17 Weird Science Facts That Are Probably Not That Useful To You But Are Still Cool

You'll never look at a shooting star the same way again.

Look, unless you're a scientist or work for a quiz show, you probably don't need to know anything that's on this list.

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I'm proof that you don't have to be a Woman in STEM to be a Woman interested in STEM. Science is so much fun to read about! Check out the genetically mutated worms who spin silk that's stronger than Kevlar.

But, since you clicked on this article, I'm willing to bet that you don't actually care if the facts on this list are "important" or not. So, here are 17 random science facts that are not going to impact your day to day life in any meaningful way!

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Enjoy scrolling this list and occasionally saying "huh."

1. Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, is named after Dolly Parton.

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The cells used to clone Dolly were taken from mammary tissue (aka breast tissue). The scientists, having the sense of humour of a 13 year old boy, decided to name the clone after Dolly because she's quite famous for her chest. 

2. If you see a "shooting star", there's a chance you're actually seeing astronaut poop.

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Astronaut poop is vaccuumed from the toilet into airtight containers that are then loaded into cargo ships (the same cargo ships used to send supplies to astronauts). The ship is then launched back to Earth. When the poop ship enters Earth's upper atmosphere, the frictional force of air causes it to burn. From the ground, burning astronaut poop looks exactly like a meteor. 

Also, while writing this list, I discovered that when you Google "meteor shooting star" (my research methods are hardcore), Google plays a little animation of meteors going across your screen. 

3. It's possible for a human to get pregnant while they're already pregnant.

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It's called superfetation, and it's very rare in humans (there have only been ten confirmed cases). In 2020, a woman gave birth to two babies who had been concieved three weeks apart.

4. Female frogs will pretend to be dead to avoid unwanted sex.

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And that's just one of their strategies! Female frogs will also confuse their amphibian suitors by mimicking the sound of male frogs. 

5. Female funnel spiders, on the other hand, pretend to be dead so that they can have sex.

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Female funnel spiders have a tendency to eat their sexual partners. Cannibalism, as it turns out, is a bit of a turn-off for male spiders. So, when a female funnel spider finds a male that she likes, she'll mimic a dead spider so her partner feels safe. 

6. Four out of five animals on Earth are microscopic worms.

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They're called nematodes! What they lack in size, they make up for in numbers. Nematodes are the most common animal by far. For every human being, there are 57 billion (that's right, BILLION) nematodes).

7. Also, scientists resurrected a nematode that had been frozen for 46,000 years.

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46,000 years ago, a little roundworm froze in Siberian permafrost. At the time of its freezing, Neandrathals were still walking around and the Sahara dessert was wet. The worm was revived this year. 

8. There are tiny little bugs that live in your eyelashes.

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They're called eyelash mites or demodex, and they're harmless (unless you have too many of them). These eight-legged creatures are nearly impossible to see because of their small size (each mite is about a third of a millimetre long) and their see-through bodies. 

9. When men smell a women who is ovulating, their testosterone level spikes.

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A 2009 study had men smell t-shirts worn by women at various stages of their reproductive cycle. When smelling the shirts worm by ovulating women, men displayed a higher level of testosterone. 

10. And when women are sexually aroused, their normal disgust response becomes weaker.

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A study in the Netherlands had female participants perform a variety of "gross" tasks (like drinking from a cup that had a dead bug floating in it). Some subjects were exposed to erotic film clips, and while others watched non-erotic film clips. The test subjects who were exposed to the erotic content rated the gross tasks as significantly less disgusting than the subjects in the other groups. This suggests that sexual arousal makes us less likely to perceive things as disgusting. 

11. London cab drivers have an enlarged hippocampus, the area of the brain associated with spatial memory.

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As they study for the Knowledge, prospective cab drivers (known as Knowledge boys and Knowledge girls) will literally change the structure of their brain. Neuroscientist Eleanor Maguire observed that not only do cab drivers have larger hippocampi than non-cab drivers, but the hippocampi of Knowledge boys and Knowledge girls gets larger and larger as they progress through the Knowledge test. 

12. Flying cars aren't a distant dream of the future – they already exist.

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In fact, they've existed for decades. The Taylor Aerocar was built in 1949, though it never entered mass production. It had detachable wings, and could reach speeds of 100mph in the air and 60 mph on the ground. 

13. Each arm of an octopus basically has its own brain.

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The majority of an octopus' neurons are in its arms, not in its head. The central brain of an octopus doesn't actually control every movement of the arms – the arms are basically in charge of themselves. 

14. Goalkeepers have faster brains than their teammates.

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A recent study suggests that goalkeepers actually perceive the world differently than the rest of us mere mortals.  A study led by researchers in Dublin City University and University College Dublin gathered 60 test subjects, some of whom were professional goal keepers, some of whom were professional outfielders, and others who were non-players. They subjected each volunteer to a series of tests involving identifying distinct visual and audio stimuli. The goalkeepers in the study were the best at distinguishing between the different stimuli. 

As a result, there's reason to believe that goalkeepers' brains process sensory information faster than most people.

15. In large quantities, nutmeg has hallucinogenic properties.

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That's right, the seasoning you add to pumpkin pie, is a hallucinogen. According to the book Pharmacognosy, the mass consumption of nutmeg seeds can result in "acial flushing, tachycardia, hypertension, dry mouth, feelings of euphoria, unreality, and delirium."

16. There are 19 organisms named after the Harry Potter series.

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They include the "Eriovixia gryffindori " (an orb weaving spider), the Lusius malfoyi (a type of wasp), and the "Ampulex dementor" (a cockroach wasp). 

17. A new study suggests that wild animals like gazelles, zebras, and leopards are more afraid of humans than lions.

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In the study, scientists planted speakers around water holes in Kruger National Park. They observed the wildlife's reaction to a variety of sounds associated with humans and lions. Wildlife showed a far greater fear response when hearing human-related noises. According to the study, "wildlife were twice as likely to run (p < 0.001) and abandoned waterholes in 40% faster time (p < 0.001) in response to humans than to lions."

You, after reading this list.

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