A child's skull prepared for teaching, with the outer bone cut away to show the adult teeth waiting above and below the milk teeth. The full fact is explained under number 18.
Can you breathe and swallow at the same time? No, and there is a good reason why. This collection gathers 81 short "did you know" facts that first circulated as picture cards on Bored Panda, covering the human body, animals, history, space, food and language. Each one can change how you look at something ordinary, from a jar of honey to a pineapple field.
Viral fact lists have a weakness: many are half true, out of date or quietly exaggerated. So under every card we explain the science or history behind it and, where needed, correct it. You will see a few familiar favourites fall apart. Honey really does keep for a very long time, for example, but the famous edible honey from Egyptian tombs turns out to be a myth. Cleopatra and the iPhone, on the other hand, survive the check easily. The facts are grouped by theme, and the small credit line under each picture links to the sources the card originally cited.
Your body is stranger than you think
78. You cannot breathe and swallow at once
This one is true. When you swallow, a flap called the epiglottis folds over the entrance to the windpipe and breathing pauses for a fraction of a second, so food and drink go down the oesophagus instead of into the lungs. When that timing fails, you cough or choke, which is why talking while eating can go wrong.
Fact and photo sources: Discover , M I S C H E L L E
80. Humming with your nose pinched
Humming pushes air out through the nose with the mouth closed, so if you pinch your nose shut the air has nowhere to go. You can manage a brief sound until the pressure builds, but you cannot sustain a hum. Try it, and you will feel your cheeks puff up.
18. A child's skull before the milk teeth fall out
Children have 20 milk teeth, but the adult teeth are already forming inside the jawbone behind them. In a prepared skull with the bone cut away, the two sets look crowded and slightly alarming. As the permanent teeth move up, they dissolve the roots of the baby teeth, which is why milk teeth wobble and fall out.
Fact and photo sources: ShesGotSauce
28. How much DNA do we share with bananas?
This card oversimplifies. Researchers have found that roughly 60 percent of human genes have a recognisable counterpart in the banana genome, a sign that all living things share ancient basic machinery for cells. That is not the same as our total DNA being 60 percent identical; the proteins those matching genes produce are far less similar on average.
Fact and photo sources: National Human Genome Research Institute , Schreib-Engel
30. Gold in a baby's hair
Human hair contains tiny traces of many metals, including gold, because they circulate in the body in minute amounts from food and the environment. Hair analysis studies have measured such traces, but the amounts are vanishingly small and are not special to newborns. The photo shows a baby famous online for his unusually thick head of hair.
Fact and photo sources: The National Center for Biotechnology Information , David Hill
31. The Pac-Man sound in your ear
Many people say scratching gently inside the ear canal makes a fast, chirping sound reminiscent of the Pac-Man video game. There is no study behind this one, so treat it as a playful observation rather than a fact. Doctors do advise against pushing fingers or cotton buds deep into the ear.
34. Medical error and US deaths
This claim comes from a 2016 analysis in the BMJ by Martin Makary and Michael Daniel, who estimated that more than 250,000 deaths a year in the US involved medical error, which would rank third after heart disease and cancer. Other researchers have argued that the figure is too high because many of those patients were already very ill. The safe takeaway is that preventable errors are a serious problem, and the exact ranking is disputed.
Fact and photo sources: bmj , DarkoStojanovic
46. Eye floaters
The drifting specks and threads you sometimes see against a bright sky are called floaters. They are tiny clumps of collagen in the gel that fills the eyeball, and you see their shadows on the retina. Most are harmless, but a sudden shower of new floaters or flashes of light should be checked by a doctor promptly.
Fact and photo sources: TED-Ed
47. Memories change each time you recall them
A 2012 study by Donna Bridge and Ken Paller at Northwestern University found that recalling an object's location could shift people's later memory of it. This fits a wider body of research showing that memories are rebuilt each time they are retrieved. It does not mean everything you remember is false, but it explains why confident memories can still be wrong.
Fact and photo sources: medicalxpress , Alexas_Fotos
64. Enough iron for a small nail
An adult body contains roughly 3 to 5 grams of iron, mostly in the haemoglobin of red blood cells, which carries oxygen. That is about the weight of a small iron nail, so the comparison is fair. It is also why iron deficiency quickly causes tiredness and shortness of breath.
Fact and photo sources: Indiana University , HimanshuRanpara
74. The bright dots in a blue sky
Look at a clear blue sky and you may see tiny bright dots darting along wavy paths. This is the blue field entoptic phenomenon, also called Scheerer's phenomenon: the dots are white blood cells moving through the small vessels in front of your retina. They speed up slightly with each heartbeat.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia
75. Babies "cry" before they are born
Ultrasound studies have recorded third-trimester babies making crying-like movements, with an open mouth, trembling chin and changes in breathing motions, in response to sound or vibration. Without air there is no actual sound, so researchers describe it as crying behaviour rather than crying. It seems to be part of normal development.
Fact and photo sources: FirstSmile , TawnyNina
81. "Self-digesting" breast tissue after weaning
After breastfeeding ends, the milk-producing cells in the breast are no longer needed and many of them die off in a process called involution. A 2016 study reported by New Scientist found that some of these cells break down their own contents with enzymes, which is the "eating themselves" in the headline. It is a normal process; anyone with a breast change that worries them should talk to a doctor.
Fact and photo sources: newscientist , Foundry
Animals that surprise even biologists
1. Swiss rules for guinea pigs
Switzerland's animal welfare ordinance requires that social species such as guinea pigs be kept with at least one companion of their own kind, so keeping a single guinea pig is not allowed. The rule reflects research showing that isolated social animals show more signs of stress. A small business even offered "rent-a-guinea pig" companions for when one partner dies.
Fact and photo sources: abc , fuzzberta
3. Animal cruelty in FBI crime data
From January 2016, the FBI began collecting detailed data on animal cruelty through its National Incident-Based Reporting System, placing it among serious crimes against society. Supporters pushed for the change partly because research links animal abuse with other violent offending. The data helps police and researchers see patterns that used to be invisible.
Fact and photo sources: FBI , FuN_Lucky
6. Owls and their "pet" snakes
Eastern screech owls in Texas bring live blind snakes back to their nests. A 1980 study by Frederick Gehlbach and Robert Baldridge found that the small snakes survive in the nest and eat insect larvae that would otherwise compete with or bother the chicks, and nests with snakes produced faster-growing young. "Pet" is a stretch, but "useful housemate" is fair.
Fact and photo sources: F. R. Gehlbach & R. S. Baldridge , rihaij
12. Dolphin mothers and their calves' names
Bottlenose dolphins each have a signature whistle that works a little like a name. A study reported by Live Science found that mothers whistled their own signature far more in the weeks before and after giving birth, possibly helping the calf learn it. Whether the calf hears this in the womb is not proven, so "singing to babies in the womb" is a playful reading of the evidence.
Fact and photo sources: livescience , VictorMelba
15. Pandas marking trees with a handstand
Male giant pandas mark their territory with urine and scent, and some do it from a handstand so the mark lands higher on a tree. Researchers think a higher mark may signal a bigger, more competitive male. The photo shows a cub; the handstand behaviour is typical of adult males.
Fact and photo sources: JohnDownerProd , Karl Drilling
16. Why your dog stares while pooping
Many owners notice this, and vets often explain it as vigilance: a dog in that position cannot run or defend itself, so it looks to its trusted companion. There is no formal study, but the explanation fits what we know of dog behaviour. It is not usually a sign of a problem.
Fact and photo sources: iheartdogs , PaelmerPhotoArts
24. Snails crossing a razor blade
A snail's foot glides on a layer of mucus that spreads its weight, cushions the skin and lets it move over sharp edges without being cut. Wildlife film makers have filmed snails crossing knife edges unharmed. Do not test it on your garden snails; the mucus helps, but it is not armour.
Fact and photo sources: sciencechannel , Steve Downer-Wildlife Cameraman
33. The elephant's remarkable trunk
The often-quoted figure of 40,000 muscles comes from older sources such as the Library of Congress. Recent studies count up to 150,000 separate muscle bundles, called fascicles, in the trunk, which has no bone at all. Humans have roughly 600 named muscles, so the comparison holds either way.
Fact and photo sources: The Library of Congress , kikatani
37. Who leads a lemur troop?
This card gets it wrong. Ring-tailed lemur groups are led by dominant females, not by the smelliest animal. Males do hold "stink fights", wiping scent from their wrist glands onto their tails and waving them at rivals, but that is competition among males for rank, not leadership of the group.
Fact and photo sources: National Geographic , Photography-Course-Leice
38. Turtles that breathe through their rear
This applies to some species, not all turtles. Australia's Fitzroy River turtle and a few others can absorb oxygen through the lining of the cloaca, which lets them stay underwater for long periods. Separately, a 2012 study found that the Chinese soft-shelled turtle gets rid of much of its urea through its mouth.
Fact and photo sources: Journal of Herpetology , tpsdave
39. Dolphins on the telephone
In an experiment at a Hawaiian aquarium, two bottlenose dolphins in separate tanks were linked by an underwater audio connection and exchanged whistles, apparently recognising each other. National Geographic Kids described it as dolphins chatting on the phone. It is a lovely illustration of how individual dolphin voices are.
Fact and photo sources: National Geographic , AJRPROJ
40. Rainbow wasp nests
Paper wasps build nests from chewed wood fibre mixed with saliva. When Italian researcher Mattia Menchetti gave captive wasps coloured paper, they built striped nests in matching colours. The experiment shows how the insects use whatever fibre is nearby.
Fact and photo sources: Mattia Menchetti
41. Do opossums protect us from Lyme disease?
Probably not as much as the internet says. A 2009 lab study suggested opossums groom off and eat thousands of ticks, which inspired the "5,000 ticks a season" claim. But a 2021 study of wild opossums in Illinois found no ticks in their stomachs, so their role in controlling Lyme disease is now doubtful.
Fact and photo sources: National Wildlife Federation , Stan Tekiel
44. Frigatebirds that fly for months
A study published in Science in 2016 tracked great frigatebirds over the Indian Ocean and found they can stay aloft for up to about two months without landing. They ride rising air under clouds to save energy and take very short naps in flight, sometimes with one half of the brain asleep at a time. Their feathers are not waterproof, so landing on the sea is not an option.
Fact and photo sources: Christopher Joyce , Peter Wilton
53. The Silkie chicken's black skin and bones
Silkies carry a rare mutation called fibromelanosis that spreads dark pigment into the skin, connective tissue and bones, and the meat is greyish-black. "Entirely black organs" is an overstatement, but the effect is striking. In Chinese cooking, Silkie soup has been valued as a restorative food for centuries.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , wikiimages
54. Crocodiles that climb trees
A 2014 paper in Herpetology Notes by Vladimir Dinets and colleagues documented several crocodile species climbing trees and basking on branches, sometimes several metres up. Smaller, younger animals climb most often. It may help them warm up or watch for danger.
Fact and photo sources: Herpetology Notes , Guillaume Blanchard
58. Trees that "taste" deer
Researchers at Leipzig University found in 2016 that when a roe deer bites off a beech or maple bud, the tree detects proteins in the saliva and boosts defensive chemicals and growth hormones. A broken twig without saliva triggered a weaker response. It is a striking example of plants recognising a specific threat.
Fact and photo sources: phys.org , LubosHouska
60. How many mosquitoes to drain you?
An adult has about 5 litres of blood, and a single mosquito takes only a few millionths of a litre. Discover magazine estimated that it would take around 1.2 million bites to drain a person, which is a fun calculation rather than a real risk. The true danger from mosquitoes is the diseases they spread, such as malaria and dengue.
Fact and photo sources: Discover , nuzree
65. Polar bears are not really white
Polar bear fur hairs are transparent and hollow, and they look white because they scatter visible light, much as snow does. Underneath, the bear's skin is black. Older claims that the hairs act like fibre-optic cables sending light to the skin have been tested and rejected.
Fact and photo sources: The Library of Congress , skeeze
71. Wombats produce cube-shaped droppings
True, and one of the oddest facts in biology. Wombats deposit 80 to 100 small cubes a night, often on rocks and logs, to mark territory. Patricia Yang and David Hu won an Ig Nobel Prize in 2019 for showing that uneven stiffness in the intestine wall shapes the corners.
Fact and photo sources: Animal Wire
76. Penguin colonies seen from space
In 2012 the British Antarctic Survey counted emperor penguins using satellite images, spotting colonies by the brown guano stains on the ice. The census found roughly twice as many emperor penguins as previously thought. The method is now used to track colonies affected by melting sea ice.
Fact and photo sources: Discover , MemoryCatcher
History that does not fit the timeline in your head
9. Cleopatra, the pyramids and the iPhone
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2560 BC, while Cleopatra died in 30 BC. That means about 2,500 years separate her from the pyramid, and only about 2,040 from the first iPhone in 2007. Ancient Egypt lasted so long that its own later rulers saw the pyramids as ancient monuments.
Fact and photo sources: NASA , Frederick Arthur Bridgman
21. Mammoths and the pyramids
Most woolly mammoths vanished around 10,000 years ago, but a small population survived on Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean until about 4,000 years ago, roughly 2000 BC. The Great Pyramid was finished centuries before that. So mammoths did still exist, on one remote island, while Egyptian pharaohs ruled.
Fact and photo sources: Ethan Aines , NadineDoerle
14. Cambridge and the Aztecs
The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209, and Oxford even earlier, with teaching there by 1096. The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325, and the Triple Alliance that formed the Aztec Empire dates from 1428. The photo shows a college court in Cambridge.
Fact and photo sources: Smithsonian Magazine , Unsplash
20. Star Wars and the guillotine
Star Wars opened in May 1977. France's last execution by guillotine took place on 10 September 1977, when Hamida Djandoubi was executed in Marseille, and France abolished the death penalty in 1981. The painting shows an execution during the French Revolution.
Fact and photo sources: Martin Avery , wikiImage
22. The truth behind "The Kiss"
Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed a sailor kissing a woman in white in Times Square on 14 August 1945, the day Japan's surrender was announced. The woman was later identified as Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant, and the sailor as George Mendonsa, although that identification has been disputed. They were strangers, and Friedman said in later interviews that she had not chosen to be kissed.
Fact and photo sources: Greta Friedman , Alfred Eisenstaedt
23. The last person born in the 1800s
When this card appeared, Italy's Emma Morano, born on 29 November 1899, was the last living person verified to have been born in the 19th century. She died on 15 April 2017 at the age of 117, so the fact is now out of date. Nobody alive today was born in the 1800s.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia
25. One of history's most powerful pirates
Zheng Yi Sao, also known as Ching Shih, commanded a vast pirate confederation in the South China Sea in the early 1800s, with hundreds of junks and tens of thousands of sailors. Some accounts say she worked in a floating brothel in Canton before marrying the pirate Zheng Yi, but historians note the evidence for this is thin. She negotiated a pardon in 1810, kept her fortune and died in 1844.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , wikiImages
27. Shakespeare and Pocahontas
William Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616, and Pocahontas from about 1596 to 1617. She even travelled to England in 1616, the year of Shakespeare's death, though there is no evidence they met. Their overlapping lives are a reminder that the English colonisation of America began during Shakespeare's career.
Fact and photo sources: BBC , WikiImages
29. Pompeii's healthy teeth
In 2015 Italian researchers CT-scanned plaster casts of victims of the AD 79 eruption and reported that many had nearly perfect teeth. They linked this to a diet low in sugar and to fluorine in the local water. "Perfect" is too strong: Romans did suffer tooth decay, and they cleaned their teeth with powders and twigs rather than having no care at all.
Fact and photo sources: Smithsonian Magazine , brainburger
13. The graffiti of Pompeii
The ash of Vesuvius preserved thousands of messages scratched on Pompeii's walls: names, election slogans, insults, love notes and boasts. Many read like modern bathroom walls, from "Gaius was here" to rude remarks about neighbours. They are a priceless record of how ordinary Romans wrote and joked.
Fact and photo sources: pompeiana , pcdazero
32. Columbus and slavery
Norse sailors reached North America around the year 1000, about 500 years before Columbus, so he was not the first European to arrive. In 1495 Columbus rounded up about 1,500 Taíno people on Hispaniola and shipped around 500 to Spain as slaves, many of whom died on the way. Calling him the first to introduce transatlantic slavery is a simplification, but he did begin the enslavement of Indigenous Caribbean people.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , Metropolitan Museum of Art
35. Hired "ornamental hermits"
In 18th-century England some wealthy landowners built hermitages in their gardens and paid men to live there as hermits, sometimes asking them not to cut their hair or nails. Visitors came to see them as part of the picturesque landscape. Historians say many of these posts were short-lived, and some estates used dummies instead.
Fact and photo sources: atlasobscura , aitoff
36. How the Mona Lisa became world-famous
Leonardo's portrait was admired by art lovers before 1911, but it was not a household name. On 21 August 1911 Louvre worker Vincenzo Peruggia stole it, and newspapers around the world covered the theft. When it was recovered in Florence in 1913 and returned to Paris in January 1914, it had become the most famous painting on Earth.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , WikiImages
48. King Charles and Vlad the Impaler
In 2011 Prince Charles, now King Charles III, said that genealogy showed he was distantly descended from Vlad III of Wallachia, the 15th-century ruler known as Vlad the Impaler, through his great-grandmother Queen Mary. Vlad inspired the name of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The photo shows Bela Lugosi in the 1931 film, not the historical prince.
Fact and photo sources: cbs
61. The Battle of Hastings, fought at Battle
The battle of 14 October 1066 took place about 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Hastings. The card's explanation is backwards, though: the town of Battle did not exist yet. William the Conqueror founded Battle Abbey on the site to commemorate his victory, and the town that grew around it took its name from the battle.
Fact and photo sources: C. N. Trueman , DariuszSankowski
70. Why fridge doors use magnets
Old refrigerators closed with latches that could only be opened from outside, and children playing hide and seek suffocated inside discarded ones. The US Refrigerator Safety Act of 1956 required doors that can be pushed open from inside, which led manufacturers to adopt magnetic seals. Abandoned fridges should still have their doors removed.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , Christina Hendricks
Space, Earth and big numbers
4. Curiosity's birthday song
On 6 August 2013, one Earth year after landing, NASA's Curiosity rover played "Happy Birthday" on Mars by vibrating its sample-analysis instrument at different frequencies. This happened once, not every year. Engineers did not repeat it, so the image of a lonely robot singing every year is sweet but inaccurate.
Fact and photo sources: NASA Goddard , Ben Harrington
5. Dinosaur water in your glass
Earth has recycled roughly the same water for billions of years through evaporation, rain and living bodies. Because a single glass contains about 1025 molecules, the odds that at least one passed through a dinosaur are extremely high. The calculation depends on rough assumptions, but the principle is sound.
Fact and photo sources: bigparadox , condesign
8. Diamond rain on Saturn and Jupiter
In 2013 planetary scientists Kevin Baines and Mona Delitsky presented calculations suggesting that lightning storms could turn methane into soot, which might be squeezed into diamond as it falls through the atmosphere of Saturn and Jupiter. It is a hypothesis based on modelling, not an observation. Later lab experiments made similar "diamond rain" more plausible for Uranus and Neptune.
Fact and photo sources: BBC , James St. John
42. The Big Bang in old TV static
A small part of the snow on an untuned analogue TV, often estimated at around one percent, came from the cosmic microwave background, radiation left from about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Most of the static was local noise. Digital TVs no longer show this, so the trick is now part of history.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , Lindsey Turner
43. Hearing the temperature of water
Hot and cold water have slightly different viscosity, so they splash and bubble differently when poured. An NPR experiment found that most listeners could tell which was which by sound alone. Our brains pick up these subtle differences without us noticing.
Fact and photo sources: npr , AnnaER
52. More photos than the entire 1800s
In 2012 the photo site 1000memories estimated that people were taking more photos every two minutes than humanity took in the whole 19th century. Smartphone use has risen enormously since then, so the gap is even wider now. Estimates vary, but trillions of photos are now taken each year.
Fact and photo sources: theonlinephotographer , milivanily
55. July 2016 and the temperature record
When this card was made, NASA had ranked July 2016 as the hottest month in its record. The record has since been broken: July 2023 and July 2024 were both warmer. The trend the card hinted at has continued.
Fact and photo sources: NASA , Unsplash
57. New York is further south than Rome
New York City lies at about 40.7° north, Rome at about 41.9° north. Europe feels warmer than its latitude suggests because the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current carry warm water towards it. That is also why London is far milder than Calgary, which sits at a similar latitude.
Fact and photo sources: priceoftravel , mpewny
66. More card shuffles than atoms on Earth
A deck of 52 cards can be ordered in 52 factorial ways, roughly 8 × 1067. Earth contains around 1050 atoms. So a well-shuffled deck has almost certainly never been in that exact order before in history.
Fact and photo sources: TED-Ed , AKuptsova
77. Fold paper 42 times to reach the Moon
Mathematically this works: paper 0.1 mm thick doubled 42 times reaches about 440,000 km, more than the 384,400 km average distance to the Moon. Physically it is impossible, because each fold needs vastly more paper. The record is 12 folds, achieved by student Britney Gallivan in 2002 with a very long sheet.
Fact and photo sources: TED-Ed , kaboompics
79. 2002, 2016 and 2030
When the card was made in 2016, 2002 and 2030 were both 14 years away. The point is how quickly the recent past slips away. From today's vantage point, 2012 and 2040 are the equivalent pair.
Fact and photo sources: webandi
Food and plants
11. Honey that keeps for ages
Honey contains very little water, is acidic and produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, so microbes struggle to grow in it; sealed honey can last almost indefinitely. But the popular story that edible 3,000-year-old honey was found in Egyptian tombs does not hold up: reported cases turned out to be other substances or chemical traces. The oldest honey remains known come from Georgia, around 5,000 years old.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , ponce_photography
17. Glass Gem corn
Glass Gem is a real variety of popping corn with translucent, jewel-coloured kernels. It was developed by Carl Barnes, a part-Cherokee farmer in Oklahoma who collected and crossed heirloom corn varieties for decades. Seeds became widely available after photos went viral in 2012.
Fact and photo sources: Sciencealert , lizardom
26. How pineapples grow
Pineapples do not grow on trees. Each fruit sits on top of a low, spiky plant and takes around 18 months or more to mature, which is one reason they were once a luxury in Europe. A new plant can be grown from the leafy top of a shop-bought pineapple.
Fact and photo sources: prince470701
45. Bananas are berries, strawberries are not
In botany a berry is a fleshy fruit that develops from a single ovary, so bananas, tomatoes, grapes and even aubergines qualify. A strawberry's "seeds" are actually tiny individual fruits on a swollen stem, and a raspberry is a cluster of small fruits. Kitchen language and plant science simply use the word differently.
Fact and photo sources: Stanford Magazine , Couleur
63. The pineapple that eats you back
Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a group of enzymes that break down protein. That is why your tongue and lips can tingle after eating a lot of it; the enzymes are attacking the surface proteins. Your body quickly repairs the damage, and cooking or canning deactivates the enzyme.
Fact and photo sources: The University of Melbourne , Pexels
68. Poppy seeds under a microscope
Magnified, poppy seeds turn out to be kidney-shaped with a honeycomb pattern on their surface. Many seeds have similar hidden textures that help with water absorption or dispersal. Microscope photography often reveals this kind of structure in ordinary food.
Fact and photo sources: Microworld
72. Blood instead of eggs in baking
Animal blood is rich in proteins that set when heated, much as egg white does, so chefs have experimented with it as an egg substitute. Blood pancakes and puddings are traditional in parts of Scandinavia and Britain. It must be fresh and handled with strict food safety.
Fact and photo sources: organicauthority , Unsplash
Language, culture and everyday life
2. A village that plants 111 trees for every girl
In Piplantri, a village in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district, families plant 111 trees whenever a girl is born. The tradition was started in 2006 by former village head Shyam Sunder Paliwal in memory of his daughter Kiran. Villagers and parents also put money into a fixed deposit that the girl can use when she turns 18.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , piplantri
7. Slovakia, Slovenia and lost mail
Slovakia and Slovenia have similar names and similar flags, and they are often confused. Politico reported that staff at the two countries' embassies in some capitals met regularly to swap misaddressed mail. Their flags differ in the coat of arms: Slovakia's shows a double cross on three hills, Slovenia's the peak of Triglav.
Fact and photo sources: politico , jackmac34
10. Mario hits blocks with his fist
In the original Super Mario Bros. from 1985, Mario jumps with one fist raised, so he punches the blocks rather than head-butting them. The pixel art makes it easy to miss. Later games show it more clearly.
Fact and photo sources: reddit_top
19. Fireworks made from ashes
Some companies, including UK firm Heavens Above Fireworks, mix a small amount of cremated ashes into fireworks for memorial displays. Families use them for a celebration rather than a sombre ceremony. Local laws on scattering ashes and fireworks still apply.
Fact and photo sources: heavensabovefireworks , luisqb
49. Grammatical Will Smith sentences
"Will Will Smith smith?" asks whether the actor will work as a blacksmith, and "Will Smith will smith" answers that he will. English lets the same word act as a name, an auxiliary verb and a main verb. Linguists enjoy similar puzzles such as "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo".
Fact and photo sources: quora , Walmart Stores
50. Michael Jackson and Marvel
In a 2012 interview, Stan Lee said Michael Jackson had tried to buy Marvel in the 1990s because he believed it was the only way he could play Spider-Man. The deal never happened. The photo is an edited image, not a real shot of Jackson in costume.
Fact and photo sources: comicsalliance , Roger Murmann
51. The two-bar Snickers pack
The photo compares a single Snickers bar with a "2 to go" pack, whose two pieces look shorter than a full bar. Pack sizes vary by country and product line, so check the weight printed on the wrapper rather than the number of pieces. The card is a joke about "shrinkflation" more than a verified fact.
Fact and photo sources: Jon
56. The number that leads to heads in freezers
Searching 241543903 in an image search brings up photos of people with their heads in freezers. It began in 2009 as an internet art project by artist David Horvitz, who combined the barcodes from a pack of edamame and a bag of frozen peas. Anyone can join by posting a photo tagged with the number.
59. Barbie's full name
Mattel's official backstory gives Barbie's full name as Barbara Millicent Roberts, from the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin. Ruth Handler, who created the doll in 1959, named her after her daughter Barbara. Ken was named after Handler's son Kenneth.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , Alexas_Fotos
62. Triadic closure and making friends
Triadic closure is a sociology idea: if two people share a friend, they are more likely to become connected themselves. Social networks show this pattern strongly. It does not guarantee anyone will like you, but meeting through mutual friends really does raise the odds.
Fact and photo sources: wikipedia , Alexas_Fotos
67. A palindrome-style word joke
Read backwards letter by letter, "dog food lid" spells a crude phrase, which is why this card went viral. Words or phrases that form a different meaning in reverse are called semordnilaps, which is "palindromes" spelled backwards. Tamer examples include "stressed" and "desserts".
Fact and photo sources: suju
69. Bobby pins: wavy side down
Hairdressers commonly advise inserting a bobby pin with the ridged side facing the scalp, because the ridges grip the hair and the flat side lies neatly on top. It is styling advice rather than a fixed rule, but it does help pins stay in place.
Fact and photo sources: michellephan , efulop
73. The "butt" as a real unit
A butt was a real historical measure of volume for wine and beer casks. For wine it was usually 126 US gallons (about 477 litres), equal to two hogsheads. So "a butt load" has a respectable origin. The photo shows a classical stone sculpture.
Fact and photo sources: The Phrontistery , schaerfsystem
How to spot a shaky "fun fact"
Checking these 81 cards reveals some patterns worth knowing. Facts with a clear date and a number, like the guillotine in 1977 or Emma Morano's birth in 1899, are usually easy to verify, but they can expire. Facts about animal "feelings", such as dogs staring for protection, are often reasonable guesses rather than research results. And the most shareable facts, like edible pharaohs' honey or opossums wiping out Lyme disease, are the ones most likely to be exaggerated.
A few quick habits help. Ask who measured it and when. Look for the original study rather than the summary. Be wary of round, dramatic figures such as "100 percent" or "every year". And when a fact sounds too neat, check whether it applies to one species, one study or one place rather than to everything. The world is genuinely full of surprises, and the true versions are often even more interesting than the viral ones.
Sources: Bored Panda: original fact cards; Wikipedia: Honey; Wikipedia: Emma Morano; Wikipedia: Zheng Yi Sao; Wikipedia: V-J Day in Times Square; Wikipedia: Mona Lisa; Wikipedia: Christopher Columbus; Wikipedia: Curiosity rover; Wikipedia: Virginia opossum; Wikipedia: Woolly mammoth; Wikipedia: Battle, East Sussex; Wikipedia: Wombat; Wikipedia: Elephant trunk; Wikipedia: Silkie; Wikipedia: Refrigerator death; Wikipedia: Blue field entoptic phenomenon; Wikipedia: Piplantri; Smithsonian: Pompeii teeth; ComicsAlliance: Stan Lee on Michael Jackson.
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