Ever fallen down a rabbit hole on the internet and emerged an hour later knowing something you never thought you’d know? The world is packed with fascinating little surprises and strange discoveries. In fact, some facts are so unexpected that your first instinct is to question whoever came up with them.
We’ve rounded up a collection of seriously cool facts to satisfy your curiosity and give your brain some fresh material to obsess over. These tidbits might send you searching for even more answers. So, scroll on and prepare for a few “Wait, what?!” moments. Who knows? You might discover a new favorite fact to drop into your next conversation casually!
#41
"In the beginning you think: it must be a joke, a hoax. But when things start to go down a certain way, when you keep hearing about the story, you realize that it's not a joke."
During the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2002, a group of Special Forces allegedly hunted a 13-foot-tall beast with six fingers on each hand, two sets of teeth, and flaming red hair in the mountains of Kandahar. The last they saw of it, it was being airlifted by a Chinook helicopter to an Army airfield to be flown out of the country on a massive transport plane. No one ever spoke of it again, and officially, the giant doesn't exist. But soldiers stationed in Kandahar for the next several years have reported that it was an open secret among the rank-and-file. And several veterans who served in the region have said that from that point on, they were instructed to point their weapons high by aiming for the head "and then a little higher."
During the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2002, a group of Special Forces allegedly hunted a 13-foot-tall beast with six fingers on each hand, two sets of teeth, and flaming red hair in the mountains of Kandahar. The last they saw of it, it was being airlifted by a Chinook helicopter to an Army airfield to be flown out of the country on a massive transport plane. No one ever spoke of it again, and officially, the giant doesn't exist. But soldiers stationed in Kandahar for the next several years have reported that it was an open secret among the rank-and-file. And several veterans who served in the region have said that from that point on, they were instructed to point their weapons high by aiming for the head "and then a little higher."
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2points
#42
At 6 a.m. on September 5, 1982, 12-year-old Johnny Gosch left his house in West Des Moines, Iowa to pick up the newspapers he had to deliver that morning. He usually finished his route by 6:30, so when a disgruntled neighbor called the Gosch house at 7:45 to ask where his paper was, Johnny's parents immediately knew something was wrong. They headed out to look for him, but all they found was his little red wagon full of newspapers just two blocks from their house. At 8:30, they frantically called the police, who seemed to believe Johnny may have simply run away — but it soon became clear that something far more sinister had happened.
Several other paperboys soon said they'd seen Johnny talking to a man in a blue car moments before he vanished. The man had asked for directions, and Johnny set off to start his route after speaking with him. The strange man then allegedly reached up and flicked the dome light in his car on and off three times before driving away. Another witness said that "a tall man" came out from between two houses and began following Johnny as he delivered his papers. And that's the last time anyone ever saw him again — until his mother claimed that he knocked on her door one night 15 years later.
Several other paperboys soon said they'd seen Johnny talking to a man in a blue car moments before he vanished. The man had asked for directions, and Johnny set off to start his route after speaking with him. The strange man then allegedly reached up and flicked the dome light in his car on and off three times before driving away. Another witness said that "a tall man" came out from between two houses and began following Johnny as he delivered his papers. And that's the last time anyone ever saw him again — until his mother claimed that he knocked on her door one night 15 years later.
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2points
#43
Cynocephali, or men with the heads of dogs, were first mentioned in ancient Greek literature, but they've appeared in countless historical records over the centuries. Ibn Battuta, a medieval Maghrebi Muslim explorer, wrote of men whose "mouths are shaped like those of dogs" while traveling in Southeast Asia. Likewise, Marco Polo claimed to have seen dog-headed people "who are all just like big mastiffs" while sailing through the Bay of Bengal.
These encounters with cynocephali aren't limited to Asia, however. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Christopher is sometimes depicted with the head of a dog, possibly because someone once misread the Latin word "Cananeus," meaning Canaanite, as "caninus," or canine. The Nowell Codex — the 10th-century manuscript that contains "Beowulf" — mentions "half-dogs." And the governor of Cuba reportedly asked Hernán Cortés to investigate claims of men with canine heads living in the New World during his explorations of Mesoamerica.
These encounters with cynocephali aren't limited to Asia, however. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, St. Christopher is sometimes depicted with the head of a dog, possibly because someone once misread the Latin word "Cananeus," meaning Canaanite, as "caninus," or canine. The Nowell Codex — the 10th-century manuscript that contains "Beowulf" — mentions "half-dogs." And the governor of Cuba reportedly asked Hernán Cortés to investigate claims of men with canine heads living in the New World during his explorations of Mesoamerica.
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2points
#44
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a LAN party was the ultimate place to be for any young gamer. A small gathering at a home or communal space with a local area network, a LAN party allowed a group of friends to enjoy multiplayer games together before high-speed internet became mainstream. As players battled for dominance in StarCraft and Counter-Strike while guzzling Mountain Dew and potato chips, these parties could last for hours on end, much to the disdain of parents.
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2points
#45
João Pimenta da Silva, a 71-year-old man from Brazil, spent over a year digging a 130-foot-deep hole in his kitchen floor after a "spirit" appeared to him in a dream and told him there was gold buried beneath his home. He sold many of his possessions and hired workers to help him find the treasure, but his search came to a grisly end last week when he lost his balance and fell into the hole. When emergency services arrived, they found him at the bottom with "open fractures on both legs, hip fracture, laceration of the abdomen and trunk, severe TBI, widespread abrasions, [and] no signs of life."
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1point
#46
In October 2000, a user named TimeTravel_0 posted in an internet forum claiming that "the basics for time travel start at CERN in about a year and end in 2034 with the first 'time machine' built by GE." Over the next few months, the mysterious user — who later went by John Titor — revealed that he was a member of the U.S. military from the year 2036 who had been sent on a time travel mission to 1975 to retrieve an IBM computer. Titor warned that a civil war would break out in 2004 and eventually escalate into World War III, ending in the nuclear annihilation of cities like Washington, D.C. Then, in March 2001, Titor disappeared. Many theories have spread about his true identity over the past 25 years, but to this day, nobody has publicly claimed authorship of these bizarre posts.
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1point
#47
At the age of 27, a Scottish man named Angus Barbieri weighed 456 pounds — so he decided to cut out food entirely to lose weight. He quit his job at his father's fish-and-chips shop in 1965 and embarked on a medically supervised diet, initially planning to fast for 40 days. But his body adjusted surprisingly well, so he told his doctors he wanted to continue, and he ended up going over a year without eating, consuming only medically prescribed vitamins and zero-calorie beverages. After 382 days, Barbieri had lost 276 pounds, reaching his goal weight. So he finally broke his fast with a boiled egg and a slice of bread with butter. He told reporters that he had completely forgotten the taste of food, and "thoroly [sic] enjoyed my egg."
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1point
#48
A marine cryptid popular in Japan, the Ningen is often described as a large, ghostly-white monster that inhabits the frigid seas near Antarctica. The Ningen is said to be up to 100 feet long, with skin the same color and texture as the chunks of ice that surround it. This makes the Ningen especially difficult to spot — but those who have allegedly seen it largely describe it in the same way.
Perhaps most eerily, the Ningen is said to have human-like features, including arms, legs, and five-fingered hands. In fact, "Ningen" means "human" in Japanese. However, some claim that its hands are webbed, or that it has a mermaid-like tail, or perhaps fins and tentacles. But most agree about the Ningen's eyes, which are said to be large, black, unblinking, and prominently featured on its icy white face.
Perhaps most eerily, the Ningen is said to have human-like features, including arms, legs, and five-fingered hands. In fact, "Ningen" means "human" in Japanese. However, some claim that its hands are webbed, or that it has a mermaid-like tail, or perhaps fins and tentacles. But most agree about the Ningen's eyes, which are said to be large, black, unblinking, and prominently featured on its icy white face.
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1point