These 23 Facts Are So Jarring That I Almost Wish I Could Forget Them

Ducklings turning into cannibals = me never looking at them the same again.

1. Most days you'll produce two to four PINTS of saliva.

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That's right, it turns out that we're all super slobbery, particularly in the late afternoon when we make the most. It's clearly real helpful for digesting food and keeping teeth healthy, but thinking about four pints of the stuff isn't at all pleasant. 

2. We humans shed our skin, and quickly too!

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Every two to three weeks we shed the ENTIRE outer layer of our skin. IDK if I'd prefer it if we did it in one big go like a snake (probs not), but our way means that there are constantly skin particles flying around us.

3. Speaking of skin particles flying around us, in underground subway stations we're inhaling a hell of a lot of them...

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Yup, research on New York subway stations in 2008-2009 showed that 15% of the air molecules were actually human skin. What's more disturbing is that while most of the skin came from people's heels and heads, 12% was from armpits, belly buttons, inner ears, and backsides... Nice. 

4. One millilitre of coastal water from the ocean can contain up to 10 million viruses.

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We all know the ocean is terrifying, but the actual water is also literally teeming with danger. The Oceans are supposedly brimming with "one nonillion" (that's 30 0's) viruses, which is a waaay higher amount than there are stars in our galaxy. That's me never going in the ocean again. 

5. If you need more convincing, the ocean is also essentially full of black holes.

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These ocean "eddies" are so tightly constricted by water paths that scientists say nothing can escape if it gets sucked in one. Apparently, these water vortexes are mathematically similar to the black holes we observe in space. I mean, I was sold at "no escape". 

6. Stroking a parrot's back can turn it on.

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Repeat after me: don't stroke a parrot down its back. If you do then you'll be making them super sexually frustrated, which is NOT good for them. As far as petting goes, it's good to stick to the head, feet, and around the beak, you know, the non-erogenous zones.

7. While stroked parrots get horny, bored ducklings can become cannibals.

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It's a common thing right, eating out of boredom? Well, ducklings take it one hell of a step further and display cannibalistic behaviour when bored, aggravated, or overcrowded. That's NOT COOL.

Oh, and it's not just them. Other "cute" animals can turn all Hannibal Lecter,  including rabbits, squirrels, and chickens.  

8. And our brains could eat themselves when we're too hungry or too tired.

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Researchers working with mice have found overtiredness or hunger to cause some serious self-zombification — which may also apply to humans. Research suggests that neurons of the hypothalamus started eating their own organelles and proteins when starved of food. Likewise, with chronic sleep deprivation, portions of the synapsis are literally eaten by astrocytes. 

Oh well, looks like we'll just have to eat and sleep all day to prevent that!

9. Our livers shrink and grow significantly every day.

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Livers are fascinating, and also kinda creepy. Not only do they grow and shrink by almost half their size every day and night, but they can also regrow up to 90% if removed. 

10. Peanut butter and other packaged foods can have rodent hair, feces, and insect "fragments" in.

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In the US specifically, a jar of peanut butter is allowed 30 insect fragments per 100gs and at least one rodent hair. Produce can also contain animal feces — for instance, for every pound of ginger, it is ACCEPTABLE to have up to three milligrams of animal feces. Likewise with cocoa beans, for every pound, there can be 10 milligrams of feces. There are also allowances for maggots, insects, worms, and mould... NOPE. 

11. There may be beaver secretion in your cosmetics or food products.

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Beavers' scent glands (castor sacs) are located between their genitalia and their anuses and produce a vanilla-scented secretion that can sometimes be found on the "may contain" section of makeup, perfume, and food. 

12. According to researchers, "Medical errors" are the third-highest cause of death in the US.

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In 2016, a study by John Hopkins Medicine researchers suggested that "medical error" should be added as a "cause of death". They said that data from 2014 showed medical errors being the third-highest COD behind heart disease and cancer. No one knows the exact stats on how many deaths they would have caused, but "errors" could include: "surgical complications that go unrecognised to mix-ups with the doses or types of medications patients receive."

13. Sticking with medicine: Human remains were once used in remedies.

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So, apparently for hundreds of years, humans in Europe would use bones, fat, and blood for medicines to treat all sorts of ailments, "from headaches to epilepsy".  But perhaps even more disturbing, from 2011 to 2012 South Korean border customs found 17,500 capsules made of human flesh. Some think these capsules can cure diseases and boost stamina. However, they were found to contain "super bacteria" and "harmful materials" when analysed. 

14. Armadillos can carry leprosy.

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In countries including the US, Brazil, and India, wild armadillos can be "reservoirs" for leprosy, as some are naturally infected with the bacteria that cause it in humans. It’s possible that transition can pass between the species, especially when infected armadillos are eaten, which isn’t uncommon in some parts of Brazil.

In 2015, India and Brazil reported 127,326 and 26,395 new cases respectively, making up 73% of global new leprosy cases. 

15. Microplastics have been found in the placentas of unborn babies.

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Not only are we already full of the stuff, but it's now being passed on to newborns while they're still in the womb. The particles were likely inhaled or consumed by the mothers, who were healthy and had "normal" pregnancies. Perhaps we're heading towards a part-plastic human race soon. 

16. On that note, we're actually more microbe than "human" as it is.

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Yep, only 43% of our bodies are made up of human cells. The rest are actually "microscopic colonists" such as viruses, fungi, bacteria, and archaea. The most concentrated area of "microscopic life" is in our bowels, where oxygen is most depleted. While disturbing to think about, these microscopic colonists are essential to our health. 

17. Brain surgery is sometimes performed while the patient is awake.

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Sometimes, if a tumour is in a certain area of the brain, the surgeon will require the patient to be awake to make sure they aren't disrupting a part of the brain that controls language, motor functions, and speech. It's a really useful and successful method, but makes me feel all kinds of queasy. 

18. Up until the mid-'80s, babies were operated on without anaesthesia.

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One reason for this seemingly horrible practice was the fear that anaesthesia may be harmful to them, which is understandable. But what’s worse is that it was believed that newborns felt no pain whatsoever, which is totally not the case — in fact, their pain responders are as developed as those in older children.

Even longer, more invasive and painful surgeries were taking place only with a minor muscle relaxant until 1987... Poor babies! 

19. There's a parasite that brainwashes rodents into being eaten.

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The parasite — Toxoplasma — affects the brain of rodents and wipes out their fear of cats, thus making them easy prey for felines. Once the rodent has been eaten, the parasite will reproduce and then pass out of the cat, starting the cycle all over again. 

It can get into humans too, and there are suggestions that it slows reaction times — "infected drivers [are] two to three times more likely to be involved in car accidents."

20. Some crocodiles can gallop.

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If they weren't intimidating enough already, some crocs are able to run in a galloping motion, becoming airborne as they do. You shouldn't ever have to run away from a croc, but if you do, you'll be pleased to know that they tire very quickly. 

21. Dogs love squeaky toys because they sound like wounded animals.

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Oh yeah, it turns out that the fluffy toy your pup is enjoyably shredding to pieces, to them, is actually just a helpless dying animal. It makes sense really, it's all sort of natural, but picturing it can be somewhat off-putting. 

22. In 1980, CNN prerecorded a video to broadcast when it came to the end of the world.

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In a highly morbid manner, CNN prepared for any eventual end of the world by readying a doomsday broadcast to be released in the final moments. The tape has seemingly been kept ever since just in case — the rumour had been circling for decades and it was finally leaked in 2015. Here are The Young Turks discussing the video.

23. We throw away 900 million tonnes of food every year.

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The number is so huge that it's difficult to compute — if you had 17 thousand Titanic ships piled up, the discarded food would still weigh tonnes and tonnes more than the ships. "17% of the food available to consumers — in shops, households and restaurants — goes directly into the bin."