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Life can be scary, and a lot of times we push certain fears aside just to get through the day. But when those fears show up as undeniable facts, they hit a bit differently. Just like a small fall on the ice can remind you how fragile the human body is, a quiet moment under a sky full of stars can make you suddenly aware of how tiny we are in the universe.
A Reddit user recently opened a discussion on facts that genuinely scare people, and the answers spanned the cosmos, the body and even everyday routines.
We picked the ones that really stood out… see if they get you thinking too.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
We are potentially all alive today because a single Soviet officer second guessed the missile detection system he was operating. The machine threw a warning for 5 nuclear missiles fired from the US that ended up being a false alarm caused by a rare weather event over North Dakota. His name was Stanislav Petrov.
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#2
Corpses rot and decay as they get eaten by microbes. These microbes are constantly trying to eat you too, but your immune system is an army of cells inside you playing defense nonstop.
#3
You know how if you take a deep breath and jump into a body of water, the air in your lungs makes you float to the surface?
Yeah so somewhere between 30-50 feet under, this no longer happens. You just sink.
These facts are not made-up horror stories, yet they are unsettling enough to scare many people. A few of them can also serve as reminders that life is precious and fleeting. Psychologists believe that when we confront the larger truths, it can also push us to start living intentionally and practice mindfulness.
Research suggests that people who strongly believe in something beyond death, such as religion or spirituality, are more likely to say they would “die happy”. In that light, scary facts can also open a door to deeper reflection.
#4
When you start showing symptoms for Rabies, its too late to get the cure and you're going to die. Such an evil disease, and you wouldn't even know you have it until its too late.
David Paterson 3 hours ago
I'm old enough to remember a time when rabies was statistically "the rarest of the once common diseases". That was before it re-invaded Europe and America.
#5
There is a spooky skeleton inside of you right now!
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
The average number of skeletons inside people is slightly above one per person.
#6
There are more trees on Earth (about 3 trillion) than there are stars in the Milky Way (100–400 billion)
But there are more viruses on Earth (roughly 10³¹) than there are stars in the entire observable universe (about 10²⁴).
You’re basically a walking meat spaceship covered in an invisible ocean of creatures that could end you in days if your immune system ever takes a coffee break.
Night night.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 5 hours ago
And what if our observable universe is a body of some unfathomable being and we're just microbes to it?
A study published by Peleskova et al. (2024) shows that “the strongest fear is triggered by modern threats (electricity, car accidents), while the highest disgust is evoked by ancient threats (body waste products, worms, etc.)”. It proves that fear is deeply rooted in survival mechanisms.
Thinking about our mortality or the unknown universe is scary but experts say that we need to recognize which of these thoughts are important and which ones can quickly turn harmful.
As psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, MD, puts it, “imagination is a super‑power, until it goes dark” and truly some of the facts here have the power to flip that switch.
#7
One of the most narcissistic imbeciles in the world has access to nuclear launch codes.
#8
Everybody was taking pictures of the pretty aurora's as far south as northern Florida last week. Not too many realize that if they sky gets colorful enough, all modern electronics including the electrical grid will fail, and there is no backup plan to get it functioning again before society collapses.
Rick Murray 3 hours ago
Aurora down to Florida? Well, okay. Was it happening in Europe? China? Any part of the southern hemisphere? The country/countries directly affected may suffer, perhaps greatly, and others may suffer as a side effect. But it won't be a societal collapse except in the places directly affected if it is catastrophically mismanaged (namely when people run out of food).
#9
When you drown, it takes 5 days for the gases to buildup for you to float to the surface.
Wear your life jacket.
#10
We’re much closer to running out of drinkable water than anyone seems to act like.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 5 hours ago
Yeah, so make sure you use ChatGPT for every stupid thing and generate lots of images of your AI waifu in lingerie ✌️
These facts are not made-up horror stories, yet they are unsettling enough to scare many people. A few of them can also serve as reminders that life is precious and fleeting. Psychologists believe that when we confront the larger truths, it can also push us to start living intentionally and practice mindfulness.
Research suggests that people who strongly believe in something beyond death, such as religion or spirituality, are more likely to say they would “die happy”. In that light, scary facts can also open a door to deeper reflection.
#11
The human body replaces its skin monthly. You have about 1,000 new sets of skin in your lifetime.
#12
No one will remember anything about you after you die within a few generations. Certainly after 1000 yrs.
Nothing. All of your actions, your thoughts, dreams...zero.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 5 hours ago
Then do something worth remembering. Of course everyone will forget you if everything you do in life is study, work, reproduce and die.
#13
A bear can run 35 MPH for 30 mins. I live 12 miles from a zoo. If the bear takes the freeway, it could be at my house in under an hour.
Tucker Cahooter 6 hours ago
It will be there even quicker if it decides to take a taxi instead
#14
You've already eaten lots of micro plastic today.
While some of these facts may shock us and others might fade from memory, they might also open a door to wonder. Realizing we are a part of this big beautiful Universe, and confronting these truths, can give us a deeper sense of meaning.
As Dr Jesse Preston, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick, believes: "Science can be a powerful source of awe and wonder for many… It can foster a sense of connection to others and our place in the world.”
#15
One of the few absolutes in medicine is that no person born blind has developed schizophrenia.
#16
A stroke can happen at anytime and to anyone.
There are risk factors, of course. But everyone is at risk.
Rick Murray 3 hours ago
Ditto heart attack, aneurysm, anaphylactic shock (from something you were never allergic to before), etc etc. It is *possible* and it *happens*, but unless there's a specific history (in the family) or underlying health issues (in you), I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.
#17
You don't realize just how fragile you are. One wrong car accident, and you've lost your ability to walk, or worse. And that car accident could be unavoidable because it's out of your control.
One bad trip/fall, and you have to be stationary for a week, or a month, or longer. And then you'll need physical rehab.
You may not know it, but an aneurysm or a blood clot to the heart may be right around the corner, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
If you went swimming once in a lake with friends, you may have some sort of illness or amoeba that is now a death sentence.
You're fragile. You're breakable. It'd be so easy for you to be bed ridden, be paralyzed, be stricken blind, deaf, and dumb. The world is dangerous, and every day you expose yourself to it.
Have a good day! (:.
A study published by Peleskova et al. (2024) shows that “the strongest fear is triggered by modern threats (electricity, car accidents), while the highest disgust is evoked by ancient threats (body waste products, worms, etc.)”. It proves that fear is deeply rooted in survival mechanisms.
Thinking about our mortality or the unknown universe is scary but experts say that we need to recognize which of these thoughts are important and which ones can quickly turn harmful.
As psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, MD, puts it, “imagination is a super‑power, until it goes dark” and truly some of the facts here have the power to flip that switch.
#20
If you ever want to know what life after death is like, it's the same as life before birth. When you are gone, you are gone.
#21
Due to electromagnetic repulsion nothing ever touches anything else.
Zig Zag Wanderer 5 hours ago (edited)
And yet I got downvoted for pointing that out. Go figure. Oh, btw, it occasionally does. The results are often cataclysmic.
#22
If you develop dementia one day, there will be a day that will be the last day that you don’t have it, but you won’t know it, ever.
#23
The moon is moving AWAY from the earth at around the same speed that fingernails grow.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 5 hours ago
There'll be a day where we'll have to ram something into her to prevent her from escaping
#24
Money is just a series of text files exchanged between financial institutions a few times a day through ftp style gets and pushes.
#25
As the air quality decreases so will cognitive function. This is already observable in poorly vented offices.
Zig Zag Wanderer 5 hours ago
Get outside and get some fresh air. Better, see some countryside. I'm amazed at how little wilderness people realise is out here. So much more vast than all the cities!
#26
Society is actively doing what every robot uprising story tells us not to do.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 5 hours ago
Building the Torment Nexus from the acclaimed sci-fi novel "Don't Create the Torment Nexus"
#27
There’s nuance to this, so I’m just going to post what I was told.
Your eyes and your body have two separate immune systems. They both have no idea the other exists. If your body finds out you have eyes, it will attack them as if they are foreign objects.
That, and a solar flare could cook us at nearly every moment.
Stardust she/her 4 hours ago
False. Both of the points are vastly oversimplified. Our eyes, gonads, placenta etc have immune privilege which means that these structures are allowed to deal with antigens on their own without the need for an inflammatory response as such responses in these areas can be severely damaging or even life threatening. If our immune system tries to fight there, it just gets told to stop by the organ. For the solarflare section, we have a 92 million mile buffer between us and the sun so we have at least a few hours to a few days to prepare for even the worst of solar storms. Check out my comment above on this post on solar flares
#28
Healed wounds are held together by collagen, your body’s natural glue. The collagen needs to be regularly replenished, so your body constantly makes more and uses it to keep your scars glued closed. Collagen also keeps your teeth glued into your mouth.
If you have Scurvy you stop producing collagen. Your wounds reopen and your teeth fall out.
Eat your greens, kids.
Tucker Cahooter 6 hours ago
That's why I always ask if the cruise ship I want to go on has a good supply of limes and that passengers won't be subsisting on just salted pork
#29
Babies cry in the womb. We have observed through ultrasound all the classic signs of crying like heaving chests, quivering lips, opening mouths. All the movements made when a baby cries, but it cant because their lungs are full of fluid.
Also babies are covered in a fine hair called Lanugo that is shed before and sometimes after birth. At the same time, the digestive system starts working some time around 7 months. Know what the baby eats and drinks? That's right, amniotic fluid and it's own body hair. Where does all that go? It pisses and s***s back into the amniotic sack, only to drink and eat all that again.
Also it's *Loud* in the womb. Not only does sound transfer way better in fluid than it does air, but the late-term uterus is pretty close to the heart.
So for a couple months before you were born you were trapped in a pitch black fluid prison, screaming silently, drinking your own p**s, eating your own s**t, and the entire time it sounded like someone was trying to beat down the door 24/7.
The miracle of life yall.
Zig Zag Wanderer 5 hours ago (edited)
Some babies don't. My son was born without his oesophagus connected, so didn't. I'll let him know the good news. (he was fixed, survived, and has his own child now 😁)
#30
You are never 100% safe. Even if the danger is an extreme one, it could still happen. You're not safe in you're bed, in your house, at your work, nowhere. You will never be 100% safe.
#31
That time doesn't slow down. So the moments we waste, we never get back.
Zig Zag Wanderer 5 hours ago
I'm afraid it definitely does. In the presence of gravity, or at significant speeds, time does indeed slow down. Sorry to burst your bubble. Time is NOT immutable.
#32
There are millions of tiny microscopic bugs that are crawling over your skin. They're always there so you leave a lot on the pillow while sleeping. That means you put your face on a graveyard of dead bugs and your skin bits. Since I know this I change my sheets way more regular than before.
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 6 hours ago
Lmao BP, what happened to the link under this entry? (screenshot below in hidden comment in case they fix it)
While some of these facts may shock us and others might fade from memory, they might also open a door to wonder. Realizing we are a part of this big beautiful Universe, and confronting these truths, can give us a deeper sense of meaning.
As Dr Jesse Preston, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick, believes: "Science can be a powerful source of awe and wonder for many… It can foster a sense of connection to others and our place in the world.”
#33
Where I live, you might die a horrible death after being tortured just because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and your body would just disappear, your family would not see you ever again, and the government would do nothing about it, but take your death just for the statistics and blame it to past administrations.
And to make things worse, if your family try to push your case, even if it's just to find your body for proper burial, they might get k****d too.
It's a horrible thing.
#34
There is an unbroken chain of evolution and successful reproduction extending from the very first form of life right up to you.
If you don't have kids, that chain ends with you.
I'm 35 and no kids. I'm letting the Saccorhytus down.
David Paterson 3 hours ago
A human being is just a single celled parasite that uses as adult body to reproduce.
#35
Nobody experiences true reality. We experience a story that our brain has invented a split second after true reality happens.
If those signals were produced some other way - dream, simulation, hallucinations, or misfiring neurons - you would have no method to detect it.
Rick Murray 3 hours ago
And most of what you see is a fabrication that the brain stitches together from glimpses that it gets as your eyes flit around naturally. Want to know how mindscrewy it is? Print out and do the blind spot test. Now print a simple geometric pattern, like wavy lines, over top of that and try it again. The test spot will vanish, but the pattern won't. Your brain is filling in missing part of the pattern. That's how you don't notice a sizeable empty patch in your vision.
#36
One day you Will wake up and get dressed not knowing was the clothes you're going to die in that day.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 5 hours ago
So if just decide to stay naked all the time, I'll be functionally immortal (and also in prison)
#37
That we're alone in the universe.
#38
Herons eat ducks. I learned that in a kids’ movie last year, and for some reason it traumatized me—a supposedly full-grown adult on paper.
Detroit Citizen 3 hours ago (edited)
WHAAAT??? Nooooo. Now ive seen a turtle pull ducklings under water for, uh, well... Geese attack ducks, swans attack geese for attacking ducks. Not the herons smh. I like ducks. Mallards, the green band is so pretty. Source: I worked at a private country club for a decade that was surrounded by a nature reserve/park. Im a little sadder now. Fun unrelated thing: Duck quacks dont echo. And iykyk about their reproduction tools lol I also befriended a small type hawk (about the size, slightly bigger than a crow) at said C.C., saved it from being run over as a baby with my mower. Every so often Id be driving my mower down that wooded path for grounds crew (out of sight from the club members) my little hawk buddy would drop "gifts" in front of me. And squawk so id know. Id would also see him (?) perched on a branch that went over that path, waiting for me. I traveled that path daily around the same time each day (we had an order to what and when we mowed. I did fairways so it was daily in the am, i had a route so to say. To be honest it was like serene, a truly wild animal bonded with me, i miss the hawk far more than the job
#40
Things aren’t on fire. Fire is on things.
David Paterson 3 hours ago
Clever. Fire has two stages - pyrolysis and combustion. Pyrolysis is the breakdown of chemicals by heat into flammable gases. Combustion is the burning of those gases. It isn't the things that are on fire, it's the flammable gases released by those things.
#42
Prions exist. Basically, they’re a messed up protein that causes other proteins to fold wrong, which is fatal. I don’t know the science- just that prions are terrifying. That’s what caused the “Mad Cow” disease back in like the late 90s? Over in the UK. I learned about prions then as a kid and been scared since.
Auntriarch 2 hours ago
Prions are not a messed up protein, a couple of them cause nasty diseases, but others are useful and necessary, to organisms as different as yeasts and mammals, where a type of prion is used by neurons to establish long term memory.
#43
In 1859 a solar storm hit the earth with so much power it sent sparks through telegraph wires. The next one, and there will eventually be a next one, will fry most of our infrastructure.
But hey good news, we may not live to see if. If a single biologist on this planet figures out how to make harmful "left handed" microbes (microbes that are identical to existing ones but with proteins facing the opposite direction) it will probably wipe out all life on the planet because absolutely nothing is adapted to deal with it.
Stardust she/her 4 hours ago
Well I have stuff to say. About the first point, yes it’s true that such a strong solar storm will destroy most of our infrastructure and send us back many generations but that’s only if our engineers and scientists are stupid people who ignore warning signs. And the chances of another Carrington event occuring is around 12% per decade (over time adds up to 64% in 50 years) so the smart people are generally prepared for such situations as satellites can be placed in ‘safe mode’ while on earth the electric grids can be prepared once the scientists detect these events. About the second point, OP has vastly oversimplified the concept of chirality and the potential risks of creating mirrored life. They’ve misunderstood it to the point where I don’t even know where to start. Reddit is not a place to get a lesson on chirality and biochemistry
#44
My solution to the Fermi Paradox ("so where are all the aliens?"). Its much more likely by probability that aliens have not just already come to earth but have already colonized it if they were intelligent enough to have the technology to do so, than they haven't, we just aren't aware.
Stardust she/her 4 hours ago
How would they even know we existed before they came to out solar system? Our radiowaves haven’t even crossed 200 lightyears and even that is nothing to our galaxy with a diameter of 100,000 light years. Maybe they’d know that earth has life just based on whatever they can interpret from atmospheric phenomena but they can’t confirm if our life is multicellular, intelligent etc. The distances between stars is also so vast that even light takes literal years to traverse that distance
#45
My dog will die before I do :-(.
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Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 6 hours ago
Merry Christmas to the one or two cowardly trolls that always downvote my comments regardless of content. Seriously, you guys have nothing better to do than go through each and every comment I make?
Awenpotato 6 hours ago (edited)
Ive not downvoted or upvoted you, but at a guess its probably because you feel the need to announce your preferred pronouns and s****l orientation in your username
Load More Replies...
David Paterson 2 hours ago
I can think of plenty more scary-horrifying scientific facts. For instance, deadly recessive mutations are building up unseen in the human population at a rate of about one new deadly mutation per person. For instance, the next large natural extinction event will k**l off all the dolphins and whales, even if humans survive. For instance, all humans live on the boundary between sanity and madness, it doesn't take much to push us over the edge.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 6 hours ago
Merry Christmas to the one or two cowardly trolls that always downvote my comments regardless of content. Seriously, you guys have nothing better to do than go through each and every comment I make?
Awenpotato 6 hours ago (edited)
Ive not downvoted or upvoted you, but at a guess its probably because you feel the need to announce your preferred pronouns and s****l orientation in your username
Load More Replies... David Paterson 2 hours ago
I can think of plenty more scary-horrifying scientific facts. For instance, deadly recessive mutations are building up unseen in the human population at a rate of about one new deadly mutation per person. For instance, the next large natural extinction event will k**l off all the dolphins and whales, even if humans survive. For instance, all humans live on the boundary between sanity and madness, it doesn't take much to push us over the edge.
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