Scientists Disclose The Scariest Discoveries They've Made That Most People Haven't Heard Of

Science has come far, and new discoveries are being made every day.
In fact, scientific discoveries and advances are so common that it's easy to lose track of the latest in science news. Not every major breakthrough makes it to major news networks, and you can find many published studies online that you'd never hear of otherwise. Some scientific revelations are so scary and panic inducing, that the information is kept mostly under wraps for the general public.
Redditor u/andretwic asked the scientists of Reddit, "What are some scary scientific discoveries that most of the public is unaware of?" and scientists shared some frightening information that you may rather not know.
20. Mass extinctions we may never know about
"An asteroid/comet impact crator was recently discovered in Greenland last year (Nov 2018) due to melting ice caps in the area.
This crator could be as recent as 12,000 years ago and if that's true it completely changes our understanding of 1) how frequently mass extinction events happen and 2) the history of human civilization.
All of a sudden global flood myths, ancient landmarks (Pyramids, Sphinx), and other mysteries line up with a global population getting wiped out and thousands of years of rebuilding/lost knowledge."
19. It's all a simulation... maybe?
"The basic nature of reality is waves of probabilities.
A your chair is only your chair because it is probable that it exists in that form.
We also very likely could be living within a computer simulation. The universe is either simulated or just happens to look very much like a simulated universe."
18. Mosquitos cause too many problems
"Entomologist here. While not 'new' (maybe ongoing is a better term) new mosquito-borne diseases. Remember Zika when it showed up? It's far from the only horrible disease you can get from certain mosquitoes that's often a virus with no treatment with high fatality or severe effects. 'New' ones can still pop up like Zika did, which is scary enough, but certain species of mosquito like Aedes aegypti that are invasive to many countries tend to carry these human diseases."
17. Zombies are unlikely but possible
"The plot of the last of us could actually happen. Given that there could be a cordyceps discovered that could lock onto and spread throughout humans. This would essentially turn every host into a brain dead zombie. The Likelihood of this happening is about 1/1000000 though."
16. The heat is rising
"As the Earth warms carbon dioxide that's traped in ice and in the ocean will be released into the atmosphere. This can start a positive feed back loop where the increased heat releases more carbon and the carbon increases the heat which in turn release more carbon. We could be getting very close to this point"
15. Get vaccinated
"80% of males and females between 16-25 are infected with the papilloma virus (HPV) that is a cause for several types of cancer, especially of the uterus."
14. Something to think about
"Something I find scary to think about is what hasn't been discovered or hypothesized. The universe is most likely finite. If it has an edge, what's beyond that edge? The universe had a birth. What was before that birth? What is nothingness? What causes nothingness to become everything?"
13. This seems to be coming true...
"The impending water wars. Not as fun as it sounds."
"Not even figuratively, there will be literal wars fought over clean water."
12. As if the quality of healthcare isn't bad enough
"Earth has a finite amount of helium, and we are starting to run out. At some point, it will need to be rationed. MRI machines need liquid helium to cool its superconducting magnets.
So what will probably happen is many hospitals will no longer be able to offer an MRI, and knowing the system in the US, this means hospitals in poor areas first. A lot of people are going to die or suffer from undiagnosed diseases/disorders."
11. Avoid teflon pots and pans
"Teflon is poison and because we all have used teflon things, we all now have that poison in our blood and we can't get rid of it. Now we have bigger risks of getting diseases, cancer for example"
10. This doesn't sound deadly and would be cool to witness
"The star Betelgeuse in Orion may be about to go supernova. We've known it's going to go supernova soon (that's astronomy soon as in could be tomorrow or in 200 years). Betelgeuse is a variable star, so it gets brighter or dimmer all the time, but it just got dimmer than we've ever seen it before.
No one's 100% what's going on. If Betelgeuse does go supernova, all of our satellites and stuff will be fine, the solar wind will protect us. The main problem is we'll have no night for a while (maybe weeks?) so it'll really throw animals off."
9. Practice safe sex
"'Super gonorrhoea' is resistant to the vast majority of strong antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones and macrolides. N. gonorrhoeae is mutating all the time to resist antibiotic effects. There have been multiple reports of super gonorrhoea in Australia, England, etc."
8. I honestly had to Google "replication crisis"
"The 'replication crisis' in psychology (though the problem occurs in many other fields, too).
Many studies aren't publishing sufficient information by which to conduct a replication study. Many studies play fast and loose with statistical analysis. Many times you're getting obvious cases of p-hacking or HARKing (hypothesis after results known) which are both big no-nos for reputable science."
7. I hate bugs but they're so important
"The world has 70% less insects on average than it did 40 years ago. We really are coming up on our silent spring.
For the people saying there are less pests, those arent the ones we're worried about. Insect pollinators are vital to so many crops, we could be facing serious problems with certain food supplies soon. In recent years China has had issues with apple and pear crops to the point where some regions have had to pollinate crops by hand. Also, insects form lower blocks of many food webs, and their disappearance will spell trouble for higher trophic levels."
6. Great, something else to worry about
"Abdominal aortic aneurysm. It's basically an aneurysm that happens in the big artery in the middle of the abdomen. It's fine and is usually asymptomatic but when it ruptures, a patient loses all their blood within a short period of time. The scary part is that it usually is diagnosed by accident due to annual checkups for something else. Anyone can have the disease, but especially people with Marfan syndrome, smoking, hypertensive, and hyperlipidemic."
5. Take care of your ears
"Known link between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline i.e. dementia.
ETA: key word is untreated. If you previously had normal hearing and it started slipping, please see an ENT and audiologist... If you have had hearing loss since childhood, you're not one of the ones I'm worried about. You have either learned sign language to keep you from being isolated due to your hearing loss and/or you have learned how to use hearing aids/cochlear implants to keep you from being isolated due to your hearing loss.
The link is really between communication and cognition, not the physical ability to hear. It's just that in people who previously had normal hearing, if they don't do anything it will impair their communication and in turn affect their cognition."
4. The island of nuclear horrors
"Not a scientist but I will still take the time to mention something that scares me I only found about a month ago, and I don't think a lot of people are aware of but probably should be. Back in 1946 to 58, the US tested 60 nuclear weapons on the Marshall Islands and buried the nuclear leftover waste and soil in a 30 ft deep cavern 'sealing' it with a concrete dome...the dome is cracking and now it's leaking into the ocean and surprise surprise it's not fixing itself, and the people responsible are essentially ignoring it or saying it is not their problem. Imagine Chernobyl but bigger and in the Ocean."
3. Another reason to fear climate change
"There are ancient microbes lying dormant in glaciers. As climate change progresses and these glaciers melt, it is possible that we will be exposed to ancient diseases for which we will have no immunity."
2. That researcher is a hero
"A genetically modified bacteria that could have possibly wiped out a lot of crops and plant life was almost commercially released into the environment. Fortunately, a researcher decided to do one more test in the lab before it was used in production. Found out it killed all the wheat seedlings, and she destroyed the remaining stock of it."
1. Man eating fruits
"Pineapples have an enzyme that digests protein. So whenever you eat a pineapple, it is eating you back"
- People Debate Which Things Are Most Likely To Cause Humanity's Extinction - George Takei ›
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- People Debate The One Invention They'd Eliminate From History To Change The World Forever - George Takei ›
- People Confess Which Scientific Fact Scares Them To The Core - George Takei ›
- People Break Down The Weirdest Facts They Know About Nuclear Weapons - George Takei ›
Many of us sometimes fantasize about what we would do to our worst enemies, especially in the moments when they're actively making our lives worse.
While most of us would never actually do any of the things that we contemplate instead of screaming at that super annoying person at the office, we do get pretty creative with the ideas.
Redditor take_me_there_ asked:
"What WOULD you wish on your worst enemy?"
This One Would Hurt
"A conscience. Let her realize the horrific things she’s done."
- Jenny010137
"Seriously. Introspection, self awareness, and empathy are traits that would improve a lot of sh*tty people."
- el_muerte17
"Oh I wish I had thought of this one. If my enemy had a conscience, wow life would be much different."
- Shelbysouth43
No Pearly Whites For You
"I’d like all their teeth to turn really yellow and stay yellow no matter what they do."
- toothfixingfiend
"What did I ever do to you?"
- Spideredd
"I don't even know you! Give me back my enamel!"
- AngryMustache9
Everything You Own Is Orange Now
"Permanent Cheeto fingers. Just orange cheese dust getting on everything."
- cocoapuff1721
"This has to be one of the most evil things I ever heard, yet absolutely hilarious."
-Merk0411
"The Midas Touch: Snack Edition"
- MaryVenetia
Ouch, But Forever
"Stubbing and breaking their toe and right as it’s about to be done healing it happens again over and over for the rest of their pitiful time on this hell we call earth."
- No-Bee-2971
"Sisyphoot"
- Alpha_6
"More of a Toemetheus imo"
- PykeTheDrowned
Self Reflection
"For them to realize how big of an a-hole they are."
- mayhemanaged
"Same for me. The trouble is mine probably knows what a tremendous a-hole he is, and just doesn't care (it's what defines him, is his outlook more than likely), so, give mine a conscience as well, he undeniably lacks one."
- RhoadsOfRock
"a crushing moment of self realization is something that can destroy you mentally. I wish that on them."
- chancetodream
Bury Them Under A Mountain Of Minor Inconveniences
"Always being hungry two hours after eating no matter how large the meal. Slow internet. Traffic jams no matter the location. Self doubt. Allergies. Favorite shows spoiled."
"Nothing major enough to be life altering but constant, low grade inconveniences that wear on your soul every day."
- I_Love_Small_Br**sts
"Every bite of food they eat/drink they drink being slightly the wrong temperature."
"Coffee? Warm but not hot. Cola? Cool, but not cold. Muffin? Ever so slightly frozen."
"Not enough to ruin their life, but just enough to not quite have full enjoyment of anything.."
- HappiHappiHappi
They'll Never Be Able To Use Their Computer Again
"Quick scan with McAfee on their computer."
- halflife_3
"You f**king monster."
- Orion_2kTC
"The constant pop-ups from McAfee is too far."
- _Land_Rover_Series_3
That's A New Level Of Evil
"Bed bugs."
- thrawn1825
"Currently dealing with bed bugs, and I can absolutely confirm this is the kind of thing I would wish upon my worst enemy. It is miserable and painful, and I've tried everything to get rid of them at this point."
"I would easily wish this upon my worst enemy, x10."
- ArbitrarilyStagnant
"Oh hell no, you went there... Hopefully they aren't living in an apartment complex or you've cursed everyone in the building."
- expect_less
Well of course I know him. He’s me.
"$100,000. I sure could use it."
- Sparklesperson
"'It’s no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy'"
- FishyVonFishenHymer
"Lol I thought this was that deep sh*t like 'pray for those you resent to have all the things you want in life….' Then I realized."
- No-Chipmunk9527
Forever Constipated
"That they can never have a satisfying poop. They always feel like they have to go to the bathroom and when they do nothing comes."
- [User Deleted]
"Wow. That's evil. Always feeling the need to pee would be good (as in horrific) too."
- ipakookapi
We definitely don't recommend implementing any of these plans (not that most would actually be possible), but here's some new ideas for the next time you're stuck in a meeting with your most annoying coworker and need a little fantastical escape.
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I grew up poor, and I remember the little things that made me smile when we just happened to have enough that week.
The little things that a truly rich person would not think twice about.
Ah, the luxury of it.
What spells luxury for you?
Redditor ConAir161057 wanted to compare notes about the things in life that feel like items only money can buy. They asked:
"For people who grew up with little money, what always felt like a luxury?"
New clothes. I had so many hand me downs and thrift store clothes... new seemed like a dream.
Anxiety
"After growing up in a home where every unexpected problem was a financial emergency, my idea of wealthy became 'I just want enough money that if something breaks I don't get anxiety about how to deal with it.'"
Obiwan_ca_bl**me
Literature
"Getting to buy something from the scholastic book fair."
Rich*itch3232
"My school, at the end of it a bunch of books were 'donated' and then spread out on a table in the library. We all got to go pick one book. So even if kids didn’t get to purchase a book, in the end they had a chance to still get a book. It’s actually how I got my first Harry Potter book. Was a cool idea for any school staff or parents active in their kids’ schools."
glass_pillow
Christmas
"Getting new clothes at Christmas from relatives. I don't know if that is exactly a luxury or the kind of answer you are looking for, but we never had a lot of money when I was in middle school. I went an entire year wearing the same pants everyday. The funny thing was my parents didn't even buy them for me."
"I got them for Christmas from my Grandparents. All the kids use to give me so much sh*t for wearing the same pants everyday. I always told them that I had 5 of the same pair which made me feel good inside and kind of made them ease off even though I know they didn't believe me."
"I remember I fell on the school bus one day and the jagged floor cut a hole right in the knee cap and the panic that went over me was just insane. It was one of the worst feelings of my whole life because I knew that I didn't have any other pants to wear and that now all of the kids in my school were going to know that I only had 1 pair. Needless to say I could not wait for the last month of school to end."
themagicman_1231
I'm Away
"Summer camp, or basically any school trips that had to be paid for. At my school the kids who couldn't afford to go on trips that happened during school hours still had to come to the school, we just sat in a room and did extra work like it was detention."
Helpful_Yams
"I was lucky. If you taught at the day camp your kid could go for free. That was just day camp though not sleepaway camp. My mom found a camp teacher who had no kids of his own and he signed me up as his kid so I could get free day camp. Did that all through elementary school."
randtcouple
Big Deals
"Going out for pizza was a big deal. Those free mini pizzas for reading books were huge."
Shroom4Yoshi
Food is always an issue when you're broke.
Damage
"Being able to turn on the heat in the cold and pay a professional to fix damaged appliances, plumbing, and other issues."
Liggettef
Spoiled
"When my grandma would come pick me up and spoil me. My parents didn't have much money and were addicts so when my grandma would come get me I would come back with new clothes, video games, toys, etc. I used to think my grandma was rich but she actually just had a stable income."
nawlepen
"I was in this position when I was younger. I always thought my grandma had SO much money… but all she did was go to work everyday. Always made sure I had clothes and all my school supplies. I miss her pretty bad."
Keywork29
Water
"I am from a small island in the Pacific. While I mostly still take cold showers, I have always felt that a hot shower is the finest luxury one can experience. I had my first hot shower when I was 22 years old and I can never forget it."
FSMPIO
"This is the kind of luxury I think people take for granted, I always avoided showers in the winter as a kid since most of the time they where cold showers and the temperature here was around 12c° during those times."
PowerfullDio
Showerware
"Towels. Honestly, I was almost 10 When I realized people didn’t just put back on their dirty clothes after a shower because my family was so large (12 kids total including myself) and extremely poor. I thought towels were just for hotels or were maybe a prop on television. I went to a friends house and she asked for my help folding her towels. I remember laughing and thinking she must be rich."
"Long story short, I wasn’t sure which way to fold the towels, and begged my mom to buy them after I revealed that my friend, Simone, had them. She bought a box of used ones from a local auction and I walked around with them on my head feeling like a frigging empress after that, even though—-let’s be clear… these were second hand towels!"
shakezula1025
Or BK...
"Grew up poor and when I was a kid I used to think you were rich if you had a dishwasher and a millionaire if you had one of those refrigerators that have a button for ice. McDonalds was also a luxury, a couple times a year on our birthdays."
chinderellab*tch
Everyone should have access to all of these things. Why is life unfair?
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And there are just as many grievances for which we are not at all sorry.
Curious to hear about people's track record of their questionable behavior, Redditor NanoPKx asked:
"What is something bad you have done with no regrets?"
Is it petty theft or flat out stealing? You decide.
The Parting Gift
"'Forgetting' to bring back a company ipad after they forgot about me having it. Actually they never asked for it back so I still have it and use it."
– Koetjeka
Furry Companion
"I stole a barn kitten while delivering packages for FedEx. He kept climbing my legs and getting into the van, sitting under the wheel when I tried to back out (it was a steep driveway, no way to swing the van around). I called the number on the package, looked the name up on facebook, called the local non-emergency to get contact info, all failed."
"So I took him. Now, if you're not from a rural environment, you might not understand that barn cats like that are 'no-man's-cats.' For all the owners know, he got sick or got got by a coyote. And he would have died, because when we got him to the vet he had a nasty upper resp infection and some other nasties."
"Now, one deformed nasal passage and the cutest snore later, we have a bonkers little orange cat with the heaviest penchant for snuggling I've ever seen (his name is Monty btw)."
"Edit: I forgot to pay my Cat Tax: https://imgur.com/a/HIXS4us"
"Edit Part 2: Monty loves the attention. Thank you for loving him as much as we do :3"
"MmmmMMMMRrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW" -Montgomerey Valentine, 2022
– SonOfSkinDealer
The Dirty Treat
"A housemate of mine kept eating mine and my girlfriends food and even though I asked him to stop the only thing he would ever say is 'I thought it was mine' then keep eating it."
"Well I bought my girlfriend some ice cream she really enjoys and she put the half she didn’t finish back in the freezer. Well when she want to get the rest it was gone and it made me madder than I think it probably should have."
"The very next time I saw him and somehow keeping a straight apologetic face I told him how he accidentally ate our sex ice cream and that bits of it had been on our parts etc. I told him I felt guilty not to tell him and that I had to apologise for him to eat such a thing."
"I will never forget the face he made when I told him. A face of pure self disgust and shock to which all he had to say was 'I wish you never told me that' and proceeded to move out around a month later."
"Although he didn’t actually eat sex ice cream, like why the f'k would you put it back after use anyway? Sometimes I wonder if I went to far but in that moment I just did not care at all. He still doesn’t know it isn’t true and I’ll probably never see him again."
"F'k you Vitas buy your own food."
– SpicyDolphin74
Vengeance is sweet.
Payback Time
"A drunk driver hit my parked car, left a huge dent in the front driver’s side door, and then drove away. I happened to be looking out the window at the time and saw the whole thing, including his plate number. Cops got there not long after and took my statement. After a couple days and a couple phone calls, I found out nothing was going to come of it because he was the son of the sheriff the next county over."
"Fast forward a couple months, I see his car parked behind a local bar within walking distance of my apartment. I got out my hunting knife and sliced all four of his tires, and made a couple trips around it destroying the paint job. Yellow Pontiac Sunfire, and I still remember the goddamn plate number even after almost 20 years."
– IgnoreMe304
For The People
"I was a GM for a retailer that was going out of business. During the liquidation I let my employees that worked until the end store product they wanted to buy in a closet I claimed I didn't have a key to. Oh the final days I sold them all the items they requested for 95% off. 70" tvs, ipads, gaming laptops whatever they requested."
– Midnights606
Surreptitious Swap
"Years ago I worked for a wealthy dude who was married to someone semi-famous. He would waltz in every morning and talk about the fantastic dinner he had the night before, how he hung out with some other famous person or whatever else."
"He paid me peanuts. I had a hard time making ends meet."
"I was the office assistant and IT guy. So it comes time to get a new computer for one of the designers. I spec something out, and show it to him. It was a ripper of a machine for the time (early 2000s). But it wasn’t expensive enough for bossman."
"So I added a really high end graphics card. Boss was happy then. The card added nothing for the designer: they only did illustrator and photoshop."
"So I came in that weekend and swapped the graphics card for my aging one from home."
"No one ever knew. Or cared. And I got a new graphics card."
– Dudeinairport
When times are tough, people had to do what it took to survive.
T.P. Crisis
"In college I was so poor I would steal toilet paper from the supply closet in our major building."
– Business_Loquat5658
Hungry College Buddy
"I stood watch for a college friend who was going hungry because he’d been disowned and his roommates had made living with him intolerable after he came out."
"I was loosely affiliated with an off campus program with local churches that gave free student dinners on Thursdays. We would go to church to eat, then bring dishes into the kitchen."
"Anyway, he would go in there and steal stuff like peanut butter, literal bread (not an allegory), granola bars etc. while I watched out for the pastor."
"Eventually we both got caught, the pastor for the college students got a bit mad because he was responsible for us while we were there to eat. And I think it was offensive on some level to steal from church. But then he saw what my friend was taking, and asked him if he had enough to eat. My friend shamefacedly said no, not usually."
“'Okay, fine. Put the food back, and come with me.' Took my friend grocery shopping instead, got him connected with the food pantry and community garden at church instead."
– SchnarchendeSchwein
Based on these examples, people didn't twice about their actions in the heat of the moment.
Within reason, we all gotta somehow get by.
But do you think their actions deserve punishment?
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When a person sees someone they care about going through a struggle or crisis, their instinct is to uplift them with positive advice.
But sometimes, the wisdom imparted by friends isn't always helpful or relevant to the situation.
Curious to hear from strangers online who could do without specific knowledge, Redditor Saibotnl1 asked:
"What life advice can just f'k off?"

These Redditors have a problem with how certain people have on outlook on life.
Time To Rest
"Sleep when you’re dead."
"Cool, but you’re going to be dead a lot sooner."
– Tag2graff
Irrelevant Sadness
"People have it so much worse than you so don’t be sad!"
– notrachelmar
"To that I like to say, 'people have it so much better than you so don't be happy!'"
– ___jupiter____
Your Life Path
"Almost anything relating to what age you must be in order to buy a house, have children, marry, have a profession, or do anything else. Seriously, everyone's life is different from everyone else's. Make your life the way you want it to be. If you so desire. Up to you."
– Frn071
On The Contrary
“Cheaters never prosper”
"Yes, they f'king do."
– waqasnaseem07
People can get out of any situation they find displeasing.
But others feel people should just "stick it out."
Ignoring Bullies
"Just ignore bullys or get someone else to handle it for you. I have never seen this work, only makes it worse. The only effective way I've seen to deal with them is by not making yourself an easy target and make them scared to f'k with you again. If going psycho on their a** is the only thing they'll respond to that's their fault. Also want to add in schools they will punish you for self defense but that punishment is only sitting around a few hours in detention or sitting around at home with a suspension. The punishment is temporary boredom, it's absolutely nothing compared to being bullied and when it's over the important message will still stand that you will not tolerate being a victim."
– User Delted
Remain to be Miserable
"Stick it out"
"Whether that's sh**ty jobs, shi**y relationships, shi**y living situations..."
"By all means don't just give up on things when you face challenges, but if something feels wrong or is wrecking your peace then take some control and change it if you can!"
– petitezoey
"Easy for you to say," might be an auto-response to these suggestions for many people.
Invitation For Recklesslessness
"Live like everyday was your last"
Yall know what people do when they learn they have a single day left to live?"
– LimeGrass619
A Possible Consequence
"I did that as a teenager and ended up homeless and addicted to heroin. Didn’t pan out for me too well."
"19 years sober though today."
– Open-Section-7263
A Practical Approach
"If I knew with certainty that I had one day left, I'd double-check all my financials, my will, and my insurance policies, make sure my wife had all of my passwords and knew where all the money was, spend the rest of the day with her and the kids, then call the medical examiner and ask to lie down on the gurney so that when I die they won't strain their back moving my remains out of my house."
– Asteriad
Nose Stuck In A Book
"Work while they sleep. Study while they party"
"That's not a recipe for success, that's a recipe for a lot of white hairs, burnout syndrome and a stroke before your 40s..."
– Khomuna
Doesn't Apply To Everyone
"Do what you love and money will follow"
"I love walking my dogs and grilling food for my friends but That sh*t doesn't pay the bills as well as my engineering degree!"
– Elons_android
While people's intentions are good, they're better off keeping their two cents in their own pockets.
Not everyone likes to hear platitudes.
Sometimes, people just want to know they're not alone with their problems over listening to unlikely solutions that are nothing more than superficial pick-me-ups.
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