We deal in facts here; whether or not you deem most of them “useless” is up to you. Most facts aren’t technically relevant to every day life, but we love them anyway!
These 18 people were asked to provide their favorite useless fact, and honestly, they really delivered.
Let’s dive in!
18. Just ask Baloo how to eat them.
The largest edible fruit native to North America is the pawpaw. The reason they’re not more popular is because they go bad in a few days so they’re not good for long term storage.
I’ve never had one but I’ve always wanted to.
17. But does it smell?
Birds don’t fart but spiders do.
That was always my dad’s favorite joke. He’d fart, and then “did you see that spider run under there?” as if it was the spider that farted.
Small Me thought that was hilarious.
16. That’s a lot of corn.
There are roughly 800 corn kernels arranged in 16 rows on a cob.
and each individual silk goes to it’s own individual kernel (better?)
15. Well now I want a bat.
My brother’s girlfriend had a pet bat. I learned that bats, or at least this species, purr somewhat like cats when petted.
14. Back in the day.
the first person to be convicted of speeding was speeding at 8 mph
Apparently that was also 4x the legal limit… I mean what were they thinking with that rule?
13. You’ll be thankful for that if they ever lob feces.
Baboons can’t throw overhand.
12. Not a surprise.
Laws protecting animals from physical abuse were created in America before laws to protect children of similar abuse.
Laws protecting children only got some attention after a judge used a law that protected animals to save a little girl that got almost killed by her mother. The judge argued that humans are also animals so she should be protected by that law.
11. For the time travelers in the house.
In the early ’80s, a Toyota Corolla trunk key could open any Corolla trunk.
I once had a 1993 Chevy Beretta and one time I locked the keys in the car. I called my friend I had bought it from to see if he had a spare key, he said ” just put any old key in the door and it will pop open” I couldn’t believe when my house key open the car door. Stopped keeping anything in there after that haha
10. The more you know.
Mario has overalls so his arms could be distinguished from his torso even with very primitive sprites. Similarly his hat and mustache are to hide his hair and mouth.
Donkey Kong was originally supposed to be a Popeye game (Jumpman was originally supposed to be Popeye, Pauline originally Olive Oyl, and Donkey Kong originally Bluto) but Nintendo’s deal with Paramount fell through before the game was finished.
Mario was originally Popeye.
9. I feel sorry for the ladies.
Barnacles can have penises up to 8 times their body length.
While length doesn’t vary significantly between populations, thickness does, with barnacles in more turbulent waters having girthier things to prevent them from snapping off in the current
8. I mean.
A lobster is more aerodynamic than a Jeep Wrangler.
The top reply to this comment last week was, everything is more aerodynamic than a Jeep.
7. Cats are all the same.
The cheetah is the only cat that can’t retract its claws.
My damn cat was reaching under the dishwasher the other day and got his claw stuck. Started yowling like he had it caught in a rat trap.
It took two of us to calm him down enough for me to reach under and dislodge his claw from… nothing. He was faking it the entire time and just wanted attention.
6. Don’t believe the rumors.
Domestic rats are actually really into cleaning. Some will even use a certain area of a cage to store trash.
Source: I’ve owned rescued feeder rats for the past several years. They stuff any trash into an extra bowl and have not been taught this behavior.
5. Sharks get a bad rap.
Annually, there are less shark bites in the world than the number of people bitten by other people in New York alone.
4. Not ancient history.
Anne Frank, Martin Luther King & Barbara Walters were all born the same year.
3. I had no idea.
The banana tree is not a tree and is in fact the worlds largest herb.
And bananas are berries. And strawberries are not berries.
What you mistake for seeds on strawberries are actually ovaries.
2. Definitely useless.
If you open your eyes in a pitch-black room, the color you’ll see is called “eigengrau.”
eigen = own Grau = gray So it’s your own gray
1. They’re actual dinosaurs.
Sharks have been around longer than saturn’s rings.
Add this to the long list of things that sharks are older than. It’s truly impressive how long they’ve been around.
I’m feeling uselessly smarter already!
What’s your favorite useless fact? Drop it in the comments!
