Buzz
For those who spend a lot of time online, the term 'unbelievable' has lost much of its punch. Facts that once felt shocking and were fun to share at social gatherings are now widely known, to the point that you'd be mocked for presenting them as new. (Everyone’s aware Genghis Khan had a ton of children, buddy.)
Hidden among all the frequently repeated claims are the truly astonishing ones that few people are aware of. These facts sound so outlandish that you'd almost have to check them yourself to confirm their validity.
10. Your Brain Can Actually Rust
It’s said that if you leave your brain idle for too long, it may begin to rust. While this is metaphorical, suggesting that consistent mental exercise is crucial to maintain our cognitive sharpness, recent research has shown that it's not just a metaphor. The brain can actually rust, much like a forgotten metal object.
A study conducted by Australian scientists aimed at understanding the growing impact of Alzheimer’s has revealed that an excess buildup of iron in the brain can lead to damage similar to rusting. Although iron is vital for various bodily functions, its high concentration in the brain can react with oxygen, harming neurons in the same way rust affects metal.
The researchers emphasize that this doesn’t suggest the need to reduce iron intake or that consuming iron raises Alzheimer’s risk. Iron behaves differently in the brain than it does in the rest of the body.
9. Koreans Are Naturally Odorless
From an evolutionary standpoint, most of the processes our bodies undergo make sense, but body odor from sweat is an exception. Everyone experiences it, regardless of genetics, suggesting it doesn’t serve as a way to eliminate unsuitable mates.
After millennia of evolution, we still haven’t managed to rid ourselves of this seemingly unnecessary trait. However, Koreans are an exception, as they do not typically face this issue.
A study conducted at the University of Bristol revealed that Koreans, along with most East Asians, evolved to lose the gene responsible for body odor from sweat. The researchers were unclear about how this occurred, or, more precisely, why the rest of us didn't experience the same genetic change.
It’s important to note that the study focused solely on underarm odor, a type of body odor that is beyond anyone’s control. We imagine that Koreans still experience the same odors as the rest of us if they carry spoiled food in their pockets or skip a bath for several days.
8. Mammoths Lingered 1,000 Years After The Egyptian Pyramids
When you think of mammoths, you likely picture them roaming a prehistoric world, perhaps alongside dinosaurs. We tend to assume mammoths went extinct long ago. Even when we know they coexisted with early humans, these humans are usually depicted as primitive hunter-gatherers wielding basic tools.
In reality, mammoths persisted far longer than we imagine and may have even interacted with some of the great early civilizations. Though these creatures once roamed the entire Earth about 10,000 years ago, they eventually became confined to a small region in Siberia and the Arctic. The last mammoth is believed to have died around 1650 BC on Wrangel Island, a small Arctic island.
To put it into perspective, this occurred roughly 1,000 years after the construction of the Pyramids of Giza, and only about 100 years before the rise of the most famous phase of the ancient Egyptian Empire.
7. A Deck of Cards Holds More Combinations Than Atoms on Earth
If you’ve ever played cards, you understand the importance of shuffling. Whether you’ve been unlucky with your hands or simply don’t trust your friends (because winning matters more than friendships), shuffling ensures fairness.
If you’re like us (and many others), you might be surprised to learn that you don’t actually need to shuffle the deck very well. There’s a strong possibility that no one has ever drawn the combination that you’ll get on your first shuffle.
In fact, when you do the math, the number of possible combinations in a deck of cards far exceeds the number of atoms on Earth. A deck of cards can have 52! (52 factorial) combinations, which means 52 x 51 x 50 x 49... all the way down to 1.
This results in approximately 8 x 10 combinations. Not only does this outnumber the atoms on Earth, but it also surpasses the total number of seconds since the universe began!
6. Sharks Are Older Than Trees
The ocean is a vast, intimidating place. Most people understand that the known sea creatures represent just a small fraction of what exists. The real terror begins when you venture into the ocean’s depths, a realm whose full diversity we have yet to comprehend. From enormous squids to eels straight out of a nightmare, the deep sea is full of ancient, mysterious life that no one really wants to investigate thoroughly.
Regardless of the age of these creatures, they don’t compare to the most iconic ocean dwellers—sharks. You don’t need to dive far to encounter them. Just hang around the darker parts of the sea, and they’ll make their presence felt.
Sharks are practically living fossils, having remained largely unchanged for an impressively long time. And when we say long, we mean it. Sharks have been around for about 400 million years, predating most life on Earth, including trees. Yes, sharks have existed since before plants figured out that growing tall was the best strategy, around 350 million years ago.
5. Pepsi Was Once The World's Sixth-Largest Military Power
When you think of the world's largest militaries, the US, China, Russia, and India come to mind. However, it's worth noting that some private contractors and mercenaries also make a big impact. For example, G4S employs more personnel than the armed forces of nations like Britain and France.
One private force, however, stands out—Pepsi. In 1989, Pepsi acquired 17 Russian submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer in exchange for $3 billion worth of its soda. As a result, Pepsi found itself owning one of the largest military fleets in the world.
This turned Pepsi into the sixth-largest military force globally. Fortunately, they didn’t take advantage of this military power and didn’t join the growing private military industry. Eventually, Pepsi sold the fleet for scrap to a Swedish company.
4. A Frog Cannot Vomit, So It Expels Its Entire Stomach
No one enjoys vomiting, even though it's the body's natural defense mechanism to rid itself of harmful substances. We'd probably dislike it less if we understood that it's simply the body trying to protect us from our bad eating habits, even if it doesn't always succeed.
This same mechanism is present in the animal kingdom, as most creatures possess the same ability—except for frogs. Frogs observed other animals doing it throughout their evolution and decided they wanted nothing to do with it, likely because it looked so pitiful.
Instead, frogs developed a completely different method. When a frog feels the need to vomit, it doesn't rely on the typical process of throwing up. Instead, it ejects its entire stomach, uses its hands to clean any remaining food, and then puts the stomach back in. Some other creatures, like sharks, can also do this, but only when they’re distressed or after a particularly awful meal.
3. If You Reinsert A Dislodged Tooth Into Its Socket, It Can Reattach Itself
This particular myth circulates in various cultures across the world. The story goes that if a body part is severed in an accident, you can simply put it back, and the body will accept it as if nothing happened.
Some people believe this works for fingers, while others say it applies to toes. However, science tells us it’s unrealistic to think any body part can be reattached without medical assistance—except, of course, for teeth.
If you ever knock out a tooth while playing, you can reinsert it as long as it’s placed correctly. The socket will form roots naturally, and over time, the tooth will reattach like it was never lost. Dentists do something similar when you bring a knocked-out tooth to them, using binders to secure it in place, and then they let it heal on its own.
There are some conditions to this process. For one, the tooth shouldn’t have any chips, as this would require additional dental work. It’s also crucial to keep the tooth moist after it’s knocked out; allowing it to dry out will damage the nerves and lower the chances of successful reattachment.
2. It Hasn’t Even Been Half A Year On Pluto Since It Was Discovered
We all know that space is unimaginably vast. Just look up at the stars. They are millions of miles away, and we haven’t even fully explored the planets in our own solar system, let alone another star system. But even those numbers don’t do justice to the true scale of distances in space, as they mean little to the average person.
Here’s a mind-blowing fact: Pluto, discovered in 1930, still hasn’t completed a single orbit around the Sun. Not even halfway through! It will take another 159 Earth years for Pluto to finish just one orbit, completing a whole Pluto year.
And it’s not just Pluto. A year on most of the planets in the outer solar system takes an extremely long time to pass. For instance, Neptune, which was discovered in 1846, only completed its first full orbit in 2011.
1. Wyoming Has Only Two Escalators for the Entire State
Many people assume that technological progress is an inevitable outcome of time, forgetting that innovation requires human effort and the willingness to embrace new ideas. We’re not talking about advanced technologies like space shuttles or 3D printers. Some places in the world still haven’t caught up with technology we take for granted, like in Wyoming, where escalators are a rarity.
In a remarkable piece of investigative journalism, The Atlantic revealed that the entire state of Wyoming has only two escalators. Both are located in different banks in the city of Casper.
These escalators are such a rarity that parents take their children to see them as tourist attractions. Wyoming has a few justifications for the lack of escalators, such as 'our style is more horizontal' and 'escalators are problematic for disaster management.'
Apparently, the report did nothing to sway the decision-makers in Wyoming. From our research, it seems no new escalators have been added since the article was published.
