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
Giphy
"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"
But what about the genuinely well-behaved celebrities? Well, they are not without haters too, unfortunately.
For instance, stars like Taylor Swift – who has been a positive role model and ally of the LGBTQ community – still has her share of critics no matter how hard she tries to shake it off.
Curious to hear positive examples from strangers online, Redditor AndweleHarris asked:
"Who's that one celebrity that has like no haters?"
These Canadian comics were found to be simply irresistible.
The Actor From 'Honey I Shrunk The Kids"
"Rick Moranis. The guy stopped acting to take care of his kids after his wife's death."
– joeO44
Aspiring Football Player
"John Candy"
– zen1001
"My favorite John Candy story: Joe Montana was playing for the 49ers in an important game, may have even been the Super Bowl. His team is down, they've got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it."
"Montana comes into the huddle and starts calling the play, then stops and points to the stands and says:"
"Hey, isn't that John Candy?"
"Teammates look over, and it is, indeed, John Candy. Turns out he was a big football fan."
"Montana returned his focus to the game and went on to lead a game-winning drive down the field."
These European personalities won the hearts of many people from around the world.
The Dowager Countess of Grantham
"Maggie Smith"
"Professor McGonagall is the most underrated Harry Potter character in the series."
"She is so funny, even when she is strictly serious! But I mostly praise Maggie Smith for her line delivery in general."
Practically perfect
"Julie Andrews"
– __Soju__
"I effing LOVE her story about how Walt Disney waited for her to give birth before filming Mary Poppins. Keep in mind at that stage Julie Andrews was nothing more than a mildly successful West End/Broadway actress. The fact that one of the biggest film producers at the time wanted her specifically to play Mary Poppins AND he was happy to wait until after her pregnancy is a true testament to her phenomenal acting and singing ability."
"It paid off too: Julie Andrews won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Mary Poppins, her feature film debut too!"
A.K.A. André René Roussimoff
"Andre the Giant."
"i was fortunate enough to catch a screening of The Princess Bride in Nashville a couple years ago; Cary Elwes (who plays the love interest) was there after the show and told some stories about working with different cast members. when he got to Andre, he recounted how he was the 'mood maker' of the cast and always had a smile on his face. he even broke his foot during one of the last scenes but powered through it because the other actors had been filming all day and wanted to go home."
"a real shame that he passed away so prematurely."
– 8-chan
These real American idols are truly adored.
Viggo Wherever He Goes
"Viggo Mortensen"
"He once gave my mom some chocolates, she still talks about it haha. In an industry rife with ego and jerks, he's a great guy."
America's Sweetheart
"Dolly Parton"
"She had me at, 'It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!' She does plenty of good in this world."
– Phuni44
GIF by Dolly PartonGiphyBetty White"
"Google her variety show. A ton of people hated her because she wouldn't fire her black costar. She pretty much told those people to f*** off for lack of a better term and it makes me love her even more!"
I can confidently assume Dick Van Dyke has no haters.
How could he? He's a lovable icon and is a very affable person to work with.
I would know. Although it was a brief blip in my performing career, I had the honor to share the stage with the Disney legend known for playing Bert in Mary Poppins.
He was extremely gracious and he shook hands with all of us in the ensemble of our show while looking at us individually with a glimmer in his eye.
He loves people. You could tell. And we love him.