30 Surprising Facts That You Probably Didn’t Know

The beauty of the internet lies in its ability to connect people from all corners of the world, fostering communities where information, anecdotes, and, occasionally, the utterly random find a home. Recently, on Reddit, a user posed a curious question, inviting fellow netizens to share completely random facts that no one had asked for. What ensued was a delightful trip through an assortment of fascinating, bizarre, and unexpected tidbits that added a sprinkle of knowledge to the ordinary.

#1

Image source: ViolentlyOpen, Pixabay

Elephants can purr, like Cats..

#2

Image source: kyothinks, Kendall Hoopes

There are elements from exploding stars in your bones and oceans in your blood and your lungs use the same structures as coral does and your veins branch like trees or rivers and the same spirals you see in a shell on the beach are in your ears and there are miniature galaxies in your eyes. You are a miracle reflecting the beauty of the universe back at itself. That’s incredible and I think about it a lot.

#3

Image source: muttmechanic, Christian Ladewig

octopuses, octopi, and octopus are all accepted plural spellings for octopus

also stop eating them

#4

Image source: BloatedBaryonyx, Gary Todd

In 2005 new palaeontological discoveries meant that a scientific term had to be assigned to baby/juvenile pterosaurs.
The author chose to name them “Flaplings”.

#5

Image source: Ravehearts, Steve Momot

The purpose of golf is to play as little golf as possible.

#6

Image source: KBlake1982, Tranmautritam

“Chat GPT,” pronounced with a French accent, phonetically translates to “Cat, I have farted,” in French.

#7

Image source: moneyshaker, Lucas George Wendt

The four spikes on the tail of a Stegosaurus is called a thagomizer. Far Side comic strip artist Gary Larson coined the word.

#8

Image source: FormalMango, Emmanuel Higgins

Male echidnas have a four-headed penis, although they only use two during mating (and they alternate which heads they use each time).

The two they’re using grow larger, to fit inside the female’s dual-branched reproductive tract.

Also, bonus fact: female echidnas lactate through their skin… so they sweat their milk out, and the puggles lick it off them.

Bonus bonus fact: when a female echidna is ready to mate, a group of males will follow her through the bush for a few days in a horny little conga line called a mating train. When she decides it’s time, the males circle her digging a ditch as they go, then push each other out of the way until there’s only one left.

Edit to add: Nat Geo video of echidna mating rituals

#9

Image source: subliminal_sorcerer, Jean van der Meulen

A peregrine falcon can dive at over 200mph.

#10

Image source: Stack_of_HighSociety, Catarina Sousa

Australia is wider than the moon.

#11

Image source: Outside-Refuse6732, Karolina Grabowska

a lethal dose is also a life supply.

#12

A “factoid” is actually an item of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact.

Not a “small fact”.

Image source: Randyfox86

#13

Image source: what-katy-didnt, Elianne Dipp

Whale milk is the same consistency as toothpaste.

#14

The most expensive liquid is scorpion venom priced at $39mil per gallon.

Image source: Moon_Jewel90

#15

Image source: moneyshaker, cottonbro studio

All tennis rackets are strung manually. There are no machines that use automation to string rackets.

#16

Image source: Patient_Complaint_16, Francesco Ungaro

There are 32 muscles in a cat’s ear.

#17

Image source: svrgnctzn, Towfiqu barbhuiya

Up 33% of hip fractures in the older population result in death within a year.

#18

Image source: Money-Bear7166, Ryoji Iwata

Scientists have calculated that there have been 117 billion people that have ever lived.

#19

Image source: Competitive_Juice627, Anna Tarazevich

The human animal is the only animal with permanent breasts.

#20

Image source: fr0zen88, solod_sha

Bananas are berries, but strawberries aren’t.

#21

Image source: Beanbag-Sandbar288, Tima Miroshnichenko

Among Fortune 500 companies, 2018 was the first year that the number of CEOs who were women exceeded the number who were named John.

*edit – grammar*

#22

Image source: PrincessMurderMitten, Victor Miyata

Armadillos almost always have identical quadruplets.

One fertilized egg splits into four embryos.

#23

Image source: SafetyMan35, Frans van Heerden

From my giraffe loving 7yr old- A giraffe’s horns are called ossicones which are mostly cartilage.

#24

Image source: msnmck, Movieclips

Sylvester Stallone wrote *Rocky* in three days after watching a boxing match because the only acting jobs he could get were bit parts and [adult movies], and he was homeless for a while. The producers wanted Burt Reynolds to play the lead but Stallone refused, and accepted huge budget cuts to star in his own film.

#25

The plastic piece on the end of a shoelace is called the aglet.

ETA: Jesus, for the record, I did not learn this from Phineas and Ferb, but good to know half a generation did.

Image source: farfetched22

#26

Image source: Tard_Farts82, Erik Mclean

A B2 stealth bomber has retractable cup holders and a mini microwave in the cockpit.

#27

Image source: Ok_Budget_2593, Mahrous Houses

The Xerographic process is how you get your office laser printer to work. Toner is plastic that sticks to the paper that got hit with a laser (laser printer) and is a different charge. The toner is being held on by static electricity. At the end it goes through two hot rollers called a fuser and is baked into the paper and that’s why paper feels warm coming out because plastic is melted into paper.

#28

Image source: jkdjeff, Ye Massa

The Michelin Man’s real name is Bibendum.

#29

Image source: Snowtwo, Chris Ensminger

The human a**s can stretch up to 7 inches before taking damage.

A raccoon can squeeze into a hole as tight as 4 inches.

#30

Image source: cruiserman_80, Itai Perelman Nasich

The Giant Tortoise did not receive a scientific name for over 300 years due to the failure of delivery of specimens to Europe because they were so delicious that sailors invariably ate them during the voyage.