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100 Random and Unique Facts You’ve Probably Never Heard Before

1. Sea cucumbers can fight off predators by ejecting their internal organs

They literally shoot out their guts to distract predators, then regenerate them later.

2. The word “nerd” was first coined by Dr. Seuss

It appeared in his 1950 book “If I Ran the Zoo.”

3. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain

Despite their size, ostriches have relatively small brains.

4. The inventor of the frisbee was turned into a frisbee after death

Ed Headrick’s ashes were molded into frisbees after he passed away in 2002.

5. A group of flamingos is called a "flamboyance"

The term reflects their bright coloring and dramatic behavior.

6. There’s a species of jellyfish that can potentially live forever

Turritopsis dohrnii can revert its cells to a younger state and repeat the cycle indefinitely.

7. The Eiffel Tower can sway up to 7 inches in strong wind

Its flexible iron structure allows it to move slightly during storms.

8. Some cats are allergic to humans

Just like humans can be allergic to pet dander, some cats react to human skin flakes and perfumes.

9. The shortest war in history lasted 38 to 45 minutes

The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 is the shortest recorded war in history.

10. The first computer bug was an actual bug

Engineers found a moth trapped in a Harvard computer in 1947, coining the term.

11. Butterflies remember being caterpillars

Despite their transformation, they retain memories from their larval stage.

12. The dot over the letter “i” is called a “tittle”

It’s a tiny typographic element with its own name.

13. The average cloud weighs over 1 million pounds

Despite their weight, clouds float due to low air density and small droplet size.

14. Apples float because 25% of their volume is air

This is why they’re used in bobbing games at fall festivals.

15. The first oranges weren’t orange

Original varieties from Southeast Asia were green when ripe.

16. McDonald’s once made bubblegum-flavored broccoli

It was a failed attempt to make vegetables more appealing to kids.

17. Wombat poop is cube-shaped

This helps prevent it from rolling away and is used to mark territory.

18. Slime mold can solve mazes

This brainless organism can find the most efficient path to food.

19. The longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years

Charles Osborne hiccupped continuously from 1922 to 1990.

20. Sharks are older than dinosaurs

They’ve existed for over 400 million years, predating dinosaurs by about 200 million years.

21. There’s a basketball court in the U.S. Supreme Court building

It’s nicknamed the “Highest Court in the Land.”

22. Space smells like seared steak

Astronauts report that their suits smell like burnt meat after spacewalks.

23. Peanuts aren’t nuts—they’re legumes

They grow underground and are more closely related to beans and lentils.

24. There's a planet made of diamonds

55 Cancri e is believed to be one-third diamond due to its carbon content and pressure.

25. The “M” in M&M’s stands for Mars and Murrie

They were the candy’s original business partners in 1941.

26. Blue whales have the largest hearts on Earth

Their hearts can weigh over 400 pounds and are the size of a small car.

27. The unicorn is Scotland’s national animal

It symbolizes purity, power, and pride in Celtic mythology.

28. Octopus blood is blue

This is due to a copper-rich protein called hemocyanin used for oxygen transport.

29. Some turtles can breathe through their butts

Species like the Fitzroy River turtle can extract oxygen from water through their cloaca.

30. Your tongue is as unique as your fingerprint

No two people have the same tongue print.

31. The moon has moonquakes

Just like Earth, the moon experiences seismic activity caused by tidal stress and meteorite impacts.

32. Bananas are berries, but strawberries aren't

Botanically speaking, bananas meet the criteria for berries, while strawberries do not.

33. The first product to have a barcode was Wrigley’s gum

It was scanned in 1974 at a grocery store in Ohio.

34. Some spiders can fly using electric fields

They perform “ballooning,” launching into the air by sensing atmospheric electricity.

35. A bolt of lightning is five times hotter than the sun

Lightning can reach temperatures of 30,000 Kelvin, compared to the sun’s surface at 6,000 Kelvin.

36. The human nose can detect over 1 trillion scents

Recent research has debunked the old myth that we can only sense about 10,000 smells.

37. Earth’s magnetic north is constantly shifting

It moves about 10 kilometers a year due to changes in the planet’s molten core.

38. Bees can recognize human faces

Despite their tiny brains, bees can remember and distinguish between human faces in experiments.

39. One teaspoon of a neutron star weighs 6 billion tons

These remnants of supernovae are incredibly dense and compact.

40. Hot water freezes faster than cold—called the Mpemba effect

This counterintuitive phenomenon is still not fully understood by scientists.

41. The Canary Islands are named after dogs, not birds

They come from the Latin “Canariae Insulae,” meaning “Island of Dogs.”

42. The human brain uses about 20% of the body’s energy

Even at rest, your brain is a power-hungry organ.

43. There's a lake beneath Antarctica

Lake Vostok lies beneath 2.5 miles of ice and may contain unknown microbial life.

44. Tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous in Europe

This belief was due to their similarity to toxic nightshade plants.

45. Glass is actually a slow-moving liquid

Though it appears solid, glass molecules move over long periods, technically making it an amorphous solid.

46. You can hear rhubarb growing

It makes squeaking and popping sounds as it grows quickly in certain conditions.

47. Honey never spoils

Archaeologists have found edible honey in Egyptian tombs over 3,000 years old.

48. Hummingbirds can fly backward

They are the only birds capable of this motion, thanks to unique wing joints.

49. Bacteria are more numerous in your mouth than people on Earth

There are over 6 billion bacteria in your mouth at any time.

50. The longest English word is 189,819 letters long

It’s the chemical name of a protein called titin, and it takes over three hours to pronounce.

51. The Milky Way smells like rum and tastes like raspberries

A cloud of gas in its center contains ethyl formate, the compound that gives these flavors.

52. A shrimp's heart is located in its head

Along with most of its vital organs, the heart is found behind the headplate.

53. A day on Venus is longer than its year

Venus takes 243 Earth days to rotate once but only 225 days to orbit the sun.

54. Chewing gum boosts memory

Studies show it may increase blood flow to the brain and improve cognitive function.

55. Cows have best friends and get stressed when separated

They form social bonds and show signs of anxiety when isolated from preferred companions.

56. You can start a fire with ice

By shaping clear ice into a lens, you can concentrate sunlight enough to ignite tinder.

57. A day on Earth was once only 18 hours long

Due to tidal friction, Earth’s rotation has been gradually slowing over billions of years.

58. Some frogs can survive being frozen

Wood frogs can freeze and thaw with the seasons thanks to natural antifreeze in their blood.

59. Saturn’s moon Titan has lakes of liquid methane

Unlike Earth’s water lakes, Titan’s are filled with hydrocarbon compounds.

60. The average person produces enough saliva to fill two swimming pools

That’s around 25,000 quarts over a lifetime.

61. There's a museum of broken relationships in Croatia

It displays items from failed romances, each with a story behind it.

62. Baby elephants suck their trunks like babies suck thumbs

This comforting behavior helps them learn how to use their trunks.

63. The Great Wall of China is held together by sticky rice

Ming Dynasty engineers used a mixture of lime and rice starch as mortar.

64. The world’s quietest room is -9 decibels

Located at Microsoft, this anechoic chamber is so silent you can hear your bones moving.

65. Camels store fat in their humps, not water

This fat can be metabolized into energy and water when needed.

66. The Earth isn’t perfectly round

It’s slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator, making it an oblate spheroid.

67. Giraffes only need 5–30 minutes of sleep a day

They take short naps that add up to less than half an hour daily in the wild.

68. The longest-living cells in the human body are brain cells

Many neurons last a lifetime, never being replaced after birth.

69. The Sahara wasn’t always a desert

10,000 years ago, it was a lush, green savannah with lakes and forests.

70. Humans glow in the dark—just not visibly

We emit a faint bioluminescence about 1,000 times weaker than the human eye can see.

71. The oldest “Your Mom” joke dates back to 1900 BC

It was found on a Babylonian tablet, showing the ancient love for humor.

72. Pineapples take about two years to grow

They’re one of the slowest-growing tropical fruits cultivated commercially.

73. Some snails can sleep for three years

They go into hibernation or aestivation during extreme weather conditions.

74. The Amazon rainforest produces 20% of the world’s oxygen

It’s often referred to as the “lungs of the Earth.”

75. The inventor of the microwave got the idea from a chocolate bar

It melted in his pocket while standing near radar equipment.

76. The world's largest snowflake was 15 inches wide

It fell in Fort Keogh, Montana, in 1887 and was recorded by observers.

77. Venus rotates in the opposite direction of most planets

Its rotation is retrograde, meaning the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.

78. Koalas have fingerprints indistinguishable from humans

Even under microscopes, they are nearly identical to ours.

79. Rain has a smell called petrichor

It’s caused by oils released from soil-dwelling bacteria and plant matter during rainfall.

80. Octopuses have three hearts and nine brains

Two hearts pump blood to the gills, one to the body, and each arm has its own mini-brain.

81. Humans and giraffes have the same number of neck vertebrae

Both species have seven, though giraffe vertebrae are much longer.

82. Earth once had two moons

One theory suggests a second, smaller moon merged with the current one billions of years ago.

83. The first camera took eight hours to capture a photo

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce’s 1826 photograph required long exposure due to low light sensitivity.

84. Spiders can’t chew; they liquefy their food

They inject digestive enzymes into prey and suck up the liquid.

85. Whales can hold their breath for over an hour

Sperm whales can dive for 90 minutes while hunting squid deep in the ocean.

86. Antarctica is the driest desert on Earth

Despite its ice, it receives less precipitation than the Sahara Desert annually.

87. Lightning strikes Earth about 8 million times a day

That’s roughly 100 times per second globally.

88. A cockroach can live a week without its head

It dies from thirst, not the head loss itself, due to dehydration.

89. Humans can survive in space for about 15 seconds without a suit

Unprotected exposure will result in unconsciousness due to lack of oxygen, but not instant death.

90. The human stomach gets a new lining every 3–4 days

This prevents the stomach from digesting itself with its strong acids.

91. Trees can communicate through underground fungi networks

These “wood wide webs” help trees share nutrients and signals.

92. Jellyfish have been in space

NASA sent jellyfish into space to study the effects of microgravity on development.

93. Avocados are toxic to birds and many animals

The toxin persin can cause serious harm to pets like parrots, dogs, and cats.

94. The world's deepest postbox is in Susami Bay, Japan

Located 10 meters underwater, it’s used by scuba divers for waterproof mail.

95. You can still find traces of Apollo 11 footprints on the Moon

Without wind or water, lunar footprints may last for millions of years.

96. The tongue is the strongest muscle relative to its size

Though small, it is incredibly agile and powerful for its functions.

97. Elephants use seismic vibrations to communicate

They can sense rumblings in the ground with their feet from miles away.

98. There's a species of ant that can heal its wounded

Megaponera ants tend to their injured by licking wounds to reduce infection.

99. Dolphins have names for each other

They use unique whistles to identify and call one another.

100. A full NASA spacesuit costs about $12 million

The price includes materials, design, life support, and custom fittings.