We know that we’re surrounded by the good, the bad and the completely wonky.
But just when you thought you’d read it all, we found these 18 facts that sound completely fabricated and crazy, but are true as can be.
So hold on and don’t call B.S. just yet.
These unbelievable facts will blow your mind, all over again.
1. So far, wasps have brought down 2 commercial airline flights, killing over 200 people.
On September 12, 1980, the ill-fated Florida Commuter Airlines Flight 65 crashed, en route to the Bahamas, killing all 34 passengers and crew. The cause was determined as a malfunctioning air speed indicator, ruined by mud dauber nests that were not cleared properly from the aircraft’s pilot tubes.
Then, on February 6, 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, after a black and yellow mud dauber got into the pilot tube and built its cylindrical nest inside. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died.
2. A Chinese monk’s devotion has left a deep mark on a temple in the monastery town of Tongren in Qinghai province. The ageing monk has been kneeling in prayer a 1,000 times each day, for the last 20 years, and his footprints are now etched upon the temple’s wooden floor.
3. There is a tree named Pando that is technically an entire forest.
It is the clonal colony of 4700 aspen, that all share the same root system. Pando means ‘I Spread’ the tree/forest is also called The Trembling Giant.
4. Scientists in Mexico were able to turn the country’s spirit of choice, tequila, into diamonds.
This surprise discovery was made when researchers at the National Autonomous University experimented with making ultra-thin films of diamond from organic solutions like acetone and ethanol. The mix that worked best was 40% alcohol and 60% water, very similar to the proportions used in tequila.
This just makes tequila even cooler, don’t you think?
5. A trained Beagle assistance dog won an award when she called 911 after her owner, who is diabetic, had a seizure and collapsed.
Belle, a 17-pound beagle, became the first canine recipient of the VITA Wireless Samaritan Award. She was able to bite into her owner’s phone and call 911 when he collapsed.
Thanks to their keen sense of smell, animals like Belle are able to detect abnormalities in a person’s blood sugar levels. By dialing the emergency number, Belle most definitely saved her owner’s life.
6. Thanks to technology, you now know how the sun sees you!
Here’s an amazing video of what people look like with an ultraviolet camera.
7. In 1850, a man named Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits into the wild for sport hunting in Australia. Less than 70 years later, the rabbit population grew to a staggering 10 billion.
8. A clever 18-year-old freshman crowdfunded his education by asking 2.8 million people for one penny.
In 1987, chemistry freshman Mike Hayes wrote to Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene, asking him to request that each of his readers send Hayes a penny.
Soon, the ‘Many Pennies for Mike’ campaign had the equivalent of 2.3 million pennies to its name. Mike was able to finance his college education, thanks to this quirky scheme, and graduated from the University of Illinois.
9. Penguins can drink salt water!
The supraorbital gland in penguins allows them to drink salt water. The gland performs the function of a filter, which lets them separate the salt from the water.
10. Looking to amp up your walking routine? Not swinging your arms when you walk increases the effort of walking by 12%, the equivalent of walking 20% faster or carrying a 10 kg backpack. Feel those calories melt away!
11. Bill Haast, the ‘Snake Man‘, was bitten by snakes at least 173 times over the course of his 100-year-old life. The secret to his survival was that he injected himself with snake venom every single day for 60 years and built up an immunity to the poison.
However, this did not come easy. He was bitten fatally about 20 times. His hands were disfigured and mangled after close encounters with these poisonous predators.
Over the years, Bill Haast saved many lives. He traveled around the world and donated his antibody-rich blood to 21 snake bite victims.
12. If all the observable stars in the galaxy were divided up among our population, everyone would have 44.1 trillion stars. Just the thought of that makes me happy.
13. Two hours after doctors pronounced him dead, a premature baby was brought back to life by his mother’s cuddles.
She picked him up and pressed him to her chest, told him that his name was Jaime and that he had a little sister and held him close to herself for two hours, when he miraculously started breathing.
14. Nature’s many mysteries! A species of frog, found in Alaska, completely freezes during the winter. While frozen, the frog stops breathing, its heart stops beating, its blood stops flowing, and it cannot move at all. However, when spring sets in, the frog’s body thaws and normal life continues.
15. Just a spoonful of matter taken from a neutron star would weigh more that Mt. Everest or 900 pyramids of Giza. That’s more than 5,500,000,000 mammoth tons.
16. A sheep in China gave birth to a ‘sheep dog’ that sharply resembles a dog and even plays like a hound!
Chinese farmer Liu Naiying was shocked when one of his sheep gave birth to an odd looking creature. The lamb looks a lot like a dog, despite being covered in wool. Mr. Liu admitted he was frightened at first, never having seen anything like this in the 20 years he has been raising sheep.
17. A prison in Brazil uses geese as an alarm system.
An overcrowded prison in Brazil has put in place a rather alarming security detail. It has employed two geese to alert security guards when convicts try to escape, as well as when violence breaks out.
Sobral prison warden Wellington Picanco said that the geese make a lot of noise when they sense ‘strange movements’.
18. The school of your dreams actually exists. The Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts, U.S., has done away with a prescribed curriculum and does not conduct tests or assign homework. In fact, no classes are held unless they are requested for, by students.
But here’s what’s surprising – 82% of these students get accepted to college, as opposed to the 63% national public school average.