Take a deep dive into the truly strange with our list of facts that will make you think twice. We looked all over the world, read a lot of history, and looked into some strange areas of science to bring you this list of crazy, fun, and weird facts!
1. Flamingoes Bend Their Legs At the Ankle, Not The Knee
In a sense, they stand on their toes. Their knees are closer to their bodies and have feathers on them. This is the first of many weird facts that will leave you amazed.
2. Ice Pops Were Invented By an 11-year-old
In 1905, Frank Epperson, then 11 years old, left soda powder, water, and the wooden stirrer in the cup outside all night. The mix had frozen in the cold night air, which is how the Epsicle came to be. He made the food and sold it in his neighborhood and at an amusement park nearby. He even got a patent for the recipe. After many years, he changed the name to Popsicle because that’s what his kids called their pop’s drink.
3. Roller Coasters Were Invented To Distract Americans From Sin
In the 1880s, LaMarcus Thompson, a hosiery businessman, hated that places like saloons and brothels offered people hedonistic temptations. To clean up one of the most immoral places he could think of, he chose Coney Island in New York. He built the first roller coaster in the United States there so that people in New York could have some good, clean fun instead of doing “dirty” things.
4. Sloths can hold Their Breaths Longer Than Dolphins Can
Sloths can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes if they slow down their heart rates. However, at least once every ten minutes, dolphins need to get some air. Also, if you can’t get enough of sloths, check out these cute pictures of them from Reader’s Digest.
5. Froot Loops loops are all the same flavor
It doesn’t matter which Froot Loops you eat; they all taste like, well, froot. Besides the Wild Berry Froot Loops, of course.
6. There was an Elected Congresswoman before Women’s Suffrage
In 1920, American women got the right to vote. However, In 1916, Jeanette Rankin became the first woman to hold a federal job in the U.S.
7. You Cannot Hum While Holding Your Nose
You just tested it, didn’t you? The sound you hear when you hum comes from air escaping through your nose. Of course, when you close your nose, you can’t do that. You can check this out for yourself as one of the weird facts. Feel free to try it.
8. Supermarket Apples Can Be A Year Old
You might change the way you eat after reading these strange facts. Those “fresh” apples aren’t really that fresh. Usually, they are picked between August and November, coated in wax, dried with hot air, and put away in cold storage. They finally show up on food store shelves six to twelve months later.
9. Octopuses Have Three Hearts
Squids do too. Two of them only pump blood to the gills, while the third one pushes blood to the whole body.
10. Before “Cheese”, There was “Prunes” When Taking Pictures
People in the 1840s thought that a big, possibly cheesy, smile was childish, so a photographer in London told people to keep their mouths shut by saying “prunes.” And that look came about about 180 years before the “fish face” picture we use today.
11. Most Wasabi Paste Isn’t Really Wasabi
Since wasabi is pricey, most businesses choose to use horseradish instead, and it is much spicier than real wasabi. The wasabi you’ve been getting with your sushi isn’t really wasabi.
12. Philippines has McDonald’s Spaghetti
Some of these weird facts come as a big surprise. It comes with beef tomato sauce and a piece of fried chicken called “McDo.”
13. Hitler Was Once Nominated For The Noble Peace Prize
Do not worry, the Swedish official who sent the letter of nomination in 1939 meant it in an ironic way and later took it back. Even more ironically, Hitler had forbidden Germans from taking the awards four years before his own name was put in the hat.
14. The Dunce Caps Were Meant To Show Intelligence
John Duns Scotus, a philosopher from the 1300s, thought that a pointed hat would help move information from the tips of your fingers to your brain. His followers, called “Dunsmen,” wore them as a sign of respect. Some people didn’t like his ideas as much in the 1500s, though, and the Duns cap started to mean something different, almost like a joke.
15. The British Royal Family Is Named After Windsor
It sounds like the House of Windsor gave its name to Windsor Castle, but it’s actually the other way around. So it would sound less German, the royal family changed its name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917. They chose Windsor because they had ties to the English town.
Read More: 10 Historical Facts You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
16. Lobsters Taste With Their Feet
Like our taste buds, lobsters have tiny bristles inside their little pincers. Also, lobsters have teeth in one of their three stomachs.
17. 3 Musketeers Bars Got Their Names Because They Used To Come in Three Flavors
In the 1930s, the first 3 Musketeers bars came in packs of three. Each pack had a different nougat flavour, such as vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. Costs were high for that triple threat during World War II, so the company cut it down to one.
18. The Shortest War In History Lasted 38 Minutes
Britain was in charge of Zanzibar, and when the ruler died, a new one took over without permission from the British. This made the British angry. When the new ruler, Sultan Khalid bin Barghash, refused to step down, things got worse. But after pounding the palace for less than 40 minutes, Khalid ran away, ending the Anglo-Zanzibar War very quickly.
19. The Empire State Building Has Its Own Zip Code
10118 is the number for everyone living there. It’s one of the weird facts considering a single building is large enough to warrant its own area code.
20. Before Toilet Paper, Americans Used Corn Cobs
They would also use magazines like the Farmers Almanac, which had a hole in it so it could be hung in outhouses. After all, “necessity” is the mother of invention.
21. Blue Whale Tongues Can Weigh as much as an Elephant
Their hearts, on the other hand, can weigh almost one ton and only need to be only once every ten seconds.
22. Queen Elizabeth II Had A Stand-in To Make Sure The Sun Did Not Get In Her Eyes
Tall like the queen, Ella Slack will rehearse before big events to make sure nothing special goes wrong like the sun getting in Her Majesty’s eyes. Slack had been doing it for 30 years, but she couldn’t sit on the throne, so she had to squat on top of it.
23. The World’s Largest Waterfall Is Under The Ocean
Yes, there are waterfalls below the surface of the ocean. The cold water from the Nordic Sea is heavier than the warm water from the Irminger Sea, at the Denmark Strait. This makes the water drop almost two miles at a speed of 123 million cubic feet per second.
24. Michelangelo Wrote A Poem About How Much He Hated Painting The Sistine Chapel
One translation of the poem he sent to his friend begins:
I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture,
hunched up here like a cat in Lombardy
(or anywhere else where the stagnant water’s poison).
Doesn’t sound like he was too thrilled with his task.
25. Some Sea Cucumbers Fight With Their Guts
Their internal parts are poisonous, so when they feel threatened, they will shoot them out. They may lose their whole digestive system sometimes, but the parts grow back.
26. Shadows On The Moon Are Much Darker Than on Earth
The Earth’s atmosphere spreads out the light more, which keeps our shadows from being too dark. But Neil Armstrong said it was hard for him to see where he was going on the Moon because the darkness is so thick.
27. The Statue of Liberty Used To Be a Lighthouse
About a month after the statue was dedicated in 1886, it was turned into a working lighthouse. For 16 years, its torch could be seen from 24 miles away.
28. The Inventor of the Internet Regrets The URL format
The person who made the main software for the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, said he feels bad about one thing: putting “//” after “https:” in a web address. In 2009, he said that leaving it out would have saved time and space. But it was normal for programming at the time he created the WWW so he didn’t really do anything. We think it’s okay to forgive him.
29. There Was Once $100,000 Bills in Existence
The notes with Woodrow Wilson’s face were sent to Federal Reserve Banks from December 18, 1934, to January 9, 1935. They were never sent to the public, however, which is probably for the best. Could you picture losing that bill?
Read More: 35 Maps That Show Us Lesser Known Facts About America
30. A Flock of Ravens is called an “unkindness”
An even creepier name for them is “conspiracy.” It is one of the weird facts because, just from the name, you can deduce that the birds were attached to negative sentiments, much like a “murder” of crows.
31. Strawberries aren’t really berries
Botanists say that raspberries and blueberries are also not berries. Real berries have at least two seeds and grow from one flower with only one ovary. Strawberry doesn’t work for that, but watermelon, bananas, and kiwis do.
32. NASA uses Countdowns Because of Sci-fi
Fritz Lang used a countdown to build tension in the rocket launch scene of his 1929 silent film Frau im Mond. This event not only changed the history of films, but it also led NASA to use countdowns before their own launches. But it’s not really a race against the clock. NASA can stop the time to look into problems with the machines, at any time they want to.
33. Illinois Has Prohibited “Fancy Riding” on Bikes
That means you can’t ride on the street with your hands off the bars or your feet off the wheels. It seems almost every US state has some sort of a stupid rule.
34. ManhattAnts are a New York-exclusive ant species
Scientists found them in a certain 14-block area of the city. It is one of the weird facts considering it is a man-made city that has made the ants evolve in an unique manner.
35. Some single-celled organisms are bigger than a wasp
Although Caulerpa only has one cell, it can grow to be 12 inches long, according to ScienceDaily.
36. The World’s Smallest Wasp is smaller than an amoeba
As with all bugs, the Megaphragma mymaripenne wasp has a brain, wings, eyes, and other body parts. However, it is only a fifth of a millimeter long, which makes it smaller than most amoebas, which are solitary cells, according to the Discover Magazine.
37. The Eiffel Tower Was Originally Meant For Barcelona
The city of Barcelona in Spain thought the design was too ugly, so Gustave Eiffel pitched it to Paris to use as a temporary symbol during the 1889 International Exposition. Even French reviewers didn’t really like it, though.
38. “OK” Probably Stands For Fake Words
In the 1830s, people joked that by intentionally spelling abbreviations wrong. One of the most well-known is how “all correct” turned into “orl korrekt” and then, of course, OK. Researchers think it stuck because Martin Van Buren fans called themselves the OK Club when he was running for reelection. Van Buren was known as “Old Kinderhook” after his hometown in New York.
39. Queen Elizabeth II’s cows sleep on Waterbeds
It sounds like they help ease the pressure points on the cattle. It is one of the weird facts considering how many people would live their entire lives without even knowing of a waterbed.
40. Albert Einstein Is an Anagram for “Ten Elite Brains”
It is an absolutely undeniable title for the man. There is no arguing with this coincidental weird fact.
41. Researchers Once Turned a Live Cat Into a Telephone
In order to hook up a cat to electricity, Ernest Wever and Charles Bray took out the cat’s skull and most of its brain. A phone receiver in another room could pick up the sound of them talking into the cat’s ear. This strange experiment led to progress in hearing implants.
42. British Tanks Are Equipped To Make Tea Whenever
Inside is a vessel that is boiling, so the crew can make coffee and tea whenever they want, even during war. That sounds so awfully English.
43. PEZ Candies Were Made To Help Quit Smoking
The Austrian who made PEZ sweets named them after the German word for peppermint, which is Pffefferminz. Before Mickey Mouse dispensers, they were round mints that came in tins when they were introduced in 1927. That’s why you probably wouldn’t see a former chain smoker with such a dispenser.
44. William McKinley was shot right after giving his lucky charm away
President McKinley wore a red carnation all the time for luck, and he also gave them to people as gifts. In 1901, when he greeted the crowd, he gave Myrtle, a 12-year-old girl, the flower from his collar and said, “I have to give this flower to another little flower.” A man in the crowd shot and killed him a few minutes later.
Read More: 30+ Facts That Will Probably Teach You Something New
45. There’s Only One Shell Gas Station Shaped Like a Shell
The 1930s saw eight being built. The only one still standing is in North Carolina. One of the strangest things you can see along the side of the road in every state.
46. The World’s Shortest Commercial Flight Route
It’s true! Loganair, a Scottish regional airline, has the world’s shortest business flight between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray. The flight is only 1.7 miles long and will take 90 seconds.
47. You can See 4 States From The Top of Chicago’s Willis Towers
If the sky is clear, you can see 40 to 50 miles away, past Illinois and into Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, from the top of the old Sears Tower.
48. The letter Q Doesn’t Appear in Any State Name
There is no Q in any of the 50 states. Take this chance to familiarize yourself with all the 50 state names of the US!
49. There’s a Reason Passports Come in 4 Colors
Here’s one of the weird facts that might shock you. Have you ever thought about why there’s no hot pink passport? Most countries like dark shades of red, green, and blue. This is because dark colors look more official and make dirt less obvious.
50. Scotland Has More Than 400 Words for Snow
There are many weird facts in the world. Which ones, though, have to do with word choice? There are more than 400 words in Scotland that mean “snow.” There are precisely 421!
51. Royal Wedding Souvenirs Have an American Flag
The wedding of Prince Harry to American Meghan Markle was a big deal, and this coffee mug (found on Amazon) is one of the items that shows that. They probably didn’t think they’d find an American flag from the wedding!
52. It Took Exactly 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days to construct the Eiffel Tower
France has a lot of beautiful places. It took a long time to build the Eiffel Tower, which is one of the most famous buildings in the world. In fact, more than two years!
53. The World’s Largest National Park is in Greenland
A lot of weird facts people don’t know. The Northeast Greenland National Park is also on the world’s largest island. With 375,000 square miles, this national park is enormous and remote.
54. There are 5 countries in the world that don’t have an Airport
If you like to fly, it’s hard to imagine not having an airport close by for your next family get-together or work event. The Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and Andorra, on the other hand, make it work!
55. Cars can Easily Reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit
While you’re on the highway, you might not notice that your car is getting hot. But if you stop for a while, the temperature in your car can get very high.
56. Bleach Expires
Did you know that bleach for the home goes bad after a while? We didn’t either! This cleaner for the house lasts for about six months.
57. The world’s Smallest Country (by landmass) is the Vatican City
One of our favorite weird facts about Europe is this! The tiny country is only 0.02 square miles, and it even makes its own maps!
58. The World’s Smallest Railways
The Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Railway in Bournemouth, England, is the world’s shortest funicular railway. On its website, Angels Flight in Los Angeles claims to be the world’s smallest railway.
59. ‘J’ Was the Last Inductee Into The Alphabet
Since “Z” is the last letter in the alphabet, you might think that it was the last letter added. However, that is not the case. It’s really “J.” We didn’t even make the alphabet we know and love today alphabetically!
60. Cucumbers Can Fight Bad Breath
You might not know this, but cucumbers can help fight bad breath! Use a slice of cucumber instead of a mint if you don’t have one on hand!
Read More: 12 Disturbing Facts We Wish We Could Forget
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