Interesting facts you’ll want to share with everyone
Facts come in a few varieties. First, there are those we learn in school that are, for the most part, indisputable—or at least widely accepted. These are things like frogs being classified as amphibians, or that Mark Twain being the pen name of Samuel L. Clemens. Next, there are the facts that perhaps you hadn’t heard before or maybe can’t recall off the top of your head; they aren’t surprising, but they’ll make you a whiz at answering trivia questions. For instance, Makalu is the world’s fifth-tallest mountain and is located 14 miles west of Everest. And then there are the interesting facts and completely weird facts that almost don’t sound true (but totally are).
These random fun facts catch us off guard in the best possible way. They’re unexpected or unusual bits of knowledge from the worlds of science, history, and pop culture that delight and entertain us. But they aren’t just amusing pieces of information: They’re legitimately fascinating, and once you get started, you’ll want to keep reading until your curiosity is satisfied. Whether you’re into random trivia, science trivia, animal trivia, cartoon trivia, movie trivia, and/or book trivia, you’ll find plenty of new information here. And if you’re looking for trivia questions for kids to entertain them during a family dinner or a long road trip, we’ve got plenty of those too!
Fact: The world’s oldest wooden wheel has been around for more than 5,000 years
It was found in 2002, approximately 12 miles south of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and is now housed in the city’s museum. Radiocarbon dating was used to determine the wheel’s age, which is somewhere between 5,100 and 5,350 years old. Closer to home, these are the oldest tourist attractions in every state.
Fact: Dead skin cells are a main ingredient in household dust
Here’s an interesting science fact for you: According to researchers at Imperial College London, humans shed around 200 million skin cells each hour—and they have to go somewhere when we’re indoors. If the idea of skin dust isn’t sitting well with you, you should know that a report from the American Chemical Society found that a skin oil called squalene naturally helps reduce indoor ozone levels by up to 15 percent.
Fact: Sudan has more pyramids than any country in the world
Not only does Sudan have more pyramids than Egypt, but the numbers aren’t even close. While 138 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt, Sudan boasts around 255. Next, see if you can answer these real Jeopardy! questions about geography.
Fact: The bumblebee bat is the world’s smallest mammal
Weighing in at 0.05 to 0.07 ounces, with a head-to-body length of 1.14 to 1.29 inches and a wingspan of 5.1 to 5.7 inches, the bumblebee bat—also known as Kitti’s hog-nosed bat—is the smallest mammal in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. To see this tiny bat for yourself, you’d have to visit one of a select few limestone caves on the Khwae Noi River in Kanchanaburi Province of southwest Thailand. Here are more of Earth’s tiniest creatures that play a big role in the environment.
Fact: The circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long
If a child’s entire circulatory system—we’re talking veins, arteries, and capillaries—were laid out flat, it would stretch for more than 60,000 miles, according to the Franklin Institute. By the time we reach adulthood, our bodies have become home to approximately 100,000 miles of blood vessels. That’s just one of the mind-blowing facts that sound made up (but aren’t).
Fact: There are parts of Africa in all four hemispheres
For people whose education was largely focused on the Western world, it may be surprising to find out exactly how huge the continent of Africa is. For instance, it spans all four hemispheres and covers nearly 12 million square miles. Here’s another interesting fact: Do you know the only city that straddles two continents?
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Fact: The cornea is one of only two parts of the human body without blood vessels
The cornea is the clear part of the eye that covers the pupil and other parts of the eye. Cartilage and the cornea are the only types tissue in the human body that do not contain blood vessels, according to scientists at the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology’s Schepens Eye Research Institute. Your eye also has some other bizarre features you probably didn’t know about.
Fact: The world’s first animated feature film was made in Argentina
Even if you know a lot of Disney trivia, you might assume that the honor of first animated feature film belongs to Walt Disney’s 1937 movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. But 20 years earlier, a full-length animated feature film was made in Argentina. It was a political satire called El Apóstol made up of 58,000 drawings and had a running time of 70 minutes, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Fact: German chocolate cake was invented in Texas
The “German” part of German chocolate cake comes from an American man—not a European country. Specifically, it’s named after Sam German, who in 1852 created the formula for a mild dark baking chocolate bar for Baker’s Chocolate Company, which was subsequently named Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate. Fast-forward to June 13, 1957. The Dallas Morning Star published the recipe for the cake, invented and submitted by a reader identified as Mrs. George Clay, according to What’s Cooking America. Break out these interesting facts about food at your next dinner party!
Fact: Marla Gibbs continued to work as a flight attendant for two years after being cast on a hit TV show
Prior to taking her place on the stoop of 227, Marla Gibbs played the housekeeper Florence on The Jeffersons (a spin-off of All in the Family). In a 2015 interview, Gibbs told the Washington Post that despite it appearing as though she had gotten her big break, she kept her job as a flight attendant for American Airlines for two more years—just to be safe.
