135 Fascinating Facts for Those Who Love Mind-Blowing Information

Save these incredible facts for your next trivia night.

1. Mister Rogers consistently made a point of announcing when he was feeding his fish.

He did so after a young blind viewer requested it. She wanted reassurance that the fish were doing well.

2. Boring, Oregon, and Dull, Scotland, have been sister cities since 2012.

In 2017, they welcomed Bland Shire, Australia, into their "League of Extraordinary Communities."

3. Amelia Earhart and Eleanor Roosevelt once snuck away from a White House event and piloted an airplane together.

The two women took a spontaneous trip to Baltimore.

4. If you’ve ever had the sensation of reliving an event from your own life, it's called déjà vu.

If you believe you’ve already experienced something in a dream, there's another term for that: .

5. During Prohibition, moonshiners would wear special "cow shoes."

These clever shoes left hoofprints instead of footprints, allowing distillers and smugglers to avoid detection by the authorities.

6. Since launching the Imagination Library in 1995, Dolly Parton has donated over 100 million books to children.

The program was initially launched in Tennessee, but it has now expanded globally.

7. The 100 pleats on a chef's hat are said to symbolize 100 different ways to prepare an egg.

Here are some tips on how to achieve perfectly cooked eggs.

8. In curling, good sportsmanship and courtesy are of utmost importance.

Congratulating opponents and refraining from trash talk are essential parts of the "Spirit of Curling."

9. In 1974, the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis published a paper titled “The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of Writer’s Block.”

It consisted of exactly zero words. (But here’s how some famous authors dealt with it.)

10. Guinness once estimated that 93,000 liters of beer are wasted in facial hair each year in the UK alone.

This may not be among the many historical reasons to sport a beard.

11. George Washington served a drink similar to eggnog to guests at Mount Vernon.

His recipe featured rye whiskey, rum, and sherry.

12. Some cats may have an allergy to humans.

Yes, you could be the reason your cat is sneezing.

13. Queen Elizabeth II was trained as a mechanic.

In 1945, at only 18 years old, Queen Elizabeth enlisted in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, where she received training as a truck driver and mechanic.

14. Volvo made their groundbreaking 1962 patent for the three-point seat belt available for free.

The company did this in an effort to save lives.

15. Tsundoku refers to the habit of collecting books and not reading them.

There's no embarrassment in having a huge to-be-read pile!

16. Bela Lugosi was laid to rest in his full Dracula costume.

Cape and everything.

17. Ravens kept in captivity can learn to speak.

The intelligent corvids can imitate a variety of other sounds.

18. The lampposts in Central Park feature a set of four numbers that can guide you.

The first two digits indicate the closest street, and the next two show whether you're nearer to the park's east or west side (even numbers mean east, odd numbers indicate west).

19. A teacher once wrote about a young Roald Dahl on his school report: "I have never encountered anyone who so consistently writes words that mean the exact opposite of what is intended."

The author certainly had a gift for creating nonsense words.

20. The only remaining Blockbuster store in the world is located in Bend, Oregon.

At one point, there were over 9000 Blockbuster stores in the U.S.

21. In Sweden, blood donors get a thank-you text when their donation is used.

The message typically reads, “Thank you, the blood you donated is now helping a patient.”

22. Kea parrots chirp in harmony when they're feeling happy.

They are the first known non-mammal species to engage in communication through contagious laughter.

23. Long before rap battles, there was flyting, a contest of sharp, insulting verses.

These verbal duels were a popular tradition in England and Scotland from the 5th to the 16th centuries.

24. In Melbourne, some trees were assigned email addresses so locals could report any issues.

Instead, the trees received affectionate messages.

25. Around 1 million dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owners' wills.

Allocating money for a pet in a will can sometimes be legally tricky.

26. Visitors at Petrified Forest National Park sometimes break the rules—and the law—by taking rocks as souvenirs.

According to rangers, many of them later send the stolen rocks back in the mail, accompanied by an apology note.

27. The Russian team arrived 12 days late to the 1908 Olympics in London.

They were following the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian one.

28. Maya Angelou made history as the first Black female streetcar conductor in San Francisco.

She started her role as a streetcar conductor at the age of 16.

29. In Japan, it's believed that allowing a sumo wrestler to make your baby cry will bring good luck.

This tradition even has a dedicated festival to celebrate it.

30. J.K. Simmons has been voicing the iconic yellow Peanut M&M since the late 1990s.

M&M’s boast a fascinating and rich history.

31. Count von Count's obsession with numbers is more than just a quirky trait.

In classic vampire mythology, these creatures are said to suffer from arithmomania, an uncontrollable urge to count.

32. In both Great Britain and Japan, black cats are regarded as symbols of good fortune.

In the English Midlands, newlywed couples are gifted black cats to bring blessings to their marriage, while in Japan, black cats are believed to bring good fortune, especially to single women.

33. The city of Portland got its name from a coin flip.

Had the coin landed differently, the city would have been called Boston, Oregon.

34. Neil Armstrong submitted his astronaut application a week after the deadline.

A friend of Armstrong's helped him by slipping the late application form in with the others.

35. A Canadian soldier adopted a black bear as a pet during World War I.

The bear, named Winnipeg, later became a star attraction at the London Zoological Gardens, especially beloved by a young boy named Christopher Robin Milne, the son of A. A. Milne.

36. Sleep has a unique role in literally cleaning your brain.

While you sleep, an increased flow of cerebrospinal fluid helps flush out the harmful proteins and toxins that accumulate in the brain throughout the day.

37. The 'Waffle House Index' is an unofficial tool used by FEMA to assess the severity of storms.

This is attributed to the restaurant's famous ability to stay operational even during severe weather events.

38. The original sales pitch for the Nerf ball was, 'Nerf: You can’t hurt babies or old people!'

Luckily, that’s not the brand's current slogan.

39. The manchineel tree is known as the 'tree of death' for a very good reason.

Touching the tree can cause chemical burns, its fruit is poisonous, and its bark, when set on fire, can lead to blindness.

40. Route 66 has a song all its own.

If drivers stick to the 45 mph speed limit on a section of Route 66 in New Mexico, the rumble strips on the road create a version of 'America the Beautiful.'

41. Russian cosmonauts once carried a shotgun in case they landed in Siberia.

They would use the shotgun to protect themselves from bears.

42. Space has a unique scent.

It carries the scent of diesel fumes, gunpowder, and barbecue, a smell primarily created by dying stars.

43. The annual global number of shark bites is ten times smaller than the number of people bitten by other humans in New York.

Perhaps the ocean is safer than the Big Apple.

44. The Seven Dwarfs in Snow White could have had very different names.

Before deciding on the familiar Seven Dwarfs, Disney initially considered names like Chesty, Tubby, Burpy, Deafy, Hickey, Wheezy, and Awful.

45. In 1997, a Louisville woman bequeathed all her money, around $300,000, to actor Charles Bronson in a handwritten will.

She had never met him; she was simply a fan.

46. Carly Simon’s father is the 'Simon' in the renowned publishing house Simon and Schuster.

He was one of the company’s co-founders.

47. Ben & Jerry mastered the art of ice cream making by enrolling in a $5 correspondence course from Penn State.

They chose to share a single course.

48. Following an online poll in 2011, Toyota declared that the official plural of Prius was 'Prii.'

The name of the car is inspired by a Latin word.

49. Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt had a wedding fit for the presidency.

During their 1905 wedding, President Teddy Roosevelt was the one to give away the bride.

50. Tootsie Rolls were included in soldiers’ rations during World War II.

This was due to their resilience in various weather conditions.

51. In the 1990s, Canada’s Northwest Territories considered renaming itself, and one of the names that gained traction was 'Bob.'

'Bob' would have certainly been more inventive than simply naming it after its geography.

52. Marie Curie is the only individual to have won Nobel Prizes in two distinct scientific fields.

She also once explored the phenomena of a psychic medium.

53. Following OutKast’s lyric 'shake it like a Polaroid picture,' Polaroid issued a statement.

The statement clarified, 'Shaking or waving the picture could actually cause damage to the image.'

54. The Starry Night portrays Vincent van Gogh’s view from the Saint-Paul de Mausole asylum.

The artist created the masterpiece in 1889.

55. The ampersand symbol originates from the Latin letters in et.

It represents the Latin word for and.

56. Army ants that misread the scent trails left by their fellow ants may break away and start marching in circles.

If a large number of ants join in, they may form huge, destructive 'death spirals.'

57. A solar eclipse played a pivotal role in ending a six-year war in 585 BCE.

During a battle between the Lydians and Medes in what is now modern Turkey, the sudden darkness of the sky was interpreted by soldiers as a divine sign to stop fighting.

58. Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, dropped out of high school but later earned his GED in 1993.

His GED class voted him as the Most Likely to Succeed.

59. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson passed away on July 4, 1826.

Their deaths occurred exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

60. Dogs can understand up to 250 words and gestures.

On average, a dog’s intelligence is comparable to that of a 2-year-old child.

61. Bubbles help maintain the warmth of your bath water for a longer time.

This is all the more reason to indulge in a bubble bath.

62. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of take-out restaurants in the ruins of Pompeii.

The recently revealed frescoes may even illustrate the types of food that were served.

63. Scottish immigrants introduced fried chicken to America.

In the 1700s, many Scottish immigrants settled in the southern U.S. colonies.

64. Atlanta is home to 71 streets featuring 'Peachtree' in their names.

Georgia is known for its love of peaches.

65. Peter Durand secured the patent for the tin can in 1810.

Ezra Warner patented the can opener in 1858. Before that, chisels and hammers were used.

66. Goats possess rectangular pupils.

The unusual shape helps them remain aware of their surroundings.

67. The bend in a flamingo's leg isn't its knee.

It's actually an ankle.

68. In 1946, Walter Brown, the owner of the Boston basketball team, selected the name Celtics.

Other names he considered were Whirlwinds, Olympians, and Unicorns.

69. After the airing of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Charles Schulz was flooded with candy deliveries.

These gifts were sent by children who sympathized with Charlie, who had ended up with rocks instead of candy in his Halloween sack.

70. One of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, located at a U.S. Navy base near Seattle, is protected by a unique defense mechanism.

They are partly protected by dolphins trained for defense.

71. In France, it is illegal for supermarkets to throw away food.

Supermarkets are required to either compost the waste or donate unsold and near-expiry items to charity.

72. Fredric Baur was the creator of the iconic Pringles can.

Upon his passing in 2008, his ashes were placed inside one of his own inventions.

73. A new baby can steal a total of 750 hours of sleep from parents in the first year.

New parents are widely known for enduring sleepless nights.

74. In 1965, a Senate subcommittee forecasted that by the year 2000, Americans would work only 20 hours a week and enjoy seven weeks of vacation.

That hasn't come to fruition yet, though several regions have trialed a four-day workweek.

75. In 1998, for a single day, Topeka, Kansas, rebranded itself as 'ToPikachu.'

This was done to celebrate the U.S. launch of Pokémon.

76. Truman Capote claimed to have encountered some truly iconic figures in history.

He claimed to be the only person to have met John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Sirhan Sirhan.

77. Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for casting her vote in the 1872 election.

She never settled the fine.

78. Canned pumpkin isn't actually made from pumpkin.

Even those labeled as '100 percent pumpkin' are actually a blend of various types of winter squashes.

79. Gene Wilder had one stipulation when he took on the role of Willy Wonka.

For his debut scene, Wilder insisted that Wonka walk towards the audience with a cane, then dramatically fall into a perfect somersault before bouncing back up. His reason? 'From that point forward, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.'

80. Dr. Seuss anticipated spending 'a week or so' writing The Cat in the Hat.

It ended up taking him a year and a half to finish.

81. The 'Reese' in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups refers to Harry Burnett Reese.

He was a former Hershey employee who invented the beloved candy in the 1920s.

82. The correct plural form of 'cul-de-sac' is 'culs-de-sac'.

However, some dictionaries also accept 'cul-de-sacs' as an alternative plural.

83. Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt was allergic to moon dust.

The moon dust caused his nasal passages to swell, and also affected his throat.

84. During the 1913 Gettysburg reunion, two men bought a hatchet, walked to the battlefield where their regiments had fought, and buried it.

They truly took the idiom 'bury the hatchet' to heart!

85. An episode of Peppa Pig was removed from Australian television for encouraging children not to be afraid of spiders.

After all, Australia is home to some of the world's most dangerous spiders.

86. The term 'bloodcurdling' is more than just a metaphor.

Research indicates that watching horror movies may increase certain clotting proteins in our bloodstream.

87. A group of pugs is affectionately known as a grumble.

Here are some other unique collective nouns for animal groups.

88. Before writing Goosebumps, R.L. Stine penned jokes for Bazooka Joe's gum wrappers.

The jokes he crafted were likely nowhere near as spine-chilling as his renowned novels.

89. In 1998, the U.S. Army made an attempt to create a telepathic ray gun.

The report stated that words could be transmitted to be heard like spoken language, but only within the listener's mind.

90. In 1967, the Nigerian Civil War came to a brief stop for two days in the name of sports.

Both factions were eager to see Pelé compete in an exhibition soccer match.

91. Winston Churchill's mother was originally from Brooklyn.

In 1963, he was granted honorary American citizenship.

92. Jim Cummings provides the voice for Winnie the Pooh.

He takes the time to chat with sick children in hospitals, speaking to them as Pooh Bear.

93. Prior to the introduction of Gmail by Google, 'G-Mail' was a free email service from Garfield's website.

Good luck getting the lazy orange cat to respond to your urgent emails.

94. Before the Nazis took over Paris, H.A. and Margret Rey escaped by bicycle.

They were carrying the manuscript for Curious George with them during their escape.

95. Lobster wasn’t considered a luxury in colonial America.

It was so abundant and inexpensive that it was often served to prisoners.

96. The word Crayola is derived from the term 'oily chalk.'

The name is a fusion of craie, which is French for 'chalk,' and ola, a shorthand for 'oleaginous,' meaning oily.

97. Cookie Monster will not be altering his name.

In a 2012 episode, he made it clear that although he enjoys eating vegetables, he refuses to be called the 'Veggie Monster.'

98. The Truman Show Delusion is a psychological disorder in which individuals believe they are the protagonist of a fictitious reality show.

The term was coined by two psychiatrists in 2008.

99. In 1999, Google’s creators were open to selling their company to Excite for less than $1 million.

Excite rejected the offer.

100. There is an official medical term for the phenomenon known as an ice cream headache.

It’s sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.

101. Dr. James Naismith is credited with inventing basketball.

Despite this, he remains the only Kansas Jayhawks basketball coach with a losing record.

102. Wisconsin is known as the Badger State because early lead miners would spend their winters in tunnels dug into hills.

Just like badgers do.

103. In 1999, the U.S. government paid $16 million to the Zapruder family for the film of JFK’s assassination.

A federal arbitration panel ruled that the government must compensate for the 'unique historical item of unprecedented worth.'

104. Before becoming president, Abraham Lincoln held the title of wrestling champion in his county.

He competed in almost 300 matches, losing only once.

105. How many licks does it take to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never have an answer.

However, a licking machine built at Purdue averaged 364 licks.

106. In Switzerland, owning just one guinea pig is against the law.

The law is designed to prevent guinea pigs from experiencing loneliness.

107. Barcelona boasts numerous playgrounds specifically for seniors.

These spaces are designed to encourage physical activity and reduce isolation among elderly residents.

108. After his presidency, Ronald Reagan was offered the role of Hill Valley’s mayor in Back to the Future III.

He declined the offer.

109. Foreign Accent Syndrome is an uncommon consequence of brain injury.

It occurs when individuals begin speaking their native language with an accent not their own.

110. Queen Elizabeth II owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life.

She had a fondness for corgis since she was a young girl.

111. Chihuahuas have the largest brain relative to their body size in the dog world.

They are incredibly easy to train.

112. The so-called 'mystery' flavor of Dum Dums is not really a mystery at all.

It’s a blend of the tail end of one candy batch and the start of the next.

113. A banana is classified as a berry.

However, a strawberry is not considered a berry.

114. In 1971, a Dallas man named Mariano Martinez created the frozen margarita machine.

The 26-year-old drew inspiration from the Slurpee machine at 7-Eleven.

115. In 2016, a determined bloodhound named Ludvine unexpectedly joined a half-marathon in Alabama.

She completed the entire 13.1 miles and placed 7th.

116. The Library of Congress frequently receives requests for books that do not exist.

The most popular example is the President's Book of Secrets, featured in the 2007 film National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

117. In 2014, Tinder achieved its first match on the continent of Antarctica.

As expected, both individuals involved were research scientists.

118. When facing difficulties, elephants offer comfort to each other by gently stroking loved ones with their trunks and making soft chirps.

Young elephants will also comfort themselves by sucking on their trunks.

119. A double rainbow forms when sunlight is reflected twice inside a raindrop.

Upon closer inspection, you'll notice that the colors of the secondary rainbow appear in reverse order.

120. In Palo Alto, there is a Nikola Tesla statue that offers free Wi-Fi.

It’s also a time capsule.

121. The Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships take place in Finland.

One previous champion mentioned that he prepared for the competition by 'mostly drinking.'

122. In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe made a promise to nightclub owner Charlie Morrison that she would be in the front row each night if he booked Ella Fitzgerald.

He agreed, and she kept her promise. 'After that, I never had to perform in a small jazz club again,' Fitzgerald said. 'She was an extraordinary woman—slightly ahead of her time. And she didn’t even realize it.'

123. Frank Sinatra boasts three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

He earned one for his work in film, another for his music career, and a third for television.

124. On an April day in 1930, the BBC reported, 'There is no news.'

Instead, they played piano music on air.

125. The movement of continental plates occurs at a speed comparable to the rate at which fingernails grow.

They can move up to 20 millimeters annually.

126. Elvis Presley’s manager sold 'I Hate Elvis' buttons.

This was the artist’s unique approach to profit from those who didn’t purchase his official merchandise.

127. LEGO has a climate-controlled underground storage facility in Denmark.

It houses every set they’ve ever created.

128. The eyes of a reindeer shift color with the changing seasons.

They’re gold in the summer and blue during the winter months.

129. An avocado doesn’t ripen while still attached to the tree.

Farmers use trees as storage, allowing avocados to stay fresh for as long as seven months.

130. At the Humane Society of Missouri, young volunteers help calm nervous shelter dogs by reading to them.

This also helps the animals become better socialized with people and other animals.

131. In the 1980s classic The Empire Strikes Back, an extra can be spotted running with what looks like an ice cream maker.

The character quickly became iconic among fans and was later given a name (Willrow Hood) along with a detailed backstory.

132. Salvador Dalí once avoided paying restaurant bills by writing checks.

Dalí would sketch on the back of the checks while the waiter looked on, fully aware no one would ever attempt to cash his drawings as money.

133. China holds ownership of all the giant pandas worldwide.

They lease these pandas for approximately $1 million annually.

134. In season two of The Joy of Painting, Bob Ross painted a landscape using only one color to create a monochromatic scene.

Ross did this for a viewer who feared his color blindness would hinder his ability to paint.

135. Fossils discovered at Seymour Island suggest that, 37 to 40 million years ago, penguins reached an impressive height of 6 feet and weighed around 250 pounds.

Modern emperor penguins now stand about 4 feet tall and weigh roughly 100 pounds.

This story was first published in 2018; it has been updated for 2023.