100 Interesting Facts

Interesting Facts Infographics

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a “Friday the 13th”.

Friday the 13th may just be another day to you, but some cultures are very wary of this number for its supposed bad luck. 

Disneyland serves 2.8 million churros a year.

The churro was introduced to South America in the 1500s during the Spanish Inquisition. Around the same time, the Spanish brought cocoa to Europe, which they thickened with cane sugar to make hot chocolate. That probably explains why churros and hot chocolate is still a go-to pairing to this day.

Yellow and red stimulates hunger.

Picture all the major fast food joints in your country. What does McDonald’s, KFC, Popeyes, and Chick-fil-a have in common aside from being fast food giants? All of their logos and branding have elements of red and yellow. This is because red and yellow psychologically stimulate hunger.

There are over 100 ways to cook an egg.

Eggs are used as a main dish, in baking, and even desserts such as flan and pudding. In fact, the traditional chef’s toque had 100 folds to symbolize the mastery of cooking 100 egg dishes. 

Red is the first color a baby sees.

Out of all the colors, red has the longest wavelength. Therefore, red is easier to process for a developing baby’s eyes. Grab your nearest baby book to confirm.

Mozart once sold more CDs than Beyoncé.

This friendly competition between two musical greats may sound like a pipe dream, but it’s one of the interesting facts that actually happened. The Universal Music Group released a box set for Mozart’s 225th death anniversary in 2016. With 200 discs of Mozart’s work in each set, each disc was counted as one CD sold. Get the last box set and listen for yourself.  

The filmmakers of Saw paid for Jigsaw to have its own seat.

Jigsaw the puppet is the face of the grisly Saw franchise. Whether you’re a sadist who enjoyed the films or you’re one of the people who just looked away, one of the interesting facts about Saw is that Jigsaw once got its own plane seat. James Wan and Leigh Whannell paid for Jigsaw to have a seat on a flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles. Imagine how its seatmate felt!

Color blind people have better night vision.

Since color blind people perceive colors differently, they can see “camouflage” colors that can’t be detected by regular eyes.

The close door button on an elevator doesn’t do anything.

Most elevators in the U.S. are modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act. Namely, they come with braille and voice prompts. Additionally, these elevators are made to close in 3 seconds. The default time ensures that people with disabilities can board safely. Basically, the button you jab in a rush doesn’t even do anything: the actual close door function can only be accessed by workers and emergency respondents with a key.

The Jaws shark is named Bruce.

The animatronic shark in the Jaws film franchise is called Bruce. The shark was named after Steven Spielberg’s attorney, Bruce Ramer. 

White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate.

Aside from the pineapple on pizza debate, white chocolate is one of the most polarizing food items that has divided nations. Whichever one you prefer, the hard truth is that white chocolate isn’t really chocolate. It doesn’t contain cocoa solids. Instead, white chocolate is made of cocoa butter, milk, and sugar. 

"Scraunched" is the longest word with one syllable.

In the English language, ‘scraunched’ is the longest one-syllable word. Other examples are screeched, schlepped, scratched, scrounged, scrunched, and stretched.

A lit candle creates 1 million tiny diamonds per second.

According to a 2011 study, 1.5 million diamond nanoparticles are created by a candle’s flame for each second it burns. However, the nanoparticles are quickly burned away by the flame. 

Coffee beans can cure bad breath.

Coffee beans are a known odor neutralizer. Perfume shops even make customers sniff coffee beans when trying different fragrances. However, you must chew them if you’re really going for deodorizing – drinking coffee can actually worsen your breath through bacteria. Science, right?

Flowers grow faster with music.

We’ve all encountered the age-old question of, “Do plants have feelings?” Fellows with a green thumb would definitely argue yes, but it’s still being studied in science. However, plants have been shown to respond to certain stimuli in the most interesting ways. For example, playing a lullaby to plants makes them grow faster. However, they tend to wilt or die with heavier music. Plants may or may not have feelings, but they sure are gentle souls.

‘Metrophobia’ is the fear of poetry.

If you don’t remember your literature classes as a good time, you may have had this phobia. The prefix metro- comes from meter, which refers to the standard structure of a poem. 

Andy’s dad from Toy Story was not animated due to budgeting concerns.

We may have seen the rest of Andy’s family, but his father remains unseen. Originally, Andy’s dad was supposed to make an appearance in the films. However, it takes a lot to render a 3d character, so it was scrapped in the end.

The first morse code message was, "What hath God Wrought."

Morse code is a nonverbal language system where one communicates with a series of short and long sounds. The first morse code message was taken from the Bible passage, Numbers 23:23. It was recorded on a paper tape. Samuel Morse and Alfred Lewis Vail.

Crayola’s “Flesh” color was renamed Peach.

Whether you noticed in your crayon boxes through the years or not, one of the interesting facts about this childhood brand is this color rename. Since flesh comes in many different colors, it was deemed racist to say that just one color or skin tone counts as “flesh.”

The average person spends 60% of a conversation talking about themselves.

Interestingly, this number reaches 80% when it comes to social media interactions.

Blue is the most common favorite color worldwide.

According to data from global marketing firms, blue is the world’s most common favorite color. It is closely followed by purple.

Yellow is the most common highlighter color.

Yellow is a preferred highlighter shade because it doesn’t leave a shadow on the paper once photocopied. 

You can survive solely on potatoes and butter.

In the right amounts, potatoes and butter could keep a person alive indefinitely. However, potatoes are all carbs and butter is high in cholesterol. You may survive, but you’d probably develop a condition over time. 

An awkward silence takes 4 seconds to be considered awkward.

In the U.S, a 4-second lull in conversation quickly turns into an awkward silence. However, it differs with each culture.

Cashews are a fruit.

The cashew nuts are actually the seed that grows outside of the fruit.

18 newborns can be switched at birth daily.

If you’ve ever worried whether you were switched at birth, it may be likely. On average, 18 babies can be sent to the wrong delivery rooms. However, cases of being switched at birth are usually identified immediately. 

Most of your house dust is your dead skin.

The next time you get mad at all the dust in your place, remember that it’s your fault. Humans lose 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells each minute. So, aside from the dust from the streets, most of the dust bunnies gunking up your house probably came from you. How’s that for interesting facts that’ll change your perspective?

The name ‘Adidas’ comes from Adolf (Adi) Dassler (Das).

Building off of a shoe business that he started with his brother, Adolf “Adi” Dassler established his own company upon their separation in 1949. The founder named his brand Adidas as a contraction of his name. More interesting facts about shoes? Adi’s brother, Rudolf Dassler was the founder of Puma.

Hamburgers weren’t named after ham.

If you’ve ever been a curious kid, you probably wondered where the ham was in hamburgers. Now, your inner child would be happy to know that hamburgers were actually named after the German city of Hamburg.

Fire moves faster uphill.

One of the fundamental rules of science is that heat rises. As such, a fire would move faster uphill than downhill or laterally. For example, a forest fire at the base of a mountain would spread faster towards the mountain incline rather than spreading around the base. 

Cheddar cheese is not really orange.

Originally, the color of cheese changes with the seasons because of the cow’s diet. During the summer or spring, the beta-carotene in grass makes cows produce yellow cheese. On the other hand, fall and winter cause them to eat hay instead, producing whiter cheese. With that, farmers started dying the cheese since people preferred yellow ones. 

The feeling of falling when half asleep is called a ‘hypnic jerk.’

It sounds like an insult, but I’m sure we’ve all experienced being startled awake because of the feeling of falling. Scientifically, there is still no explanation for why we get hypnic jerks. However, anxiety, caffeine and physical activity close to bedtime make a hypnic jerk more likely. They are also more frequent in younger people.

Prescription bottles are tinted to prevent spoiling.

Bottles of prescription meds are tinted orange or light brown to prevent UV light from degrading pills through chemical reactions. 

Elephants are pregnant for 2 years.

Elephant pregnancy is the longest out of any mammal. Their calves take 2 years in the womb to develop fully. This lengthy process is why an elephant will only have 4-5 offspring in its lifetime.

Swearing can relieve pain.

A Keele University study revealed that volunteers who used profanity could endure pain 50% longer than those who did not curse.

Apollo 11 only had 20 seconds of fuel when it landed.

Before the Apollo landing was confirmed with, “The Eagle has landed” the crew nearly didn’t make it. The Apollo crew had to fly manually instead of following the plotted trajectory to avoid dangerous areas. As such, it cut down on their fuel. Before the successful landing, the 30-second fuel warning had already passed. 

People used bread as an eraser before.

Before Edward Naime invented the eraser in 1770, people used rolled-up pieces of white bread to erase things.

Baby rabbits are not called kittens.

Baby bunnies are called kits, which isn’t short for kittens as the Internet has led many to believe. Mother rabbits can have up to 10-12 kits per litter. 

A classic violin is made with 70 different pieces of wood.

Associated with class and elegance, the earliest version of a violin emerged in the1500s in Italy. The first known creator of the violin was Andrea Amati. He had been commissioned by the Medici family to create an instrument like a lute, but easier to play. 

People born blind experience dreams of emotions, sounds and smells instead of images.

Dreams are a product of our subconscious that is influenced by the stimuli we encountered in waking hours. For people who were born blind, their dreams manifest in other sensations such as smells and sounds.

Flamin' Hot Cheetos once made parents panic.

One of the interesting facts about your favorite snack: When a kid eats too Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, the chemicals turn their stool red. Medically speaking, red stool indicates serious intestinal problems, possibly internal bleeding. You can imagine why the parents reacted like that.

Margarine used to be pink.

In the 1880s, margarine was dyed pink to prevent buyers from confusing it with butter. 

Films used to be hand-painted to have color.

As early as 1902, films were colorized by a lengthy process of hand-painting each frame.

Oprah's name isn't Oprah.

On paper, Oprah’s real name is listed as Orpah (a Biblical figure). However, people often mispronounced it, which is why she took on Oprah Winfrey as her name. 

Pencil means “paintbrush.”

It’s one of the interesting facts that sound like we’re kidding, but we’re serious. The word “pencil” comes from the Old French word pincel, which translates to “a small paintbrush.”

The oldest surviving pencil was from the 1600s.

The world’s oldest pencil was found on the roof of an old German house while it was being renovated. Stationery brand Faber-Castell has since acquired the pencil. 

Machu Picchu is 100% handmade.

You read that right – Machu Picchu is the best remaining example of Incan engineering. No tools, wheels, or animals were used in constructing the royal estate. Instead, hundreds of men pushed up 50-ton rocks or scaled the mountain to form what we now know as the Incan ruins.

Sleeping on your front can help with digestion.

Sleeping in a “freefall” position has been linked to lessening heartburn. 

Musicians have shorter lifespans.

Apparently, musicians live fast and die hard. According to a University of Sydney study, the average lifespan of a musician is 25 years shorter than the average U.S. population. The study examined artists’ deaths between 1950 and June 2014.

Singing in a group boosts one’s mood.

Maybe those Glee kids had it right all along. According to Multiple studies, singing as a part of a group provides different physical and emotional benefits. Singing with others releases hormones like oxytocin and cortisol into the bloodstream, making us feel happy and reducing stress.  

The longest-reigning King in the UK was George III.

Reigning for over 59 years, George III had the longest run as King in the history of the Royal Family.

The human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish’s.

In 2000, the average human attention span was 12 seconds. However, scientists have since claimed that we now have shorter attention spans (of 8.25 seconds) than goldfish, who can focus for 9 seconds. Interesting facts, or scary facts?

Birds have hollow bones which help them fly.

Birds are unique creatures with many interesting facts to feature. However, one of their more creepy features is their hollow bones. Deep inside, birds are pretty much paper maches. While humans have dense bones filled with marrow, most birds of flight have only air and struts in their bones.

Talking in your sleep is known as somniloquy.

Sleep talking is scientifically known as somniloquy. Much like sleep walking and sleep paralysis, it is a sleeping disorder. It’s not really a serious condition, but it can be treated and avoided. 

All your hair is dead.

One of the more disturbing yet interesting fun facts: All the hair on your head is dead, except for the follicles. Other than the part in the epidermis, the hair that grows out is made of dead cells. Your nails also follow the same principle – hair and nails are both made of the protein keratin.

Leonardo Da Vinci only has 15 existing paintings.

Despite being one of the most proliferous painters of the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci’s portfolio isn’t too extensive. Because of his tendency to procrastinate and experiment, Da Vinci only had a record of 15 finished paintings.

Shoes can take up to 1,000 years to break down.

If you thought clothes took crazy long to decompose, you’d have to look down at your shoes. Depending on different materials such as EVA and other foams, the average shoe will take 1,000 years before it is fully broken down.

8 million tons of garbage are added in the ocean per year.

The average person makes about 2 kg of waste each day. 

Talking uses 100 muscles.

Introverts, you’re all valid. Talking really is a chore – not just mentally, but physically. To form a few phrases, the body must use 100 different muscles from the chest, neck, jaw, tongue, and lips. Imagine how buff chatty people would be if these muscles bulked up too?

10 Google searches can power a 60-watt light bulb.

At any point in time, the overall energy being used by Google for searches can power 200,000 homes. How’s that for interesting facts?

Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in the world.

In 2016, nearly 50 billion gallons of beer was consumed worldwide.

It took 12 years to paint Mona Lisa’s lips.

Leonardo da Vinci took his sweet time on his masterpiece: Mona Lisa’s pretty pucker took 12 years to paint. Yes, just the lips.

The first cell phone call was made in 1973.

Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first handheld cellular phone call on April 3, 1973. 

70% of cell phones are manufactured in China.

In December 2019, 175.29 million cell phones were produced in China. Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Realme are all Chinese phone companies that dominate the mobile phone market.

The Fender Guitar company makes 90,000 guitar strings a day.

Fender may be one of the biggest music companies, but its founder, Leo Fender, did not actually know how to play any instruments.

The inventor of the television banned TV from his home.

When Philo Farnsworth invented the television in 1927, he intended for it to be a learning instrument that could possibly end wars. However, once TV was commercialized, he came to regret his invention. As a result, he did not allow his household to watch television. Definitely one of the ironic yet interesting facts.

90% of the Earth’s organisms are insects.

Out of the estimated 1.5 million species of organisms on the planet, insects take up ⅔ of that amount. 

Back in Medieval Times, bedrooms weren’t private.

Aside from absurd, ominous art, we can all agree that the Medieval Ages was a weird time. During this period, beds were placed in areas where guests could see them. Usually, beds would be placed by a window, so passersby can admire whoever is sleeping. Sounds like something out of a thriller movie by today’s standards.  

Cookie Monster’s real name is Sid.

You’ve heard about villain origin stories, but we bet you haven’t seen this one yet: Before eating his first cookie, Cookie Monster was Sid. What this implies has not been confirmed, as well as who he was as Sid. How’s that for dark, interesting facts?

Cleopatra was not Egyptian.

Despite being portrayed as an Egyptian beauty, Cleopatra was actually Greek. You’d best brush up on your history.

Newborns can’t cry.

A baby’s tear ducts are not fully developed until 1-3 months old. This is why newborn babies scream so loudly – they don’t have any other way to communicate with their surroundings. 

The human brain is the only brain that shrinks with age.

Humans are the only animals that get dumb when they get older. Other animals’ senses would get dull, but they retain the same brain mass.

Bananas don’t have seeds.

This is one of the interesting facts that can send you into an existential crisis: If bananas don’t have seeds, where did they come from? Bananas grow from the small bulbs called suckers that grow from the plant. Once the current crop dies, they can replant these suckers to reap a new plant.

A woman once survived falling from an airplane at 33,000 ft high.

Vesna Vulovic holds the world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. The Serbian flight attendant was the only survivor of the JAT Airways plane crash of 1972. Following the crash, she was in a coma and could not walk for 10 months. She managed to live until the age of 66.

There’s a fish that can survive out of water for 2 years.

The African lungfish can survive out of water by covering its body with a secretion that dries into a cocoon. 

Baseball fans eat enough hotdogs to stretch from Illinois to Los Angeles.

Hotdogs are a signature baseball snack. During MLB season, about 25,500,000 hotdogs and 5,508,900 sausages are sold every year. Lined up end to end, the hotdogs are enough to stretch from Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

6.5 trillion cigarettes are sold worldwide per year.

With this number, that means 18 billion cigarettes are sold per day.

Farmers plant tall, dense trees on the edges of farms.

The trees provide a barrier from harsh weather and prevent soil erosion.

Almost 1.25 million people die in road accidents every year.

That makes an average of 3,287 road crash deaths per day.

Bad feelings are good for you.

Nobody wants to feel sad, afraid, or hurt, but suppressing these negative emotions can hamper us psychologically. It’s better for one’s mental health to acknowledge and know how to process negative feelings.

The lungs are the only organs that can float on water.

The shortest explanation is that air is less dense than water. With air in our lungs, we float. Each lung cavity has about 300 million balloon-like structures called alveoli. Proper breathing is crucial to swimming because you’d sink (not to mention, drown) without air in your lungs. 

Your lungs could cover an entire tennis court.

The average adult has 300 million bronchi in each lung, which can cover an area of 180 m2. A tennis court has an area of 195.63 m2. Our lungs have such a large area because it needs to pump 160 liters of blood per hour.

Venus Williams hit the fastest serve in women’s tennis at 205 km/h.

If you’re having trouble picturing how fast that is, the maximum speed recorded of a person running is 45km/h. 

Every odd number has an “e” in it.

Trying to find an odd number without the letter “e” would be like attempting to beat God. 

Wood was the first art medium.

The earliest forms of art were found in prehistoric cave drawings dating back to the Stone Age. The drawings were made with charcoal, which is essentially burnt wood. 

Some bees don’t make honey.

Out of the 20,000 species of bees on Earth, only 7 make honey. Definitely one of the interesting facts you never thought about. 

A children’s hospital owns the rights to Peter Pan.

JM Barrie gave the rights to a children’s hospital to fund it through the Peter Pan royalties. 

Clothes can take 40 years to decompose.

Depending on the material, the average piece of clothing will take about 40 years before it breaks down fully. Unfortunately, the methane released as well as the dyes and chemicals that can pollute the soil and water. 

Some hospitals have beer.

No, we doubt you can ask for a pint in the E.R., but some hospitals do keep a supply of beer for alcoholic patients. This is to avoid possible complications from withdrawals. 

The oldest customer service complaint was from 4,000 years ago.

The world’s first customer complaint was found on a clay cuneiform tablet in Mesopotamia. It was written by a customer named Nanni who complained of bad copper ingots. 

Malls and casinos fool us with the Gruen Transfer.

One thing that malls and casinos have in common aside from crowds and spending is that there are barely any clocks and windows. To the people inside, this creates a “scripted disorientation” called the Gruen Transfer that makes them lose track of time.

The Chinese invented paper currency.

During the Tang Dynasty that ruled between 618 and 907, China invented paper money. There used to be a warning written right on the bills that all counterfeiters would be decapitated.

The Saturday before Christmas is the busiest shopping day of the year.

Coincidentally (or not), this is also the day with the worst traffic the whole year. Last-minute shoppers all rush in the spirit of capitalism. Turns out, it’s not the most wonderful time of the year.

Women were only allowed to wear shorts in public after WWII.

With the scarcity of resources during the war, people had to wear less or opt for more cost-efficient clothing. After the war, it took time for countries to recover economically. As such, it was socially acceptable for women to wear shorts. 

A cotton shirt takes 700 gallons of water to make.

That is enough water for one person to stay hydrated for 900 days. Meanwhile, the amount of water needed to create a pair of jeans is equivalent to hosing your lawn for 9 hours straight.

Purple was a royal color in Rome.

Historically, purple was only worn by magistrates, emperors and other aristocrats in Rome.

The first pair of Doc Martens were made of tires.

Doc Martens founder Klaus Martens created the boots to use for his injury. After a skiing accident that injured his ankle, he discarded his army boots to create a pair with softer leather and an air-cushioned sole made of vulcanized rubber – AKA a tire.

People who collect ties are called grabatologists.

Bow tie collectors are also called grabatologists. 

Babies cry 1 to 3 hours each day.

Babies cry so much because they can’t talk yet. Hunger is usually the main reason why babies cry.

The Great Wall of China was built with rice.

One of the most unexpected interesting facts: For the Ming dynasty sections of the Great Wall, the bricks were held together by a mixture of sticky rice flour and slaked lime.