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random facts

Pop Culture

A Twitter user asked people to share the most random facts they know. The answers didn't disappoint.

Why do people even know this stuff?

via PixaBay / Twitter

People started a viral thread about the most random facts they know

Certain people have an innate ability to remember random facts. They are great at trivia but can also be insufferable know-it-alls.

So why are some people better at recalling random facts than others? Researchers in Europe believe that it's because their brains are more efficiently wired than other people's.

"We assume that more efficient networking of the brain contributes to better integration of pieces of information and thus leads to better results in a general knowledge test," biopsychologist Erhan Genc, from Ruhr University Bochum, said according to Science Alert.

Brittany Packnett Cunningham, an MSNBC contributor, activist, and co-host of Crooked Media's "Pod Save The People," wanted to harvest the mind hive on Twitter and find the most random fact that anyone knows.

"I mean RANDOM random," she wrote.

The answers ranged from the utterly pointless to the truly amazing. There was also a generous helping of utterly disgusting answers thrown in the mix.

Almost every answer deserved the follow-up question: "Why in the world do you know that?"

Here are some of the most random responses to Brittany Packnett Cunningham's question: "What's the most random fact you know?"

What\u2019s the most random fact you know?\n\nI mean RANDOM random.
— brittany packnett cunningham. (@brittany packnett cunningham.) 1580180672

Most were utterly useless, but somehow still fascinating.

Snails can sleep for up to three years when the weather doesn\u2019t suit them.
— \ud835\udc9f\ud835\udcb6\ud835\udcc3\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udc52\ud835\udcc1\ud835\udcc1\ud835\udc52 (@\ud835\udc9f\ud835\udcb6\ud835\udcc3\ud835\udcbe\ud835\udc52\ud835\udcc1\ud835\udcc1\ud835\udc52) 1580180829

pic.twitter.com/IhCEcPpVJN
— \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8All AmErican New Year (@\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8All AmErican New Year) 1580499864

most mammals have twice as many nipples as their species' average litter size (e.g. humans mostly have 1 kid at a time, but 2 nipples), this is colloquially referred to as the 'half nipple rule'\n\nexcept opossums, which for some reason have an odd number of nipples
— Several Irate Bobcats (@Several Irate Bobcats) 1580184771

Muhammad is statistically the most common first name on the planet while Wang is the most common last name on the planet. But I still haven’t met anyone named Muhammad Wang.

Muhammad is statistically the most common first name on the planet while Wang is the most common last name on the planet. But I still haven\u2019t met anyone named Muhammad Wang.
— So There I Was... (@So There I Was...) 1580183727

The only word in the English language with all vowels+Y in alpha order is “facetiously”

The only word in the English language with all vowels+Y in alpha order is \u201cfacetiously\u201d
— christy mcguire (FinishEdD!) (@christy mcguire (FinishEdD!)) 1580181277

Queen Elizabeth is one of the only people in the world who doesn’t need a passport to travel. Everyone else in the royal family does.

Queen Elizabeth is one of the only people in the world who doesn\u2019t need a passport to travel.\nEveryone else in the royal family does.
— Connie B \ud83d\udc3b (@Connie B \ud83d\udc3b) 1580181326

NYE goes hard

NYE goes hard
— M\ud83d\udd4a (@M\ud83d\udd4a) 1580184004

In DNA, mushrooms are more similar to animals than they are to plants.

In DNA, mushrooms are more similar to animals than they are to plants.
— \u2728 No More Mayors \u2728 (@\u2728 No More Mayors \u2728) 1580181372

Some were pretty darn cool.

London Tube platforms have different tilings because when the Tube was originally built, a lot of people who used it were illiterate, and the different tilings helped them know what station they were at.pic.twitter.com/Yw8e04zCJA

London Tube platforms have different tilings because when the Tube was originally built, a lot of people who used it were illiterate, and the different tilings helped them know what station they were at.pic.twitter.com/Yw8e04zCJA
— Sahil (@Sahil) 1580195864

Some were thought-provoking.

You've never seen your own face. You've seen a reflection, and you've seen pictures, but you've never actually seen your own face!

You've never seen your own face. You've seen a reflection, and you've seen pictures, but you've never actually seen your own face!
— Ruby's Granddaughter (@Ruby's Granddaughter) 1580226748

When you look at a flower, some of the photons that entered your eye just ended a 100,000-year journey from the center of the sun. Nobody else sees them. Just you. 10% of THOSE will give up their energy to cause a chemical reaction that—literally—makes them a part of you.https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/1221992423905202176 …

When you look at a flower, some of the photons that entered your eye just ended a 100,000-year journey from the center of the sun.\n\nNobody else sees them.\n\nJust you.\n\n10% of THOSE will give up their energy to cause a chemical reaction that\u2014literally\u2014makes them a part of you.https://twitter.com/MsPackyetti/status/1221992423905202176\u00a0\u2026
— \u2796Dustin Miller\u2796 (@\u2796Dustin Miller\u2796) 1580187100

Elephants are the only animals other than humans who have something like funerals. They cover the dead elephant gently with leaves and branches, then stand around in a circle for hours making sad noises.

Elephants are the only animals other than humans who have something like funerals. They cover the dead elephant gently with leaves and branches, then stand around in a circle for hours making sad noises.
— \ud83c\udf39Saffi \u2721\ufe0f (@\ud83c\udf39Saffi \u2721\ufe0f) 1580182116

There was a day when your parents put you down and never picked you up again.

There was a day when your parents put you down and never picked you up again.
— Bradley King (@Bradley King) 1580186315

Others were disturbing.

Humans have a coccyx (aka a tailbone) which is the remnant of, you guessed it, a vestigial tail. One of our several vestigial features.

Humans have a coccyx (aka a tailbone) which is the remnant of, you guessed it, a vestigial tail. One of our several vestigial features.
— Cat Noone (@Cat Noone) 1580181773

The act of touching glasses to cheers comes from medieval suspicions of poisoning each other, so youd slam mugs together to spill each others drinks into your own to show trust you werent trying to kill them. Europeans man...

The act of touching glasses to cheers comes from medieval suspicions of poisoning each other, so youd slam mugs together to spill each others drinks into your own to show trust you werent trying to kill them. Europeans man...
— james beard (@james beard) 1580182190

Male dolphins can ejaculate as far as 10' and with such force it can kill a human if that human was foolish enough to attempt zoophilic relations with dolphin.

Male dolphins can ejaculate as far as 10' and with such force it can kill a human if that human was foolish enough to attempt zoophilic relations with dolphin.
— dr. k still loves Richard (@dr. k still loves Richard) 1580180807

Artificial raspberry and strawberry flavoring comes from the anal glands of a beaver.

Artificial raspberry and strawberry flavoring comes from the anal glands of a beaver.
— \u2744\ufe0f\u2744\ufe0f Stephanie Nelson \u2744\ufe0f\u2744\ufe0f (@\u2744\ufe0f\u2744\ufe0f Stephanie Nelson \u2744\ufe0f\u2744\ufe0f) 1580236997

And some could be helpful down the road. You just never know.

If you are attacked by a gator and your arm is in its jaws, push, don't pull. If you can push the flap open at the back of its throat, water rushes in and it starts to drown and will open jaws, hopefully releasing you.

If you are attacked by a gator and your arm is in its jaws, push, don't pull. If you can push the flap open at the back of its throat, water rushes in and it starts to drown and will open jaws, hopefully releasing you.
— Anika Noni Rose (@Anika Noni Rose) 1580220908

The Phenomena: "The Doorway Effect" When you forget the reason you enter a different room. To retrieve the reason, walk backwards w/o turning around. It can trigger the memory.

The Phenomena: "The Doorway Effect"\nWhen you forget the reason you enter a different room.\nTo retrieve the reason, walk backwards w/o turning around.\nIt can trigger the memory.
— CK (@CK) 1580185439

This article originally appeared on 02.06.20

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random facts

Pop Culture

People are sharing the most random facts they know. Here are 15 of the most intriguing.

An 18" pizza is more than double the size of a 12" pizza.

via Sydney Troxell/Pexels, Maddie Franz/Pexels, Murray Becker/Wikimedia Commons

The Hindenburg disaster, a slice of pizza and a squirrel.

How is it that some people seem to know a lot of random facts and are great at trivia, while others can’t get a question right while watching “Jeopardy!”? A big reason is curiosity. People interested in many different subjects have a more significant knowledge base than those who do not.

Further, when people are genuinely interested in a subject, they retain knowledge much better than if they heard the information in passing. So, while two students may learn the same thing in class, the genuinely interested one will remember the information, while the other will quickly forget it.

Studies show that curiosity is one of the most significant predictors of having a high IQ.

A Redditor named TechSavvy_Ryan asked the curious folks on the platform to share the facts that “most people don’t know.” The post went viral, inspiring over 8,000 responses in just two days. So, we cobbled together a list of the 15 most intriguing facts so you can wow people at your next trivia night or cocktail party.

Here are 15 facts that “most people don’t know."

1. Hindenburg survivors

"Most the people involved in the Hindenburg disaster lived." — CaligulaMonkey

"It was said 62 of the 97 people survived. You can see them running away in the nick of time as they touched the ground." — Rook2Pawn

2. Freaky fish

"Irukandji jellyfish grow only to about 1 cubic cm in size, but have an incredibly painful sting. One symptom of the sting is a strong impending sense of doom. Victims have begged their doctor to be killed as they were certain they would die anyways." — NikkiRex

3. Dangerous laughter

"You can collapse your lungs from laughing." — ContentTask2032

"So you can technically die from laughing?" -PaptaLopikju-

4. Dark side of cruises

"The amount of murder, rape and suicide that happens on cruise ships. Most of them unresolved, too." — PeacefulKillah

"Most newer cruise ships also operate an onboard morgue, as they are now considered cheaper options to retirement homes. Last time I was on a cruise, a crew member let slip that there were 2 deaths from natural causes." — Kegman83

5. Happy birthday

"A company called Warner Chappell Music collected licensing fees for use of the song 'Happy Birthday to You' all the way until 2015. That’s why characters in movies often sing other songs like 'For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”'and restaurant chains often have their own birthday songs they sing to customers." — ItsMeCourtney

6. Burial facts

"A burial plot is called a graveyard if it's part of a church lot. It's called a cemetery if separate." — Missusmidas

"The backyard is only a graveyard if they can find the body." — Diels_Alder

7. Spanish Africa

"The only Spanish-speaking country in Africa is Equatorial Guinea. Its capital, Malabo, is on an island slightly northwest of the country’s mainland." — Dre_Lake

8. A case of bad nerves

"If your nerve is broken in the wrong way, the nerve will send a pain signal to the brain and it won't stop." — RhiannonCrystalLady

9. Pizza truth

"An 18-inch pizza is more than two 12-inch pizzas. To do the math, the surface area of a circle is pi x r squared. Pi is the constant. 18 in pizza has a 9 in radius, or r. 12 inch has 6. 9 squared is 81, 6 squared is 36. 36 x 2 is 72. 81 is greater than 72." — Who_Else_But_Macho

"Not only that but if you assume that each pizza has a 1" wide crust all the way around, the 18-inch pizza is 79% toppings and 21% crust, while the two 12-inch pizzas are only 70% toppings and 30% crust. So not only do you get MORE pizza, you get a more efficient pizza with a greater toppings-to-crust ratio." — Tajwriggly

10. Declare your pacemaker

"When a body is to be cremated, the funeral director will first ensure that any rubber sole shoes, watches, phones, glasses, and sealed glass/metal containers are removed. Any sealed container becomes a pressure vessel when exposed to temperatures exceeding 1000°c. These will explode and do significant damage to the crematorium. This is the same reason why any electrical devices or items with batteries are removed, including most watches, and also pacemakers. When an undertaker asks whether your loved on had any medical implants or pacemakers, this is the reason why.
Glasses often tend to leave a silica residue on the bottom of the cremator which is just awkward to clean up and can build over time. Rubber soles are just incredibly polluting and are often not caught by the many filtration systems. This usually results in a black plume of smoke coming from the chimneys. Also, all metal residues and materials which are collected after the cremation is completed are gathered up and can either be returned to the family (upon request) or else treated and recycled, with proceeds from the recycling going towards a worthy charity." — Flaky_Tumbleweed

11. Scuba or S.C.U.B.A.?

"Scuba is an acronym, standing for self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." — JackCooper_7274

12. Squirrel speed

"Squirrels run faster up trees than on flat surfaces." — sstebbinss

13. Battleships

"Battleships in museums/ on display that are WW2 and later cannot start their engines because they have preservative grease inside in case the Navy has to bring the ship back into service." — Stravata

14. Sharkgevity

"Sharks predate trees." — External_Crazy_6568

"Well duh, they're predators." — Flowcahrt83

15. Code-shifting cells

"Your immune system has at least 1 cell to combat every single infection that could ever exist. Your T-cells are cells that, when created, go through a sort of training phase in the thymus where they are allowed to change their genetic code at random, in order to be able to battle 1 random very specific disease. During this, the body also kills any T-cells that are accidentally adapted to kill human cells. Then the T-cells are sent to lymph nodes, to be found later by presenting an antigen (a part of a pathogen) to it. Basically, you have something for everything in your body, the problem is just finding it, as it takes a good few days for your body to locate the specific one." — Chipperland4471

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facts

Internet

People are sharing the most random facts they know. Here's 20 of the most interesting.

All animals pee for the same amount of time?

via Pixabay/Pexels and Voyager 2/Wikimedia Commons

A penguin and the planet SAturn.

Some folks just have a knack for remembering all sorts of random facts. They're the stars at trivia nights, but sometimes, they come off as too much of a know-it-all.

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to be better at recalling random facts than others? Monica Thieu, a multi-time “Jeopardy!” contestant, studied the phenomenon and found that people who are great at trivia and remember random facts could also recall the situation and content when they first learned the fact.

So, someone who is excellent at remembering random facts won’t just remember that Grant is buried in Grant's Tomb. They will also remember that they learned it on a sunny day while on a walking tour of Riverside, New York.

(President Ulysses Grant is buried in Grant’s Tomb, which is located in Riverside, New York.)

A Reddit user challenged people on the AskReddit subforum to share the most random facts they knew, and the responses were both educational and head-scratching. Many people shared facts that didn't seem true at first, but after some thought (and Googling!), they really are true.

The most mind-blowing fact is about Reno, Nevada and Los Angeles. (Read more about it at #6.)

We looked at the responses and shared the 20 most interesting “random facts” shared on Reddit.

1. Match works too well

"The guy who started Match.com made his wife family friends and employees sign up to increase traffic to the site. His wife later divorced him for someone she met on match.com." — Acrobatic_News_9986·

2. The world is buzzed

"On average, 0.7% of the world's population is drunk at any given time." — Maleficent_Nobody_75

3. Cold desert

"Antarctica is the world's biggest desert." — NarkOne

"I always have fun with people's initial reactions to this one: What continent has the highest average IQ?" — Apple-Hair

Answer: Antarctica because of all the researchers.

4. Everyone pees (for the same amount of time)

"Almost all mammals pee for 22 seconds with a full bladder (I tell this to everyone I meet)." — ART_IS_IN_THE_SKY

"Not if you have a problem prostate." — JohnKnightuk

5. The good side of eugenics

"Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad, a founding member of Swedish pop band Abba, is the product of a Nazi breeding program where German men were sent to Norway to impregnate Norwegian women. She was one of the children that was resulted." — Ov3rStt1mulate3d

6. The west is further west than the west coast

"Reno, Nevada is further west than Los Angeles." — SeahawksWin43-8

"In the same vein, Seattle is further north than Toronto, as is Portland. And Salem. The southern tip of Canada is further south than the northern border of California. Maine is about 1000 miles closer to Africa than Florida is. The South American continent is east of Orlando, Florida." — Drone30389

7. Laser facts

"The acronym for 'LASER' means light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." — FatCatLaundromat

8. Redundant names

"Not really a single fact, but just the concept of tautological place names for various features that are just the word for that type of feature in a different language. Some examples:

Gobi Desert (Desert Desert)
Lake Michigan (Lake Large Lake)
Mississippi River (Big River River)
The La Brea Tar Pits (The The Tar Tar Pits)

One of my favorites is The Los Angeles Angels baseball team, or The The Angels Angels." — Locclo

9. We smell dirt

"Human's ability smell petrichor (smell of wet earth from rain) is greater than a Shark's ability to smell blood in water." — ParticulaWR

10. The most terrifying word

"The fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia." — NemoTheOneTrueGod

11. Hell does freeze

"There's a town in Norway called Hell' and it freezes over every winter. Talk about a cold and hellish place to live." — Unpredictablecutie

"The place name in evolved from the Norwegian word 'heller,' meaning a cave under a rock overhang. There are, however, several hundred places in Norway named Helvete, the Norwegian word for Hell." — Apple-hair

12. Trees > Stars

"There are more trees (about 3 trillion) on Earth than stars (100-400 billion) in the Milky Way Galaxy." — Moon_Jewel90

"I didn't believe you, I had to Google it. You're right! The idea of there being 3 trillion of anything on Earth, let alone something as big as trees in a world as deforested as it is, is incredible!" — _MrGullible

13. Forever honey

"Did you know that honey never spoils? It's like the eternal optimist of the food world—forever sweet and never bitter, just like my outlook on life... well, most days." — TheLatinaFemdom

14. Who killed the moose?

"One of The only predators of the Canadian moose is the orca; whilst there have been no sightings of a whale attacking a moose, there have been moose carcasses torn up in the ocean, and it is the only logical conclusion. Also, moose can swim." — NegrosAmigos

15. Saturn floats

"50% of the sun's mass is focused in just 2% of its volume and if you put the planet Saturn into a bag to keep it together, it would float in water (assuming a suitable body of water could be found)." — Ben_M31

16. Penguin hydration

"Penguins have an organ above their eyes that converts salt water into fresh water." — DowntownFarmer2615

17. This gun's for hire

"Someone made a 'rent a hitman' website that actually got people arrested." — SolarVisor23

18. High 5

"That the 'high 5' was started accidentally during an LA Dodgers game in 1977 when a player raised his hand before another player crossed home plate. The runner slapped the raised hand without any thought. It became a dodgers ritual that permeated into popular culture." — Swel403

19. Skeeter facts

"Only female mosquitoes bite. They are attracted to people with type o blood and those who release more carbon dioxide. The reason a mosquito bite itches is because they inject their saliva to clot the blood when they're done." — Fallowsong

20. Schizophrenia facts

"Schizophrenia can lie dormant in your body. It can be triggered by certain things. For example, if someone has done a specific drug and they say 'I haven’t stopped tripping since.' They’re no longer 'tripping.' Their schizophrenia was activated." — Inner_Earth4710

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facts

Culture

People share useless facts that simply won't leave their heads

Photo by Sean Benesh on Unsplash

Some facts are only useful for trivia contests.

Ah, useless facts. Random knowledge that serves no purpose other than to take up space in our brains, and maybe, just maybe, win a trivia game (yeah right) or kill time at a party (I’ve forgotten, what’s a party?).

Leave it to Ask Reddit to resurface all things odd and amusing, though. People shared their own useless facts that live rent free in their heads. And though they might be pointless, they are certainly entertaining.

Without further do:

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell pic.twitter.com/1bGJ5VAB9r
— Dank Memes (@theMemesBot) November 16, 2019

Yep, this useless fact has stayed with us since elementary school On the bright side, it’s been the source of many a fun meme.

Vending machines are more deadly than sharks.

animation domination lol GIF by gifnewsGiphy

Think about this next time you go to retrieve a Snickers bar: Between 2002 and 2015, the National Electronic Surveillance System reported that vending machines caused four deaths per year in the U.S. Mostly due to people tipping the machines onto themselves.

Compare that to the shark-related deaths averaging out to just 0.6 deaths per year. Not sure how only about half of a person is considered dead, but math was never my strength.

This statistic might need to be taken with a grain of sea salt however, given that those in landlocked states have next-to-zero chances of experiencing a shark attack. But there you have it, a useless fact to use when you’re at the beach.

Snails have teeth.

horror finger GIF by absurdnoiseGiphy

“They’re not big enough teeth to hurt humans. That’s what makes it a useless fact to know. & it won’t leave my head because it’s juuuuuust disturbing enough to make me rethink my entire opinion on snails.” – ghosts-go-boo

But cows do not.

At least, no upper front teeth. Makes chewing—and dentist visits—easier I suppose.

The Sun is about 400 times bigger than the Moon but also about 400 times farther away from Earth. So they look to be about the same size.

File:Solar eclipse 1999 4.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org

This explains how the sun can be completely blocked in an eclipse.

Pigeons and doves are in the same bird family.

Happy Animation GIF by sahlooterGiphy

Columbidae is a subspecies of birds that are stout bodied, with short necks, and primarily feed on seeds, fruits and plants. Though one lives on as a symbol of peace and love, and the other is often considered a flying rat, the names are practically interchangeable.

However, thinking about Stevie Nicks singing, “just like a white-winged pigeon” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

The length of a jiffy…

back to the future great scott GIFGiphy

According to ScienceFocus.com, physicists use a “jiffy” to define how long light takes to travel one femtometer (which is a tiny fraction of a millimeter). In layman’s terms, one jiffy equals one-fiftieth of a second.

So next time you say, “be back in a jiffy,” know that you better return really, really, really fast.

Most corn is inedible for humans.

corn on teal surfacePhoto by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

“1% of the corn grown in the USA is sweet corn (the corn you eat as corn). The other 99% is field corn (or dent corn), which is fairly inedible raw and needs to be processed before human consumption. This field corn is also what they use for non-edible corn products, like ethanol, paint, cosmetics, etc. Yes, most corn goes to livestock feed. Ethanol and High Fructose Corn Syrup are up there as well. Yes, if you're driving on a highway and are passing fields of corn, you very likely cannot eat it.” – Kat_lbltko1pl

Infants have flexible bones.

stretching GIF by AFV BabiesGiphy

Ever wonder why toddlers seem so much more flexible? This is because a baby’s skeleton if very different from an adult's. Babies are born with about 300 bones (94 more than adults) that are joined together with pliable cartilage to make that whole birth thing possible. As they get older, the bones will fuse together. And suddenly that toe touch is nothing but a distant dream of the past.

Numbers from 1-999 don't have the letter "a" in word form.

white printing paper with numbersPhoto by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

Some vowels just don’t get the respect they deserve.

John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald are both known by three names. And each full name is composed of 15 letters.

surprised season 4 GIFGiphy

Actually, this is not entirely correct. Oswald’s full name was not used until after Kennedy’s assassination, due to his habit of adopting false names.

Cockroaches molt.

Unlike a reptile shedding it’s skin, cockroaches molt out of their entire exoskeleton. Out crawls a soft, fleshy, ghostly-white creature that will turn brown over a few hours. You’re welcome for the nightmare fuel.

There you have it. Gems of wisdom no one asked for. They say knowledge is power. But in this case, I’d say knowledge is unnecessary. But still fun!

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