We all live in the same world, on the same planet, yet there are so many things some of us don't know or don't think about on a daily basis. We here at Bored Panda love to teach you new things in the form of interesting facts. But what about a dose of some disturbing facts?
In a recent thread, people shared the unsettling facts that prove that knowledge isn't always power. Sometimes, it's a burden. So, when one netizen asked, "What's the most disturbing fact you wish you didn't know?", folks named surprisingly many phenomena.
Scroll down to see the most interesting ones and tell us in the comments which ones you wish you could scrub from your memory.
#1
Slavery was legal
Colonialism was legal
Jim Crow was legal
Apartheid was legal
Legality is a matter of power, not justice
Human rights are never given by those in power. They are fought for by the oppressed.
Image credits: NewOriginal2
#2
Almost all politicians regardless of party are funded by the same few hundred/ thousand sociopaths at the very top, and we are slowly losing our rights and freedoms in plain sight and we are are sleep walking into a dystopian nightmare.
Image credits: bomboclawt75
#3
How two ten-year-olds abducted and then tortured a two-year-old boy in the UK. My youngest was two at the time and I developed this fear of losing him in a store, worse than the usual kind. I also included children in my stranger danger talks with my children; don’t go with people you don’t know, not even kids.
Image credits: EvansHomeforBoys
#4
S*x abuse in the church is 10X worse then they are letting on.
In my parish there was one priest that was convicted and they are saying the number of boys he molested could be as high as 1000. What is generally not known well talked about is there were 6 others were accused and settled out of court.
Now the really smart pedophiles are selective on their victim. And the victim suffers in silence.
In non-catholic churches I have gone to it is common to hear of a father that is molesting their daughters.
I have met many victims and even with therapy it still puts zing in their brain.
I have come to the point in my life that I want nothing to do with any church. .
Image credits: DistinctBook
#5
During the transatlantic slave trade, sharks developed migratory patterns following slave ships.
Image credits: InternationalBite4
#6
That women are more likely to be r***d by their family(husband/brother/father) in their own bed at home than a stranger on the street.
Image credits: Bananaramolama
#7
The number one cause of death for pregnant women in the USA (possibly worldwide?) is m***er by the father of the baby.
That fact should be on billboards outside every school, hospital, and stadium in the country. Then, perhaps, men would finally start looking at each other and saying, “What the f**k, man? Cut it the f**k out.”
Probably not, though. They’ll probably still be busy trying to figure out why smart women choose the bear.
Image credits: vicnoir
#8
If a woman dies while pregnant she can give birth 😭.
Damita-Ho:
Yep! It’s called a “coffin birth,” where the body will expel the infant. Thats what happened to Lacy Peterson after she died. May Scott Peterson rot in hell.
Image credits: shameismyfriend
#9
Everything there is to know about Teflon. Not just because it's a "forever chemical" that has already insinuated itself throughout the ecology of the planet, but because of the recklessness with which we caused it to happen. It's emblematic of how far over our skis we are with technology.
Image credits: mrbistre
#10
That so many advances in the medical field came from using, k**ling and torturing people. Tuskegee, R**e of Nanjing, Henrietta Lacks, the H*******t.
Edit- misspelled Lacks.
Image credits: amafalet
#11
We live within a few miles of gas, atop floating rocks, being dragged by a star through the great and unforgiving vacuum of space, quite literally a stone's throw away from complete and total annihilation.
And people want to deny others healthcare for no other reason than struggling to pay scamming private health insurance. They're already pooling money for it; that's the thing that gets me, _they're already pooling money for it,_ and could be paying net less for access to anything they need, but are so petty they're willing to pay more for less coverage, just so Random Joe Citizen doesn't get healthcare at all. People making themselves sick, just to make others sick. How sad and small is that?
#12
How prevalent incest is. It happens within every social and economic class, race, political and religious affiliation, country, region, etc.
And then just how many incidents go unreported. Throughout my life so many childhood friends, former classmates, family members, and coworkers opened up about their experiences.
Image credits: kristosnikos
#13
2/3s of people will most likely follow orders from a perceived authority, no matter how heinous.
Image credits: Oddbeme4u
#14
Many doctors don’t want to live beyond the age of 75. My Dad worked in hospitals as a respiratory therapist and always said so too. A doctor wrote an article on the subject many years ago. 75 is the ideal age to go, apparently, based on what they see in their professional day to day.
Image credits: Human-Welder2206
#15
Beagles are very often used in animal testing because it has been found that they forgive better than other breeds and are able to be adopted more often after their traumatic experiences.
Image credits: Spiritual_Review_754
#16
That 1/5 men have admitted to a desire for engaging in p********a if it weren't a crime, but researchers believe the true statistic is more like 1/3. Which is sad because the statistics of girls who have experienced SA is believed to be 1/4 - researchers believe it's actually 1/2 and for boys, the stat is 1/5, believed to be 1/3...and that s**t infuriates the f**k out of me.
What the f**k is wrong with people? Does anyone care that research, even centuries old, states that this type of treatment to children actually causes irreparable psychological harm? The sexualization of children should be considered a crime above murder, IMO, and result in the death penalty within a swift timeline. IDGAF about saving someone - man or woman- whose brain tells them that it's okay to harm children in such an egregious way, even statistics prove they can NEVER be "rehabilitated" and have one of the highest recidivism rates among all types of criminals.
#17
You could be walking around with an undiagnosed intracranial aneurysm and not know it, until it pops at which point its basically a death sentence.
Image credits: Eremitic23
#18
The southwest isn’t going through a drought, it’s getting permanently hotter and drier due to climate change. It’s going to get browner and the aquifers lower as time marches on.
#19
You can develop schizophrenia very late in age. I’m not talking BPSD, Lewy body dementia, or delirium. I mean you can have a full blown psychotic episode that develops into schizophrenia for no apparent reason at any age. It’s rare after age 40 but not impossible. There’s a whole specialty field in psychiatry (psychogeriatrics) that see this regularly. I’ve seen many patients who had very late onset schizophrenia (and late onset bipolar too) in their 80s and 90s. Not cognitively impaired, not delirious, no Lewy body disease, no head trauma, no psychoactive d**g use.
Image credits: HenjMusic
#20
They have a locked caged area for infants and young children at large morgues. That horrible place your mind went? yup that’s why. Learned when filming an indie movie in very large and active county morgue with 500 bodies.
peppers_ghost:
I’ve heard that’s why so many women are employed in morgues. They are less likely ti violate bodies than certain kinds of men are.
Image credits: Even-Fan7692
#21
That anywhere from 17-44 veterans commit s*****e every day.
That’s 6205-16,060 yearly.
#22
Companies have data profiles on you. They collect intimate data.
They know what you eat and when.
They know what time you go to work, the route you take home.
They know what you like to watch.
They know your heart rate, your blood pressure, how fast you walk, how far, and where.
They know your favorite shows. They know how you like your coffee and your toast and what temperature you like your home to be.
They know when you're most likely to run your dishwasher, and how often you fill it for a full wash or run a quick rinse.
They know who your friends are. They know who your family is. They know if you prefer texting over calling. They know when you visit these people, and when and where. They know your shared interests.
None of this is isolated information. This is all contained in a profile that is essentially a digital copy of you. That digital copy is highly valuable currency they use to sell to advertisers. Currency that you agree to giving them through devices you paid a lot of money for (how many hours of work would that have cost you? How many days or months?)
And they use this to influence you like to spend your money in a way you believe to be spontaneous.
This sounds like a conspiracy. But it's a very real industry with carefully engineered processes. And it's happening all the time.
Devices are always "phoning home" which is a real term.
I wish I didn't know because no one cares about corporate surveillance. Everyone only cares about TikTok and Temu and no one gives a d**n about the fact that this technology moves so rapidly that laws have fallen so far behind.
**ETA**: Many people missing the point, so let me clarify that being "boring" doesn't exempt you from manipulation and influence. Actually, a lack of variables in your life makes you easier to predict. What you do and what you don't do are all patterned, trackable data. This is an issue stemming from control. Think about how often you interact with an algorithm. The videos you watch, the articles you click, the images that are presented to you, etc. – if you do not have a strong variety in your reading material, if you do not travel or have new experiences, or if you are not working towards developing new skills or strengthening current ones, then your thought patterns **will** narrow down in a way that will make it easier for someone else to puppet you. Your passive consumption of *the algorithms you are locked into* is perfectly paired with a lack of resistance to its suggestions.
Being sheltered and connected makes you easier to exploit, which could (for example) prevent friction to things like political radicalization.
Image credits: catholicsluts
#23
Scientists have identified about 7000 viruses and estimate there are over a trillion unknown viruses.
Image credits: allmimsyburogrove
#24
Your brain can remain conscious for several seconds after being decapitated.
Image credits: AmberAffair
#25
Being strangled (choked) by a domestic partner increases your change of being m******d by them by 750%. If your partner does this to you, run and don’t look back.
#26
At this very moment, there could be a massive gamma ray burst from a collapsed star heading towards us that will wipe out all life on the Earth. And there is nothing we can do to stop it.
On a lighter note. There could also be a massive EMP from a star heading towards us that will totally fry ALL electronics at once. Instantly hurtling us all back into the pre industrial age. Even our own sun is capable of this.
#27
Our forearm bones cross over when we turn our palm up.
Image credits: StrongAsMeat
#28
That there are ancient viruses and bacteria that are currently frozen in glaciers and permafrost that we, as modern humans, have no immunity to. If that s**t thaws, we could be royally f*****.
#29
How many insect fragments are allowed in food (x fragments per Y grams, depending on the food).
#30
Chickens have the DNA for teeth, it’s just turned off.
#31
"Bugs are living in your eyelashes" compliments of The Dead Milkmen.
Image credits: FletchWazzle
#32
An EMT driver I know says that it’s not uncommon to find toes rolling around on the floor in the back of his ambulance. Apparently people who don’t manage their diabetes can get nerve damage that numbs their extremities. Combined with poor circulation it can cause gangrene and, well, the toe thing. Unfortunately, we have a lot of diabetics in the US so please remind the ones you know to take care of their feet.
Image credits: Migrainica
#33
Child marriage is legal in 34 states in the US.
#34
The percentage of men we meet in our lives who have committed sexual crimes, often against women and children they are connected to.
#35
We will never run out of coal. If we tried to use it all, climate change would k**l us before we would run out.
And the first tunnel under Sydney Harbour was a coal mine, with the pit head at Balmain. You can get coal from practically anywhere in Sydney if you dug a hole deep enough.
Image credits: Sierra17181928
#36
You start digesting yourself if you don't eat for too long. Wild, right?
Image credits: Ok_Pineapple_8730
#37
My parents (both deceased) were swingers back in the 1970s. I happened upon the photographic evidence going through boxes of old stuff to throw out. Is that a disturbing enough fact that I wish I didn't know for this sub?
#38
90% of Australian koalas have chlamydia. It’s passed through s*x, but also through mother koalas feeding their babies “pap” (poop) and through suckling.
#39
Chainsaws were originally invented to perform c-sections. They were much smaller and hand cranked.
Image credits: Samegenxgirl
#40
The human body has around 10,000 different bacteria species in it.
It just sounds like we are truly walking dead.
#41
If you let scurvy go untreated your scars will open up.
#42
The heat death of the universe. Every memory or record of everything we’ve ever done, or anybody or anything has ever done on any planet in the entire universe will be lost.
Image credits: ktappe
#43
That if a person's throat is cut, they generally drown on their own blood before they bleed to death.
#44
The amount of STDs at The Villages. It is rampant. The Villages is a retirement community.
#45
That cheating has a lot less to do with being unhappy in a relationship than people think. It comes down to Proximity and Opportunity from multiple studies. Many people reported being happy in their relationship, and loving their partner, and they had an opportunity and took it.
We try and act civilized and advanced but we really are primitive f**k monkeys.
There are a LOT of people out there that think they wouldn’t cheat, and don’t actively make effort to do so, or put themselves in situations, but if it arose they would find themselves surprised.
The biological imperative to reproduce, mutual sexual attraction and chemistry, and extremely powerful things.
It creates the paradox of trust. People who genuinely trust their partner fully get cheated on all the time and never know it. You can never know, and the data shows there’s a decent chance if the opportunity and proximity arises. But by asking your partner or having conversations for assurance can come across as mistrusting and offensive.
I never understood why some get so offended when questioned, which is different from accusing. I think there is a correlation between how upset someone gets and the likelihood they are guilty.
#46
Hm, interesting question. I know a lot of very disturbing facts, but I don't wish to not know them. Alright, here's one or two:
* The cruel ways animals are tortured and mutilated in the animal produce industry. I wish I did not know that. Well.. I don't know. I think it better to know things.
* I once saw a documentary about a coyote kicked out of her pack. To have pups she would waylay stray pack males, but her puppies were born out of sync, and so the pack puppies were bigger and would torment them.. biting them to hear them squeak, and eventually bully them to death. That image has never left me. I kinda wish I could unsee that.
#47
The average human being swallows about 6 cups of mucus a day.
#48
My half brother who is now deceased admitted to me that he deliberately overdosed his mother with medication she was given by hospice to hasten her death.
He also suggested that I do the same to our father in his last days.
(I didn't.)
He was also was sexually inappropriate with me twice, once as a child.
There's other stuff that he did over the years that wasn't very nice but these two things are heavy on my conscience. I don't even talk to the rest of my half siblings and telling them would not be great because it would start WWIII probably.
He's dead. There's no point but they have NO idea of who that man was or what he was capable of and it's been a very hard secret to keep.
I'm sure they all think the worst of me and think that I disliked him for no good reason. But they have NO idea.
#49
1) The FBI estimates there are approximately 25-50 active serial k**lers walking among us in the USA at any given time.
2) Despite its ban in consumer products, asbestos is literally everywhere. The air we breathe at any given time has trace levels. Random soil samples have been tested to be anywhere between 1-91% asbestos, and anywhere the earth is being disturbed, like construction sites, has loads of it.
The earth's crust is loaded with it. if you've ever been in a dust cloud on a windy day, you were briefly exposed to high levels.
Image credits: Helpful_Finger_4854
#50
That the "dirt" in your eyes in the morning is made from the mites that live on everyone's eyelashes excreting during the night. They're there in the daytime too but blinking your eyes usually keeps it from building up as much.
