The amount of knowledge we acquire over the course of our lives is astonishing. When we really sit down and think, we'd all be amazed at the stockpile of information our brains store. That's why more of us should try to get on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" You don't have to be a genius to know things. And we know the most inexplicable things.
Redditor u/JM5172 wanted to learn a few things about life by asking... What's a random fact you know for some reason?Did you know dolphins sleep with one eye open? How is that possible? I sleep with an eye mask and curtains drawn in complete darkness. But they do it to be ready for sharks. They can actually turn off half of their brains one side at a time. Crazy.
Slow Down!
Driving Biff Tannen GIF by Back to the Future Trilogy
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Here is one "The first ever person convicted of speeding was going 8 mph."
Bless You
Approximately 20% of people in the world can make themselves sneeze by looking into the sun.
I'm more surprised by the fact it's only 20% of people. I remember having a conversation about being able to do this in grade school and everyone agreed that looking at the sun causes sneezing. Hell, if it's during allergy season and I focus enough I can create a genuine sneeze on command.
ZAPPED!!!!
Frank Zappa was playing a show with The Mothers Of Invention at a casino on a lake in Switzerland when an audience member shot a flare off causing the place to catch fire and burn down, destroying a ton of their equipment. A week later they played in London with rented equipment and Frank was pushed off the stage by a jealous fan who thought Frank was f**king his girlfriend. Frank was messed up really bad and never toured with The Mothers of Invention ever again. In fact for 6 months he was in a wheelchair and couldn't tour at all. These two events really changed the trajectory of his musical career.
At the same time as the infamous Switzerland show, a band had arrived at a hotel across the lake to record an album. They watched the casino burn from the hotel and it inspired them to write a new song right there in the hotel. The band, Deep Purple, then recorded what would become their most famous song "Smoke on the Water".
I don't know why I know this because I'm not a fan of either of them.
Tardigrades
Water bears (Tardigrades) can survive a few minutes near absolute zero. They can also survive being boiled. They can also lose like 99% of the water in their body and live for years as a dehydrated nothing. Then return to normal form when/if they end up in a better environment.
I read about them in in a science magazine when I was like 11. They seemed like the most bad@ss creature on earth so I never forgot about them.
Former Flat Earthers Explain What Finally Made Them Come Around | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Science is science. Fact is fact. Truth is truth and simple is simple. These are things we must now attest to in 2021. Can we please all get onboard with wha...What about Carrots?
season 2 episode 10 GIF by SpongeBob SquarePants
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When threatened, the sea cucumber will eject its digestive system to scare its predators.
So far, so very interesting. I never look into the Sun and know I have to to see if I'm part of the 20% of sneezers. And 8 miles an hour? That's petty...
Super Baby
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Babies can hold their entire body-weight suspended from a stick for several seconds up to a minute. Current thought is that it's an ability left from when we were a lot hairier.
Equate it All...
81 x 81 = 6,561. In middle school, me and one of my friends were convinced we could memorize all math equations and this is the only one that stuck with me outside of the standard multiplication table.
Measured...
Music charts in the US is measured in 'Top 40' because standard jukebox machines in the past held 40 records.
Interesting, I heard something similar, but not jukebox limits but radio play time limits. Ie they wanted the "most popular countdown" show and 40 was the number of songs they could reliably fit into that format without making the show too long (three hours or something).
Secrets
The White House only got the ability to print double-sided documents in 2016.
The amount of ancient technology our government uses is staggering. You'd think the pentagon would be filled with super computers, but up until like three years ago, the Pentagon was having custom floppy disks made and paying a crap ton of money for it because...
1- No one made floppy disks anymore and...
2- the computers they were using were so old that they didn't have cd imports.
Sweat it Out
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Cows sweat through their nose.
Dogs sweat through their nose and paws.
The Timing
Despite what you see in movies and TV, the effects of chloroform don't kick in for another 5 minutes or so after it's been administered.
That's just when you start feeling the effect. It takes a lot longer for what you see in movies. In fact a lot of people use chloroform to get high.
Manic Mondays
President James Garfield died on a Monday. His assassin, Charles Guiteau, when shopping for a gun, decided on one with an ivory grip because it would look better in a museum. He also tried touring the facility where he expected to be incarcerated, but was turned away.
Pounds Away
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Crying helps you lose weight,
Told this to my friends every time they cried, sometime it helped.
And most weight loss (practically all of it, actually) is lost through breathing.
Granted, there's only a minuscule amount of waste CO2 expelled in each breath from you burning your energy reserves to stay alive, but think of how many breaths you take in a day, and over the course of weeks to months.
So Cute
Cute Aggression is a feeling you get when you get overwhelmed by positive emotion so your brain tries to counterbalance that with negative emotions. So there can be things that are so cute you wanna kill them.
I remember reading somewhere on the internet (so it has to be true) that the reason people squeeze cute small animals is because the human brain literally cannon comprehend how cute it is and therefore instinctively wants to make it stop being so cute by squeezing it to death.
The Dust
The difference in size between a grain of dust and the Earth is the same difference in size between a grain of dust and an atom. furthermore, the difference in size between the Earth and an atom is the same difference in size between an atom and 1 plank length.
Hey Flipper
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Dolphins get high on pufferfish 🐬.
Apparently girls have more tastebuds than boys.
There are no clocks in casinos in Vegas.
3
I have three
- You are special, in that you are almost guaranteed to know something that someone else doesn't.
- By the age of 40 you probably still won't have heard the funniest joke you will ever hear, and over 40 you will probably already know the funniest joke you will ever tell to someone else.
- The number of possible ways to shuffle a pack of playing cards is 52 factorial - or 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000
If you were to make every person on the planet shuffle a deck of cards every second of every day for the entire life of the universe there would still be a one in a trillion, trillion, trillion chance of the two decks being in the same order.
Birth
Most of my random facts come from QI but the chain saw was invented to cut through the pubic bone and open the birth canal to air in child birth. It was on a pocket watch type chain that was pulled back and forth. So ya.
The Calvary
That a cavalry unit once captured a fleet of enemy ships.
Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder to cross on horse back.
Basically the Dutch fleet was anchored between the 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) stretch of sea that separates the mainland port of Den Helder and the island of Texel.
That stretch of sea was frozen trapping the ships in position and it just so happened to thick enough to cross.
After a quick charge across the ice the French horsemen surrounded the 14 dutch ships.
It seems both sides were in capable of any kind of military action, the french couldn't bring across their heavy guns and the Dutch prepared to destroy the ships but it both sides decided to wait for orders.
The Dutch were ordered to surrender, there were no casualties on either side. The French took ownership of the ships but later returned them to the Batavian Republic in May 1795 under the Treaty of The Hague; one of its other provisions was an indemnity of ƒ100 million.
Listen Up
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When you lose your teeth for good, the bones in your ears shift and your hearing gets worse. Brush those bad boys!
Ok. I'm taking noted because like I said... who knows when "Millionaire" or "Jeopardy" will call? Also... snails sleep for three hours at a time... just so you know.
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Of course, most of the time, it was “just a phase". And looking back, those phases are regrettable, to say the least. Here are some prime examples of that.
SirGergoyFriendman asked:
What was your biggest/most regrettable "It's not a phase, mom. It's my life." that, in fact, turned out to be just a phase and not your life?
The enthusiasm of a young person can lead to some unexpected changes that parents are just not ready for.
Hi, Wheeljack!
I was VERY into The Transformers when I was a wee lad in the 1980s. One day, I decided to change my name to the name of my favorite Autobot. My name was lame, and I wanted an awesome Transformer name. And I was VERY insistent that my parents only call me by my new name. Calling me by my 'old' name would cause a big fat tantrum on my part.
So for the better part of a week, my poor parents had to call me Wheeljack.
Very 2008.
Ariana Grande Shrug GIFGiphyMy cat-ear phase. I wore cat ears every single day. Everywhere. I had like 20 pairs of them. Now everyone thinks I'm a furry.
I find that very cute and wouldn't have thought you'd be furry. Even if you'd had cat mittens. I think my suspicions would have started if you moved a bit like a cat, displayed catlike grooming habits or got a cat mask.
Not gonna lie, that car sounds cool.
I went to a car show once as a teen, and the only newer car there was some chick's PT cruiser. It was hot glittery pink, and at the time I was obsessed. I insisted that one day I would have a hot pink car, with pink seats, pink dash, pink carpets, etc. I was pretty heavily goth at the time, so my parents just rolled their eyes.
These phases can often lead to some very strange fashion choices.
That’s commitment.
When I was a teenager (early 00s), I was waiting for my mother to pick me up and was wearing one of those sh!tty sports wristwatches. It was itching me so I took it off for a second, but then she arrived and because I was struggling to get it back on my wrist, I looped it around the equally sh!tty chain I had around my neck in a rush to get out the door.
My mom asked me about it in the car, and I told her this was my new style and I planned to wear it like that every day. She rolled her eyes.
I wore that watch on a chain around my neck every single day for 3 years or so. There are even professional family photos where I'm wearing it because I refused to take it off.
One day, the chain broke and I lost the watch. I was in high school at that point anyway and it was a major lady repellent, so... phase over.
Not everyone can be Eminem.
slim shady eminem GIFGiphyBaggy pants, being a rapper someday and being a professional skater.
When I was about 14 and Eminem was starting to blow up I bought myself a keyboard with a synthesizer. It cost like $200 which was all the money I had saved up. It finally came (this was way before amazon prime and such) and I tried rapping.
My sister told me "you're effing horrible" and I gave up right then and there.
This should be a sin.
I used to button the top buttons of polo shirts.
I must say, this is probably the worst one I've read.
Looking back at our regrettable choices, all we can do is cringe.
An optimistic look at bad tattoos.
check me out season 3 GIF by PortlandiaGiphyBeing a tattooer. Regrettable because of those poor people who have my awful doodles on their bodies.
Take heart! My favorite tattoo is the one I drunkenly got my buddy to do in his living room one year during March Madness! It's dumb and frankly mediocre? But such a good story and has such good associations I smile every time I see it.
RIP Fredro’s.
My friend and I decided we were going to open a bar in Jamaica with exotic snakes in glass cages in the walls at each booth. We convinced ourselves it would be amazing for at least two years in college. It was going to be called Fredro's.
My entire family made fun of me for it. Once we got out of college, we realized it was not feasible and joined the office grind. We're also two white guys with no ties to Jamaica.
Talk about cringey.
I wore a top hat with an anime pin on it for around a year. Met one of my current best friends while wearing it, idk how he could bear to speak to me after that.
My weirdest phase was probably when I insisted on wearing knee-high rainbow socks to school every day. But honestly, I don't regret it. I rocked those socks, and I wish I still have a pair.
To all the people out there cringing over their past selves, remember that you were just a kid, and to be easy on yourselves. After all, we've all been there
Yet, too often, manufacturers who oversell their products fail to deliver what is promised and are inevitably left with angry customers who want their money back.
Whether the merchandise was defective or ridiculously overpriced, strangers online shared some of their worst purchases when Redditor BooksMcGee asked:
"What is the worst product you ever paid money for?"
Short Life Span
"This NERF gun that's supposed to shoot tennis balls for your dog. I bought it cause I thought you could load 3 at a time and shoot them far, but it's just one and it's super loud and the gun broke after like 4 shots (reading reviews later, this was a common issue)."
Lame Pets
"There were these toys called squiggles when I was a kid and the commercials made it seem like the toy was alive. It looked like you would get this crazy little fuzzy worms as pets that would follow you around an so sick tricks and listen to your every command. It was really just a piece of fluffy string tied to another piece of string with googly eyes on it. People may say that it was supposed to be a magic trick but they should also explain that to a 5 year old who really wanted a pet."
Card Value
"Not their fault, but I paid $70 for a Yugioh card hours before it was limited to one copy. Probably dropped to $20 by the end of the day."
These purchases were bad for your bum.
"A bicycle that literally fell apart before I made it out of the parking lot."
Not Worth Sitting On
"Joybird brand couch. Was so terrible, we returned it. Still hard to believe, we returned a freaking couch."
Going Nowhere Fast
"A 2000 VW Beetle (used)."
"Biggest piece of sh*t that literally had to have just about everything replaced before 100k miles and would still break down every time you left the driveway to the point where the tow-truck driver knew us on a first-name basis."
Expensive Lemon
"An Oldsmobile Achieva from one of those buy here pay here places. I should have known better, but I was young and thought I was getting a good deal. I had the thing for about 5 months, I drove it for maybe 3 weeks. The rest of the time it was either in the shop, or in my driveway waiting until pay day so I could afford to fix whatever broke on it this week. Eventually told the dealer just take it, I'm not paying for it any more. He said nope, and I will make sure your credit is ruined. I said well you sold me a lemon, do you really want to go this route? He came and took it. Never reported anything to credit. I heard he got sued by several other people who sold sh**ty cars too and eventually went out of business."
"Always amazes me when I see them driving around still, I can only assume there's enthusiasts who just love repairing horribly designed cars."
– zerbey
These Redditors were not convinced what they ingested was edible.
Bad Cereal
"A box of plain Cheerios. Thought they were honey nut, poured a bowl, was very disappointed."
"If I wanted to taste cardboard, I'd just eat the box."
– gor8884
Space Pizza
"A burnt frozen pizza at the air and space museum cafe in DC. I Don't wish that experience on anyone. There are some amazing restaurants in DC, don't settle."
– Alseids
The following electronics just gave off a bad charge.
"Asus Transformer Pad TF700"
"This was one of those early 'high end' Android tablets that was grossly underpowered, and it showed. Thing was slow as sh!t in no time flat. Rookie mistake investing into shiny new tech while they were still working all the bugs out. Think I paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for it..."
– Luke5119
Bad Apple
"macbook pro 2018 13" touchbar. 2 years old and dead (battery). they're asking $300-$400 to change the battery. malfunctioning keyboard with double presses and missing presses. that's a lot of money for bad design."
Chilly Reception
"Past winter my old room heater broke down and I had to buy a new one. Went to a store nearby and somehow got convinced to buy a very costly heating device.. It's also my fault, since there were some sligthly cheaper options around, but nope. I wanted the expensive one thinking it will make my small room a volcano with little to no effort/cost (that's also what the seller told me). Long story short the device wasn't doing ANYTHING. No significant temperature changes, too much space, a weird noise, and was doubling my previous device in utility cost. I still gloom over those 80 euros.."
Some of my disappointing purchases was clothing, but only because I purchased them online. Unless they are a brand I'm familiar with, I'm usually fine with buying new jeans off of their websites.
But when it comes to graphic tees only available on specialty shops, an M-size shirt is not necessarily the same size as those found in other reputable stores.
I bought a medium sized T-shirt from a boutique store online because I loved the look of the design. But when it arrived, the supposed medium fit me like an XL.
At least I gained a fierce cleaning rag from this impulsive purchase.