40 Mind-Boggling Facts That Prove Truth Is Sometimes Stranger Than Fiction

It’s easy to forget what an odd place the world can sometimes be. But when you learn that one particular U.S. president was also a wrestling champion, that most power outages in America are caused by an unlikely culprit, and that a famous superstar sparked a chain reaction that ultimately led to the creation of Google Images, you’d have to agree that truth can actually be stranger than fiction sometimes. To prove that point, let’s take a look at these facts and more...

40. Dogs are outlawed in Antarctica

Dogs played a pivotal role during the early days of exploration in Antarctica. In addition to being man's best friend, they were also tasked with dragging people around the continent on sleds. In fact, huskies ensured that Roald Amundsen’s expedition became the first to ever make it to the South Pole in 1911. But fast-forward to the present day and you won’t see any dogs in Antarctica.

That’s because dogs were outlawed from Antarctica in 1993. It wasn't only for their own protection from the harsh climate, but to protect Antarctica's wildlife. Banning dogs from Antarctica prevented them from inadvertently infecting the indigenous seal population with foreign diseases.

39. Who's on the $100,000 bill?

What’s the biggest bill of U.S. currency you’ve ever seen? Given that the most valuable one circulated nowadays is $100, anything larger is a real rarity to stumble upon in your daily life. But over the years, some extremely large denominations have been issued. You might possibly have seen a $500 bill at some point in your life, but how about one worth $100,000?

For less than a month in the mid-1930s, such a note really was printed! It bore the face of President Woodrow Wilson. In case you were curious, the $500 bill featured President William McKinley, and the $1,000 bill showed President Grover Cleveland.

38. Napoleon was attacked by bunnies

After one particular military campaign had come to a successful conclusion, Napoleon Bonaparte felt like hunting some rabbits to celebrate. So, his subordinates gathered several hundred of the creatures – some even say thousands – and set them loose. But rather than fleeing the scene, the bunnies supposedly attacked.

A number of the furry beasts made their way towards Napoleon himself, climbing onto his body and scratching at him. Napoleon, the mighty military genius, was forced into an ignoble retreat.

37. All swans belong to the King

There’s an old law in Britain stating that all wild swans in England and Wales actually belong to the king or queen. Um... what? The bizarre ruling dates back to the medieval era, a time in which swans were considered a luxury. It’s still in place today, as is an annual tradition in which every swan on the River Thames is counted. The monarch is then informed of the tally.

So King Charles III can now add "Swan Keeper" — the official name given to the monarch — to his resume. And as Swan Keeper, he's allowed to give swans as gifts to whomever he wishes.

36. There's an insect named after Beyoncé

Beyoncé is famous for a lot of things, but she isn’t usually associated with taxonomy. Yet it turns out that a species of horsefly with a dazzling, golden butt bears her name. Bryan Lessard was the first to formally label the insect, and he later explained his thinking behind the moniker.

He said, “It was the unique dense golden hairs on the fly’s abdomen that led me to name this fly in honor of the performer Beyoncé, as well as giving me the chance to demonstrate the fun side of taxonomy – the naming of species.”

35. Cotton candy was actually created by a dentist

It’s fair to say that your dentist wouldn’t be pleased to learn you’ve been gorging on cotton candy. After all, it’s basically just pure sugar, and too much sugar can do serious damage to your pearly whites. That makes it all the more surprising to learn that one of the treat’s two inventors was actually a tooth doctor himself!

While John C. Wharton was a confectioner, his partner William Morrison practiced dentistry. Talk about a dynamic duo! This might explain why the original name for cotton candy was fairy floss...

34. Cats were killed to avoid bad luck

During the 1400s, a bizarre edict was issued by Pope Gregory IV. The head of the Catholic Church had supposedly come to perceive black cats as agents of the Devil, so he commanded that they be killed. This cruel act is said to have made contemporary outbreaks of bubonic plague worse, as it meant more disease-carrying rats were scampering around Europe.

Nowadays, we know that rats were the main carriers of the plague, not cats. But for a while, people were convinced that it was cats who carried not only the deadly disease, but years of bad luck.

33. The Eiffel Tower was almost in a different city

The Eiffel Tower is perhaps the most recognizable symbol of Paris, a towering and celebrated structure reaching into the sky in the middle of the French capital. But if things had worked out differently, then it would actually have called another city its home.

The edifice had initially been intended for Barcelona, Spain, but it was rejected for being too unseemly. Nowadays, the Eiffel Tower receives millions of visitors per year, so it's safe to say that Paris got the last laugh.

32. Clouds weigh hundreds of tons

When you look up at the clouds, you see white, fluffy pillows that seem to weigh nothing at all. In actuality, though, clouds are heavy — really heavy. Consider a run-of-the-mill cumulus cloud that you’d generally see floating in the sky. On average, these things have a mass of roughly 606 tons – which is equivalent to about 100 elephants.

Clouds seem like nothing more than bursts of air, but they're actually made up of water. Now imagine getting hit with a deluge of water the size of a skyscraper... that would definitely hurt.

31. Scots have more words for snow than Inuits

They say that the Inuit language has about 50 terms related to snow, which isn’t surprising when we consider how significant a part this form of precipitation plays in their lives and culture. But you might be shocked to learn that Scots have about eight times that many.

This is because Scots use a different word for each type of snow. Examples include “skelf,” “snaw,” and “sneesl.” In order, these terms mean “a large snowflake,” “snow,” and “to begin to rain or snow.”

30. Abraham Lincoln could've been a pro wrestler

Countless achievements make up Abraham Lincoln's legacy, from keeping the country together amid a civil war to freeing the slaves. But of all his accomplishments, his successful wrestling record is barely ever mentioned. As it turns out, he was quite a fighter in his day!

In a total of 300 competitive matches, Lincoln lost on only one single occasion. That’s a pretty good run of form, especially for a guy who was more known for his height than his brawn.

29. Rats laugh when they are tickled

If you happen to be a particularly ticklish person, you’re not alone. Not only are some people more susceptible to tickles than others, but it turns out that rats can be sensitive in this way, too. And when they’re tickled, the rodents can even start laughing – just as humans do. Except their laughter sounds much more like squealing or squeaking.

And just like with humans, tickling rats not only elicits laughter, but general happiness. It also encourages bonding between the tickler and the person (or rodent) getting tickled. We're not so different after all!

28. People thought ketchup had medicinal properties

Ketchup is undoubtedly a popular condiment, but you've probably never thought to use it as anything other than a savory complement to your fries. And you have definitely never considered using ketchup as medicine, right? About a century and a half ago doctors were known to prescribe ketchup to patients suffering from a range of afflictions.

Ketchup was thought to cure everything from indigestion to jaundice — at least, a man named Dr. John Cook Bennett thought so. He sold tomato pills as medication in the 1830s.

27. The Mayans worshipped turkeys

Nowadays, turkeys are more likely to be associated with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner than with royalty. In fact, we eat so much turkey that the idea of them being anything more than a gobbling bird or tasty meal sounds crazy! But about 2,300 years ago, turkeys were actually worshipped by the people of the Mayan civilization.

The birds were strongly linked with the culture’s deities, and they were treated in a manner befitting such a connection. Put simply, the Mayans worshipped turkeys! They still ended up sacrificing the birds to the gods.

26. Lobster claws have taste buds

As human beings, our feet are pretty darn important in terms of our mobility. It would be difficult for us to get around without them! But mobility aside, we don't use our feet for much else. Lobsters, on the other hand (or...foot?) use their feet for walking and for tasting.

Each of their pincers is lined with bristles that serve a similar purpose to the taste buds that are on our tongues. Yeah... we're relieved that our feet don't contain tastebuds. Gross.

25. Michelangelo hated painting the Sistine Chapel

It turns out that even geniuses experience a difficult day on the job from time to time. While he was completing the Sistine Chapel, for example, artist Michelangelo penned a piece of poetry expressing his displeasure for the task. Translated to English, an extract reads, “I’ve already grown a goiter from this torture, hunched up here like a cat in Lombardy.”

Michelangelo had good reason for resenting the intimidating task. As anyone who has ever painted a fresco could tell you, falling from your high perch is a real concern. Michelangelo once fell during the process, and his injury delayed the project for weeks.

24. Tiger populations have declined 97 percent

A little over a century ago, an estimated 100,000 tigers were spread out across Asia. Now, only a fraction of that figure remains. Most tigers, in fact, are actually now based in the United States, held in captivity. About 3,900 wild tigers are thought to roam today, but anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 are in American zoos. It’s quite a grim statistic.

How did this devastating population decline happen? Unsurprisingly, humans are to blame. Tiger habitats have been taken over by humans, and poaching has only continued to hurt tiger populations. 97 percent of the world's tigers have disappeared, according to the WWF.

23. Sea cucumbers are deadly

You might look at a sea cucumber and think that it’s a pretty vulnerable creature. A regular cucumber is pretty much defenseless, right? But in reality, the difference between a regular cucumber and a sea cucumber couldn't be more striking. A sea cucumber has a very dramatic defensive mechanism, indeed. If a sea cucumber is threatened, it may fire its own guts at its enemy.

This might seem like a pretty silly move, but the lost organs are not only toxic to most predators, but they can actually be regrown by the creature. So, it’s not a totally self-destructive act.

22. The inventor of the Pringles can had a morbid request

In 1966 Fredric Baur was responsible for developing the cylindrical Pringles container that we all recognize today. Half of the people reading this probably have their arms stuck in a Pringles can, so you have Baur to thank for that. Well, Baur was apparently so proud of his invention that he requested his ashes to be placed in a tube following his death.

So when Baur passed away at 89 years old, his family ensured that his wish was fulfilled. Some of his cremated remains were put inside an Original flavor Pringles can and buried in his grave.

21. Some people believe that they are cows

Did you know that there’s a mental disorder in which sufferers become convinced that they’re cows? It doesn't sound like a common affliction, but it's been around for so long that it has a name — boanthropy — and it even appears in the Old Testament. In the Book of Daniel, the leader of the Neo-Babylonian Empire is said to have been stricken with the condition.

King Nebuchadnezzar, the text says, “was driven from men and did eat grass as oxen.” The condition is connected to what psychologists call "clinical lycanthropy", or the belief that you are part wild animal.

20. Sloths can hold their breaths for 40 minutes

Sloths aren’t generally known for their feats of athleticism, but they do possess one particularly impressive ability. The creatures are able to reduce the rate at which blood is pumped around their bodies to the point that they can survive 40 minutes without taking a breath.

And if you’re not impressed by that, consider that dolphins can only go for ten minutes. And obviously, we'd like to see you try to hold your breath for even one minute (don't try that, actually).

19. Iconic New York City sitcoms weren't filmed in NYC

The sitcom Friends is inevitably linked to New York, the city in which it was set. But the crazy thing is that the show was actually shot in California, completely on the other side of the country. Every single season was filmed on the Warner Brothers Ranch in Los Angeles. Friends isn't the only show set in NYC that wasn't actually filmed there, either.

Add How I Met Your Mother, Will & Grace, and Seinfeld to the list of shows that weren't actually filmed in NYC, but in LA. On the other hand, NYC staples like 30 Rock and Sex and the City were usually filmed on location.

18. You might be allergic to cockroaches

Cockroaches can inspire terror at the best of times, but it’s even worse for people who happen to be allergic to the creepy crawlies. Some people can react really badly to proteins found within the scuttling insects. Disturbingly, it's been said that some individuals might think that coffee provokes their allergies, when really, it’s bits of crushed cockroach that have been caught up in the grinding process.

We shudder at the thought! Like most allergies, symptoms include congestion, coughing, and a skin rash. If you have asthma, a cockroach allergy could be making your symptoms even worse.

17. Queen Elizabeth met 13 U.S. Presidents

The Queen of England stood at her post for a whopping 70 years, which was longer than any recorded monarch in history. Born in 1926, she saw the world change dramatically over her 96 years of life. A nice way of putting this into perspective is to say that Joe Biden was the 17th person to hold the American presidency in the Queen’s lifetime.

When Elizabeth was born, Calvin Coolidge was president. The first president she ever met was President Truman back when she was still a princess. She later met Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Ford — you get the idea.

16. Squirrels are behind a majority of power outages

If you ever find yourself at home alone when suddenly the lights go out, it's not the work of a crazed lunatic... probably. In all likelihood, you can probably blame a squirrel for the outage. While there are a range of reasons for a power outage to occur, gnawing interference by the bushy-tailed rodents is a bigger issue than you may expect.

In fact, the American Public Power Association has even created The Squirrel Index to monitor outages caused by the critters. It's such a problem that some experts consider the threat of outages caused by squirrels to be more common than that of outages caused by cyber-attacks.

15. What if we had flying cars?

If the Space Race in the '60s and the ensuing NASA research weren't clear, then you should know that it’s a bit of a hullabaloo getting to space. After all, the only way to get there (for now) is by hitching a ride aboard a rocket. But let’s imagine you had a flying car capable of traveling skyward at 60mph. What would happen then?

In that case, you’d make it beyond the Earth’s atmosphere in roughly an hour. That’s not bad! We've had longer commutes to work than that. At that rate, people would be setting up offices on the moon.

14. Don't get stung by an Irukandji jellyfish

No jellyfish sting is particularly pleasant, but some are undoubtedly worse than others. If you ever get stung by an Irukandji jellyfish, for example, then you’re in for a very, very rough time. Such a sting can induce symptoms like a sore head, nausea, and, bizarrely, an extreme sense of doom. Speaking to ABC Radio back in 2007, a biologist named Lisa Gershwin elaborated.

She said, “Patients believe they’re going to die and they’re so certain of it that they’ll actually beg their doctors to kill them just to get it over with.” Horrifying.

13. J.Lo was inadvertently behind Google Images

Who’s the last person you’d guess was responsible for the creation of Google Images? Jennifer Lopez would surely be up there, right? But as former Google chief Eric Schmidt explained in a 2015 piece for Project Syndicate, that’s the truth. He wrote, “People wanted more than just text. This first became apparent after the 2000 Grammy Awards, where Jennifer Lopez wore a green dress that, well, caught the world’s attention.”

“At the time, it was the most popular search query we had ever seen. But we had no surefire way of getting users exactly what they wanted: J.Lo wearing that dress. Google Image Search was born.”

12. Mustaches lead to wasted alcohol

Thanks to some vital research, we can say for sure that mustachioed folk are losing out when it comes to drinking their Guinness. A study organized by the stout producers found that, on average, a fellow with a ’stache traps more than a pint’s-worth above their lips each year, assuming they consume roughly 180 drinks during that period.

In total, this amounts to over 160,000 pints annually wasted in facial hair around the world. Scary, huh? Just another good reason for you to trim that mustache a bit.

11. Squirrels were trained as spies

Given their cunning and acrobatics (and, apparently, their knack for causing power outages), it was only a matter of time before squirrels were put to use as spies. And in 2007 it seems that this really may have happened. That year, officials in the Iranian military reportedly detained 14 squirrels that were believed to have been undertaking covert operations, according to a report by British news broadcaster the BBC.

It's unclear what ended up happening to these squirrels, but it's safe to say that there probably aren't a bunch of little spies running around your backyard... probably. Or not in squirrel form, anyway.

10. Whiskey made from urine

If someone ever pours you a glass of James Gilpin’s brand of whiskey, maybe don’t accept it. Gilpin has type 1 diabetes, which has led him to create single-malt whisky using... the urine of fellow diabetics. Huh? Apparently, the British designer found out people with type 2 diabetes have higher levels of sugar in their urine, which got him thinking: what if people donated their pee to be made into whiskey?

Once the urine is filtered, purified, and fermented, it's added to various whiskey blends. In tribute to his pee donors, the resulting beverage is bottled and labeled with the contributor’s name. Cheers!

9. The comb jelly is missing its backside

Mnemiopsis leidyi – otherwise known as the warty comb jelly, sea walnut, or simply the comb jelly – is a fascinating creature, if its multiple names didn't give it away. But its most noteworthy feature revolves around, well, its butt. Basically, unlike any other animal known to man, the comb jelly has a derriere that comes into existence... and then fades away again.

Unlike with humans, the creature's digestive system isn't connected to its backside. Instead, its gut simply expands with waste until it touches the creature's skin, which is when the anus appears. Whenever the butt isn't, you know, in use, it can’t even be seen under a microscope.

8. Jeannette Rankin was the first woman in Congress

The road to women’s suffrage was tough, with women finally being permitted to vote across the United States in 1920. Incredibly, though, this was about four years after a woman had been elected to Congress for the first time. Jeannette Rankin had actually already become a congresswoman back in 1916. So Rankin was elected to office thanks to all-male votes.

Although she was only in office for one term, she was voted back into the House of Representatives in 1940. And here's another sobering fact: Rankin is still the only woman from Montana to be elected to Congress.

7. The most common foods in the world

If someone in your life seems to take forever to choose a dish in a restaurant, then this fact may irritate you even further. It turns out that three-quarters of the food produced on Earth comes from only 12 varieties of plants and five types of animals. So, really, there isn’t that much choice on menus. Tell your friend to pick up the pace!

And unsurprisingly, the three most common foods derived from plants also happen to be some of the oldest foods: wheat, corn, and rice. Compared to other processed foods, these three staples are relatively easy to grow and produce.

6. Russians trained dolphins to be spies

It emerged in 2017 that Russian forces had been conducting experiments involving seals, whales, and dolphins. If your mind immediately went to underwater creatures with high-tech spy gear, you're actually not too far from the truth. Basically, the Russians were trying to train these animals to protect Russian territory.

It sounds wild, but the United States has done similar things in the past. In the 1960s, for example, the Navy ran a training program for dolphins and sea lions. Don't underestimate how smart some animals can be!

5. It rains diamonds on some planets

A rainy day on Earth can often make one feel a little blue. If we were on Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune or Uranus, though, we’d have cause to celebrate a downpour. Conditions on these planets mean that it can sometimes rain diamonds. On Saturn alone, it’s estimated that more than $3 million-worth of the gemstone falls annually.

Of course, diamonds aren't worth much outside of Earth's atmosphere, so it probably isn't worth building your own rocket ship just to grab some. To a Neptunian alien, it'd be like collecting rainwater!

4. 25 percent of bones are in our feet

The human foot doesn’t account for much of our overall mass, proportionately speaking (although feet usually do a good job of supporting our entire body weight, which is important). But in terms of the number of bones it contains, it’s well ahead of every other body part. Across both the left and the right foot, there are 52 bones.

So, when we consider that there are 206 in the entirety of the body, we can say that roughly 25 percent of our bones are in our feet. And good thing, too; feet are so important when it comes to, you know, walking.

3. Usain Bolt has scoliosis

You might think that a scoliosis diagnosis would spell the end of an individual’s aspirations to be an athlete. Well, Usain Bolt firmly disproves that. Speaking to ESPN Magazine back in 2011, the world’s quickest man explained, “My spine’s really curved bad. But if I keep my core and back strong, the scoliosis doesn’t really bother me. So I don’t have to worry about it as long as I work hard.”

Usain Bolt is proof that an ailment doesn't always have to stop you from achieving your goals. The man has eight Olympic gold medals to prove it!

2. Ronald Reagan consulted the stars

American presidents have plenty of serious decisions to make, so they organize a team of people to help them. But one former leader reportedly also looked to the stars for inspiration. According to The New York Times newspaper, Ronald Reagan was a believer in astrology. Apparently, he even turned to the practice to help make decisions while he was in office.

Reagan himself denied that his interest in astrology affected his administration’s controversial policies, but can we be certain? Nancy Reagan later admitted that it was she who consulted with astrologer Joan Quigley in the first place.

1. Bananas can be radioactive

Bananas are full of potassium, which makes them a very important food. Potassium is a vital mineral that our bodies need to function, but it also has an interesting quality. It’s known to degrade, which ultimately means that bananas can be defined as radioactive. But before you start to panic, bear in mind that the level of radioactivity is incredibly low.

You’d need to consume about 10 million bananas before you’d give yourself radiation poisoning, so there’s no need to remove them from your diet... unless you've been consuming millions of bananas a day, for some reason.