Shoplifting and weed. Let's start there.
Fishy
Big Fish GIF by PBS KIDSGiphy"Being able to walk with a salmon suspiciously."
YorkshireCat
"The Salmon Act of 1986 made it illegal in England, Wales, and Scotland to 'handle salmon in suspicious circumstances.'”
water_fountain_
Exercise
"I’d legalize putting bikes in pools in California."
Wolfiye11
"Honestly, water biking is a great exercise and should totally be legal everywhere."
TheTrueGoldenboy
"Ding ding ding! you win!"
alemini_
Hey Spud
"Selling Unlicensed potatoes."
williamfvirgil
"As a potato myself, I agree."
CaliforniaPotato
B4TTLESNAKE
Speak Loud!
"The UK government has effectively banned protests so I'm gonna go for that."
YumYumFunTown
"here’s an article that explains it a bit. basically over here the police will now have more power to control protests. they can impose more measures, make sure people are ‘not being loud’ etc."
scseven
"Yeah super glad America doesn't have that. Right to protest is in our DNA. No matter how annoying, it’s necessary."
MRmandato
by death
death GIFGiphy"Executing politicians for treason for any crimes or abuses of power while in office. Iirc treason and sabotage are both punishable by death according to the constitution."
moldyhotdogs
Salmon? Really? Can I carry tuna or a nice cut of mahi?
Cheers all Day
Happy Hour Reaction GIF by New GirlGiphy"The ability to purchase alcohol at any hour of day, on any day of the week. How many of you have gone out late at night to buy beer only to be turned away because the alcohol section is closed, or not being able to buy any at all on Sunday? (in some places)."
isabellemwilliams
It's Food
"Feeding homeless people."
Breadflat17
"I am guessing it is to discourage some psychos from feeding them sh*t (both metaphorical and literal). Reddit taught me about a cop, who gave a homeless guy a literal crap sandwich."
Sandybat
"It keeps people from poisoning them."
derpygamer2142
Incredible
"Magic mushrooms."
ReallyDontWant2Argue
"I was enrolled in a clinical trial using psilocybin as a treatment for depression. After decades of treatment resistant depression, I'm depression-free. Even if it's temporary, I'm so grateful and I can't wait until everyone has access to this incredible drug."
Torontopup6
"I am hoping that weed legalization can open the doors for mushrooms."
MusicianMadness
Bringing the End
"I know it's controversial, but I would say Euthanasia (for very bad illnesses and elderly, if they're miserable and don't want to go on anymore). Afaik it is legal in some countries, such as Switzerland. Just wanted to add I'm not American and therefore can't relate to all the comments telling me about situations in US states, but don't get me wrong, it's interesting nonetheless. :) "
wurzlsep
Sex
Julia Roberts GIFGiphy"Sex work. I'm not interested in it, but it appears to be an arbitrary law that would be a waste of time to enforce."
"Adults can have sex for money in front of the camera for all to see, but once the camera is removed, it becomes illegal? It doesn't make much sense. The only reason it's illegal, I believe, is that the government hasn't found a method to tax it."
corneliatdyer
Sex work is real work. Let these people be.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Any and every detail that comes out of our medical insurance system. Don't get me started...
WINNER!!
"An Australian man won the lottery, then on camera to re enact the winning for the news he bought another ticket... he won the lottery again on camera. https://youtu.be/6R5MqxcKdV8 "
YeahYeahButNah
Billions
"If a billion people from both China and India didn't exist, they would still be the #1 and #2 most populated nations in the world."
Handsprime
"The fact people think this is a bad thing is something I can’t believe. Though I would like to know the truth. If they are locked into factories living terrible lives. I hope if they where they would revolt. Maybe we should set a better example."
JRotten-Scoundrel
Kermit too?
"Tarantulas keep tiny frogs as pets."
JimminyBean
"This is a bit misleading. They don't keep them as 'pets.' they depend on one another. In nature, this is described as a symbiotic relationship (where both parties gain some sort of mutual benefit)."
Frogs will eat the smaller insects that are a nuisance to the tarantula (it's debated whether or not they protect their eggs, because Tarantula burrows are too deep and sticky for smaller insects to traverse). And in turn the tarantula will protect the frog. This is no different than other relationships in nature. Some bird species will frequently land in crocodile's open jaws to eat bits of stuck, leftover food which can be irritating to the crocodile. The crocodile in turn will just stay still for a bit."
TheGamingTitan12
Terrifying...
"That only 6 people have survived rabies. Rabies has a 99% Mortality rate. You can have rabies for an entire year without symptoms and once you have symptoms, it's already too late. You'll probably die in a couple of days if you have symptoms."
Strange-Listen8048
"More than a year, it can lay dormant for several years. You go on a camping trip and wake up noting you have a scratch on your arm. You put a band aid on and think no more about it. A couple of years later you feel unwell. You're already dead, there's nothing to save you. Rabies is terrifying."
zerbey
Deep
Summer Bike GIFGiphy"There is enough water in Lake Superior to cover North and South America in water one foot deep."
Angry_Elk
Let's go swimming. The rains must fall hard there.
The Hunter
Bugs Dragonfly GIF by Ana MouyisGiphy"Dragonflies accelerate at up to 4G and corner at up to 9G."
automatorsassemble
"Dragonflies are also the most efficient hunter, catching up to 95% of prey."
LuquidThunderPlus
“watchman”
"This relationship of the the pistol shrimp and watchman goby (fish). The pistol shrimp is nearly blind but an excellent digger, whereas the watchman goby has excellent eyesight with a nearly 360 range of vision, but lacks the ability to dig or fight for burrows to live in."
"So these two animals benefit from each other by living together. The pistol shrimp works on digging the burrow, and the 'watchman' goby stands guard outside. If there’s a threat approaching, the goby will dart into the burrow and simultaneously smack the pistol shrimp’s antenna to alert it of the danger."
dashiGO
Go Jimmy! Go!
"President Jimmy Carter rappelled into a nuclear reactor that was in partial meltdown to stop the meltdown and save Ottowa. Before he became President, of course."
thebyron
"My favorite Carter tidbit is a statement something to the effect of 'I hope the last Guinea worm dies before I do.' Dude dedicated his remaining life to bringing another organism to extinction, and he might well succeed. Metal AF."
BaltimoreAlchemist
"but I wore the juice!"
"In 1995, a man named MacArthur Wheeler robbed two banks at gunpoint, he was arrested mere hours later because he didn't wear a mask. instead, he decided to coat his face in lemon juice because he read that lemon juice can be used to make invisible ink. His logic, was that it would make his face invisible. And reportedly, he said to one of the tellers don't worry, I have a face, it's just invisible.'"
"The only thing he did when he was arrested was sigh dejectedly and say 'but I wore the juice!' His case is actually still in academic journals regarding the fact that people with low intelligence do in fact believe that they're smarter than everyone else."
AnnigidWilliams
Deadliest
"The Australian Funnel Web Spider is often regarded as the world's deadliest and hasn't had a confirmed kill in over 40 years since the antivenom was created."
Regnes
I hate any and all facts pertaining to bugs and spiders. No thank you.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
Redditor 4thestory wanted everyone to share some basics about life that basically suck. So they asked:
"What’s an unfun fact?"
Taxes. I hate the truth about taxes. I weep around accountants.
Calm Down
Calm Down Golden Girls GIF by TV LandGiphy"You can get depressed about having depression and get stressed about having anxiety."
notacatus
Thrown In...
"When you recycle plastic, most of it just gets thrown in the landfill."
Backpacker_03
"Currently a big topic in Australia, because we were sending it to China to supposedly get it recycled, and then all of a sudden China decided it would no longer take imports of that from anywhere, but we don't have enough recycling capacity to make up for that loss yet."
gdmzhlzhiv
'tap-dancing'
"Among the many horrendous effects of the Hiroshima bombing, there were so-called "ant-walking alligator people": victims who were so badly charred that their skin appeared scaly like an alligator's and who blindly walked around the broken streets, usually faceless/eyeless from the blast."
"They're described in the book To Hell and Back: The Last Train From Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino."
"The alligator people did not scream. Their mouths could not form the sounds. The noise they made was worse than screaming... They uttered a continuous murmur like locusts on a midsummer night."
"He also describes other horrific sights in the book, such as a 'tap-dancing' man who was nicknamed that because the bottoms of his feet were reduced to nothing but bone, and when he walked it sounded like tap shoes. Also, a 'pink horse,' a horse with no skin or hair, just muscles, which aimlessly followed a survivor around, seemingly numb to any pain."
peachyixxy
Violence Under the Sea
"Octopus punch fish for no reason."
Aztech06
Octopii also have some of the most self destructive mating habits. A male throws his penis at a female for her to inseminate herself with, and then leaves to wander aimlessly until it dies. The female in turn will lay eggs and guard them, not eating or sleeping until it also dies Basically, every healthy octopus you've ever seen was a virgin."
Ledlazer
Sun Death
sunburn GIFGiphy"When your skin becomes red from spending too much time under the sunlight, it’s basically because your skin cells are committing suicide to avoid becoming cancerous."
themesila
The sun and me don't mesh. So I feel that.
Are you Hungry?
sloth GIFGiphy"Sloths have such a slow metabolism (which is the process of converting food into energy) that they can die of starvation while on a full stomach."'
Toilet_Lid420
Anyone...
"Anyone can randomly die of a brain aneurysm."
SAVARD3435
"A friend of mine passed away at 17 in the middle of a lacrosse game from a Brain Aneurysm, it was so shocking that it could happen to someone so young."
copenmeghan
"My aunt had an Aneurysm, she was talking with my uncle at breakfast one morning he heard her pause mid-sentence went to ask her what she had said dead Aneurysm, 37 yrs old."
Royal-Tea-3484
Kill Count
"Cigarettes have killed more people in the 20th century than both world wars combined."
TheEvilStapler
"I mean how can you confirm that cigarette was the reason of persons death? Like it does worsen your well being and increases chance of health issues but like what if a person is smoker and they die of heart disease which they probably had even without smoking. Does that go towards the 'cigarette' kill count? Like you know what I mean? What if those deaths were just regular deaths but just because they were heavy smokers it got associated with it.?"
JoeGRcz
end of life...
"Research has shown that most elderly people would prefer to pass away at home, but the statistics show most of them die in hospital (often connected to tubes, getting invasive blood tests, etc) or in nursing homes."
manlikerealities
"There’s a great documentary about end of life care that covers how most patients want to die with dignity, but families often keep pushing for more treatment. It’s called Extremis on Netflix."
Jedi-Ethos
lifelong issues
Season 10 Hug GIF by FriendsGiphy"Among your group of lifelong friends, one of you will attend all of your funerals, and one will attend none of them. Read this one last time this thread happened and holy f**king sh*t bro."
hereticjones
Don't let sad facts ruin your existence. They are what the are. Keep chugging along.
Step on a crack. Break your mother's back. Lies. I know. I've tried. Kidding.
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The OfficeGiphy"Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis, no it won't!"
Cancer-Cinema
"I crack my fingers all the time and because I'm hyper mobile my knees crack every time I bend down more or less. But I love the feeling of it."
l52286
Fluid Scam
"Detox teas. Liver and kidneys do that for you."
BlacGirlMagik
"'Detox' is a scam warning word to me with 'cleanse' right behind it. I might be willing to believe what I'm being told about a product but the moment they use those words they've lost all credibility. The funniest experience I ever had with a product like that was a coworker telling me about this amazing drink that cleaned your intestines of waste that somehow got stuck and built up."
"The 'proof' that it worked was these long nasty looking things they crapped out after drinking this supposed miracle cure which they of course took pictures of to show everybody. I looked into it a bit and found that the primary ingredient they all used was the same as is used in gelatin. People were essentially making jello molds out of their colon and then showing off the results."
Tangent_
Greens
"Spinach has a ton of iron compared to other vegetables. The scientist missed a decimal place and he said it has 10 times as much as it really does. That’s why Popeye loves his spinach. It actually has the same amount of iron as every other green leafy vegetable."
Nettius2
On the tongue
masterchef junior taste GIF by HULUGiphy"'Taste zones.' All taste buds are all over your tongue; there is no such thing as a 'sweet zone,' a 'sour zone,' etc."
berael
Thank goodness that knuckle one is a lie. I can't stop myself.
LIES!
bonnie gordon GIF by AlphaGiphy"-- Caffeine stunts your growth."
"-- Pretty much any 'food pyramid' promoted by the western world prior to ~1998."
sskoog
“evidence”
"Graphology. That you can determine traits about a person by their handwriting. I did an entire research paper on it. Plenty of 'evidence' in the common sensational news, but not a single damn article or shred of evidence from the academic research area, excepting 'yeah no we tried it and didn’t find any correlations.'"
Commander_Meh
Columbus Who?
"Europeans knew the world to be round in Columbus' time. Columbus just calculated the circumference very incorrectly and is lucky there was a whole other continent to run into before he and his men ran out of supplies. To be abundantly clear, the Ancient Greeks figured it out."
"So did the Chinese, the Egyptians, the Persians, and probably the Maya and many many others. My point is that 'proving the Earth wasn't flat' is a myth. Anyone thinking the Earth was flat had nothing to do with Columbus' bid to find a westward passage to East Asia. It is a myth that people thought the world was flat in his time."
Lord0fHats
Doggie Colors
"So my ex is a vet. Dogs can actually view pretty much all of the visible light spectrum from red to blue. They just don't see colour as vividly as humans do, so they don't distinguish very well between different shades. Blue and Violet they can just make out. Indigo and violet are impossible for them to distinguish."
"See also: the difference between reds and pinks and the innumerable shades of blue, green and blue-green."
Apocryph761
Fly High
Honey Bee Loop GIF by Kev LaveryGiphy"The thing with the bumblebee technically not being able to fly because of aerodynamics. Used as a kind of motivational tale about overcoming obstacles."
"Turns out, modeling a bumblebee as a kind of plane is a bad idea, you know with the moving wings and stuff. If you think of a bumblebee as similar to a helicopter then all of a sudden the aerodynamic calculations work out and the bumblebee can fly."
Fridge_ov_doom
Now the truth shall set us free. Spread the good words.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.