
The internet has democratized knowledge and information at an alarming rate.
In seconds, we can pull up an exhaustive article that delves deeply into a niche topic that once would have required a day in the library and whole lot of time spent in the index.
It's awesome. We can whip out our phones to answer questions and win arguments, depending on the situation.
But there's a downside: every once in awhile we come across a terrifying tidbit of information that we'd rather never have heard about. Just knowing the info can leave us feeling unnerved for plenty of moments after calling it to mind.
For better or worse, here's a whole list of those from Reddit.
Green-Owl6244 asked,
"What's a piece of information you wish you never knew?"
Many Redditors chose to discuss the awful dynamics of people and institutions. There are some tendencies of "civilized" life that really show the underbelly of what we're capable of.
The Mourning Industrial Complex
"The funeral industry. In general, it's very predatory, and mostly unnecessary. It's a way to make big bucks by guilting people into feeling like they don't love their family if they don't buy all this ridiculous stuff."
"Vaults for caskets have other purposes, but they are important so cemetery machinery can drive over graves without collapsing them. Caskets themselves are...comfortable boxes for people who don't need comfort anymore. Embalming is to preserve for viewing, but doesn't make much sense otherwise."
"The flowers alone are crazy expensive. It's all a gross show to make us feel better about death and make it pretty."
One Track Mind
"The mental hospitals I went to didn't actually care about me, their sole job was to make sure I didn't hurt myself. That's it, nothing to make me happier or to see what was wrong with me, nada. Told to me by my therapist."
"Sometimes ignorance is bliss"
Nooooo Poor Fluffers
"As a vet tech and shelter worker, there is a euthanasia 'season' just after Christmas day. Everyone wants one more holiday with their pet, I get that completely"
"There is also a 'balcony season' which comes during the first nice days of spring when everyone opens up their balcony doors. Huge influx of cats and dogs who go over the side"
-- ellegryphon
Other people called to mind historical or scientific facts about humans that were truly terrifying. Some of the things of our past are ugly to look back on.
180 Seconds, Falling
"The crew of the Challenger weren't killed in the explosion, the crew module remained intact until the module crashed into the ocean three minutes later."
"There's evidence they were conscious during this, and attempted to take steps to save themselves (knowing full well the situation they were in wasn't surviveable)"
-- Notmiefault
Deteriorating
"In the 1920s, women who worked on watches that glow in the dark used paint that contained radium. They were told that the paint is safe, and were instructed to regularly put the paint brushes in their mouth to keep them pointed."
"They got necrosis of the jaw. One woman went to the dentist to get a tooth pulled and her entire jaw came out."
-- Aqquila89
Taste Test
"Before modern medicine doctors diagnosed diabetes by tasting the urine of the patient. Sweet urine = diabetes. I don't really know how this helped anyone because I assume that everyone just died from it afterwards."
-- TomBuilder_
How Smell Works
"The fact that you smell things by just taking small parts of the objects you smell and put them inside your nose. So any time you smell poo ..."
- Big_Bad_Baseball_bat
Her Eyes
"I paid for part of my college tuition by working in a nursing home. I was with people when they died. I saw people with advanced dementia, devastating strokes, developmental disabilities, and all kinds of illnesses. Many of the people I cared were awesome, amazing people whom I still think about."
"However, they brought a woman in once who was only in her late 40s. Her file wasn’t complete with a history like all the other patients files were. She was in very good shape physically, very strong. But she was...not there. And by that I don’t mean she was confused or had Alzheimer’s. I mean that you looked into her eyes and didn’t see anybody in there."
"It’s hard to explain. Even the people I took care of who never spoke were still in there. You would get a glimmer of something, some reaction."
"Often they would surprise you by reacting to something when they usually couldn’t. Children. Music. A kind gesture. At least anger or pain!"
"But this woman seemed inhuman. No recognizable bit of humanity at all."
"She had to be restrained or she would hurt anyone she could reach. She came to us with three orange jumpsuits and that’s all the clothes she had. She liked to eat her own excrement (I know...sorry). Her eyes were dark and empty. She never had a facial expression. Blank."
"And she scared me."
"No patient before or after was scary, to me, but she really scared me. Because it honestly seemed to me — and I am not given to thinking things like this — that something not human was in there. That this lady’s essence was gone and something else was in there."
"She was only with us for a month, as they were just waiting for a bed to open up somewhere else. But nobody would say where. It was weird."
"Here is the last awful bit. One day a lovely teenage girl came in, really a nice kid. And this lady I am talking about was HER MOM. She hadn’t seen her in many years, she said."
"The head nurse took her back to see her mom and just a few minutes later the girl hurried out, almost running. I felt awful for her. And I felt even more spooked. What had happened?"
"I wish I had never seen that patient. I wish I had never known that was her daughter. I wish I could un-know what 'evil' looks like."
"Not one other experience do I regret, but that one lady still scares me to this day. She seemed wrong or evil in a way I that still freaks me out."
- Gen-Jinjur
Tumor Troubles
"Apparently tumors can grow shit like eyes and teeth."
"Google it at you own risk but be warned, it'll make resident evil look like the teenage mutant ninja turtles in comparison and it'll take days to get the image of it out of your head."
- bored_asfuk
Finally, some people shared animal facts. Even the cute, well-loved animals have some subtle behaviors or features that are enough to make you shiver.
Yuck. Just Yuck.
"Softshell turtles pee out of their mouth." -- KO-is-a-BIATCH
"They breathe through their butt" -- bmeupsctty
"Can they at least swim backwards while they do it? Peeing out your mouth is bad enough without having to swim through it as you pee." -- bowyer-betty
Delegated Stomachs
"that pelicans have three stomachs, and one of them's just for bones" -- pizzzazzzler
"I wish it could be five seconds ago when I didn't know this" -- ShadowHasBerries
"They can also push their spine out of their mouth to help cool off." -- thefifthwheelbruh
Let's Hope Opportunity Never Arises
"Horses are opportunistic carnivores."
"I learned this when I saw a video of a horse just popping a baby chick in its mouth like popcorn."
-- Jeremy12021
Blink
"I don’t remember how I found this out. In short, the fact about frogs. As soon as the frog grabs an unsuspecting insect, it should blink: the eyelids push the eyeballs to the top of the mouth and actually help push food down the throat."
"By the way, the eyes of frogs are larger than the stomach."
"Most frogs have teeth on the upper jaw, but these are mainly used to lock prey in the mouth and prevent it from escaping before the eyeballs push it towards the stomach."
- backroomsentity_
Alive?
"There were scientists that once kept a dog's head alive on a table through electrical stimulation. It is a YouTube video I can never unsee."
"I have left no link on purpose. Seriously, google at your own risk. I still cry any time I even THINK about it."
- Mxysptlik
The Fly
"The Human Botfly is still a thing."
- jjvolfan1
Hyenas Hurt
"So... uhh... I saw a comic and googled 'Hyena's Birth.' "
"This is what came up:"
" 'Giving birth is difficult for female hyenas, as the females give birth through their narrow clitoris, and spotted hyena cubs are the largest carnivoran young relative to their mothers' weight. During parturition, the clitoris ruptures in order to facilitate the passage of the young, and may take weeks to heal.' "
"God, I wish I didn't google that..."
- Mo_Ami·
So there you have it. An onslaught of reasons to lay awake tonight and feel scared to ever leave your bed again.
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Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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