You've heard the adage before: The more you know, the more you realize you don't know. Yes, the Socratic paradox is alive and kicking, even in this age of instant, accessible, and unlimited information. From surprising facts about the planet to obscure trivia about the animal kingdom to deep secrets about how your body functions, there are so many little-known pieces of information that have the potential to make you say "whoa." Don't believe us? Give it a whirl. Here are 100 brand new mind-blowing facts that might make you rethink how much you think you know.
1Every 'c' in Pacific Ocean is pronounced differently.
iStockThe English language is quirky, and one of the best examples of that is in the way we pronounce Pacific Ocean. Take your time to say it slowly, and you'll notice that each 'c' is said differently—the first with an 's' sound, the second as a hard 'ck' sound, and the third with a 'sh' sound.
2Black apples exist.
ShutterstockWe tend to think of apples as being red, though there are, of course, some popular green and yellow varieties. But did you know there are also black apples? Called Black Diamond apples, they're found in Tibet and are from the Hua Niu family of apples, also known as Chinese Red Delicious. Aside from the black outer color—actually an extremely dark shade of purple—these apples look just like other Red Delicious apples, down to the white flesh inside.
3Butt-shaped robots are used to test phones.
iStockIf you've ever put your phone in the back pocket of your pants, you're probably aware that your backside poses a danger to it: People often forget their phone is there when they sit down, which can result in a crushed and broken device. That's why Samsung uses butt-shaped robots to test their products. According to Business Insider, the faux bums "'sit' on Samsung phones over and over again to test durability and bending."
4
There are now giant pigs as heavy as polar bears.
Shutterstock"In a farm deep in the southern region of China lives a very big pig that's as heavy as a polar bear," according to Bloomberg. The creature weighs a whopping 1,102 pounds, which is pretty impressive considering that the International Association for Bear Research and Management says adult male polar bears weigh anywhere from 880 to 1,320 pounds. The massive pig who "is part of a herd that's being bred to become giant swine" will eventually be sold for meat, and due to its size, will likely bring in around $1,400.
5Japanese golfers have hole-in-one insurance.
ShutterstockIf you think that you take sports seriously, consider that an estimated four million golfers in Japan make sure that they have hole-in-one insurance before they take a swing, and have been doing so since the first such policy was offered in 1982. Amateur players pay a premium of $65 a year for $3,500 in coverage. The extra cash comes in handy if a golfer nails the impressive feat and is then expected to celebrate by paying for food, drinks, and gifts, which can cost quite a bit.
6
Cucamelons (or "mouse melons") look like grape-sized watermelons but have a citrus flavor.
ShutterstockPlenty of people enjoy eating watermelon, but have you ever tried a cucamelon? While cucamelons or "mouse melons" sound like they could be related to watermelons—and certainly look like tiny grape-sized versions of the larger fruit—they resemble cucumbers inside and have a citrusy taste. Originally from Mexico and Central America, cucamelons can be eaten as they are, added to a salad, made into salsa, or even pickled.
7
Walt Disney World would fit inside Canada 81,975 times.
Shutterstock/Alex WWalt Disney World is a big place, but Canada is way bigger. In fact, the nation up north is so massive (9.984 million square kilometers to be exact), that it's the second-largest country in the world, coming after Russia (17.1 million square kilometers) and before the United States (9.83 million square kilometers). That's why the beloved theme park could fit inside of Canada 81,975 times.
8
The kangaroo mouse never needs to drink water.
ShutterstockDespite being named after an Australian animal, the kangaroo mouse lives in the Nevada desert. And since it resides in such a dry area, it's learned to adapt by getting all of the hydration it needs via the seeds it eats. This means that the kangaroo mouse never drinks water.
9
Spending just a few months in Antarctica can shrink your brain.
iStockIf you ever take a trip to Antarctica, be sure to do as much socializing as you possibly can, and come up with stimulating ways to keep yourself busy. Findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine in Dec. 2019 explained that "brain imaging in eight polar expeditioners before and after 14 months of isolation showed that the volume of the hippocampal dentate gyrus was lower than that in controls." IFL Science notes that "researchers believe the changes in the brain they observed are the result of … environmental monotony and prolonged isolation."
10
A prank once convinced people in Germany that Hansel and Gretel were real.
iStockHansel and Gretel are figures you'll likely recognize from the 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale, but in 1963, a prank had people believing that the siblings were real. Die Wahrheit über Hänsel und Gretel (The Truth About Hansel and Gretel) was a book written by German artist Hans Traxler. In his writing, he claimed that the brother and sister were actually murderous adult siblings who had lived in the mid-17th century and had killed a witch in order to get their hands on her recipe for a gingerbread-like treat. The book even included (fake) evidence, like a piece of paper that had the recipe written down. The story apparently caused an "uproar," according to Atlas Obscura, who note that the Berliner Zeitung newspaper even asked readers if this was an example of "a criminal case from the early capitalist era."
11
Greenland sharks don't reach sexual maturity until they're 150.
ShutterstockGreenland sharks, which are also known as gurry sharks or grey sharks, tend to live long lives. As the longest-living vertebrate on the planet, they can swim around the ocean for up to 400 years and don't reach sexual maturity until they're 150.
12
The longest bicycle in the world is over 135 feet long.
ShutterstockIf you've ever ridden a tandem bike, you know that it can be tricky to get one moving. So just imagine how hard it must have been to ride a bike that stretched for 135 feet and 10.7 inches, making it the longest bicycle in the world. Crafted by Santos and the University of South Australia in 2015, a group of cyclists did manage to ride the bike—which was much wider than normal in order to compensate for the length—over a distance of 100 meters.
13
A couple once tried to name their child Brfxxccxxmnpccccll-lmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, pronounced "Albin."
ShutterstockCelebrities are known for giving their children unique names—Vogue points out that A-lister kid names include Gravity, Pilot Inspektor, Apple, and, of course, North, Saint, and Chicago. But you don't have to be famous to opt for an unexpected moniker. According to the BBC, a couple once tried to name their child Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116, which is apparently pronounced "Albin." They had reportedly chosen the title to protest Sweden's strict name-related laws, which is why it may not be surprising that their selection was rejected.
14
Text messages sent by eagles bankrupted a scientific study.
ShutterstockA team from the Russian Raptor Research and Conservation Network thought they had a great idea when they attached SMS text-based tracking devices to 13 steppe eagles. The hope was that the birds would send back valuable information about their behavior. Unfortunately, one bird flew all the way to Iran, "where roaming rates are sky-high," according to Smithsonian. To get an idea of the kind of money involved, the eagle sent hundreds of text messages at once, and each one cost about 77 cents. Scientist Elena Shnayder told The New York Times, "He disappeared for five months, and all of a sudden here he is, with a very, very heavy phone bill." The bill was so costly that it ended up bankrupting the study.
15
The longest tiramisu ever measured was 897 feet and 3 inches.
iStockIf you love tiramisu, then you probably think you could never get too much of the tasty treat. However, you might reconsider that opinion when you find out that the longest tiramisu ever created was 897 feet and 3 inches long. Produced by Italian cheese brand Galbani, students from the Milan Cooking School assembled the giant dessert, which was then divided up and served to those at the record-breaking event, while an additional 15,000 pieces went to a local children's hospital.
16
The Star Trek theme song has lyrics.
ShutterstockMost fans of pop culture can hum along to the Star Trek theme song, but did you know that there are lyrics that go along with the classic tune? And we're not referring to the "Space, the final frontier…" monologue that's spoken at the beginning. Written by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, the words (and sentiments) shared by The Los Angeles Times are just as, er, spacey as you might expect. If you want to sing along, all you need to do is croon, "Beyond the rim of the star-light, my love is wand'ring in star-flight…"
17
The Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the rest of the world.
ShutterstockIn Ethiopia, things are done a little differently when it comes to calculating the year that we're in. While most countries around the world follow the Gregorian calendar, the African nation uses its own. And although both systems "use the birthdate of Jesus Christ as a starting point for their calculations," according to Culture Trip, the birth of the first humans also plays into the discrepancy. "The Ethiopian Orthodox Church believes Jesus Christ was born in 7 BC, 5,500 years after God's promise to Adam and Eve." Because of this, Ethiopia is actually around seven years behind the rest of the world.
18
There are computers for the Amish, which have no internet, videos, or music.
Amish people tend to reject modern ways, but despite that, there is still a computer made specifically for the tech-wary group. "The key selling point, perhaps not surprisingly, is all the things the computer doesn't do," according to NPR. "No internet, no video, no music." So then what is it used for? Basic business—and only business. "In general, the Amish are more willing to adopt new technology if they can justify it for business reasons and they can keep it out of the home."
19
A parking spot in Hong Kong sold for almost $1 million.
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If you think parking is expensive in your area, you'll be shocked by how much a spot can cost in Hong Kong. A 135-square-foot parking spot in front of the city's fifth tallest building, The Center, was purchased for $969,000. This was the fourth lucrative transaction for businessman Johnny Cheung, who made six figures off of his first three parking spaces. Midland Commercial district sales director James Mak said, "There aren't many car park lots … for sale, so prices have always been kept high." It might be worth sticking to public transportation.
20
Clams have feet.
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While it might look like clams have a big tongue that sometimes protrudes from their shell to poke around the ocean floor, what you're actually seeing is a foot. The appendage, relatively long in comparison to the overall size of the creature, is used to dig in the sand.
21
If all of the water on Earth fell as rain at once, the entire planet would get 1 inch of precipitation.
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Most of the Earth is covered in water, which fills up our oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers. But if all of that water happened to evaporate and then come down in a giant storm, the entire planet would get 1 inch of rain. Granted, this is never going to happen outside of a sci-fi movie. But if we somehow ever witness such wonky weather, let's hope we all have an umbrella with us.
22
A piece of 10,000-year-old chewing gum was
People who chew gum are doing something that has been around for longer than they probably realize. In May 2019, Communications Biology published research done on gum made of birch bark tar that was around 9,540 to 9,880 years old. When analyzed, scientists discovered DNA that belonged to ancient Scandinavians, who had chomped down on the tar gum thousands of years ago.
23
Incredible Hulk was originally supposed to be gray.
Image via Marvel Studios
Marvel's Incredible Hulk is just as well known for his green body as he is for his testy temperament. However, it turns out that he was supposed to be a different, less monstrous color. "Originally, [comic book writer] Stan Lee and [comic book artist] Jack Kirby intended the Hulk to be gray," according to Gizmodo, who explain that the color was "very much a riff on Mr. Hyde." But things didn't go as planned when "the printing press kept having trouble with the Hulk's color and he kept coming out green." Because of this, the character only popped up in the first few issues as a furious gray figure.
24
"Mountain Dew" used to be slang for moonshine.
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Mountain Dew may be a popular soft drink, but the name used to be slang for moonshine. To back up this claim, Smithsonian points to the Stanley Brothers' tune "Mountain Dew," which is "an Appalachian folk song that most certainly isn't talking about the soda." Instead, the lyrics refer to "good ol' mountain dew" or illegal mountain-brewed booze.
25
Japan has a phone to call the dead.
Shutterstock/Mark Umbrella
Public phone booths may be a rare sight these days, but there's one located in a Japanese hilltop garden that's especially unusual. The "wind phone" was created by a man named Itaru Sasaki, who thought that it would be a healing (if whimsical) way to talk to his cousin who had passed away—even if the conversation was one-sided. Others now also use the phone in order to feel closer to their late loved ones.
26
The nonsense phrase "umop apisdn" is "upside down" spelled upside down.
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Go ahead and flip whatever device you're reading this on upside down, and check out those first two words again. You'll see that "umop apisdn" does indeed spell "upside down" using almost entirely different letters of the alphabet.
27
If you folded a piece of paper 42 times, it would be thick enough to reach the moon.
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Yep, you read that correctly. According to Gizmodo, all it takes to verify this is some simple math. If you fold a piece of paper in half, it doubles in thickness. And if you fold it in half again, it doubles in thickness again. With that type of exponential growth, it would take just 23 folds for a .1-millimeter piece of paper to be one kilometer thick, and 30 folds for it to be thick enough to reach outer space (100,000 kilometers). Unfortunately, the world record for the number of folds is 12.
28
Every mammal has the same number of neck vertebrae—except for two.
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Whether it's a giraffe, a mouse, or a human, each mammal has exactly seven vertebrae in its neck. But there are two exceptions to this rule: sloths and manatees. Two-toed sloths have five to seven neck vertebrae, and three-toed sloths have eight or nine; manatees have six, according to 2011 research published in BioMed Central.
29
There is a world record for the largest collection of miniature books.
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India's Sathar Adhoor has a book collection that is surprisingly huge, especially considering that it's made up of teeny tiny versions of literature. Adhoor is the owner of the world's largest collection of miniature books, which includes 3,137 unique miniature books. (Officially, a "miniature book" can be no larger than three inches in height, width, or thickness.)
30
The word "oxymoron" is an oxymoron itself.
Alamy
According to Merriam-Webster, an oxymoron is "a combination of contradictory or incongruous words." They use "cruel kindness" to illustrate their point. But the dictionary also could have used the word "oxymoron" as an example—since it turns out the word is an oxymoron itself. "Oxymoron" is derived from the Greek words "oxys," meaning "sharp," and "moronos," meaning "dull" or "stupid."
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