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So here’s the scenario: you’re scrolling through social media and stumble upon a post that reads, “The day after tomorrow is called ‘overmorrow.’” You think it’s another silly post, but it piques your curiosity nonetheless, so you do some digging. As it turns out, it is actually true

This is just one of the seemingly questionable yet accurate facts that you’ll read about today. We’ve compiled many of them in this list to give you something that will enrich your knowledge in some way. 

Scroll through and see which ones are interesting enough for you to use as your next dinner party conversation starter.

#1

Tweet text about a scientist proving ulcers caused by bacteria by drinking infected broth, an unusual but true fact.

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Dr Jimmy 03
Community Member
9 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, and this happened during my adult lifetime. Decades ago.

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    #3

    Comment describing how butterflies transform by liquefying and reconstituting themselves, a far-fetched but true fact.

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    JL
    Community Member
    11 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why can't we do that? I want flight too.

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    Regardless of whether these facts are true, they likely made you curious enough to want to know more. And that alone is a win. According to experts, curiosity alone makes us value learning, which is always beneficial. 

    “If you feel positive after learning something, then you now understand the joy of learning, which motivates you to learn next time,” educational psychologist Dr. Kou Murayama told Scientific American.

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    #4

    Screenshot of a tweet highlighting a far-fetched but true fact about Australians losing a war with emus twice.

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    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    5 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I thought we agreed we weren't going to talk about that.

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    But what drives our curiosity? What makes us want to dig deeper into pieces of information we come across and eventually ingest? According to astrophysicist and author Mario Livio, curiosity has “several flavors.” 

    As he explained in an interview with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, perpetual curiosity, for example, happens when something surprises us or when something isn’t in accordance with what we know or think we know.

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    #7

    Text post explaining how the Australian Open men's singles tournament structure sounds far-fetched but is actually true

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    Huddo's sister
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So far the first one I didn't know, even as an Aussie, but then I have no interest in tennis.

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    #8

    Tweet by Aspihistorian about the FBI spending a year investigating the lyrics of the Kingmen's hit song Louie Louie, fact that sounds far-fetched but true.

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    Lisa
    Community Member
    8 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Actually two years, they played it at different speeds to decipher any obscene lyrics but it was deemed incomprehensible and inconclusive. What's also funny is they never contacted the guy who sang the song, Jack Ely,

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    #9

    Tweet about surprising animal facts explaining fish classification, fitting the 49 facts that sound far-fetched but true theme.

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    Robert Trebor
    Community Member
    11 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My brother was a lawyer, very closely related to the shark.

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    “That is felt as an unpleasant state, as an adversity state. It’s a bit like an itch that we need to scratch,” Livio said of perpetual curiosity, noting that it’s why we try to find out more to scratch that itch and find relief. 

    Livio also discussed the concept of epistemic curiosity, which he described as a “pleasurable state associated with an anticipation of reward.” He says it’s the level of knowledge we possess that drives scientific research, many artworks, and education.

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    #10

    Screenshot of a social media post sharing a fact that sounds far-fetched but is actually true about Australia and the Moon.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    Premium
    12 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And has more kangaroos than the Moon.

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    Livio also discussed the concept of specific curiosity, which the digital age brought about. It’s about wanting to know a particular detail, much like what many of you will likely experience after reading some of the facts on this list. And Livio says it is actually a good thing. 

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    “The digital age allows you to find the answer very quickly. That’s actually good because you don’t want to spend all your time trying to answer a question like that,” he said.

    #15

    Reddit post sharing a far-fetched but true fact about Scottish doctors inventing a chainsaw prototype.

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    Fred
    Community Member
    3 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So that they could deliver the baby in handy-sized pieces.

    Given the stimulus overload we often find ourselves in because of technology, it’s easier to be less fascinated by the world around us. To keep the curious mind going, here’s a piece of advice from Dr. Pierre-Yves Oudeyer, research director at the University of Bordeaux: 

    “Focus on learning activities that are neither too easy nor too difficult, the ones where you have maximum improvement in speed, which will progressively get you to more and more complicated and yet learnable activities.”

    #17

    Comment about a group of ferrets called a business, sharing a far-fetched but true fact from the collection.

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    Bored Jellyfish
    Community Member
    Premium
    8 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love collective noun! A maelstrom of salamanders.

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    #19

    Tweet by Harsh Patel explaining that milk was used to simulate rain in black and white films, a far-fetched but true fact.

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    DeShotz
    Community Member
    8 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is a myth. Rainwater can be made visible on film through proper lighting. Also, note the date of the tweet.

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    #22

    Reddit comments explaining far-fetched but true facts about caterpillars tricking ants and parasitic wasps.

    Blankasbiscuits Report

    Bored Jellyfish
    Community Member
    Premium
    8 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We used to catch caterpillars so the kiddos could watch them make a cocoon or chrysalis, and see what comes out. Last time we did this, a wasp emerged out the cocoon. Traumatized the kids somewhat, but still, um… educational.

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    #25

    Tweet about birds navigating by stars older than the zodiac, illustrating facts that sound far-fetched but are true.

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    David Paterson
    Community Member
    6 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Birds that navigate by the stars"? Most birds fly during the day or stay in the same geographic area at night.

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    #29

    Alt text: Social media post sharing a far-fetched but true fact about gummy worms having more bones than real worms.

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    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    5 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh yeah, because they're made using gelatine which is extracted from boiled bones. That one took me a moment.

    #30

    Reddit post explaining far-fetched facts about turtles and their scientific recognition and use as food.

    Conscious-Ball8373 Report

    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    Premium
    11 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Tortoise. In this part of the world we say tortoise. Turtles swim in the sea.

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    #32

    Screenshot of a tweet about a surprising fact that sounds far-fetched but is actually true, shared on social media.

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    Kim Kermes
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And two actors from Running Man served as governor.

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    #33

    Text post saying the US military has lost several nuclear weapons and not all have been recovered, a far-fetched fact that is actually true.

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    Beak Hookage
    Community Member
    5 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I know where one of them is, at least. *strokes b0mb* Soon, my beauty. Soon...

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    #35

    Tweet about a man robbing a bank for $1 to get free medical health care, illustrating far-fetched but true facts.

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    JL
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Sadly, this one is very believable.

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    #36

    Tweet from Classical Studies Memes explaining that Mummy Brown paint was made from ground remains of Egyptian mummies, a far-fetched fact.

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    Robert Trebor
    Community Member
    10 hours ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This thread seems fixated on mummy dust.

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    #37

    Tweet from Tonepainter stating all the gold ever mined would fit in 2 Olympic-size swimming pools, showing far-fetched true facts.

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    David Paterson
    Community Member
    5 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    220,000 tons of gold will not fit in 2 Olympic sized swimming pools. Each swimming pool holds 2,500 tons of water and gold is 19.3 times the density of water.

    #38

    Tweet screenshot showing a user discussing imagination and perception, illustrating far-fetched facts that are actually true.

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    Nikki Sevven
    Community Member
    9 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I've found this low key disturbing since I first heard it. This and people who lack an internal monologue.

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    #40

    Tweet text about Stan Lee and Bob Kane attending the same high school, illustrating far-fetched but true facts.

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    David
    Community Member
    6 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Bill Finger, Will Eisner and a few other comic legends went there, as did Actors Don Adams and Judd Hirsch. Back then it was a Jewish Immigrant neighborhood and a lot of Jews were involved in the early Comic Books Industry. Superman, Batman, etc, were all created by Jews. However Stan Lee and Bob Kane were 5 years apart there.

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    #41

    Tweet by Michael Stoyanov stating NASA used less than 2% of cellphone computing power to reach the moon, highlighting true far-fetched facts.

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    Robert Trebor
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why did they use my phone without asking? I don't really mind but it is nice to be asked

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    #43

    Screenshot of a tweet sharing a far-fetched but true fact about sugar content in a Mars bar.

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    Linda Conaghan
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Seems to be a bit of dodgy math. 100 grams of sugar contains 100 grams of sugar, 100 grams of mars bars contains 61 grams of sugar.

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    #44

    Screenshot of a Twitter post humorously linking Sonic the Hedgehog's personality to Bill Clinton, illustrating surprising facts.

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    Panda Pops
    Community Member
    8 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He did not have s3xual relations with that woman...

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    #45

    User comment about how the night sky shows images from the past illustrating far-fetched facts that are actually true.

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    Doodles1983
    Community Member
    10 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Everything is past. There is no such thing as the present.

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    #47

    Tweet by Morgan Housel sharing a far-fetched but true fact about JFK and two Joe Russos in a 1946 congressional race.

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    LinkTheHylian
    Community Member
    8 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That same Joe Russo is a director with his brother Anthony.

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    #48

    Comment about animals seeing different colors, illustrating facts that sound far-fetched but are actually true.

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    Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het
    Community Member
    Premium
    11 hours ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How do we know at each of us see the same colour?

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