Have you ever read a fact online that completely ruined the vibe? Like finding out an adorable animal video actually shows a genetic defect, or that your favorite restaurant is secretly filthy?
Some of these truths might trigger an existential crisis. Others could leave you with endless food for thought. For instance, someone recently pointed out a reality that is as obvious as it is painful: we were all born too late to explore the Earth, but too early to explore space.
These disturbing truths were shared in an online thread, and some of them might send you digging through the darkest corners of the internet.
#1
Life is so much easier/better if you have good looks.
© Photo: nerf_stupendousman
#2
Tranquilizer darts or gas that knock a person out instantly, rendering them safely unconscious for a few hours? Not a thing. All you'll get from trying that in real life is d***h, comas, brain damage and sadness.
Keeping someone safely unconscious is a dangerous process with little margin for error. There's a good reason that anesthesiologists are so highly paid.
© Photo: BrotherMalleus
#3
There isn't someone out there for everyone. Some people will never find a partner.
Learning that your favorite childhood movie had a tragic production history or that a household item is secretly filthy can feel like a direct assault on your peace of mind. But science says that there are several psychological, social, and physical benefits of actively seeking out real-world knowledge — even the harsh truths.
First of all, some of these “fun-ruining” facts might actually save your life. We get so much of our information from social media, movies and TV shows, that it’s hard to separate fact from fiction sometimes.
For example, if you try to knock someone out with a tranquilizer or an object to the head (like they do in movies), you will likely cause permanent brain damage, put them in a coma, or worse.
Knowing this truth ruins the movie magic, but it also stops people from doing things that are incredibly dangerous.
#4
Still no evidence any god exists.
#5
Marriage will not change him/her for the better.
© Photo: veritableplethora
#6
Sometime in the future, someone will say your name for the last time.
© Photo: petrichorE6
There is also a real payoff to just being a curious person.
A 2024 study published in the journal Neurology found that lifelong learning, such as reading, playing games, or picking up new skills, keeps your brain sharp as you get older.
The study showed that people who constantly challenged their minds delayed Alzheimer’s symptoms by an average of five years. Even when their brains showed physical signs of the disease, their minds still worked well because they had built up a strong mental backup system.
“There seems to be a societal expectation that adults are not supposed to be learning as much as children are… What if adulthood is one very long summer slide, similar to what students experience during summer break?” says Rachel Wu, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
#7
When people say "you eat like a bird" respond with "birds actually eat twice their body weight.".
© Photo: 2meterrichard
#8
You can't crawl through airduct without being stabbed by hundreds of very sharp screws used to hold the duct in place.
#9
All froot loops are the same flavor.
New facts can make for great dinner conversation, as long as you’re not afraid to bum your friends out a little. That’s a nice bonus on its own. But research shows it does more than that — it can actually reduce depression.
A study published in Health Economics found that an extra year of education led to an 11.3% lower likelihood of reporting depression symptoms, and a 9.8% lower likelihood of reporting anxiety symptoms.
These mental health benefits were even stronger among women and rural residents.
#10
Bread is actually extremely unhealthy for ducks. So while feeding them bread at your local pond, you're slowly k*****g them.
#11
People get more upset and saddened by the deaths of fictional characters then they do by thousands of d**d children in the third world each day.
Including me...
© Photo: bobbechk
#12
The movie **Pursuit of Happyness** is a lie. He didn't live on no money, it was actually a decently paid internship at $1k/month in 1980 money. He wasn't rejected from a women's shelter, but actually stayed at one for some time. He didn't have any money invested in his previous sales job (IE didn't actually own the scanners and just quit it like a normal job).
He didn't even know where his son WAS for the first 4 months of the internship, let alone have to support him.
He also wasn't actually arrested for unpaid parking tickets, but for domestic violence.
The movie is basically capitalist bootstrap propaganda.
Learning facts from around the world also changes how you treat other people. When you read about the lived experiences of others, it builds empathy and expands your worldview.
According to research, the more you know about the history, struggles, and daily lives of other people, the better your brain becomes at understanding them.
By actively looking for new facts and perspectives, you are basically training your brain to be more compassionate.
#13
Pandas are f*****g idiots and would be extinct without constant human intervention. They forget to eat, forget to mate, roll over and squish their young, and are mostly oblivious to the idea that they are carnivores.
Edit: Carnivores by taxonomy, not by diet. They're supposedly omnivores with a preference for s****y, barely-sustaining leaves.
Edit 2: Wild pandas do not exhibit the traits I described. Unfortunately, there aren't many wild pandas.
© Photo: kernunnos77
#14
Pokemon is kinda like simulated dog fighting for kids.
© Photo: boxofrox50
#15
Being invisible wouldn't be awesome because you would be blind the second you went invisible. If your eyes are invisible the light has nothing to bounce back to rendering you unable to see.
© Photo: cwhite8410
Whether it was ancient storytellers, encyclopedia editors, Wikipedia contributors, or anonymous Reddit users, we all have the same instinct. We like knowing about things that make us wonder. We like passing them on.
And for some reason, we really, really like the weird and strange ones.
There’s actual research behind why this happens.
Studies show that curiosity comes from a gap in what we know. When we come across something that doesn’t quite make sense, our brain wants to fill in the missing piece. It’s strongest when we understand just enough to realize there’s more to learn, but not enough to fully explain it.
Strange facts give us just a slice of information which is enough to catch our attention, but not enough to feel complete. So we naturally want to know more.
#16
Those V for Vendetta mask you buy is actually licensed by a major media conglomerate. Every time you buy the mask to make a statement, you are padding some corporation's wallet.
© Photo: pandastock
#17
Harry Potter's parents were idiots and sort of deserved their fate.
* Why didn't they just make *themselves* the secret-keeper for their house? Bill did it in book 7 with his ocean-side cottage.
* Regardless of how "safe" you feel in your presumably secret house, if the most powerful evil wizard wants to k**l you, why would you ever leave your wand more than a hand's grab away? Especially if you heard the door open when you weren't expecting visitors?
* If the said evil wizard is *inside your house* and your husband stays to try to fend him off to give you time, don't insult his life by *going upstairs and making a lot of noise*. Run out the back door. Try to go through a window. Go back into the living room and grab the f*****g wand.
>And along a new and darker street he moved, and now his destination was in sight at last, the Fidelius Charm broken, though they did not know it yet ... And he made less noise than the d**d leaves slithering along the pavement as he drew level with the dark hedge, and steered over it ...
>They had not drawn the curtains; he saw them quite clearly in their little sitting room, the tall black-haired man in his glasses, making puffs of colored smoke erupt from his wand for the amusement of the small black-haired boy in his blue pajamas. The child was laughing and trying to catch the smoke, to grab it in his small fist ... A door opened and the mother entered, saying words he cold not hear, her long dark-red hair falling over her face. Now the father scooped up the son and handed him to the mother. He threw his wand down upon the sofa and stretched, yawning...
>The gate creaked a little as he pushed it open, but James Potter did not hear. His white hand pulled out the wand beneath his cloak and pointed it at the door, which burst open...
>He was over the threshold as James came sprinting into the hall. It was easy, too easy, he
had not even picked up his wand ... "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" Hold him off, without a wand in his hand! ... He laughed before casting the curse ... "Avada Kedavra!"
>The green light filled the cramped hallway, it lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glow like lighting rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut ...
>He could hear her screaming from the upper floor, trapped, but as long as she was sensible, she, at least, had nothing to fear ... He climbed the steps, listening with faint amusement to her attempts to barricade herself in ... She had no wand upon her either ... How stupid they were, and how trusting, thinking that their safety lay in friends, that weapons could be discarded even for moments...
#18
The majority of all pregnancies end in natural abortion during the first few weeks. Most women never know.
Studies show that when people are curious, they actually remember information better. They not only absorb the info they were curious about in the first place, but they retain unrelated details they learn at the same time.
We actually spend a huge chunk of our lives doing exactly this.
We’re constantly feeding that need to know more, whether it’s through watching news or videos, reading articles, or going down internet rabbit holes.
Curiosity is also linked to how we make decisions, because this is what pushes both humans and animals to find different ways to figure things out.
#19
Zombies can't exist. they have too many natural predators (i.e. birds, maggots, insects). Any form of weather is bad weather for them without a regulatory system to maintain temperature (hot days their flesh goes rancid and falls off until they are bone, cold days they literally freeze). At most a zombie outbreak would last a few days.
© Photo: anon
#20
We don't use "10% of our brains", we use all 100%. There is no super secret unlocked powers up there.
#21
There are no hot singles in your area. Sorry.
That is exactly why reading lists like this one is so important. They act as a gateway, pushing you to question what you think you know and dive into fascinating corners of the internet you never would have explored otherwise.
Learning a random fact today might spark a late-night rabbit hole search tomorrow. It might also introduce you to entirely new hobbies, history, or scientific concepts.
It can also train you to become a fact-checker who doesn’t just accept things at face value.
#22
Everyone here was born too late to explore the Earth and too early to really explore space.
© Photo: thatonemiller
#23
If you're in highschool at the moment, the majority of your friends won't even be your acquaintances in the next 6 years.
© Photo: stevenjk
Constantly absorbing new facts keeps your daily life exciting. It prevents your routine from feeling stagnant and builds intellectual humility — the healthy realization that there is always more to learn.
Every single new piece of information you gather can help you adapt to an ever-changing world.
So, don’t be afraid to dig, ask questions, and embrace the strange, uncomfortable truths.
#24
This was in that thread from the "worst things a health inspector has seen"
A lot of soda fountains have maggots living in them...
© Photo: anon
#25
I work in pest control. I don't eat out.
-Correction, I don't eat out because I have seen s**t in restaurants.
#26
*Indiana Jones plays no role in the outcome of the story. If he weren’t in the film, it would turn out exactly the same.*.
#27
'Wasabi' sauce with your sushi is probably just horseradish which has been dyed green.
#28
Your opinion generally doesn't matter. No matter how right you are, or how eloquent you are - stating your opinion to friends, acquaintances, Reddit, etc, will not make a lick of difference to anything or anybody other than yourself.
#29
Michael Banks, the little boy from Mary Poppins, most likely died as a soldier in WWI.
Edit: because there seems to be a confusion for some reason, I mean the character Michael Banks, not the actor who played him.
#30
Because your perception of time changes as you age, the last 50 years of your life feel as long as the first 25.
#31
Green grass that covers nearly every lawn in America is not native to the Americas. The Europeans brought it over when they settled and it slowly dominated prairie grass.
#32
PETA euthanizes A LOT of animals rather than saving them.
#33
You can't save lives by liking and sharing Facebook updates.
#34
The oldest living person? yeah everyone alive when she was born is d**d now. all of them. on the planet.
#35
When you d*e, very likely you will suffer at least a little bit. The best you can realistically hope for is a brief time when you are conscious as you asphyxiate. To put it another way, it takes about the same time to d*e like that as it does to drown. That's if your lucky. Many, many people suffer for hours/days/weeks/months and even years before they pop the twig. The concept of dying peacefully in your sleep is a very few and far between occurrence.
© Photo: TomTheNurse
#36
I was a slot technician in a casino for years. I'd have customers go into a bonus where they had to choose a box or item for their bonus. They'd often ask me which one to choose. I always replied "Do you want me to ruin it for you?". Truth is, no matter what you pick, it is already determined what the outcome will be. If the machine is going to show you that you win $7, it doesn't matter what box you pick on the screen. Technically, they are ALL $7.
Edit: I see there are some casino bosses here that are trying to discredit me. I have been a contractor that was hired by these same people to come and install/upgrade/train their people. I can build a casino from the ground up. I am not the average tech that clears bill jams. I was offered supervisor positions at casinos multiple times and even offered to work on the Vegas strip at an MGM owned resort. I am licensed to work in about 10 states. I did start at a casino as a regular tech, BUT I have 10 years IT/electronics experience before starting. I worked as an overnight tech where I was solely responsible for a gaming floor of 1800+ machines for 90% of my shift. I have experience with player tracking...Bally SDS, Konami NAMB and the Oasis System. I wanted to validate myself. I'll try to answer any questions that anyone has...
#37
Cash cab is half a farce like any other reality tv show. You apply to be on a tv show about New York restaurants and have to pass a 10 question quiz. If you get picked for the show they send you to location 1 and tell you a cab will pick you up and bring you to location 2. When you get into the cab, DING DING DING, it's the cash cab.
TL;DR You're not going to hail the cash cab.
© Photo: shittycats
#38
Disney's straight to video movie "Snow Buddies" had puppies d*e in the process. There was a disease going around k*****g them, and It was easier to just replace the puppies instead of trying to cure the disease.
5 puppies died, and 15 were sick with parvo.
© Photo: HardshellHermit
#39
The girl who voiced Ducky in the land before time died a violent d***h at the hands of her father.
Edit: Yes she was in 'All Dogs Go To Heaven' as well.
#40
Its very unlikely that you don't have parasites ( worms, bugs) inside of you right now, and if you do you would never notice them.
#41
This will probably get buried but Simba and Nala are brother and sister.
#42
Probably 99.5% of the truffle oil on the market is completely synthetic. No truffles are involved in the process at all.
When I tell people this, they look like I just ruined their whole meal. Sorry!
(From Wikipedia: Most truffle oils are not made from actual truffles, but are a synthetic product that combines a thioether (2,4-dithiapentane), one of numerous aromas or odorants found in truffles, with an olive oil or grapeseed oil base.").
#43
You absolutely *can* lose weight. You just don't want to.
#44
Easter bunnies don't actually lay eggs.
#45
When you stand looking up at the stars, realise than instead, you are staring down into an endless abyss beneath you.
#46
If you lose a considerable amount of weight, there's a really good chance you're going to gain it all back plus more.
#47
Eating a banana gives you a higher dose of radiation than living within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant for 1 year.
EDIT: This fact basically exploits the connotations and stigmas surrounding nuclear power plants, as many have mentioned. But it was supposed to be an "a*****e fact," so given that it's misleading makes it all the more a*****e-y.
#48
Electricity travels very fast. In the new spider-man movie, if the physics was up to par, there was no way that spider-man should've beaten electro.
#49
Beck is a Scientologist.
#50
The FDA has requirements for how much insect contamination a food product can have, and still be considered edible.
When a company has too much insect contamination, they don't throw that food out, they just add more "clean" food to pass inspection.
#51
There is a very strong likelihood that you will not find buried pirate treasure.
#52
Photography is easy. Photographers don't like to admit this.
1. Own a decent DSLR.
2. Own a few decent "fast" lenses of varying focal lengths.
3. Know your gear.
4. Understand composition and light.
5. Acquire Photoshop or Lightroom.
6. Understand processing RAW images.
7. Profit
Source: I'm a photographer.
#53
If you live to be 70 years old you will spend TEN YEARS of your life on Monday.
#54
If you were to instantly vanish, there would be a shell of microscopic creatures left behind.
#55
Santa isn't real.
#56
If voting made any difference, they wouldn't let us do it.
-Mark Twain.
#57
There are higher concentrations of bacteria in human dental plaque than in a dog's faeces.
#58
If all known souls are outside of a structure, Firefighters will not actually go into a burning building to save your cat.
The sticker you have on your door telling me about your animals? That one in the tiny writing right above the door k**b? I'm either A) too busy breaking the door down to read it, or B) not going close to the building because it's fully involved.
exception: If I see your dog/cat/pet rock while looking for your (probably) corpse, I'll grab it on my way out.
Exception 2: You've got a kid with big doe eyes asking me to save your goldfish. I totally did that once, and I have to say...it was *THE* best save of my career.
#59
On the show Iron Chef, the secret ingredient isn't really a secret. Both the competitor and the Iron Chef are given a list of three to five ingredients before the battle, of which one will be the secret ingredient.
#60
Praying mantises eat hummingbirds.
#61
Puppies can't see rainbows :(
#62
Mother Teresa is a cruel person. DO NOT SAY THIS IN YOGA! they will ask you to leave, they love that b***h.
#63
Lots of people mistakenly believe the internet represents a fair and accurate cross section of a countries demographic. This is absolutely false, and one of the biggest reasons why society is becoming increasingly fractured and atomised, where everybody seems to be living inside their own bubble. Old people are underrepresented on the internet, as are poor people, as are politically conservative people, as are non-English speakers, as are people from warmer climates. It's frighteningly easy to curate your own existence and beliefs online. Social media has a big role to play. You get to pick and chose who you follow, you decide what news you see on Twitter, you decides what subreddits you join, you decide your friendship circle on Facebook. I feel this is going to help cause some problems down the road.
Reddit for example is predominantely male, middleclass, liberal and young, yet plenty of people read what they see on here, see the upvotes, and assume 'society' thinks this a valid, respected, correct and approved view.
© Photo: GravitationX
#64
Those videos of kittens that fall over adorably when someone pretends to shoot them? Yeah that's a congenital defect. Almost every single cat you've seen in those videos is d**d now because of it.
This is because of myotonia congenita, where the muscles tense up but cannot relax. And in these videos, the person usually goes "BANG!" Which startles the kitties enough to make them fall over.
© Photo: anon
#65
You should be exercising right now.
© Photo: _11tee12_
#66
Dunkin Donuts sell frozen donuts. We heat it up in an oven
I'm sorry :(
edit: from comments it seems like it varies from location, where I worked they were frozen and manager told me it was like that everywhere.
#67
Frodo was a b***h.
#68
The teenage mutant ninja turtles ......... are actually tortoise.
#69
The smell of fresh cut grass is actually a chemical response to being cut. The wonderful smell is actually the distress call of grass a******s.
#70
Everyone you have known has used you in some way shape or form to further their own interests.
Even your mother.
#71
When a cook/chef is sautéing, the large bursts of flame that elicit all the oohs and aahs from the guests are *bad* and *very undesirable*. Unless alcohol is being burned off (which gives a bluish, translucent flame), you do not want any fire above the pan. Those thick, yellow flames used for show are (mainly) burning, aerosolized oil. The cook feels like a b****s, and the guests are all impressed, but the food is going to taste like f*****g kerosene.
Source: I make the food.
#72
When you scratch a scratch off, at least in NY, there are small letters scattered around the game that spell out the total price. If you see a z or x, you lost.
#73
Remember Bubble Buddy? That episode of spongebob is like 15 years old.
#74
There are over 7 billion people on this earth that you dont know. And they dont know you. They dont care about your problems. They dont care if you're too poor to afford food. And why should they care? They dont know you. You mean nothing to this world. You are one insignificant little speck in an ocean of people.
#75
You know the movie, "The Adventures of Milo and Otis" about an adorable kitten and his pug best friend? In producing that movie, dozens of kittens were k****d. In one case, the director broke a kitten's leg so it would walk gimpy.
My girlfriend told me how much she loved that move a few weeks ago. I didn't tell her.
