20 strange but true facts you wouldn’t believe

by Esther Adeniyi · September 29, 2021

Do you want to know how long it’d take to travel to the moon? And where a quarter of your body’s bones are found? Or how do you refer to a nighttime rainbow? There’s a reason why it’s said that reality is stranger than fiction. Here are 20 strange but true facts.

Things and people can shock you in unexpected ways just like when you think you’ve become too cynical and know it all. When you go through these interesting facts from throughout the world, you’ll learn all of this and more. Prepare to be amazed by these 20 strange facts that are somewhat true.

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A company exists that converts dead bodies into an ocean reef.

First on the list of our strange but true facts is a company that converts dead bodies into an ocean reef. I am sure you didn’t see that coming.

The company Eternal Reefs provides a compelling solution for individuals who romanticize a burial at sea. It combines a person’s cremated bones with concrete to form a “pearl” on which loved ones can etch personal messages, handprints, or (green) souvenirs. The pearl is then enclosed in a “reef ball” and released into the water, where it creates new habitat for fish and other sea creatures, assisting in the development of a healthy ecosystem.

A misspelling resulted in the name “bonobo.”

The prevalent name for apes, “bonobo,” may appear to be a translation of a significant term, but it was actually the consequence of a typo. The animals were first discovered in the 1920s in the town of Bolobo, Zaire, but the name of the town was misspelt “Bonobo” on the shipping container in which the animal was housed, prompting others to call the species by that name, which stuck.

A Coffee Break Festival is held every year.

For millions around the world, the coffee break is an important but frequently overlooked element of their daily routine. The town of Stoughton, Wisconsin, conducts an annual Coffee Break Festival to mark the occasion and honour the break. There will be coffee tastings, “brew-offs,” and bean-spitting competitions at the event.

A flying bicycle is available for purchase.

British innovators John Foden and Yannick Read have created a bicycle that actually flies, which seems like something out of a science fiction novel. A folding bicycle plus a lightweight trailer with a biofuel-powered fan motor make up the XploreAir Paravelo. The fan is turned by the motor and given enough runway, it may achieve speeds of up to 25 mph in the air and a height of 4,000 feet.

Dolphins sleep with one eye open when they sleep.

Are you amazed already? Fifth on my list of strange but true facts is about dolphins.

Dolphins are believed to be among the smartest animals in the world, probably due to their ability to save mental energy. Because they must always be on the lookout for predators, these marine mammals have devised a clever mechanism that allows them to maintain partial consciousness while a portion of their brain sleeps.

The first vacuum cleaners were horse-drawn.

One of the early vacuum cleaners was so huge that it had to be transported by horse-drawn carriage from house to house. Customers’ windows were broken, and a gas-powered engine provided the suction that sucked the dirt and trash into a glass container where passersby could marvel at the amount of filth coming from their neighbours’ homes.

The world’s largest padlock weighs 916 pounds.

The largest padlock in the world (according to Guinness World Records) is 56.8 inches tall, 41.3 inches wide, and 10.2 inches deep, and was created by a group of students and teachers at the Pavlovo Arts College in Russia. The entire lock, including the key, weighs 916 pounds. Obviously, whatever it’s guarding weights a lot more!

Pandas poop out the majority of their food.

Pandas eat bamboo exclusively, which is likewise extremely difficult to digest. That means these cute animals need to eat roughly 30 pounds of the stuff every day to receive enough nutrition, and they defecate about half of what they eat

Due to the military, McDonald’s offered drive-through service.

The first McDonald’s drive-thru was erected in a restaurant in Sierra Vista, Arizona, near the military post of Fort Huachuca. Military regulations prohibit soldiers from wearing their uniforms in public, and they weren’t about to change into civilian clothes just to grab a burger and rush back to base, so restaurant manager David Rich devised a solution: cut a hole in the wall so that military personnel could pick up their orders without having to exit their vehicle. The idea soon gained popularity due to its convenience and simplicity.

Alfred Hitchcock was afraid of eggs

The master of suspense, who terrorized audiences with films like Psycho and The Birds, was afraid of eggs. In 1963, Alfred Hitchcock told an interviewer: “I’m terrified of eggs, but more than that, I despise them. When you smash that white round item with no holes, within there’s that yellow round thing with no holes… Blood is a merry, bright red colour. However, the yolk of an egg is a repulsive yellow colour. It’s something I’ve never tried.”

Pigs do not sweat.

If anybody tells you they’re “sweating like a pig,” you should point out to them that when they’re being biologically realistic, they wouldn’t be sweating at all. Swine were born lacking sweat glands, so whenever they need to chill off, the only thing they can do is roll about in a cool puddle of mud.

The more full the fridge is, the less energy it uses.

An empty fridge not only makes deciding what to eat more difficult, but it also wastes energy. It works like this: the more vacant space in the fridge, the more cold air is displaced by warm air when the door is opened, necessitating the appliance to generate cool air to replace it. When the refrigerator is fully stocked, less cool air leaves and less electricity is expended to restock it.

In Germany, there is a LEGO bridge that you can walk across.

Lego-Brücke, also known as LEGO Bridge, is a bridge in Wuppertal, Germany, that looks like it’s made of candy-coloured LEGO bricks and provides a foot- and bikeway for those looking to cross the street below. The bridge, contrary to appearances, is made of concrete rather than big bricks, but it was coloured to look like the popular construction toys by street artist Martin Heuwold.

Only women wore umbrellas formerly.

While umbrellas are used and valued by almost everyone who lives in a rainy area, they were once thought to be exclusively for women, as they were associated with the stylish parasols ladies would carry on nice days to keep the sun off their skin. However, boundaries began to crumble in the mid-eighteenth century, with notable personalities such as benefactor Jonas Hanway using umbrellas during public occasions. Others soon noticed the usefulness of the accessory, and it wasn’t long before males were wearing them as frequently as women.

A cat served as mayor of an Alaskan town for 20 years.

Stubbs, an orange cat, was named honorary mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna in 1997. Stubbs proved adept at the role, gaining fans from all over the world and “serving” in the position for years. He was a beloved symbol of the town until his death in 2017.

The majority of power outages in the United States are caused by squirrels.

According to the American Public Power Association (APPA), squirrels are the leading cause of power outages in the United States.

In ancient times, spider webs were used as bandages.

Doctors employed spider webs to produce bandages for their patients in ancient Greece and Rome. Spider webs are said to have antibacterial and antifungal characteristics, which can help keep wounds clean and infection-free.

Spider webs are also known to be high in vitamin K, which aids in clotting. So, the next time you run out of Band-Aids, go to your attic and get some “webicillin.”

A woman who misplaced her wedding ring 16 years ago discovered it on a carrot in her garden.

In 1995, a woman in Sweden misplaced her wedding ring while preparing Christmas dinner. She hunted everywhere for it, even pulling up her kitchen floor in the hopes of finding it. But it wasn’t until 2012 that she saw it again.

The woman found the ring around a carrot 16 years later while gardening.

The only plausible explanation was that the ring had been lost among composted vegetable peelings.