ParentingMAY 27, 2020

Parent Asks For Mind-Blowing But Simple Facts That Would Satisfy A 3-Year-Old Before Bedtime, Gets 30 Responses

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Kids see their parents as their superheroes and think that they know everything there is to know about the world. But being a parent to an inquisitive child is like living with the constant possibility of a pop-quiz coming up—you never know when they’ll ask you why the sun shines, whether aliens exist, or when they’ll want to hear random facts about the universe.

That’s exactly the challenge that Reddit user MoonBaboon was faced with. The redditor asked the online community what mind-blowing but simple facts would satisfy their 3-year-old son’s daily request for one fact before bedtime. And people delivered!

From facts like pink dolphins actually being real to interesting trivia tidbits like somebody having had the hiccups for 68 years, these bits of knowledge are fun for everyone, not just parents. We’ve collected the best mind-blowing facts, so scroll down and remember to upvote your faves. When you’re done with this list, have a look at Bored Panda’s earlier post about a father who asked strangers for interesting facts to tell his daughter.

#1

Parent Asks For Mind-Blowing But Simple Facts That Would Satisfy A 3-Year-Old Before Bedtime, Gets 30 Responses

Crows can see a color that we can't called ultraviolet. Their feathers have pretty patterns on them, like peacocks, but they're all colored ultraviolet, so even though they look black to us, they all look really fancy and colorful to each other.

surt2, Govisity.com

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141points

#2

There is a species of burrowing tarantula that lets tiny frogs live in their burrows. The frog eats pests that are too small for the spider to get, and in return, the frog is kept safe by the big ol' spider. This is pretty much how the domestication of cats went.

Tiny frogs are tarantula housecats.

The_First_Viking, David Boté Estrada

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128points

#3

sea otters hold hands while they are sleeping to not drift apart

gecko_007, seabagsmaine

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121points

MoonBabboon’s post got over 55.3k upvotes on r/AskReddit and the redditor received several awards for their wholesome question.

Sure, random facts are cool, but they’re more than just that—they actually help turn your child into a more capable person, preparing them for the future. UK researchers conducted a study about the link between how engaged parents were in their children’s learning and how well the kids did academically later on.

#4

Crows have the critical thinking skills of a 7 year old child… which is far superior to most animals

chainsaw_penguin

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118points

#5

Manatees fart to sink deeper in the water, it's like letting the air out of a balloon.

insertcaffeine, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region

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117points

#6

The male emu goes around and collects the eggs that the female lays, painstakingly moves them all to a nest, then sits on them until they hatch. After they hatch he is their only caretaker. The mother isn't involved at all.

WifeofTech, Cathy Stanley-Erickson

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116points

The researchers found that kids do well in school when their parents read to them, listen to them read aloud, help them learn their letters, numbers, songs, and nursery rhymes.

And when the kids got a bit older, they excelled in school when their parents remained active in their education.

So going with your kid on field trips, participating in the classroom, showing genuine interest in how they’re doing at school, and monitoring their progress with homework and tests all lead to better results in school. In other words, honest, dedicated care and attention pay off.

#7

Most elephants weigh less than a blue whale’s tongue is my favorite

MoonBaboon, antoine

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116points

#8

The word "Arctic" doesn't mean "cold" but rather comes from the Greek word for "bear."

Therefore, Arctic means Bear-place and Antarctic means Not-bear-place

LifesHighMead

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115points

#9

A baby octopus is about the size of a flea when it is born.

xenobia92, slingtwit

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114points

#10

The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

nyrmac2152, Lemon~art

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111points

#11

If you shave a tiger you’ll see striped skin.

mixiship

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110points

#12

Blue whales have the loudest voices in the animal kingdom, up to 180 dB. (Jet engine is this loud). They have been known to modulate their calls so as to not hurt the ears of divers. Mothers and calves have also been discovered “whispering” to each other to avoid attracting predators.

bombkitty

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103points

#13

Hummingbirds offer some cool facts:

They're the only bird that can fly backwards or hover and this is due to their wings flapping in a figure 8 pattern.

They eat by sticking out their tongues which is covered in barbs.

They often hitch rides on bigger birds for migration.

They build their nests using gossamer (spider webs) so that the nest will expand with the babies as they grow, they always lay 2 eggs at a time.

When they rest, they go into this catatonia called torpor which lowers their heart rate to less than a quarter of beats per minute as when they're active so that they don't starve to death while they sleep.

urmama22

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101points