These random fun facts catch us off guard in the best possible way.
A one-way trip on the Trans Siberian Railway involves crossing 3,901 bridges
Not only is the Trans Siberian Railway the longest railroad in Russia, but it’s also the longest one in the world. The journey takes seven days, during which time passengers pass through eight different time zones and cross 3,901 bridges.
The Philippines consists of 7,641 islands
The Philippines is an archipelago, which means it’s made up of a group of islands—7,641 islands, to be exact. That figure does not include the thousands of sandbars and other landforms that emerge during low tide.
The world’s oldest wooden wheel has been around for more than 5,000 years
It was found in 2002, approximately 12 miles south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and is now housed in the city’s museum. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the wheel’s age, which is somewhere between 5,100 and 5,350 years old.
Dead skin cells are a main ingredient in household dust
Here’s an interesting science fact for you: According to researchers at Imperial College London, humans shed around 200 million skin cells each hour—and they have to go somewhere when we’re indoors. If the idea of skin dust isn’t sitting well with you, you should know that a report from the American Chemical Society found that a skin oil called scalene naturally helps reduce indoor ozone levels by up to 15 percent.
Sudan has more pyramids than any country in the world
Not only does Sudan have more pyramids than Egypt, but the numbers aren’t even close. While 138 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt, Sudan boasts around 255.
The bumblebee bat is the world’s smallest mammal
Weighing in at 0.05 to 0.07 ounces, with a head-to-body length of 1.14 to 1.29 inches and a wingspan of 5.1 to 5.7 inches, the bumblebee bat—also known as Kitty’s hog-nosed bat—is the smallest mammal in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. To see this tiny bat for yourself, you’d have to visit one of a select few limestone caves on the River in a Province of southwest Thailand.
The circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long
If a child’s entire circulatory system—we’re talking veins, arteries, and capillaries—were laid out flat, it would stretch for more than 60,000 miles, according to the Franklin Institute. By the time we reach adulthood, our bodies have become home to approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels.
There are parts of Africa in all four hemispheres
For people whose education was largely focused on the Western world, it may be surprising to find out exactly how huge the continent of Africa. For instance, it spans all four hemispheres and covers nearly 12 million square miles.
The world’s first animated feature film was made in Argentina
Even if you know a lot of Disney trivia, you might assume that the honor of first animated feature film belongs to Walt Disney’s 1937 movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But 20 years earlier, a full-length animated feature film was made in Argentina. It was a political satire called El Apostle made up of 58,000 drawings and had a running time of 70 minutes, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Human beings can use only a small fraction of Earth’s water
In school, we were taught that, most specifically, 71 percent of the planet’s surface is covered in water. While that’s true, humans can use only 0.007 percent of that water, according to National Geographic. That’s because only about 2.5 percent of Earth’s water is fresh water, and only 1 percent of that is accessible. The rest makes up glaciers and snowfields.
It takes a drop of water 90 days to travel the entire Mississippi River
Spanning 2,340 miles, the Mississippi River is the third-largest watershed in the world. That’s one long stretch of water. So long, in fact, that it takes one drop of water approximately 90 days to travel its entire length.
Japan has one vending machine for every 40 people
Japan is thought to have one of the highest densities of vending machines in the world, with one for every 40 people in the country. While most sell various types of beverages, others feature ice cream, noodles, and disposable cameras.
McDonald’s once made bubblegum-flavored broccoli
This crazy McDonald’s fact will have your taste buds crawling. Unsurprisingly, the attempt to get kids to eat healthier didn’t go over well with the child testers, who were “confused by the taste.”
Some fungi create zombies, then control their minds
The tropical fungus infects ants’ central nervous systems. Once it has been in an insect’s body for nine days, it has complete control over the host’s movements. According to National Geographic, it forces the ant to climb trees, then convulse and fall into the cool, moist soil below, where fungi thrive. Once there, the fungus waits until exactly solar noon to force the ant to bite a leaf and wait for death.
The first oranges weren’t orange
The original oranges from Southeast Asia were a pommel hybrid, and they were actually green. In fact, oranges in warmer regions, such as Vietnam and Thailand, still stay green through maturity. Speaking of which, ever wonder which “orange” came first: the color or the fruit? We found out!
There’s only one letter that doesn’t appear in any U S state name
Can you guess the answer to this random fun fact? You’ll find a Z (Arizona), a J (New Jersey), and even two X’s (New Mexico and Texas)—but not a single Q.
Johnny Appleseed’s fruits weren’t for eating
Yes, there was a real John Chapman who planted thousands of apple trees on U S soil. But the apples on those trees were much more bitter than the ones you’d find in the supermarket today. “Johnny Appleseed” didn’t expect his fruits to be eaten whole, but rather made into hard apple cider.
The Windy City nickname has nothing to do with Chicago’s weather
If you live in Chicago, you might already know this random fact, but we’re betting most other people don’t. Chicago’s nickname was coined by 19th-century journalists, who were referring to the fact that its residents were “windbags” and “full of hot air.”
Armadillo shells are bulletproof
In fact, one Texas man was hospitalized when a bullet he shot at an armadillo ricocheted off the animal and hit him in the jaw.
Some octopus species lay 56,000 eggs at a time
On average, a giant Pacific octopus will lay 56,000 eggs at the end of a pregnancy, over the course of about a month, NPR reports. At first, these new babies float through the surrounding water unattached to one another or their mother. But then the mother gathers each egg—which is about the size of a grain of rice—and weaves them into braids, allowing her to keep an eye on everyone at the same time.
Kleenex tissues were originally intended for gas masks
When there was a cotton shortage during World War I, Kimberly-Clark developed a thin, flat cotton substitute that the army tried to use as a filter in gas masks. The war ended before scientists perfected the material, so the company redeveloped it to be smoother and softer, then marketed Kleenex as facial tissue instead.
That tiny pocket in jeans was designed to store pocket watches
The original jeans had only four pockets: that tiny pocket, plus two more on the front and just one in the back.
Turkeys can blush
When turkeys are scared or excited—like when the males see a female they’re interested in—the pale skin on their head and neck turns bright red, blue, or white. The flap of skin over their beaks, called a snood, also reddens.
Most Disney characters wear gloves to keep animation simple
Walt Disney might have been the first to put gloves on his characters, as seen in 1929’s The O pry House, starring Mickey Mouse. In addition to being easier to animate, there’s another reason for the gloves “We didn’t want him to have mouse hands because he was supposed to be more human,”
The current American flag was designed by a high school student
It started as a school project for Bob Heft’s junior-year history class in 1958, and it only earned a B-minus. His design had 50 stars, even though Alaska and Hawaii weren’t states yet, Heft figured the two would earn statehood soon and showed the government his design. After President Dwight D. Eisenhower called to say the design was approved, Heft’s teacher changed his grade to an A.
Cows don’t have upper front teeth
They do have molars on top, in the back of their mouths, but where you’d expect upper incisors, cows, sheep, and goats have a thick layer of tissue called a dental pad. They use that with their bottom teeth to pull out grass.
Bananas grow upside down
Or, technically, we peel them upside down. Naturally, they grow outward from their stems, but that means their bottoms actually face the sky. As they get bigger, the fruits turn toward the sun, forming that distinctive curve.
Dogs sniff good smells with their left nostril
Dogs normally start sniffing with their right nostril, then keep it there if the smell could signal danger, but they’ll shift to the left side for something pleasant, like food or a mating partner. If you’re a dog lover, you’ll want to know these other fascinating facts about dogs.
Mercedes invented a car controlled by a joystick
The joystick in the 1966 Mercedes F200 showcase car controlled speed and direction, replacing both the steering wheel and pedals. The car could also sense which side the driver was sitting in, so someone could control it from the passenger seat.
H&M actually stands for something
This is one of those interesting facts you’ve probably never thought about before. The clothing retail shop was originally called Hennas—Swedish for “hers”—before acquiring the hunting and fishing equipment brand Moritz Widforss. Eventually, Hennas & Moritz was shortened to H&M.
Europeans were scared of eating tomatoes when they were introduced
Scholars think Hernán Cortés brought the seeds in 1519 with the intent of the fruits being used in ornaments in gardens. By the 1700, aristocrats started eating tomatoes, but they were convinced the fruits were poisonous because people would die after eating them. In reality, the acidity from the tomatoes brought out the lead in their pewter plates, and they actually died of lead poisoning.
The Eiffel Tower can grow more than six inches during the summer
The high temperatures make the iron expand.
Medical errors are a top cause of death
According to a Johns Hopkins research team, 250,000 deaths in the United States are caused by medical error each year. This makes medical error the third leading cause of death in the country.
Sloths have more neck bones than giraffes
Despite the difference in neck length, there are more bones in the neck of a sloth than a giraffe. There are seven vertebrae in the neck of a giraffe, and in most mammals, but there are 10 in a sloth’s.
Ancient Egyptians used dead mice to ease toothaches
In Ancient Egypt, people put a dead mouse in their mouth if they had a toothache, according to Nathan Belofsky’s book Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices Through the Ages. Mice were also used as a warts remedy in Elizabethan England.
Humans have jumped farther than horses in the Olympics
The Olympic world record for the longest human long jump is greater than the world record for the longest horse long jump. Mike Powell set the record in 1991 by jumping 8.95 meters, and the horse Extra Dry set the record in 1900 by jumping 6.10 meters.
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