Whether you’re headed to a night of organized trivia with friends or you just enjoy spewing off random fun facts to whoever will listen, these interesting facts are exactly what you need. They’re exactly what that salesperson that keeps calling needs, too.
We did some research (meaning we fell into the black hole known as Reddit) to put together this list of random and fascinating facts. From shocking celebrity trivia to “Oh that’s where everything went wrong” history tidbits, enjoy these mind blowing – sometimes downright terrifying – bits of knowledge we can never un-know.
75 Interesting Facts
1. The circulatory system is approximately 100,000 miles long.
By the time we reach adulthood, our bodies are home to approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels. That is, if they were stretched out, and not all smushed in our insides.
So when we say we can fit one more cupcake in, we’re not being that unreasonable. No, it doesn’t matter that we already ate a baker’s dozen.
2. The bumblebee bat is the world’s smallest mammal.
The bumblebee bat, also known as Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, is the smallest mammal in the world. It calls the Kanchanaburi Province of southwest Thailand its home. And we call it absolutely adorable.
3. The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
It got this title thanks to its connection to dominance, chivalry, purity, and innocence. And it proves that if you drink enough whisky, anything’s possible.
4. Nutmeg is a hallucinogen.
The spice contains myristicin, a natural compound that has mind-altering effects. Don’t get too excited – you’d have to ingest a pretty large amount of it. And we all know how the cinnamon challenge went, don’t we?
5. Arsenic was once used for skin care.
Ever wanted to get rid of your freckles or blackheads? Well, if you’d lived during the late 19th century, you may have been given arsenic-laced products for all sorts of beauty treatments. Beauty is pain…and in this case, sometimes a lot worse.
6. McDonald’s once made bubblegum-flavored broccoli.
Why McDonald’s was ever in the business of trying to get kids to eat healthier is beyond us. Not so shockingly, this experiment didn’t go over well with child testers so it never made it to the golden arches. We don’t personally care what they do as long as we can always get the McDonald’s Sprite on tap.
7. Chicago’s nickname has nothing to do with its weather.
Chicago is definitely windy, but that’s not the reason behind the nickname “Windy City.” It was coined by 19th-century journalists who were referring to the fact that its residents were “windbags” and “full of hot air.” Now we wonder what the true meaning is behind NYC’s “Big Apple” nickname.
8. Dogs separate their smells by nostril.
Dogs normally start sniffing with their right nostril, then keep it there if the smell could signal danger. But they’ll shift to the left side for something pleasant, like food. Especially your food.
9. The CIA headquarters has its own Starbucks.
The CIA may have access to Frappuccinos, but the experience isn’t quite like your normal Starbies run. The baristas don’t write names on the cups, and they have to be escorted in and out of the store. But now the question is…do they have a secret secret menu at this location?
10. Cap’n Crunch has an actual name.
Cap’n Crunch’s full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch. But despite his claim, his uniform only shows his rank as a commander, not a captain. Turns out “C” is for crock full of lies.
11. Penicillin was first called “mold juice.”
In 1928, bacteriologist Alexander Fleming left a petri dish in his lab while he was on vacation…only to return and find that some liquid around the mold had killed the bacteria in the dish. This became the world’s first antibiotic, but before naming it penicillin, he called it “mold juice.” Turns out all those things we’ve left in our fridge may be the next scientific breakthrough.
12. The Pope can’t be an organ donor.
According to the Vatican, the Pope’s entire body must be buried intact because his body belongs to the universal Catholic Church. Geez, greedy much?
13. A chef’s hat has 100 pleats.
According to Bon Appétit, it represents the 100 ways you can cook an egg. Also, it’s technically called a chef’s toque, which translates to “cracked” in French. Which we’re sure you totally remember from your high school language classes.
14. A ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time.
In the world of physics, a jiffy is how long light takes to travel a distance of one femtometre, or a millionth of a millionth of a millimeter. If you don’t want to do that math, this means that there are approximately three hundred thousand billion billion jiffys in a second. So on second thought, we probably won’t be back in a jiffy.
15. Your tongue print is as unique as your fingerprints.
Every person – even twins – have a tongue with unique color, shape, and surface features. This could take forensics to a very weird place.
16. Crows can recognize human faces.
Crows can recognize human faces — and remember them for their entire lives. They can even remember more than two years after the initial presentation. Sounds like a crow never forgets. Move over elephants!
17. “Rap God” by Eminem has the most words of any song.
Clocking in at 1,560 words, “Rap God” is the song with the most words in it. And Eminem says them at an average of 4.28 words per second. Not to brag, but we can hit that after our third cup of coffee, too.
18. All clownfish are born male.
And, they have the ability to change their sex later on. (This is known as protandrous hermaphrodites.) When the female of a group dies, the dominant male will turn female. And here we thought butterflies were impressive.
19. Pepsi-Cola was originally called “Brad’s Drink.”
The name came from the pharmacist who created it: Caleb Bradham. The original recipe also included nutmeg. And with Interesting Fact #4, we can now guess how it became so popular.
20. Google was originally called “Backrub.”
Thankfully, was renamed Google after the googol, which is the number one followed by 100 zeros. Imagine if we all said, “Hold on, let me Backrub that real quick.” Or for short, “Hold on, let me rub one out real quick.” It could get real confusing real quick.
21. “Psycho” was the first movie to show a toilet.
Not only that, it’s also the first American film where we hear a toilet being flushed. And here we thought the plot was the most interesting part.
22. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were invented by a janitor…or were they?
Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were developed by a janitor at Frito-Lay, Richard Montañez. He got the idea after putting chili powder on some rejected Cheetos and then pitched it to the CEO. He’s now a successful executive and motivational speaker, and a movie is in the works about his life. Cool story, right?
Apparently, it’s been a decades long lie that isn’t actually true, according to the Los Angeles Times. But it would definitely make a good sequel to Good Will Hunting.
23. Originally, the word “freelancer” referred to self-employed, sword-wielding mercenaries.
They were literally free lancers. All us freelancers will now be referring to ourselves as sword-wielding mercenaries and we will not be taking any questions. Thank you.
24. Michelin-star restaurants receive their stars from the Michelin Tire company.
Michelin stars are highly coveted by elite and upscale restaurants all over the world. And those stars are actually given out by the Michelin Tire company. You know, the one whose mascot is the big marshmallow guy. Mmm…wonder if having marshmallows on your menu gets brownie points? Mmm…brownies…
25. Sweden has the most islands of any country in the world.
Actually, 267,570 islands to be exact. And less than 1,000 of them are inhabited. So what we’re hearing is there are plenty of islands for us to be able to have just one.
26. Military service dogs are always one rank higher than their handler.
It’s said that this is done to prevent abuse from their handler since they would be charged – and even sent to prison – for abusing a senior ranking member. Now, who’s a good boy?
27. Africa is currently separating into two parts.
Scientists say Africa is peeling apart into two parts that will eventually lead to the formation of a new ocean. Due to the separation – which appeared in Kenya following heavy rain – the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea will flood over and create a new ocean. Great. Another one to memorize.
28. A man won the lottery for a second time while reenacting his first win for TV.
Bill Morgan, an Australian truck driver, might just be the luckiest guy in the world. Not only did he win a scratch-off ticket twice, but he did it after being in a coma for 14 days where the doctor gave him zero chance of surviving. And here all we want is to win that one Instagram giveaway we keep entering.
29. Bob Ross actually read his fan mail.
He would receive up to 200 letters per day. And rumor had it that when regular writers fell out of touch, he would phone them, just to see if they were okay. Great. Now we’re a happy crying little tree.
30. Morgan Freeman sticks to an old sailor’s tradition.
He wears earrings that are worth enough to pay for a coffin in case he dies in a strange place.
31. Cats used to sail the oceans blue.
Until the 19th century, “sea cats” traveled on boats to take care of rats and rodents. It has also been said that they had passports that were signed with their paws, but this actually wasn’t a requirement as previously rumored. Can we make them a thing now though?
32. “Made in China” stickers are made in South Korea…
…or Japan, Taiwan, or the United States. Now we can’t help but wonder, do they put “Made in South Korea” stickers on the “Made in China?”
33. China owns all of the pandas in the world.
They rent them out for about $1 million per year. We’re gonna put in our order momentarily.
34. Double Stuf Oreos are, in fact, not double-stuffed.
They are only 1.86 times as stuffed as classic Oreos. Now we feel slightly better about eating the entire pack in one sitting.
35. Geckos can turn the stickiness on their feet on and off at will.
This allows them to run fast or cling to ceilings without using up much energy. They can also save you 15% or more on your car insurance in just 15 minutes.
36. The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer.
It sold for $14.83. May this be our motivation to start from the ground up.
37. Volvo gave away the 1962 patent for their revolutionary three-point seat belt for free.
They did this in order to help save lives. Safe and selfless? Take notes, folks.
38. Barnacles have the biggest penises in the animal kingdom, relatively speaking.
It can stretch up to eight times the barnacle’s own length. And here we thought they were just weird rock decorations.
39. “Ackwards” is an old English dialect word that describes a creature lying on its back that can’t get up.
You could just say “us after bottomless mimosas.” But this works, too.
40. People died by guillotine in France all the way up until 1977.
While Americans were getting to see Star Wars for the first time, the French were still cutting off heads. Suddenly, we don’t mind that popcorn is so overpriced. Pouring one out over here for Marie Antoinette.
41. Referees get Super Bowl rings, too.
Participation trophies are getting too out of hand. Or on hand, in this instance.
42. Wyoming is home to only two escalators.
At least, as of 2013. We’re sensing some collusion between Wyoming and Big Elevator Business. If we go missing, you know where to look.
43. “Frankenstein” was written during a random writing challenge.
Stuck inside on a rainy day in 1816, writers Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori challenged each other to a scary story-writing contest just for fun. Mary came up with the idea for Frankenstein and published it two years later at age 20. We won’t even get started with what we were doing on rainy days at age 18.
44. The dot over your lowercase “i” is called a tittle.
So instead of saying “Dot your i’s,” you can say “Don’t forget your tittles.” And try not to giggle.
45. “Beauty and the Beast” was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture.
It lost to The Silence of the Lambs, proving that 1992 really was a wild year. It’s also the same year that the world was graced with Achy Breaky Heart. Which is what happened to us when Beauty and the Beast was remade in 2017.
46. The plural of Prius is Prii.
Prii (pronounced PREE-eye) was determined and announced by Toyota as the plural of Prius after an online vote in 2011. The other options were “Prius,” “Priuses,” “Priem,” and “Pri.” Now can we please get a committee to vote on a new plural word for “moose?”
47. A Canadian police officer created “positive tickets.”
A Canadian police officer named Ward Clapham created a program that gives “positive tickets” to people who do good deeds. Positive reinforcement for the win. If it works for dogs, it works for us. Especially if it’s paired with a treat.
48. Mr. Rogers always mentioned out loud that he was feeding his fish.
Mr. Rogers always said that he was feeding his fish because a young blind viewer once asked him to do so. She wanted to know if the fish were OK. TK
49. Opossums don’t play dead.
Instead, they involuntarily enter a catatonic state. It’s the classic “fight, flight, or nap” situation. We’d choose the nap, too.
50. You can major in wine at Cornell University.
Technically it’s a degree in “Viticulture and Enology” (AKA the cultivation of grapes and the science of winemaking). We don’t want to boast, but we consider ourselves highly educated on the topic and we didn’t pay a lot of money to do it. That $8 wine is where it’s at.
51. The way you eat Oreos says something about your personality.
Kraft Foods once surveyed hundreds of Oreo lovers. They found the following: Biters are easy-going and self-confident, dunkers are more energetic and adventurous, and twisters are sensitive and trendy. But what does it say about you that you actually like the Swedish Fish Oreos?
52. The US government has an official plan for a zombie apocalypse.
The government wants to be prepared. Hence, the 31-page Counter-Zombie Dominance Plan, or CONPLAN 8888, was designed in 2011. And just in case you’re wondering, the first line reads, “This plan was not actually designed as a joke.” Thanks for that clarification.
We’re actually not sure this is completely true despite the many stories claiming it to be. But it sounds pretty good so we’re choosing to believe it. Unlike taxes. Those are fake, right?
53. The platypus is one of the most painful stings.
The male platypus has poison glands in its back legs that can release venom using a hollow spur on its heel. While generally not deadly, the sting is said to be incredibly painful and causes a large amount of swelling. Perry the Platypus seems a lot more terrifying now.
54. Polar bears aren’t white.
Polar bears aren’t white at all. Their skin is black and their hair is actually clear. When light hits their fur it causes the reaction known as luminescence. Not to be confused with Lumiere. He’s just a candle. Without fur.
55. The raptor sounds in “Jurassic Park” are mating tortoises.
If you’ve ever wondered what mating tortoises sound like, it turns out, you probably already know. The Jurassic Park sound designer confessed, “It’s somewhat embarrassing, but when the raptors bark at each other to communicate, it’s a tortoise having sex.” We’re never watching this movie with our parents again.
56. Pablo Escobar spent $2500 on rubber bands to hold his money together.
According to Roberto Escobar (Pablo Escobar’s brother) the infamous cartel had to spend over two grand on rubber bands every month just to keep the stacks of money together. And we can’t buy a simple coffee without even being judged.
57. Hippos sweat blood. Kind.
Hippos lack sweat glands. Instead, they have mucus glands, which release an oily secretion. Technically it’s neither blood nor sweat but a combination of two acids that form an orange-red secretion in the sun, giving hippos the appearance of sweating blood. We feel much better about our pit stains now.
58. The owner of Segway was killed by a Segway.
In 2010, Segway owner Jimi Heselden was killed when he was on his Segway and it rolled off a cliff. Apparently, he was performing an act of courtesy and trying to make room for someone else on the sidewalk. Hey Alexa, play Alanis Morissette.
59. Eye patches were worn by pirates, but not for the reason you think.
It wasn’t to cover a missing or injured eye; rather pirates wore the patch to train the covered eye to see better in the dark. This would give them a tactical advantage when they ran below decks to fight. We’re going to start doing this so we’re not seeing stars every time we go into our basement. We can’t help that we naturally started saying “Arrrrr, matey!” It just came with the territory.
60. The simple past tense version of the word “dare” is “durst.”
We durst not question this fact.
61. It would take 1,100,000 mosquitoes all sucking at the same time to completely drain the average human’s blood.
We absolutely do not volunteer as tribute for this experiment.
62. The only vegetable that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh is lettuce.
Seems like an untapped market.
63. Pope Gregory IV once declared war on cats.
This was because he believed Satan used black cats. For what, we don’t know. (But probably cuddles.) His declaration led to the mass extermination of cats. And that lack of cats? It led to a rat infestation which resulted in the plague.
64. Metallica is the only band to perform on all seven continents.
In 2013, they played in a transparent dome at Carlini Station in Antarctica. The Sandman can’t enter soon enough after all that touring. Gonna need a nap.
65. Fortune telling is illegal in Maryland.
Violators can be fined $500 and/or imprisoned for up to six months. Adulterers on the other hand only have a penalty of $10. But if you had let the fortune-tellers do their job, maybe the adultery could have been stopped. Just saying – cause meet effect.
66. The oldest domestic cat on record lived for 38 years.
Her name was Creme Puff and she resided in Austin, Texas. We have a feeling she knocked over many cups of water in her days.
67. SPAM was invented in Austin, Minnesota.
The state even serves as home to the SPAM Museum and Austin is nicknamed SPAMTOWN, USA. We can only guess what the most popular food is there.
68. Duke, a Great Pyrenees dog, held office in the village of Cormorant, Minnesota.
He served four one-year terms after a community vote took a serious turn when he became a viral sensation. Just how politics should work.
69. An astronaut is, linguistically speaking, a star sailor.
It originates from two Greek words: “astro,” which means “star,” and “naut,” which means sailor. Whether the ocean or space, why does sailing have to sound so terrifying?
70. The word “oxymoron” is itself an oxymoron.
Drawn from Ancient Greek, “oxy” means sharp, and “moron” means stupid. Sometimes using the word in the definition of the word does make sense@
71. Marie Curie’s notebook is still radioactive.
More than a century later, the famous Nobel prize-winning physicist’s notebook, and other belongings, still cannot be handled safely. They’re stored in lead-lined boxes in Paris. We admit it – we’re Curie-ous – but we think we’ll stay away from these.
72. Woody Harrelson’s father was a hitman.
Charles Voyde Harrelson was an American hitman who left the family when Woody was young. He was convicted of assassinating federal judge John H. Wood Jr. And, Woody only found out the truth when he heard a radio report on his trial. Talk about a wild 23andMe report.
73. It’s believed that it rains diamonds on Neptune and Uranus.
The two outermost planets of our solar system are often referred to as “ice giants” due to this phenomenon. It is believed that their core temperatures are about 12,140 degrees Fahrenheit and the pressure is 6 million times that of Earth’s atmosphere, while the outermost layers are significantly cooler and less pressurized. This knowledge, along with knowing what happens to water, ammonia, and methane (what Uranus and Neptune are made of) under those circumstances, it’s hypothesized that it does indeed result in “diamond rain.”
Don’t know about y’all, but that was a lot more science than we’re used to. Except for when we taste-tested all of Dunkin’s donuts…ya know, for science. Same thing, right?
74. In “Game of Thrones,” the Night’s Watch cloaks were made from Ikea rugs.
We knew it was easy to get lost in IKEA but we’ve never found ourselves at Castle Black. Seems we’ve been doing it all wrong.
75. The Supreme Court has its own basketball court.
On the top floor of the U.S. Supreme Court Building, there’s a basketball court. It’s affectionately known as “the highest court in the land.” Now we’re really starting to question exactly how some court rulings are made now.
Ashley is a Nashville unicorn (born, raised, and based), queer, vegan, and dedicated to leaving a positive impact through her life, work, and her website, Wild Hearted.
When she's not writing, she's traveling, reading a book, trying not to kill her houseplants, worshiping her dog, or having an existential crisis. Follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter, and LinkedIn
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