Interesting Real Facts (Strange but True)

by alaaron | February 6, 2007 at 11:43 am
91835 views | 5 Recommendations | 38 comments
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Interesting Real Facts (Strange but True)

1

Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world's largest zipper manufacturer.

2

40 percent of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

3

315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

4

On the average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

5

Chocolate kills dogs! True, chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system. A few ounces is enough to kill a small sized dog.

6

Ketchup was sold in the 1830's as a medicine.

7

Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.

8

Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

9

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

10

Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to paint Mona Lisa's lips.

11

Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow a film down so you could see his moves. That's the opposite of the norm.

12

The original name for the butterfly was "flutterby"!

13

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand.

14

Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.

15

Dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.

16

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

17

Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than the entire Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

18

Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.

19

Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor.

20

The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.

21

To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaws, prick your fingers into its eyeballs. It will let you go instantly.

22

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

23

The "pound" (#) key on your keyboard is called an octothorp.

24

The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.

25

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

26

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

27

Dreamt" is the only word in the English language that ends in "mt".

28

It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

29

In Chinese, the KFC slogan "finger lickin' good" comes out as "eat your fingers off".

30

A cockroach can live for 10 days without a head.

31

We shed 40 pounds of skin a lifetime.

32

Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines.

33

Mexico City sinks abut 10 inches a year.

34

Brains are more active sleeping than watching TV.

35

Blue is the favorite color of 80 percent of Americans.

36

When a person shakes their head from side to side, he is saying "yes" in Sri Lanka.

37

There are more chickens than people in the world.

38

The thumbnail grows the slowest, and the middle nail grows the fastest.

39

There are more telephones than people in Washington, D.C.

40

The average four year-old child asks over four hundred questions a day.

41

The average person presses the snooze button on their alarm clock three Times each morning.

42

The three wealthiest families in the world have more assets than the Combined wealth of the forty-eight poorest nations.

43

The first owner of the Marlboro cigarette Company died of lung cancer.

44

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

45

The world's youngest parents were 8 and 9 and lived in China in 1910.

46

Our eyes remain the same size from birth onward, but our noses and ears Never stop growing.

47

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

48

A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.

49

Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

50

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.

51

When the moon is directly overhead, you weigh slightly less.

52

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never telephoned His wife or mother because they were both deaf.

53

A psychology student in New York rented out her spare room to a Carpenter in order to nag him constantly and study his reactions. After Weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeatedly with an axe Leaving her mentally retarded

54

"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language

55

Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."

56

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different.

57

"Bookkeeper" is the only word in English language with three consecutive Double letters.

58

Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed People do.

59

The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every Letter in the English language.

60

If the population of China walked past you in single line, the line Would never end because of the rate of reproduction

61

China has more English speakers than the United States.

62

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

63

Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels.

64

An average person uses the bathroom 6 times per day.

65

Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our Bodies.

66

Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the human body. If the average Man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his Lifetime.

67

According to Genesis 1:20-22, the chicken came before the egg.

68

The longest place name still in use is: Taumatawhakatangihangaoauauotameteaturi- Pukakpikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu - a New Zealand hill.

69

If you leave Tokyo by plane at 7:00am, you will arrive in Honolulu at Approximately 4:30pm the previous day.

70

Scientists in Australia's Parkes Observatory thought they had positive Proof of alien life, when they began picking up radio-waves from space. However, after investigation, the radio emissions were traced to a Microwave in the building.

71

Wearing headphones for an hour increases the bacteria in your ear 700 times.

72

More than 40,000 parasites and 250 types of bacteria are exchanged during a French kiss.

73

Men can read smaller print than women, but women can hear better.

74

Coca-Cola was originally green.

75

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

76

The name of all the continents ends with the same letter that they start with.

77

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

78

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

79

Women blink nearly twice as much as men!!

80

You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.

81

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

82

People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.

83

It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

84

The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

85

If you sneeze too hard, you can fracture a rib. If you try to suppress a sneeze, you can rupture a blood vessel in your head or neck and die.

86

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents great king from history. Spades - King David, Clubs - Alexander the Great, Hearts - Charlemagne, Diamonds - Julius Caesar.

87

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

88

If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

89

If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.

90

If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

91

Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil. What is this? Ans. - Honey

92

A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.

93

A snail can sleep for three years.

94

All polar bears are left handed.

95

American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first-class.

96

Butterflies taste with their feet.

97

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

98

In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

99

On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

100

Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and 'bump'.

101

Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

102

The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

103

The electric chair was invented by a dentist.

104

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

105

Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over million descendants.

106

The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.

107

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

108

And finally 99% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

recommend This comment thread is now closed
0
AlanEvans

I'm sad to inform you that the first two of your "facts" that I checked out turned out not to be true at all, according to numerous sources - Marilyn Monroe did not have 6 toes on one foot.

The oscars were not made of wood during the war, but rather of plaster (there was one special wooden oscar awarded to a ventriloquist).

I haven't checked any others yet, but I have an innate scepticism regarding lists described as "strange but true".

0
iblamefish

regarding left and right handed-ness (facts 58 and 94), I am left handed and know that polar bears are NOT all left-handed and that I am NOT going to die nine years younger than a right-hander

0
B.R.Love

I am just going to inform you that you probaly will die about 9 years younger, because when you are driving, if you were about the hit a car coming in the other direction (if the driver was right handed) they would swerve to the right, and you would swerve to the left. and yes, ALL polarbears are left handed..

also did you know, it is possible to lick your elbow, my best friend can do it

0
5150

Hey I don't care what anyone else says - really enjoyed this article (found it on stumble so there are many more who enjoy it also) so thanks for posting!

0
squamata

76 - The name of all the continents ends with the same letter that they start with.

---

That is so untrue! Euroasia starts with "E" and ends wit "A"!

Maybe author doesn't know that Europe is not a continent ?! :) 

0
darkandgel56

euroasia isnt  a continent its europe and asia duh

0
Jason Ewton

North America

South America

Australia

Antarctica

Africa

Asia

Europe



0
Jason Ewton

North America

South America

Australia

Antarctica

Africa

Asia

Europe



0
Tisa

North America and South America don't work either.

0
seveah

How idiotic people are



Euroasia---- a continent?

Common Sense!!!!!!

0
Aunrael

"People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond."

 No....just...no....That is myth.  Google is your friend, use it to stop yourself from walking into walls (of the metaphorical kind only, I hope).

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/blessyou.asp

 

 "A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation.
Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a
Few weeks."

 This also is untrue.  The world record holder for longest time spent awake, with proper observation, is over 11 days and with no health concerns.  The Australian record holder is said to be over 18 days, but due to lack of documentation or observation it cannot be taken as fact, just possibility.  There are reports of people who haven't slept for years, for one reason or another, which suggests that the brain has ways around the need for sleep, such as micro-sleeps which occur even with the eyes open and the waking mind concious.

 

All in all interesting, but the list is untrustworthy and can't be taken for anything more then a laugh <3 

0
Kairyuka

With no health concerns you say, but I've heard of a guy who tried to stay awake as long as possible. He started hallucinating and stuff. I'm sorry I don't have any documentation, I just wanted to point out that it's not healthy to stay awake for 10 days.

0
Helguson

Had fun reading your list.. that being said, I must point out that to hide impurities Coca-Cola was always the brownish color it is today. And I can lick my elbow! Woop!

0
B.R.Love

coca-cola was green before it was brown, nearly everyone knows that. it isn't an opinion, its a fact

0
Dei42Dara

I happen to know 7 people that can lick their elbow, so it is very much possible.

0
darkangel56

i cAN sneeze with my eyes open,lick me elbow and its not  that hard to write with one hand and draw with the other

0
Bob Niggar

There are plenty of animals besides elephants that cant jump. For instance, coral cnidarians or bivalves like clams.

0
Frogsmasher

I am not admitting this fact true, but I have to point out that if you include bivalves you might as well just say most fish, because swimming at an angle towards the surface and shooting out of the water is not technically a jump, can not jump. I think he met the elephant is the only mammal. I am not saying the elephant is the only mammal.. merely pointing out he may have meant mammal and not animal.

0
frogsmasher

I am not admitting this fact true, but I have to point out that if you include bivalves you might as well just say most fish, because swimming at an angle towards the surface and shooting out of the water is not technically a jump, can not jump. I think he met the elephant is the only mammal. I am not saying the elephant is the only mammal.. merely pointing out he may have meant mammal and not animal.

Also on a note about the whole Chinese single file line thing... it depends on how fast they were walking.. suppose they were walking at the speed of sound? Not that they could just that you would need to specify a speed for that fact to be true. I.E. You need the facts to prove the fact.

0
kgoih

i think he was talking about mammals

0
Kairyuka

But I just can't picture a jumping turtle, can you?

0
Kdooogg.

You guys are annoying. stop wasting your time researching whether or not these facts are true. just be entertained and move on. get a life.

0
Chris Cim

Seriously, if you don't like something, just move on...

0
Mikerobe007

I can lick my elbow.

0
Skipper D

"I do" and "I go" are sentences as complete as "I am".

1
Le Merde

The shortest sentence in the English language is the command "Go."  The subject is understood.

1
remowill

Ha Ha Ha! This is funny. Do you believe everything you read? Do you believe Saddam Hussein had WMD's?

Does a bear crap in the woods?




0
Randi Giles

I can lick my elbow!

0
sn00py

it's Kabishikigaisha not Kabushibibaisha for "fact" #1, which means corporation or incorporated.

0
Some Jim Dude

This is laughable. So much is untrue here it's downright funny.


Aside from those facts who's sole reference is "it is common knowledge" or "it is a widely known fact", some are plain wrong. Commonly known facts are most of the times wrong.

Must I point out that it was a commonly known fact that Earth was flat?

Let's see.


13 By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can't sink in quicksand.
You can't sink in quicksand period. It's more dense. Attempting to float horizontally helps but is not necessary.


14 Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.

They block nothing in mosquitoes. They mask the CO2 emissions. Mosquitoes bite as close as 4 cm away from they sprayed areas.


15 Dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
Dentists recommend you keep the brushes in another room. Distance has little bearing. Not that it matters, though.


28 It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

No it's not.


44 Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
I dare you to prove that.


48 A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a Few weeks.

Ahem. First, you don't die from lack of sleep. Lacking in time in which the brain resets and processes the experiences from the day and makes the decisions it postponed will not kill you, rather, the -say- gunk adds up and it starts malfunctioning.

An experiment carried (famously) by a radio talk show operator showed that after about 10 days changes to the person's behavior became permanent. The close relatives testify that he never fully recovered and that he seemed constantly stressed, upset, and overall different. His wife left him shortly after that.


Additionally, it doesn't take "weeks" to die from hunger. Some people have better reserves, other have little. Days vary from 7-10 to 60.


49 Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

You wish. Onions spray a chemical when the cells are ruptured. That spray gets into your eyes and irritate it. If you wish to not cry, some of the following will do: Use a rag over the onion (stops the spray), use glasses, cut under water, etc. Anything that stops spray will do.


54 "I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language
"Go".


65 Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood we have only 206 in our Bodies.

270. 64 fuse to others.


71 Wearing headphones for an hour increases the bacteria in your ear 700 times.

700%, not 700 times. 7 times. And it's relative.


82 People say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.
Dear God no.


83 It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

They have a limited motion. That is not to say they can't look up, especially considering that they don't live in front of a computer. In open fields, they sky starts at 0 degrees (horizon). They can see the sky just fine. They can also see it if they are on a hill or climb a box. Be clear about it. Also, limited motion is not the same with no motion.


84 The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language.
Subjective at bests. "Said to be"?


88-90 If a statue of a person in the park on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.

Myths, misconceptions and hearsay. Not facts.

91 Question - This is the only food that doesn't spoil. What is this? Ans. - Honey

Honey spoils just fine with humidity, bacteria, etc. It's sugary. Ever hear anyone to never put the spoon in the honey after you had it in your mouth? You carry the bacteria over.

Additionally, with proper storage, other foods carry on just fine. Not forever, but then again neither does honey.


94 All polar bears are left handed.

Where do you get this stuff? Any dirt on werewolves, too?


97 Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

Plenty others.


99 On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.

On average, you do to statistics what Caligula did to his sisters.


100 Shakespeare invented the word 'assassination' and 'bump'.

"Invented" and "first documented usage" are different things.


101 Stewardesses is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

I can type whatever I want with my left hand.


108 And finally 99% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.

A fitting end to this jest.


People, if you want fun facts, go some place else. At the very least, never repeat this to anyone else, lest you make these jokes "well known facts".


There are sites like Snopes, The Straight Dope and many others that actually filter the gunk out. If you are going to lose time reading, at least expose yourself to facts.


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