101 Weird Facts You Won’t Believe Are True
They say truth is stranger than fiction, and after reading the facts below, you’ll be hard-pressed to disagree. Everybody likes to believe what they read, but sometimes it seems too strange. That’s what makes reading about weird faces so fun. Not only do you get to learn some amazing facts, but you’ll have knowledge most people won’t. This will give you the edge the next time you’re at a quiz night or gathering with friends where you can showcase your brain power.
The random facts collected below cover a variety of topics and have been gathered together under different categories. There are facts about nature, sport, geography, the entertainment world, and more. Some you might know, but most will be weird facts you won’t believe are true.
So here are 101 weird facts sure to provide plenty of conversation at your next dinner party.
Weird Facts About General Knowledge
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These interesting facts cover a range of subjects that don’t always fit easily under one category. They cover everything from the English language and buildings to World Wars and LEGO bridges. You are sure to learn something new reading these weird general knowledge facts.
1. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the English dictionary.
It’s an English word that is used to describe “a lung disease caused by inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust.”
2. Dueling is legal in Paraguay.
It’s only legal if both parties are registered blood and organ donors.
3. The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer.
This is due to thermal expansion when the iron heats up.
4. Walt Disney has three college degrees but never went to college.
Due to his accomplishments, Walt Disney received three honorary degrees during his lifetime. Also, his head isn’t cryogenically frozen. That’s a myth.
5. Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day.
The average heart rate is 80 bpm.
6. The largest padlock in the world weighs 916 pounds.
It was constructed by students and teachers at the Pavlovo Arts College in Russia and measures 56.8 inches tall, 41.3 inches wide, and 10.2 inches deep.
7. George Washington’s first job was as a surveyor.
He went on a surveyor’s trip at the age of 16.
8. More than 800 languages are spoken in New York City.
This makes it the linguistically most diverse state in the United States.
9. During the Revolutionary War, more battles were fought in New Jersey than in any other state.
These include the Battle of Fort Lee, the Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of the Assunpink Creek.
10. Willis Tower is home to the highest public viewing area in the United States.
The Skydeck is a whopping 1,353 feet above the ground.
11. The fuller the fridge, the more energy-efficient it is.
This is based on the theory that when there is less room, when the fridge door is opened, less cold air is let out, meaning the fridge doesn’t have to work as hard to get back to its optimum temperature.
12. Umbrellas were once only used by women.
Often used to shield the sun or as an accessory, it wasn’t until the mid-18th century that men started using umbrellas to stop getting wet when it rained. Philanthropist Jonas Hanway is cited as one of the first men to use an umbrella in public.
13. An average of 340 people get married in Las Vegas every single day.
The entire wedding industry in Vegas is worth $2 billion.
14. One-quarter of all your bones are located in your feet.
There are 26 bones in each foot, which is a total of 52 bones in both feet. Considering there are only 206 bones in the body in total, that means the feet contain 25% of the body’s bones.
15. A cat once served as mayor of an Alaskan town.
In 1997, Stubbs the cat became honorary mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna. He was known to greet tourists and remained in office until his death in 2017.
16. There’s a LEGO bridge in Germany that you can walk across.
While it appears to be made of LEGO, it is actually made of concrete. Street artist Martin Heuwold turned it into a LEGO bridge with his remarkable painting skills.
17. Fredric Baur, the man who created Pringles, is buried in a Pringles can.
His ashes were placed in a Pringles can after his death at age 89. Speaking about this with Time, his son Larry said, “My siblings and I briefly debated what flavor to use. But I said, ‘Look, we need to use the original.’”
18. The Queen owns all the swans in England.
British law states that any unclaimed swan swimming in open waters belongs to the Queen. Bonus fact: every year during the third week of July, all the swans in the River Thames are counted for the Queen. Why? Some centuries-old tradition.
19. Sumo wrestlers try to make babies cry for good luck.
If a baby sees a sumo wrestler and begins shedding a few tears, it is seen as good luck. It’s believed they will live a long and healthy life.
20. A meteor with the force of ten atomic bombs exploded over the earth.
Scientists didn’t discover this had happened until after the meteor hit the earth’s atmosphere due to it occurring in an area over the Bering Sea that isn’t on any commercial airline’s flight paths.
Weird Facts About Science
Science is a fascinating subject and there are many weird and wonderful facts that will have you shaking your head in amazement. We’ve collected a few below.
21. Mahatma Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Prize five times.
But he never won one.
22. Black holes are not actually black.
They appear this way due to the particle horizons and light being unable to escape.
23. Your stomach can dissolve razor blades.
But it’s not advisable to eat razor blades.
24. The biggest volcano in our solar system is actually found on Mars.
It’s called Olympus Mons and is three times larger than Mount Everest.
25. The human brain has shrunk over the last 10,000 years.
Not because we are getting dumber (although that’s debatable), but because the human body is smaller.
26. Saturn would float on water.
The second-largest planet in the solar system is mainly made up of gas, so would float if placed in a body of water.
27. A cloud can weigh around one million pounds.
That’s about as heavy as the world’s largest jet.
28. Plastic bottles can be used as vanilla flavoring.
Researchers have safely discovered how to use plastic bottles to create the flavor.
29. The average human grows around 600 miles worth of hair in their lifetime.
That’s equivalent to about 428.4 inches per strand of hair.
30. Adolf Hitler was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Thankfully his nomination was withdrawn.
Weird Facts About the Planet
Planet earth is incredible. There is so much we still don’t know about the world we live in. What we humans do know is often mind-bending and will leave you scratching your head.
31. Australia is wider than the moon.
It’s bigger than you might think down under.
32. There is a town called Calama that has never experienced rain.
It is found in the Atacama desert of Chile.
33. The earth used to be purple.
This random fact is supported by science.
34. The oceans hold $771 trillion worth of gold.
If you’ve ever wanted to get rich, searching for gold in the ocean might be your best bet.
35. There are 12 times more trees on earth than stars in the Milky Way.
There are an estimated 200-400 billion stars in our galaxy and around 1 trillion trees on earth.
36. The Sahara desert was once a thick forest.
National Geographic said that just 6,000 years ago the area was all forest. This is backed up by science, with reports suggesting this will occur again in around 23,000 years.
37. The hottest place on earth is Death Valley in California.
It recorded temperatures of 134 degrees Fahrenheit in July 1913.
38. The Pacific Ocean is the deepest place on earth.
The Mariana Trench measures 35,813 feet below sea level.
39. A magnitude 12 earthquake would split the earth in half.
Let’s hope it never happens.
40. Nobody knows who named the planet “Earth.”
It comes from Old English and High German and is the only planet not named after a Greek or Roman god.
Weird Facts About the Entertainment World
Who doesn’t love pop culture, celebrities, and the entertainment world? This section covers movies, music, TV shows, celebrities, and everything in between.
41. Alfred Hitchcock was frightened of eggs.
It is known as ovaphobia.
42. The Terminatorsold for $1.
To ensure he could direct the movie, James Cameron sold the rights to The Terminator for a buck. He now regrets that decision.
43. Rod Stewart played the largest free rock concert.
This occurred on New Year’s Eve at a concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1993. It’s even in the Guinness World Book of Records.
44. Jay-Z is the first rapper to become a billionaire.
This is thanks to his numerous business ventures, property portfolio, and musical output.
45. Chuck Norris’s first name is Carlos.
He picked up the nickname Chuck while working as an Air Policeman (AP) at Osan Air Base, South Korea.
46. The Human Torch was the first Marvel superhero ever created.
The comic was released in 1939, two years before Captain America got his first comic, who is the character many people believe to be the first Marvel superhero.
47. There is an album that was recorded entirely in space.
Space Sessions: Songs for a Tin Can contains 11 songs and was recorded by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield while in space.
48. Each Adventure Time episode has a hidden snail waving in the background.
The snail is often interacting with characters or hidden in the background.
49. The longest movie in the world runs 35 days.
The experimental film follows the journey of manufacturing to sales of a pedometer, but in reverse order. It goes for 51,420 minutes (857 hours or 35 days and 17 hours) as it is shot in real-time.
50. Katharine Hepburn won the most Academy Awards for acting.
She won four Oscars for Best Actress in the movies Morning Glory, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, The Lion in Winter, and On Golden Pond.
51. A single violin is made from over 70 individual pieces of wood.
It’s no wonder they are so expensive to buy.
52. In 2016, Mozart sold more CDs than Beyonce.
How you might ask? Well in October 2016 Universal Music Group released a box set commemorating the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death. Each box contained 200 CDS, and with each individual CD being counted as a sale, it smashed any streaming competition.
53. Yoda’s original name in Star Wars was Buffy.
Thankfully George Lucas didn’t stick with the name of the famous vampire hunter.
54. Prince played 27 instruments on his debut album For You.
Only 20 at the time, Prince not only sang on the album but played instruments including the electric guitar, bass, bongos, wind chimes, and synths.
55. The Oscars given out in World War II were made from wood.
This was due to metal being so scarce.
56. Finland has the most metal bands per capita.
Apparently, there are 53.5 metal bands per 100,000 people.
57. Celebrities have to pay to have their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
It costs a cool $30,000 for the honor.
58. Oscar the Grouch used to be orange.
During the first season of Sesame Street, the trash living furball was orange. While initially drawn as purple, he was orange before turning green in season two.
59. The blinking light atop the Capitol Records Tower spells out the word “Hollywood” in Morse code.
It has done so since the building’s opening in 1956.
60. Michael Jackson once tried to buy Marvel comics.
The story was revealed by Stan Lee in a 2012 interview. Jackson was a big fan of Spider-Man.
Weird Facts About Animals
Everybody loves animal facts. These are some of the weirdest and strangest you will ever read.
61. Flamingos bend their legs at the ankle, not the knee.
They are basically standing on their tiptoes.
62. Rats laugh when you tickle them.
Studies found these rodents let out a high-pitched squeal when being tickled.
63. Sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins can.
They can go 40 minutes without breathing.
64. Arizona forbids camel hunting.
Leave the poor camels alone.
65. Octopuses have three hearts.
One pumps blood and the other two are just for the gills.
66. Cows kill more people than sharks.
Sharks kill an average of five people per year and cows kill an average of 22.
67. Lobsters taste with their feet.
They have bristles that are equivalent to human taste buds.
68. Owls don’t have eyeballs.
They are more like eye tubes. This is why owls have very flexible necks.
69. Goats have different accents.
Need proof? Listen here.
70. Armadillos are bulletproof.
The evidence? This guy who shot at one and suffered a bullet to the face after it ricocheted off the armadillo’s body.
71. Otters “hold hands” while sleeping, so they don’t float away from each other.
True love does exist.
72. Baby elephants suck their trunks for comfort.
Just like human infants suck their thumbs.
73. A panda poos around 40 times a day.
This is because they spend most of their day eating and need to continually pass the waste in their stomachs.
74. Hummingbirds are the only known birds that can also fly backward.
They do so after feeding on flowers.
75. The Mayfly has the shortest lifespan of any creature.
It lives for just 24 hours.
76. Cockroaches can live for several weeks after having their head chopped off.
If that’s not weird enough, their decapitated heads can also survive for several hours.
77. Lungfish are the only fish that have both lungs and gills.
This enables them to survive if the lake or pond they are in dries up.
78. Horned lizards shoot blood out of their eyes.
This is a defense mechanism to scare predators.
79. The wood frog spends 7 months of the year frozen.
They do this to survive the winter months. Their heart stops beating and their blood stops flowing as two-thirds of the water in their body turns to ice.
80. There is an estimated 8.7 million species on earth.
More than 80% of them are undiscovered.
Weird Facts About Food and Drink
Who doesn’t love eating and drinking? These weird facts will make you think while enjoying your favorite snack or beverage.
81. Froot Loops loops are all the same flavor.
Despite being different colors, they all taste the same.
82. The average number of licks to finish a scoop of ice cream is 50.
Fun fact: the most popular flavor is vanilla.
83. Cotton candy was invented by a dentist.
You couldn’t make this up. Dentist William Morrison joined with confectioner John C. Wharton to invent a candy-making machine in 1897. The candy was known as fairy floss. Then another dentist, Josef Lascaux, updated the machine and came up with cotton candy.
84. Americans consume over 2 billion cookies a year.
That’s 300 cookies per person and roughly 35,000 over a person’s lifetime.
85. Pineapples take two years to grow.
Yep. Two years.
86. Broccoli contains more protein than steak.
Next time you’re at the pub, ask for a big plate of broccoli.
87. You can’t drink alcohol in British Parliament unless you are the chancellor delivering the annual budget statement.
No wonder everyone wants to be chancellor.
88. McDonald’s fries were cooked in beef fat until 1990.
They are now cooked in vegetable oil as it’s “healthier.”
89. There are approximately 49 million bubbles in a bottle of champagne.
That’s why it’s called bubbly.
90. Peppers have more vitamin C than oranges.
About two or three times more in fact.
Weird Facts About Sport
These are some weird and random facts about a variety of sports and athletes.
91. There are 366 dimples on a regulation golf ball.
These help the ball travel faster.
92. More than 100 children are conceived annually at the Super Bowl parking lot during tailgate parties.
This is what happens when you mix sport with booze.
93. A baseball has exactly 108 stitches.
The first and last stitches are completely hidden.
94. Babe Ruth is the only baseball player in history to have the last name Ruth.
There have been several named Babe though.
95. Pittsburgh is the only city where all the major sports teams (MLB, NHL, NFL) have the same colors: Black and gold.
Clearly the inspiration for Wiz Khalifa’s hit song Black and Yellow.
96. Kite flying is a professional sport in Thailand.
It even appeared at the 1900 Summer Olympic Games.
97. Golf is the only sport to be played on the moon.
Alan Shepard hit a few balls on the surface back in 1971.
98. Major League Baseball umpires are required to wear black underwear while on the job in case they split their pants.
This actually makes a lot of sense. Nobody wants to see more than they have to.
99. Japan is home to the world’s largest bowling alley.
It opened in 1972 and consists of 116 lanes.
100. Pele is the only footballer to win three World Cups.
His Brazillian team won in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
101. Shaquille O’Neal attempted just 22 three-pointers during his entire career.
Only one was successful.
