The world is full of mysteries and surprises. From bizarre creatures to unexplained phenomena, there’s no shortage of strange facts that will leave you amazed and intrigued.
1) There’s a type of jellyfish that’s immortal: The Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the “immortal jellyfish,” can transform its body into a younger state through a process called transdifferentiation.
2) You have a second brain in your gut: The enteric nervous system, located in your digestive tract, contains over 100 million neurons and can function independently of your central nervous system.
3) Butterflies taste with their feet: Butterflies have taste receptors in their feet, which help them detect the sweetness or bitterness of a substance.
4) There’s a species of ant that’s a slave-maker: The Polyergus breviceps, a species of ant, raids the colonies of other ants and steals their young to use as slaves.
5) The shortest war in history lasted only 38 minutes: The Anglo-Zanzibar War between the United Kingdom and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896, lasted a mere 38 minutes.
6) You’re more likely to die from a falling coconut than a shark attack: According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), between 2004 and 2013, there were 85 recorded shark attacks in the United States, resulting in just six fatalities. Meanwhile, an estimated 150 people die each year from falling coconuts.
7) There’s a fungus that turns ants into “zombies”: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a fungus that infects carpenter ants, controls their behaviour and causes them to climb to high locations before producing spores.
8) The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds: Yes, you read that right! A chicken named Mike flew for 13 whole seconds before landing safely back on the ground.
9) There’s a lake that’s so alkaline it can turn animals into statues: Lake Natron in Tanzania has a pH level of around 10.5, making it one of the most alkaline bodies of water on Earth.
10) You have around 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body: If you were to lay out all the blood vessels in your body end to end, they’d stretch for over 60,000 miles – long enough to circle the Earth more than twice!
11) The longest recorded orgasm lasted 2 hours: A woman in the US experienced an orgasm that lasted for 2 hours, setting a new Guinness World Record.
12) The world’s largest penis is over 13 inches long: According to Guinness World Records, the largest penis ever recorded belonged to Robert Wadlow, who had a penis measuring 13.5 inches long.
13) Women can have multiple orgasms: Unlike men, women can experience multiple orgasms in a single session, with some women reporting up to 20 orgasms in a row.
14) The longest recorded sex marathon lasted 58 hours: A couple in the US set a new record for the longest sex marathon, lasting an incredible 58 hours.
15) You have a unique tongue print, just like fingerprints: Just like fingerprints, every person’s tongue print is unique and can be used to identify them.
16) You can’t tickle yourself: The brain anticipates and cancels out sensations that are self-induced, which is why you can’t tickle yourself.
17) There’s a species of fish that can change its body shape to mimic other fish: The mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) can change its body shape and color to mimic other fish, including sea snakes and lionfish.
18) The human eye can distinguish between 10 million different colors: The human eye has 100 million photoreceptors, which allows us to see a wide range of colors.
19) There’s a type of fungus that turns insects into “zombies”: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a fungus that infects carpenter ants, controls their behaviour and causes them to climb to high locations before producing spores.
