History,CuriositiesSEP 13, 2022

Someone Asked "What Is A Fun Fact That Is Mildly Disturbing?" And 35 People Delivered

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The internet is a powerful tool. There are seemingly no limits to the amount of information, both relevant and completely irrelevant, you can look up on your screen at any given time. Whether we’re talking history, wildlife, or downright amusing bites of wisdom nobody even asked for, the web makes it look like the world is a truly fascinating place. Well... usually. Because every now and then, your curiosity takes you to unfamiliar places where you wander into some terrifyingly creepy collections of trivia.

But facts are facts, no matter what. And to really see the whole picture, we sometimes have to roll up our sleeves and venture down the knowledge rabbit hole filled with darker tidbits of information. "What is a fun fact that is mildly disturbing?" asked Redditor chilloutjack and immediately kicked off a thread that is not for the faint of heart.

We've gathered some of the most 'unfun' responses from the thread to share with you all, so continue scrolling! Upvote your favorite entries and let us know which ones creeped you out the most below in the comments.

#1

Someone Asked "What Is A Fun Fact That Is Mildly Disturbing?" And 35 People Delivered

The rescue dogs from ground zero on 9/11 developed PTSD and needed therapy afterwards because there were so few survivors and so many dead recovered that they thought they'd screwed everything up and done a bad job.

jeg26, Fermin Rodriguez Penelas

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678points

#2

If we held a minute of silence for every victim of the holocaust we will be silent for eleven and a half years

GonzagaPrep2021, Ann Buht

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617points

A brief scroll through this thread proves that the world is both fascinating and frightening. After reading the uncomfortable revelations users typed out in this 'Ask Reddit' thread, those pieces of trivia are bound to keep you awake at night. And you’re definitely not the only one, as the post has amassed over 40k upvotes with over 15k people sharing their little nuggets of wisdom.

But where does this universal drive that pushes us to explore the unknown come from? It seems to draw us into the unfamiliar, urging us to venture into the shadows to uncover the dark facts we never knew about before.

Turns out, this mysterious driving force is something we’re all familiar with — it’s our curiosity. If we allow our craving to know and understand to roam freely, it can take us to exciting places. As Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and best-selling author of Why? What Makes Us Curious, explained to The World, humans are innately curious creatures. "Other animals are curious, but only humans are worried and curious about reasons and causes for things. Only humans really ask the question, 'Why?'"

#3

The entire Universe outside our galaxy could have completely disappeared over 20,000 years ago and we still wouldn't know it yet. Our view of the Universe is actually what it looked like anywhere from thousands to Billions of years ago -with no way to see what it actually looks like "right now". Imagine if you looked out your front window and saw your yard as it was 6 months ago, neighbors house across the street a year ago, and houses a block or two away as they were several years ago. Also off in the distance you see the glaciers from the last ice age. That's what it's like looking out at the Universe.

UEizo, pexels

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457points

#4

If Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin got stuck on the moon the official policy was to cut communication and let them suffocate in silence, Nixon even had a speech prepared in case this happened.

thewhiterabbit223, picryl

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373points

#5

The phrase "shoot for the moon. If you miss you'll land amongst the stars."

The next nearest star is 4.3 light years away. If you miss the moon, you're absolutely f****d

Saziol

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359points

According to him, this eagerness to understand is something we’re born with. "There are many studies that have shown that there is a strong genetic component to curiosity," he said.

"It is also the case that some people are more curious than others, in the same way that some people have a talent for music and others don’t or some people are smarter than others. But all people are curious, with the possible exception of people who are very deeply depressed or have certain kinds of brain damage."

#6

Snow White is 14 years old, and Walt Disney instructed animators to make her look "old enough to marry".

NoThisIs-Patrick

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309points

#7

There's a condition in which people become blind, but deny their blindness. The brain creates false perceptions to fill in for the lack of sight.

It's called the Anton Syndrome

nunped, Thirdman

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287points

#8

There are an estimated 35-50 active serial killers in the US. Famous serial killer Edmund Kemper (I think?) said he thinks that number is way higher because it was so easy not to get caught (he turned himself in).

rosewater___

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285points

There also seem to be two basic types of curiosity: perpetual and epistemic. We feel the former when we see something that surprises or puzzles us or doesn’t match up with our existing knowledge. "It is felt as a sort of uneasiness, an unpleasant situation, a bit like an itch you need to scratch," Livio explained.

The latter one, epistemic curiosity, is our love of knowledge and our desire to learn new things. "Our brain and our mind assign value to this knowledge, so this is usually experienced as a pleasurable thing, with an anticipation of reward in the form of what we learn," Livio added.

#9

Bunnies actually have the ability to scream, but they will only scream if they feel they are about to die.

The-Clever-Idiot

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281points

#10

Dolphins can and will pick stuff up and move it around using their penises

Mr_Sugar_Rush, Pixabay

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265points

#11

Male giraffes will headbutt a female in the bladder until she urinates, then it tastes the pee to helps it determine whether the female is ovulating.

-eDgAR-, pexels

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257points

This particular drive pushes us to become rounded and well-informed citizens by striving to know more about our planet. Even if this means stumbling upon slightly disturbing truths we may immediately want to forget. Because life isn’t just about amusing tidbits of knowledge you can whip out during your weekly dinner party. It is also full of uncomfortable historical and scientific facts that allow us to build a broader perspective.

Unfortunately, our eagerness to learn and understand tends to diminish as we grow older. While we still share our love of knowledge, it’s harder for us to take risks to find that novelty. But that shouldn’t stop us from picking up a few tips and tricks on how to become better at sparking our curiosity.

#12

When you're cremated, your teeth explode from the heat.

Vektorien, moein moradi

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247points

#13

Chimpanzees just flat out love to eat monkeys.

They love it so much they’ve feasted on certain breeds to local extinction.

Always found this mildly (moderately) disturbing because of the similarities in the species, like if wolves sought after puppies.

YourDailyDevil, Pixabay

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245points

#14

When a male lion takes over a pride he will engage in infanticide and kill (and/or eat) all of the cubs that the previous male breed.

I know more disturbing facts than I care to admit.

Eddie843, Pixabay

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236points

To gain some insight on the topic, we reached out to Nancy K. Napier, Ph.D., a Distinguished Professor Emerita at Boise State University and author of Unfolding Curiosity: Wrinkles and Surprises from Business and Beyond. According to her, when it comes to curiosity, she’d offer the idea of "just a little".

Napier explained that previously she hadn’t realized that curiosity can be like an upside-down U-shaped curve. "We need to know just a little about something to make us curious to know more," she told Bored Panda. "If I've never heard of pro wrestling, I'd never even think to ask about it. So a bare minimum sparks curiosity."

#15

Christopher Mintz-Plasse's mom had to be on set during the filming of his (attempted) sex scene in *Superbad* because he was only 17 at the time it was being filmed.

FloralBison

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229points

#16

Want to ruin Finding Nemo?

Clownfish live in groups that are all male except for the biggest and most aggressive fish who is the Dominant Female. The next biggest fish is the Dominant Male, and these two are the only ones who breed. When the dominant female dies, the dominant male changes gender to become the dominant female. All the other males then fight to become the dominant male, and the cycle continues.

If you keep a Clownfish male on his own for long enough, he will become female.

Sygga

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224points

#17

There was a series of movies during the 1980s called the “Guinea Pig” films that were so gory that the director of the movies was actually investigated by the cops and had to show how he did the effects

DaNkMeMeKiNg69420, Jakob Owens

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223points

Another thing that immediately awakens an interest is personal connection. "For me, at least, if there is a human connection, it's much easier to become curious," Napier revealed.

"A few years ago, a coach of Australian Rules Football (huh?) wrote to ask about an article on culture and American football that he'd seen with my name in it. We corresponded, we met, they invited me to do a creativity workshop, I watched the game and because I'd met some players and coaches, I was MUCH more curious," she added. "I'm not a sports fan but when I know someone who's on/in the team, that makes me curious."

#18

If you have a boob job, the database for implants is so well-kept and readily available across the country that they can identify your body based on the serial number of your implants.

MissMadcap

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207points

#19

If you contract rabies it can lay dormant in your body for years until one day you get a headache, and by then its already too late and you will slowly go insane and grow an erratic fear of water and Inability to swallow - then you die.

swagxake

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204points

#20

Burnt humans smell like smoked Texas barbecue.

Before anybody calls me a serial killer, I worked in a trauma ER and the bad burn victims smelled exactly like this.

RidingKeys

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202points

Interestingly, shyness and boredom also pique our interest, the professor argued. "If I'm in some setting where I don't want people to know me OR if I'm bored, then I play a game with myself to shift the spotlight to someone else."

Napier challenges herself to see how long it takes in asking someone questions before his/her/their eyes light up and she has found what excites them. "I once talked with a super boring accountant and used this challenge — it took me about three minutes to learn he's a world-class fly fishing expert and we were off and running for 45 minutes. I learned a lot and he was thrilled to talk about that rather than having to talk business," she mentioned.

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