There is so much we don’t know, and a Reddit thread featuring the most mind-boggling facts just reminded us. Users contributed little-known facts about everything from outer space to crocodiles, and we chose 10 of the most surprising ones. Get ready to get schooled on things you’ll probably never need to know unless you are on Jeopardy.
IF SOUND WAVES COULD TRAVEL THROUGH SPACE, THE SUN BURNING WOULD BE AS LOUD AS A CHAINSAW.
It’s a good thing we can’t hear space activity from Earth. If sound was able to travel, we’d hear the sun burning at 100 decibels, which is about the same volume as a chainsaw, jackhammer, or noisy subway.
ALUMINUM WAS ONCE MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD.
In the 1800s, aluminum was valued more than gold and silver because it was more rare. Unlike iron, aluminum is difficult to extract from ores. Once a chemist figured out how to get some flakes, people loved the color and shine of this new metal.
THERE ARE OVER 200 DEAD BODIES ON MOUNT EVEREST.
Many of the climbers who have died on the mountain are buried in snow, but there are well-known corpses that present climbers use as markers on their route.
GIRAFFES HAVE THE SAME NUMBER OF NECK BONES AS HUMANS.
Both giraffes and humans have seven neck vertebrae. The difference, however, is that each giraffe bone can be over 10 inches long.
CROCODILES ARE BIOLOGICALLY IMMORTAL.
Instead of aging, crocodiles get physically bigger. A young crocodile is actually in the same shape as one 10 times its age. Because they keep growing in size over their lifetime, they require a lot more food. They’ll die from either starvation or disease.
SAUDI ARABIA IMPORTS CAMELS AND SAND FROM AUSTRALIA.
Camels are a huge part of the Muslim diet, and due to a camel shortage, Saudi Arabia has looked to other places to get their meat. The remaining population of wild camels is in Australia.
Australia’s garnet sand is also largely exported to the country because of its unique properties ideal for sandblasting. This technique is used to pressure-clean building surfaces.
THE LONGEST ENGLISH WORD IS PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS.
This 45-letter word is a lung disease caused by inhalation of silicate or quartz dust.
THE PLACEBO EFFECT WILL STILL WORK EVEN IF YOU’RE AWARE IT’S A PLACEBO.
Even after being told that your treatment is a sugar pill, your symptoms can still drastically improve fully knowing it’s fake.
WE’VE ONLY EXPLORED LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT OF THE OCEAN.
The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the Earth, and 95 percent of it still remains unseen by us.
WHEN YOU READ TO YOURSELF, YOUR TONGUE AND VOCAL CORDS STILL SHAPE THE WORDS.
Subvocal speech is when your throat receives nerve signals that control speech. You might be thinking or reading to yourself without saying anything aloud, but your tongue and vocal cords are still getting signals from your brain.
