60 Weird Facts Most People Don’t Know
Updated: Sep. 20, 2023Prepare to have your mind blown.
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Weird and fun facts you might not know
Dive deep into the realm of the truly bizarre with our collection of weird facts that’ll make you do a double-take. We’ve scoured the globe, delved into history, and peeked into the peculiar corners of science to bring you this compilation of weird, fun and crazy facts!
Flamingos bend their legs at the ankle, not the knee
They essentially stand on tip-toe. Their knees are closer to the body and are covered by feathers. This is just the first of many weird facts to blow our minds!
Roller coasters were invented to distract Americans from sin
In the 1880s, hosiery businessman LaMarcus Thompson hated that Americans were tempted by hedonistic places like saloons and brothels. So he set out to straighten up one of the most immoral places he could think of: Coney Island in New York. There, he built America’s first roller coaster to give New Yorkers some good, clean fun—away from seedier pastimes.
Ice pops were invented by an 11-year-old by accident
In 1905, an 11-year-old boy named Frank Epperson left soda powder and water outside overnight with its wooden stirrer still in the cup. The mixture had frozen in the chilly nighttime weather, and so the Epsicle was born. He sold the treat around his neighborhood and a nearby amusement park and even patented the recipe. Years later, he changed the name to Popsicle because that’s what his kids called their pop’s concoction.
Sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins can
By slowing their heart rates, sloths can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes. Dolphins need to come up for air after about ten minutes.
And if you can’t get enough of sloths, check out these cute sloth pictures.
A woman was elected to Congress before women’s suffrage
American women were given the right to vote in 1920, but Jeanette Rankin became the first woman in the U.S. federal office in 1916.
Froot Loops loops are all the same flavor
No point in eating around the purple ones—all Froot Loops taste like, um, froot. Other than the Wild Berry Froot Loops, of course.
Supermarket apples can be a year old
These weird facts might have you changing the way you eat. Those fresh apples aren’t all that fresh, per say. They’re usually picked between August and November, covered in wax, hot-air dried, and sent into cold storage. After six to twelve months, they finally land on your grocery store shelves.
It’s impossible to hum while holding your nose
You just tested it, didn’t you? Normally, when you hum, the air is able to escape through your nose to create the sound, and of course, it can’t do that when you’re holding it shut. This is one of the weird facts you can test out for yourself. Go ahead, try it.
People used to say “prunes” instead of “cheese” when having their pictures taken
In the 1840s, a big—dare we say, cheesy—grin was seen as childish, so one London photographer told people to say “prunes” to keep their mouths taut. And that look predated today’s “fish face” selfie by, oh, about 180 years.
In the Philippines, McDonald’s serves spaghetti
Some of these weird facts are very unexpected. The pasta comes with a beef tomato sauce and a piece of “McDo” fried chicken.
Dunce caps used to be signs of intelligence
Thirteenth-century philosopher John Duns Scotus believed that a pointed cap would help spread knowledge from the tip to the brain, and his “Dunsmen” followers wore them as a badge of honor. In the 1500s, though, his ideas became less popular and the meaning of the Duns cap was turned on its head, becoming something of a joke.
Adolf Hitler was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
Don’t worry, the Swedish politician who sent the letter of nomination in 1939 meant it ironically and withdrew his nomination. In an even more ironic twist, Hitler had banned Germans from accepting the awards four years before his own name was thrown in the ring.
Lobsters taste with their feet
Tiny bristles inside a lobster’s little pincers are their equivalent to human taste buds. Meanwhile, lobsters’ teeth are in one of their three stomachs.
The British royal family is named after Windsor
You’d think Windsor Castle was named after the House of Windsor, but it’s the other way around. The royal family changed its name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1917 so it would sound less German and chose Windsor because they had ties with the English town.
3 Musketeers bars got their name because they used to come with three flavors
The original 3 Musketeers bars of the 1930s came in three-packs, with a different nougat flavor in each: vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. World War II rations made that triple threat expensive, so the company cut down to one.
The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes
When the sultan of British-protected Zanzibar died and a new one took over without British approval in 1896, the Brits were not happy. Tension escalated when Sultan Khalid bin Barghash refused to step down, but the British warships spent less than 40 minutes bombarding the palace before Khalid fled, marking the (very quick) end of the Anglo-Zanzibar War.
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.
Queen Elizabeth II had a stand-in to make sure the sun won’t get in her eyes
Ella Slack has a similar height and stature to the queen, so before big events, she’ll do a rehearsal to avoid any royal pains like the sun getting in Her Majesty’s eyes. Slack had been doing it for three decades but wasn’t allowed to sit in the throne, so she had to squat above it.
Some sea cucumbers fight with their guts (literally)
When threatened, they’ll shoot out their internal organs, which are poisonous to predators. They’ll sometimes get rid of their entire digestive systems—but the organs grow back.
The inventor of the Internet regrets the URL setup
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the main software of the World Wide Web, admitted he regrets one thing: Adding “//” after “https:” in a web address. It was standard for programming but didn’t serve any real purpose, and when looking back in 2009, he said leaving it out would have saved time and space. We guess we can forgive him.
Strawberries aren’t berries
Neither are raspberries and blackberries, according to botanists. True berries stem from one single-ovary flower and have two or more seeds. Strawberries don’t fit that bill, but bananas, kiwis, and watermelon do.
NASA uses countdowns because of a sci-fi film
The countdown Fritz Lang used to create suspense in the rocket launch scene of his 1929 silent film Frau im Mond didn’t just change film history—it also inspired NASA to use countdowns before its own blastoffs. It’s not exactly a race against the clock though. NASA can feel free to pause the clock to check mechanical difficulties.
ManhattAnts are an ant species unique to New York City
Biologists found them in a specific 14-block strip of the city.
“Fancy riding” on bikes is illegal in Illinois
That includes riding without hands or taking your feet off the pedals when you’re on the street. Don’t miss the other dumbest laws in all 50 states.
The world’s smallest wasp is smaller than an amoeba
The Megaphragma mymaripenne wasp has the same body parts as any other bug (brain, wings, eyes, and more) but is a fifth of a millimeter long, making it smaller than most amoebas, which are made of just one cell.
Some single-celled organisms are bigger than a wasp
Two can play at that game. The Caulerpa alga is made of just one cell but can grow up to 12 inches long.
“OK” most likely stands for fake words
In the 1830s, people jokingly spelled abbreviations incorrectly. One of the most famous: “All correct” turned into “orl korrekt,” and then of course into OK. Historians think it stuck because Martin Van Buren—known as Old Kinderhook, after his hometown in New York—supporters called themselves the OK Club when he was campaigning for reelection.
The Eiffel Tower was originally intended for Barcelona
The Spanish city thought the design was too ugly, so Gustave Eiffel pitched it to Paris instead, as a temporary landmark during its 1889 International Exposition. French critics didn’t like it much either though.
British military tanks are equipped to make tea
There’s a boiling vessel inside so crew can make tea and coffee anytime—including during battle. How frightfully English.
Researchers once turned a live cat into a telephone
Princeton researchers Ernest Wever and Charles Bray took out a cat’s skull and most of its brain to connect the animal to electricity. When they spoke into the cat’s ear, the sound could be heard through a phone receiver in another room. The twisted experiment paved the way for cochlear implant developments.
PEZ candy was invented to help smokers quit
The Austrian PEZ creator named the candies after the German word for peppermint (Pffefferminz). When they were introduced in 1927, they were round mints sold in tins, so you probably wouldn’t see a former chain smoker with a Mickey Mouse dispenser.
There’s only one Shell gas station shaped like a shell
Eight were built in the 1930s, but the only one left is in North Carolina. One of the many weirdest roadside attractions in every state.
William McKinley was shot right after giving away his good-luck charm
President McKinley always wore a red carnation for good luck but sometimes gave it out as a memento. When greeting the crowd in 1901, he handed a 12-year-old girl, Myrtle, his the bloom off his lapel, saying “I must give this flower to another little flower.” Minutes later, he was fatally shot by a man in the crowd.
Here are a few more astonishing facts about U.S. presidents.
The shortest commercial flight in the world is in Scotland
Yes, it’s true! Scottish regional airline Loganair operates the shortest commercial flight in the world between the islands Westray and Papa Westray, a distance of 1.7 miles which is scheduled for 90 seconds.
There’s a reason why passports come in four colors
Here’s a weird fact that might surprise you. Have you ever wondered why there isn’t a hot pink passport? The reasoning is because most countries prefer dark shades of red, green, and blue since these dark colors look more official and if they’re dirty, it’s not as noticeable.
The letter Q doesn’t appear in any state name
Out of all 50 states, not one has the letter Q in it.
Scotland has more than 400 words for snow
There are a lot of weird facts out there. But how many of them involve word choice? In Scotland, yes, there are more than 400 words for snow. There are 421, to be exact!
The world’s largest national park is located in Greenland
There are a lot of weird facts that people don’t know. Northeast Greenland National Park is conveniently also located on the world’s largest island. This remote national park is huge at 375,000 square miles.
The Eiffel Tower took exactly 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days to create
There are many stunning places in France. The Eiffel Tower, one of the most recognizable structures in the world, took a long time to make. Over two years, in fact!
There’s an American flag on royal wedding souvenirs
The wedding of Prince Harry to American Meghan Markle brought much fanfare and excitement and that shows on souvenirs, including this coffee mug. Bet you didn’t expect to find an American flag from this wedding!
There are 5 countries in the world that don’t have airports
If you’re a jet-setting traveler, it’s hard to imagine not having an airport nearby for your next family gathering or work event. However, Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, Liechtenstein, and Andorra somehow make it work!
Yes, bleach expires
Did you know that household bleach expires? It’s news to us, too! This home cleaning product lasts about six months.
The smallest country in the world (by landmass) is Vatican City
This is one of our favorite facts about Europe! The tiny country measures 0.02 square miles and even prints its own maps!
The last letter added to the alphabet was actually “J”
You might think that the letter “Z” is the last letter added because it’s the last letter of the alphabet, but that’s incorrect. It’s actually “J.” The alphabet that we know and love today wasn’t created alphabetically, too!
The shortest railways in the world take less than a minute
The shortest funicular railway is Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Railway located in Bournemouth, England and Angels Flight, located in Los Angeles, advertises on its website that it’s the shortest railway in the world. Now that your brain is filled with these weird facts, check out these other 100 interesting facts about basically everything.
Sources:
- History.com: “Jeannette Rankin”
- Telegraph: “50 fascinating things you (probably) didn’t know about the Statue of Liberty”
- Today.com: “Sorry, Froot Loop ‘flavors’ all taste the same”
- PRNewswire: Kellogg’s® Wild Berry Froot Loops® Flies Onto Shelves
- The Guardian: “Just how old are the ‘fresh’ fruit & vegetables we eat?”
- Dummies: “Improving Your Singing: Moving Air through the Nose”
- Mental Floss: “3 Creatures with More than One Heart”
- AllRecipes: “What’s Really In That Green Paste You Call Wasabi?”
- The Washington Post: “Why people used to look so serious in photos but now have big smiles”
- The Register-Mail: “Jay Talking: ‘Stupid’ laws; tropical Whoppers; no roast beef for me”
- Atlas Obscura: “The Dunce Cap Wasn’t Always So Stupid”
- Nobel Prize: “Facts on the Nobel Peace Prize”
- Gulf of Maine Research Institute
- LeafTV: “The History of the 3 Musketeers Candy Bar”
- TodayIFoundOut: “Toilet paper wasn’t commonly used in the United States until the early 20th century”
- Farmer’s Almanac: “The Hole in the Farmer’s Almanac”
- The Empire State Building
- Historic UK: “The Shortest War in History”
- BBC: “The anatomy of a whale”
- Ocean Service: “Where is Earth’s largest waterfall?”
- NASA: “Apollo astronauts noticed something very strange about shadows on the moon”
- LiveScience: “Pulling Out Feathers: Group Living Stresses Ravens”
- The New York Times: “The Web’s Inventor Regrets One Small Thing”
- Stanford Magazine: “Bananas are berries?”
- LiveScience: “Why are bananas berries, but strawberries aren’t?”
- Money Factory: “Denominations Above The $100 Note”
- Apollo Flight Journey
- The New York Post: “New breed of ruffi-ant found in Manhattan”
- Harvard Magazine: “Hearing through the body”
- Pez: History
- Google new
- The Sky Desk
- National Aviary: American Flamingo
- Smithsonian Channel: “The rollercoaster was invented to save America from Satan”
- NPR’s the Salt: “How an 11-year-old boy invented the popsicle”
- London Zoo: Sloth Facts
