An astronaut's body shrinks while they're in space.
Astronauts grow taller in space because of the decompression of disks in the spinal column.
Humans are the only animals that blush.
Blushing happens during the dilation of blood vessels in the facial skin when a person feels embarrassment. Animals don't get embarrassed, making humans the only animals to blush.
Bees will never sting other bees.
The "guard bee"' stays near the entrance of the hive and stings bee intruders to keep them from stealing nectar.
It's legal to hunt unicorns in Michigan.
Lake Superior State University in Michigan offers an official unicorn hunting license, making it legal to hunt them in the state.
There's a fungus that turns ants into zombies.
The ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus uses adaptive parasite manipulation to infect Camponotus Leonardi ants, hijacking its mind to leave the nest, and spread the fungus seed.
A woodpecker’s tongue wraps all the way around its brain.
A woodpecker's tongue wraps around its brain to protect it from injury during high-speed pecking.
The first computer was invented in the 1970s.
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was first built in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering.
German chocolate cake originated in Germany.
It was named after Sam German, who invented a type of baking chocolate for Baker’s in 1852.
The Teddy Bear was named after former President Theodore Roosevelt.
President Theodore “Teddy" Roosevelt refused to kill a trapped bear during a 1902 hunting trip, so a toy maker created a stuffed bear and named it after him.
Egypt has more pyramids than any other country on the globe.
Sudan has the most pyramids than any other country in the world, with 255 pyramids, while Egypt has 138.
Limes sink, but lemons float.
Limes are denser than lemons, so they sink, while lemons float at the top of a glass.
Queen Elizabeth banned the royal family from playing Monopoly at home.
Prince Andrew was gifted the game of Monopoly, but was quoted by the press, saying, "We are not allowed to play Monopoly at home." He revealed that playing it often caused spats within the family, as "it gets too vicious."
Selfies cause more deaths than shark attacks per year.
There's about 28 selfie-related deaths per year as opposed to 13 shark attack-related deaths. The leading cause of selfie deaths is heights.
Hot showers have more health benefits than cold showers.
Cold showers can improve circulation, ease depression, and stimulate weight loss.
Elephants can't jump.
According to a video by Smithsonian, elephant legs have bones that are all pointed downwards, so they don't have the "spring" required to jump.
A woman's hair and fingernails grow faster than usual during pregnancy.
An expectant mom's hair and nails grow faster because of changes in hormones, increased blood circulation, and metabolism supplying nutrients.
The last Blockbuster Video store closed in 2005.
There is only one Blockbuster Video store left in the world and it is in Deschutes County, Oregon. Locals can have a sleepover in the store for the night as it's an Airbnb.
The voice of Mickey Mouse and the voice of Minnie Mouse married in real life.
Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor, who voiced Mickey and Minnie Mouse, kept their marriage a secret. They wed in 1991 and were married 20 years before Alwine passed away in 2009.
Snakes can burp fire.
Snakes have the potential to burp fire if an animal they have eaten bursts while being digested. With just the right amount of hydrogen, a spark can make the snake belch flames.
Pigs are known for being the sweatiest animal, hence the saying, "Sweating like a pig."
Whovever came up with that saying spread fake news! Pigs are actually born without sweat glands, which is why they like to roll around in the mud to cool off.
Pound cake was named after the baker who invented the recipe, Sally Pound.
The original recipe for pound cake required a pound of each of its ingredients: butter, flour, eggs, and sugar.
Dolly Parton lost a Dolly Parton look-alike contest.
Dolly Parton revealed during an interview that she entered drag queen celebrity impersonator contest in Los Angeles without revealing her identity. She ended up losing to a man dressed as her in drag.
Golf is the only sport to be played on the surface of the moon.
Astronaut Alan Shepard was one of three crew members on the Apollo 14 mission. He batted a golf ball that he claimed flew "many miles away".
A blind chameleon can't adjust to the colors of its environment.
A chameleon changes colors because it has special cells, so a blind chameleon still changes colors.
Abraham Lincoln was a successful competitive wrestler.
Abraham Lincoln was bestowed the “Outstanding American” honor in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his time as a wrestler as a young man.
There's an island in Japan only inhabited by bunnies.
Ōkunoshima, also known a Rabbit Island, is a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan where hundreds of wild rabbits roam freely.
There are 50 muscles in one human finger.
There are no muscles in fingers. The muscles that stimulate the finger joints are in the forearms and palms.
Albert Einstein influenced Yoda's look.
Special effects artist and Star Wars makeup supervisor Stuart Freeborn modeled Yoda after a photo of Einstein that was hanging on an office wall.
Rudolph the Reindeer is actually a girl.
Edinburgh University professors Gerald Lincoln and David Baird say Rudolph isn't a male because males shed their antlers before mid-December, while female reindeer still have antlers at Christmas.
Doritos are flammable and can be used as kindling.
Doritos are made of flammable hydrocarbons soaked in oil. According to one report, the more powdered flavoring on a chip, the longer the flame will last.
McDonald's invented bubble gum flavored broccoli to make their menu more nutritious.
McDonald's CEO Don Thompson revealed that in taste tests, the taste of the bubble gum flavored broccoli confused children and the item never made it onto the menu.
Apple Pie originated in America, which is why the saying goes "As American as apple pie."
Apples are actually native to Asia and the first recipe for apple pie was written in England.
Elvis Presley never won a Grammy.
Elvis Presley had 14 Grammy nominations and won 3.
Cows produce more milk when they listen to music.
According to a study by a Turkish farmer, cows make 5% more milk when they listen to classical music.
The small pocket in a pair of jeans was invented so teenagers could store folded love notes. It's called a "note pocket".
Levi Strauss invented the small pocket in 1879 so that men could put their pocket watches in it.
Dark chocolate can help soothe a sore throat.
According to a study performed by Alyn Morice from the University of Hull, dark chocolate's stickiness coats the nerve endings that trigger coughing,
Driving a car to space would take 24 hours.
A study revealed that it would take one hour to reach space if you were to drive 60 mph in a straight line up and into the atmosphere.
Flamingos get their pink color from the food they consume.
Flamingos feathers are white when they are born, but their feathers turn pink when their body metabolizes the pigments from eating algae and brine shrimp.
Shaking a Polaroid picture makes it develop faster.
OutKast may have sung "Shake it like a Polaroid picture," but Polaroid shared a statement saying, "Shaking or waving can actually damage the image."
China owns all the Pandas in the world.
"Panda diplomacy" is a real thing that means all pandas seen outside of China are on loan by the Chinese government.
The world wastes nearly one million metric tons of food each year.
Researchers with the United Nations estimate that the world wasted 931 million metric tons of food in 2019.
The hottest place on the planet is located in Lybia.
According to BestLife, the hottest spot ever recorded on Earth is El Azizia, in Libya, where a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded.
Only humans have opposable thumbs.
Humans, primates, and opposums all have opposable thumbs.
The Flintstones was the first animated show to premier during primetime television.
The Flintstones was originally broadcast on ABC from September 30, 1960 at 8:30 pm.
Lightning strikes are the most common cause of electrical outages across the United States.
According to Entergy Newsroom, Squirrels are the "King of the Power Outages", causing more than 15,000 of our animal-related outages in 2020.
Kim Kardashian set a new Guinness World Record for the Most Selfies taken in 3 minutes.
According to FactSite, "Dwayne Johnson set a new Guinness World Record for the Most Selfies taken in 3 minutes when he took 105 selfies with fans at his movie premiere for San Andreas," they wrote.
The Four Corners is the only spot in the US where you can stand in four states at once.
The Four Corners of the United States consists of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.
Polar bears have white skin.
Polar bears have black skin and their fur is, in fact, see-through. It appears white because it reflects the light.
Humans are the only animals that dream.
According to Reader's Digest, studies have indicated rats dream about getting to food or running through mazes.
The current American flag was designed by a high school student.
Bob Heft designed the current American Flag as a project for his history class in 1958. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the design.
Adult cats only meow at humans.
Kittens meow to call out to their mom, but once they reach adulthood, they no longer meow to each other.
Jupiter has over 100 moons.
Jupiter actually has 69 moons.
Mosquitos can be found in every country on Earth.
Iceland is the only country on planet Earth where there are no mosquitoes.
Raspberries are a member of the berry family.
Raspberries are part of the rose family.
Rubber bands last longer if they are refrigerated.
Placing a rubber band in the refrigerator makes the plymers relax, which keeps it from breaking down.
A penguin can swim up to 50 mph underwater.
A penguin can swim up to speeds of 25 mph underwater.
A 'buttload" is a real form of measurement.
A buttload refers to exactly 108 gallons of liquid contained in a barrel.
There are more stars in the sky than trees on Earth.
According to Facts.net, there are around 3 trillion trees on the planet and only about 400 billion stars in the Milky Way.
Chocolate milk comes from brown cows.
All cows produce white milk, but 7% of American adults believe brown cows make chocolate milk.
Dragonflies cannot walk.
Despite having six legs, dragonflies are not able to walk because they are too weak to hold their weight for long periods of time.
It takes your stomach 7 years to digest swallowed gum.
According to DukeHealth, most people empty their stomachs 30 to 120 minutes after eating, and that includes gum.
Avocados are a fruit.
Many people think that an avocado is a vegetable when it is actually a fruit.
All the planets in our solar system turn counter-clockwise.
Venus is the only planet in our solar system that spins clockwise.
Queen Elizabeth II is a trained mechanic.
Queen Elizabeth II learned the basics of truck repair at 16 when she joined the British employment agency at the Labour Exchange.
Cotton candy was invented by a dentist.
Dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton invented machine-spun cotton candy in 1897. It was originally called "fairy floss".
A tick bite can make you allergic to red meat.
Some people who are bitten by the Lone Star tick have an allergic reaction to eating beef, lamb, and pork.
If a product is expired, it is dangerous to eat it.
The expiration date of a product does not refer to the safety of eating it, but to the peak food quality. After the indicated date, the manufacturer simply does not guarantee the quality of his product.
Crows hold grudges.
Researchers discovered that crows remember faces and dive bomb people who wronged them.
It takes 1000 grapes to make a bottle of wine.
700 grapes go into making one bottle of wine, weighing 2.6 pounds.
Foot prints left on the surface of the moon will be there forever.
Foot prints left on the moon will never disappear because there is no wind present on the moon's surface.
Roosters have their own built-in earplugs.
Researchers discovered that a rooster's external auditory canals close off when it opens its beak to crow.
You can purchase a Coca-Cola in every country in the world.
You can't buy Coca-Cola products in Cuba or North Korea.
Bananas glow blue under UV lights.
Scientists discovered that the degradation of chlorophyll that happens in a ripening banana causes it to have a blue glow.
Platypuses don't have stomachs.
The platypuses gullet connects directly to its intestines, instead of having a stomach for digestion.
The first fax machine was patented in 1974.
The fax machine was patented in 1843 by Scottish inventor Alexander Bain. It was called a facsimile machine that used a clock to move two pendulums that would scan the message.
Rabbits can't vomit.
Once a rabbit eats, the food can only make its way down the digestive system, so they are incapable of puking.
The average dog is as smart as a 2-year-old child.
Dogs are capable of understanding 250 gestures and words.
Cleopatra wasn't Egyptian.
Cleopatra was actually Greek and was a descendant of Alexander the Great's Macedonian general Ptolemy.
George Washington was the first President to live in the White House.
The White House was under construction during Washington's term. John Adams was the first President to live in the White House.
Clouds are weightless.
The average cumulus cloud can weigh up to a million pounds.
Baby elephants suck their trunks for comfort.
Much like a human infant sucks its thumb for comfort, a baby elephant will suck its trunk because it is also born with a sucking reflex.
There is a species of fish that has both lungs and gills.
The Lungfish is the only fish that have both lungs and gills, which allows it to adapt and survive if its water source dries up.
Grasshoppers have ears in their bellies.
Grasshoppers do not have ears on the side of their heads. Their sound detector is a thin membrane called a tympanum, which is covered and protected by the wings.
The tallest building in the world is in New York City.
The tallest building in the world is located in Dubai. The Burg Khalifa stands at over 2,700 feet.
Lincoln Logs were created by President Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln Logs were created by John Lloyd Wright, son of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. They were named after Lincoln, who grew up in a log cabin.
Sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins can.
Sloths slow their heart rates and can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes, while dolphins can hold their breath for around 10 minutes.
The last letter added to the alphabet was "Z".
The last letter added to the alphabet was actually "J".
"Tug of War" used to be an Olympic sport.
Tug of war was a team event in the Summer Olympics from 1900 to 1920.
Ketchup was originally used as medicine.
Ketchup was once used to soothe indigestion and even came in pill form.
There is an immortal jellyfish.
The Turritopsis dohrnii, or "Immortal Jellyfish", can transform its cells back to its childhood state. This means it could live forever under the right circumstances.
Quizzes
Everyone loves quizzes, but why?
Well, it seems that our passion for quizzes comes from the fact that they are an insight into our own life story and that, deep down, human beings find comfort in being a type, in being part of some group. We are always searching for a better understanding of ourselves, of who we are as human beings, but also as unique individuals.
One of the reasons why personality quizzes are so popular is that they are a way for us to dig deeper into our inner selves and get to know ourselves.
Steven Myers, a professor of psychology, explains about quizzes, “you could introspect and think about yourself, however that has its limits… when we take these self-assessments, they give us another mirror inward.”
Although we are all unique and original beings in our individuality, no one can deny being reassured when they feel they are part of a group, a type, in some way. We naturally feel good when we fit into a box, and personality quizzes offer exactly what we are looking for: confirmation that we fit a certain type, just like millions of other people.
