Skip To Content

    129 Extremely Fun And Interesting Facts That I'll Be Telling Everyone I Know

    The more you know 🧠!

    Do you know Miss Piggy's full name? The weirdest pet ever owned by a U.S. president? Or how many species of fish can walk on land? We rounded up the most interesting facts we could find. Keep scrolling to learn a bunch of new fun facts ASAP!

    1. At age 55, Harrison Ford got his ear pierced at a Claire's store.

    2. There was a case in the UK of a sexually transmitted allergic reaction.

    Person holding a bowl of nuts

    3. Ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s.

    an old picture of heinz ketchup building

    4. Modern thong underwear was introduced by Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York City.

    A pair of skimpy, frilly underwear

    5. There are only two escalators in the entire state of Wyoming.

    6. Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's son, was in close proximity to three out of four presidential assassinations.

    portrait of Robert Todd

    7. Clownfish can change their sex, including their reproductive organs, and the process is irreversible.

    clownfish swimming

    8. If you're being violent or drunk in Japan the police will get a futon and roll you into a burrito.

    an old man holding a drink

    9. Male ducks have corkscrew-shaped penises.

    male duck on sidewalk

    10. All mammals take about 12 seconds to poop, regardless of size.

    three cows eating grass

    11. Snakes can help predict earthquakes. They can sense them up to five days before, from up to 75 miles away.

    snake with its tongue out on pavement

    12. Ancient Egyptians would use the paste from dead mice to cure toothaches.

    mouse looking at camera

    13. David Bowie launched his own internet provider in 1998 called BowieNet.

    David Bowie looking at camera wearing a colorful shirt

    14. Miss Piggy's original name was Piggy Lee.

    characters Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog looking at the camera

    15. Cruise ships have their own morgues.

    cruise ship on the water

    16. Ladybugs defend themselves from predators by releasing a foul-smelling chemical from their knees.

    ladybug crawling on leaf

    17. Brad Pitt tore his Achilles tendon while playing Greek warrior Achilles in the movie Troy.

    brad pitt

    18. There's a rare neurological condition called Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, which causes people to feel larger or smaller than they actually are.

    characters Alice, Mad Hatter and the March Hare gather around a teapot

    19. Barcode readers only scan the white part and not the black.

    barcode

    20. Martin Luther King Jr. earned a "C" in his public speaking class during his first two semesters of seminary school.

    Martin Luther King Jr. speaking into a microphone

    21. There's a rare ant breed that can only be found in a 14-block section of Manhattan and nowhere else on the planet.

    small red ant crawling on a leaf

    22. Talk about good acting — Toni Collette faked her appendicitis so well when she was a teen that doctors ended up removing her appendix.

    toni colette

    23. Sea otters hold hands while they sleep so they don't drift apart.

    24. In an attempt to make their menu more nutritious, McDonald's once created broccoli that tasted like bubblegum.

    broccoli in a white bowl on a table

    25. President Theodore Roosevelt had a pet hyena named Bill.

    hyena looking at camera in wilderness

    26. Humans are born with two innate fears: fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. The rest are learned.

    baby lying down and smiling at the camera

    27. Because gelatin is made from animal skin and bones, gummy worms technically have more bones in them than actual worms (which don't have any).

    glass bowl of multicolored gummy worms

    28. Miami is the only major US city founded by a woman.

    Julia Tuttle

    29. The first oranges were actually green.

    close-up of an orange tree

    30. A grizzly bear's bite is strong enough to crush a bowling ball.

    grizzly bear staring at the camera

    31. The story you've probably heard about lemmings jumping off of cliffs to their deaths FAKE.

    a person floating from balloons on a cliff

    32. John Cena has granted more Make A Wish requests than any other celebrity in the charity's history.

    john cena

    33. Cookie Monster's real name is Sid.

    character Cookie Monster in front of pile of cookies

    34. Anxious travelers can play with mini horses at a Kentucky airport.

    three women sitting on a mini horse

    35. Coca-Cola cannot be bought or sold in North Korea.

    two glasses of coca cola

    36. A game of golf was once played on the moon.

    a full moon

    37. Lady Gaga once spent $50K on a ghost detector.

    lady gaga

    38. Canadians eat more mac 'n' cheese, specifically Kraft macaroni and cheese, than any other nation.

    39. You can actually go to Hell...Hell, Norway that is, or even Hell, Michigan. And don't worry, it doesn't really get hot.

    sign that says "Hell" on the side of the road

    40. Woodpeckers wrap their tongues around their brain to protect them during their high-speed pecks.

    a woodpecker about to peck a tree

    41. Vending machines kill more people per year than sharks.

    a man getting a snack from a vending machine

    42. Early in his career, Sylvester Stallone was so low on cash, he was forced to sell his dog, Butkus, for $40. When he landed Rocky, he bought the dog back for $15K and gave him a role in the movie.

    sylvester stallone sitting on thestairs with his dog

    43. Most carrots were originally purple before the 17th century.

    purple carrots

    44. Human bodies contain small traces of gold.

    a human heart statue in gold

    45. The original fire hydrant patent (credited to Frederick Graff Sr. in the 1800s) was lost in a fire.

    46. Male giraffes headbutt females in their bladder until they urinate. The male then tastes her pee to see if she's ovulating.

    a giraffe sticking it's tongue out

    47. Former One Directioner Liam Payne has a severe phobia of dirty spoons.

    liam payne

    48. Nutmeg isn't just used in food. It can also be hallucinogenic if consumed in large doses.

    49. Sonic the Hedgehog's middle name is Maurice.

    a statue of sonic the hedgehog

    50. In Singapore, anyone caught chewing, importing, or selling gum could face a fine or jail time.

    lebron james chewing gum

    51. Winnie the Pooh was banned from a Polish playground because he doesn't wear pants.

    winnie the pooh with the other characters from the cartoon "Winnie the Pooh"

    52. Until 2015 in the UK, the coloring in red skittles contained carmine, which derives from the crushed abdomen of female beetles.

    skittles

    53. DUI offenders in Ohio are issued yellow license plates to help police officers identify them while on the road.

    multicolored license plates from Ohio

    54. Inside the Actor's Studio host James Lipton used to be a Parisian pimp.

    james lipton

    55. Jon Hamm was Ellie Kemper's high school drama teacher.

    jon hamm and ellie kemper

    56. Crows can hold grudges due to their ability to remember human faces, especially those who treated them badly.

    a crow on a bench

    57. There's a company that allows you to memorialize the body of a loved one in the form of a reef.

    a reef

    58. The phrase "sweating like a pig" is technically impossible, because pigs can't physically sweat.

    a picture of pigs in a barn

    59. A blue whale's tongue weighs more than most elephants.

    a blue whale

    60. All of Tom Cruise's ex-wives were 33 when they divorced the actor.

    a photo of tom cruise and one of his ex wives

    61. Arsenic wafers were once eaten to improve skin and "facial disfigurements" like freckles and blackheads — well, until people realized it was slowly killing them.

    a bottle of poision

    62. German chocolate cake was actually invented in Texas by a person named Mrs. George Clay.

    a piece of german chocolate cake

    63. Nicolas Cage is known as an outlandish spender in Hollywood. Some of his past purchases include a $150,000 pet octopus, haunted houses, and shrunken pygmy heads.

    nicolas cage

    64. Raw pistachios have been known to spontaneously combust when stored in large quantities.

    Pistachios

    65. Although illegal and dangerous, it's possible to walk from Russia to Alaska via the Bering Strait when it freezes in the winter.

    a huge lake

    66. Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

    a barbie doll

    67. Owls don't have eyeballs. Instead they have elongated tubes held by sclerotic rings. Owls can't move their eyes around, which is why they have to move their entire head to look in different areas.

    an owl

    68. In Japan, editors added a fifth finger to Bob the Builder's hands, so viewers wouldn't think he was associated with a feared Japanese mafia called Yakuza.

    bob the builder

    69. Jennifer Lawrence learned how to skin a squirrel for her role in Winter's Bone.

    Jennifer Lawrence on a red carpet

    70. The first college football game was played on Nov. 6, 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton (formally known as the College of New Jersey). Rutgers won.

    Rutgers football uniform helmets

    71. Flamingos can only eat when their heads are upside down, due mainly to the structure of their beaks.

    a group of flamingos

    72. Before deciding on the name Google, the popular search engine was called BackRub.

    three computers showing the google homepage

    73. Pound cake got its name because the original recipe for the dessert required one pound of each ingredient.

    a plate of pound cake

    74. Before her rise to fame, Madonna worked at Dunkin' Donuts. She was later fired for squirting jelly on a customer.

    Madonna

    75. Walt Disney actually hated the character Goofy, calling him a "stupid cartoon."

    goofy from "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"

    76. Thailand holds an annual Monkey Buffet Festival where residents of Lopburi honor the 3,000 monkeys that live near the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple by providing 4.5 tons of fruit, vegetables, and treats for them to eat.

    a monkey

    77. Shredded cheese packages typically contains cellulose (also known as wood pulp or sawdust) to prevent them from clumping.

    a bowl of shredded cheese

    78. Shakira's school teacher told her she was bad at singing and banned her from choir. Her classmates stated she sounded like a goat.

    Shakira performing on stage

    79. Dr. Seuss created Green Eggs and Ham because his publisher bet him he couldn't write a book shorter than The Cat in the Hat.

    dr. seuss holding a copy of The Cat in the Hat

    80. The Yoruba people of Nigeria are known for giving birth to more twins than anywhere else in the world — 50 per 1,000 births.

    the nigerian flag

    81. Paul Newman taught Jake Gyllenhaal how to drive.

    82. Ears of corn typically have an even number of rows — most have an average of 16.

    a child eating an ear of corn

    83. Jack Nicholson grew up believing his mom, June, was his sister, and that his grandmother, Ethel May, was his mother.

    Jack Nicholson wearing glasses

    84. Long before New York received its iconic nickname "The Big Apple," it was known as New Orange.

    the statue of liberty

    85. The word "podcast" is a portmanteau — a combination of the words "iPod" and "broadcast." The term itself was actually created by accident in 2004.

    A hand holding a Classic silver iPod

    86. The first text message sent to a cellphone happened almost 30 years ago (!) — in 1992 — and the message sent was "Merry Christmas."

    Teenage boy sending text message on mobile phone

    87. In 1953, Swanson was basically forced to invent TV dinners because they had around 260 tons of leftover frozen Thanksgiving turkeys and needed a way to get rid of them.

    A color photo from the 1950s of a housewife opening her freezer and pulling out a Swanson TV Dinner

    88. In 2002, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the first TV show to ever use "google" as a verb.

    Two screenshots from Buffy of Willow asking Buffy "Have you googled her yet?" and "It's a search engine"

    89. In 2005, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" became the first song to sell a million digital downloads.

    The single cover for Hollaback Girl featuring a collage of scenes from the music video for it

    90. The word "meme" isn't new, and was first coined in 1976 by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene — albeit, it did have a bit of a different meaning.

    The meme of Fry from Futurama squinting his eyes

    91. Douglas Hofstadter's Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought was the first book ever sold on Amazon in 1995.

    The cover for the book

    92. McDonald's created Chicken McNuggets because of changing dietary habits in the late '70s (aka people — because of health concerns — were eating less red meat and were eating more chicken).

    A photo of a woman's hand pulling a Chicken McNugget out of a open McNugget box

    93. It wasn't until the Great Depression that movie theaters began selling popcorn as a snack to eat during movies.

    With eyes glued to the screen, a young boy eats a bag of popcorn while attending a Saturday matinee at the movie theater

    94. The first Disney Channel Original Movie was 1997's Northern Lights, starring Diane Keaton.

    Diane Keaton in a blonde bob cut sitting on a bed next to a little boy looking at her

    95. Cap’n Crunch has a full name — it's Horatio Magellan Crunch.

    A box of Cap' N Crunch

    96. The urban legend about the ghost of a boy appearing in Three Men and a Baby actually started after the film was released on home video.

    A screen shot from Three Men a Baby which features the Ted Danson cutout in the window

    97. An extinct species of monkey crossed the Atlantic on its own.

    Monkey eating a banana

    98. Mars constantly makes a humming noise.

    A digitized Mars

    99. When plants are under attack from insects, they let out aromas that warn other plants and entice the insects' predators.

    A rainforest

    100. It's likely that more than 11 species of fish can walk on land.

    Cute fish

    101. Over 1,000 years ago, Puebloans in modern-day New Mexico survived droughts by melting ancient ice in the depths of caves.

    A rock formation in New Mexico

    102. There was a badger-like animal 66 million years ago, and scientists named it Adalatherium, which means "crazy beast."

    a badger

    103. In the past couple decades, supermassive black holes in distant galaxies have launched jets of material.

    A computer rendering of a black hole

    104. Some hummingbirds use colors we can't see to find food.

    A hummingbird at a flower

    105. There is a giant lakebed a mile under northwest Greenland.

    An aerial shot of mountains in Greenland

    106. A 550-million-year-old fossilized digestive tract was found in Nevada, making it the oldest known digestive tract ever.

    A fossil

    107. On average, lightning strikes Earth 100 times each second.

    Lightning over a populated area

    108. And lightning strikes over 100 million times a year in the tropics.

    One strike of lightning

    109. A Cuvier’s beaked whale can stay underwater for at least 3 hours and 42 minutes.

    A Cuvier's beaked whale

    110. Babies' brains are wired to see faces and places.

    A baby smiling

    111. Through sensing electrostatic fields, bumblebees can tell if another bee has visited the flower they're at in the past couple of minutes.

    A bumblebee on a flower

    112. There are four buried lakes on Mars.

    A view of Mars from a telescope

    113. Modern humans reached westernmost Europe 38,000 to 41,000 years ago — 5,000 years earlier than we thought.

    An aerial view of Sete Cidades, Portugal

    114. The oldest known species of pythons were in Germany.

    A python coiled around a branch

    115. A gas associated with living organisms is in Venus's atmosphere.

    A computer rendering of Venus

    116. Some bats make different kinds of sounds to talk about different subjects, like food or sleep.

    A group of bats flying

    117. There's a blue fruit that gets its color from its fat.

    The blue fruit

    118. Tectonic plates became a thing over four billion years ago — at least a billion years earlier than we thought.

    a picture of earth from space

    119. The New Guinea Singing Dog isn't extinct.

    The New Guinea Singing Dog lying down

    120. An animal in Antarctica hibernated over 250 million years ago, which is the oldest evidence of a hibernation-like state.

    Northern Antartica

    121. There's a coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef that's taller than the Empire State Building.

    A colorful area of the Great Barrier Reef

    122. Duckbilled dinosaurs were present in Africa, and they swam from Europe or Asia.

    A 3D rendering of dinosaurs on a beach

    123. Tropical songbirds reproduce less during droughts.

    A colorful bird on a branch

    124. There were periods of extreme cold in Ancient Rome, and it was caused by a volcano eruption in Alaska.

    A volcano in Alaska

    125. Earth's continents were submerged 3.8 billion years ago.

    North America from Space

    126. After sea turtles lay eggs, they create decoy nests to fool predators.

    A sea turtle swimming

    127. One of the Popes tried to ban sneezing.

    cvberdemon.tumblr.com

    128. Cappuccino drinks are named after Italian friars, specifically the hoods of their robes.

    feenyxblue.tumblr.com

    129. And lastly, there is water on the moon.

    A full moon

    Were there any facts here that completely surprised you? Feel free to let us know in the comments!

    This post contains content from Andy Golder, Brian Galindo, Hope Lasater, Morgan Murrell, and Terri Pous. It was compiled by Salimah McCullough.Â