and you cannot properly oxygenate. So we do "prone" you, that means you be turned upside-down on the bed. But after about 24 hours we need to turn you back again on your back, because being on that position for so long can cause harm. But half an hour after turning you on your back, your blood tests show that you are not breathing properly again, and then we have to prone you again.

Repeat that for days. Weeks. Months.

Add to that that your family cannot get close to you. Maybe they can watch you through a glass door, if available. Add also that if your heart crashes (stops), the nursing & medical teams will be unable to get to you until they are properly dressed.

Did you get a mental image of what all this is? Let me tell you, that is about a 20% of what the word "critical" actually means when we talk about COVID.

PS: If you are a negationist, or anti-vaccines activist or whatever... don't. Just don't. Please.

Volgrand , Mufid Majnun Report

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    #2

    Orangutan resting on a rock, illustrating one of the scariest things science has proven to be real. More like a theory, the “orangutan paradox”, when we film a documentary on orangutans, they can’t realise that we are observing them, yet they are the most intelligent species of their category, so aliens might be watching us and we are as oblivious as an orangutan

    Time_Succotash , uzumaki anam Report

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    #3

    Spiral galaxy surrounded by stars in space, illustrating the scariest things science has proven to be real. That things we thought were stars (or fuzzy stars) a century ago are actually entire galaxies. Who knows who or what the F is out there?

    OnionTruck , Arnaud Mariat Report

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    #4

    Earth seen from space, illustrating one of the scariest things science has proven to be real. Deep time.

    The Earth was alive a million years ago. And a million years before that. A thousand million years before that.


    Even if our civilization is miraculously successful and we live for 20 thousand more years and colonize thousands of planets like in Dune it's still nothing. A blink of an eye. The Earth would barely notice.

    Spookd_Moffun , NASA Report

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    Dadurker
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yet in our blink of an eye, our species has decimated the planet

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    #5

    Visualization of atomic structure showing scientific proof of the scariest things science has revealed as real. Gamma ray bursts. No warning, no escape, no defense, no survivors.

    Swampwolf42 , wikipedia Report

    #7

    Hand pointing at brain scans on medical monitor, illustrating chilling scientific discoveries proven to be real. How the brain is literally rewired and chemically altered by childhood neglect and abuse.

    petalumaisreal , Anna Shvets Report

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    Dadurker
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    By every experience we have. Literally every single experience

    #8

    Elderly person holding therapy ball with caregiver providing support, illustrating fears science has proven real. Ageing. I'm content with death but the idea of my body growing old, frail and eventually falling apart before the end game gives me goosebumps.

    anon , Matthias Zomer Report

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    Dadurker
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    S**t, I'm 43 years old. Played soccer my whole life. My body is already falling apart. 2 metal rods, 12 screws, 6 surgeries, and pending MRI results on a rotator cuff right now. Sometimes your body starts to fall apart prematurely

    #9

    Close-up of an elderly person deep in thought, illustrating chilling realities science has proven to be real. Dementia

    sorrymabad , Tim Doerfler Report

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    Data1001
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Of course, dementia is usually hardest on that person's loved ones or caregivers. But I think there would be a period of time, before the disease has progressed fully, where you the patient are aware you are losing your faculties -- and I think that could be terrifying. Once you get beyond that point, I don't know if you'd be aware enough to really be suffering that much. Having had several people in my family go through this, I think it can be sort of like the frustration a very small child experiences when they cannot do simple things any more.

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    #10

    Close-up of a large octopus underwater, highlighting its suction cups and textured skin, showcasing nature's chilling science. Giant squids. Suddenly the old sailor story's of krakens wrapping tenticles around a ship and pulling it into the ocean doesn't seem like fiction.

    OneTyler2Many , K. Mitch Hodge Report

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    Ian Rose
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Only problem with this is that the illustration is of an OCTOPUS NOT a SQUID

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    #11

    Microscopic view of green glowing cells representing one of the scariest things science has proven real. Brain-eating amoebas

    dark_n_lovely_qu33n , wikipedia Report

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    #12

    Sea turtle swimming near a coral reef in deep ocean waters illustrating scariest science facts proven real. That we've only explored (numbers might not be quite right) 2% of the oceans and that the oceans makes up 78% of the world. I wonder what's in there

    OffensiveCabbage , Francesco Ungaro Report

    #13

    Unusual blue iceberg floating in cold water with snow-covered mountains and cloudy sky in the background, illustrating chilling science facts. Climate Change

    Puzzled_Ad2563 , Melissa Bradley Report

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    #14

    Doctor showing brain scan results on tablet to patient in hospital gown, highlighting chilling science discoveries. Some tumors have teeth, hair and even eyes.

    Twat_Waffle_Stomp , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

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    Seishi Desu
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, some of them even have names and become presidents of global superpowers.

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    #15

    Steam rising from a steaming hot spring with vibrant blue and orange colors, illustrating chilling science facts proven real. The Yellowstone super volcano.

    overheatbelief , Pixabay Report

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    #16

    Busy city street at night with bright lights and billboards illustrating chilling science facts proven real. The scariest thing for me, is that we have scientifically mapped human psychology. We know social habits, and evolutionary survival instincts that we've carried over from our ancient past. We have extensive knowledge on how to elicit the exact response out of a human on command. And the scary thing is that corporations use this information to sell things to us.

    Everything about a product's design from it's shape, to it's color pallet to it's odor is specifically and intricately designed to hack our brains and trigger the exact specific response that they want from us.

    Once you are aware of how much human psychology goes into advertising, you will never look at an add the same way again.

    The_Quicktrigger , Jose Francisco Fernandez Saura Report

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    Dadurker
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    With some products I'm sure this is true, but only companies with an infinite marketing budget can afford to go to these lengths, and there aren't THAT many companies with pockets deep enough for everything listed.

    #17

    Microscopic view of brain cells illustrating one of the scariest things science has proven to be real. Prions, horrific and totally unpredictable.

    geordiesteve520 , wikipedia Report

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    Pam
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It’s impossible to wash or sterilize prions on surgical instruments so if they used on a prion patient, they are put in a bucket then a cement substance is poured over them. Never to see the light of day again.

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    #18

    Hand holding gas pump nozzle fueling vehicle, illustrating one of the scariest things science has proven to be real. Lead in gasoline may very-well have decreased the human IQ on a global scale while in use.

    keldoged , Skitterphoto Report

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    #19

    Young woman in a beige sports outfit stretching her neck outdoors, illustrating the scariest things science has proven real. Cracking your neck could cause you to have a stroke but its rare

    anon , KoolShooters Report

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    #20

    Microscopic image of virus particles representing the scariest science-proven threats confirmed to be real. That a person can be killed by organisms so tiny that we can't even see them

    cold_toast_n_butter , CDC Report

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    #21

    Close-up of a person’s ear and curly hair illustrating science proven chilling facts about what is real. That hearing is the last sense to leave, when dying.

    ma5terbate , Kindel Media Report

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    #22

    Nuclear explosion mushroom cloud at sunset, illustrating the scariest things science has proven to be real. The capability to harness nuclear explosions

    MadgoonOfficial , ctbto Report

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    #23

    Scientist in a lab coat working with complex scientific equipment and computers, illustrating chilling science discoveries. How little human scientists actually know relative to the amount of things in the universe

    FCFirework , ThisisEngineering RAEng Report

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    #24

    Close-up of a person holding a pill near their mouth, illustrating a chilling science fact proven to be real. Finding substances that can change your behaviour, memories and general personality.

    Puggymon , danilo.alvesd Report

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    #25

    Close up of a laboratory pipette transferring liquid into test tubes representing scary science proven to be real discoveries. How human perceptions and values can be so easily hacked by tweaking some chemicals here and there.

    androbot , Louis Reed Report

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