Someone Asked People To Share "Real But Crazy Facts That Could Save Your Life" And Here Are 30 Of The Most Helpful

We've all been there – scrolling through our feeds, only to be interrupted by a random fact that we never knew existed or needed to know. From the fact that a group of flamingos is called a "flamboyance" to survival using a plastic bag, there's no denying that random facts have an almost hypnotic appeal to us all. Especially those that increase our odds at survival. 

The fascination with random tidbits of information, then, has become kind of a cultural phenomenon. There are websites like Reddit and social media accounts, such as 'Unbelievable Facts', dedicated solely to sharing these curious pieces of information. But what is it about these facts that capture our attention? The element of surprise or, perhaps, the feeling of stumbling upon something absolutely gobsmacking?

In order to dig deeper and understand the appeal of random information, Bored Panda reached out to Scott Young, an entrepreneur and a Wall Street Journal bestselling author of "Ultralearning." He believes that there's no such thing as useless information, whether you're reading about sea cucumbers breathing through their butts or the King of Rock, Elvis', tragic demise on the toilet.

"I tend to think that we tend to underrate the value of 'useless' knowledge," Young said in an email. "The more things you know about something, the better you’re able to remember and reason about new information you encounter." We guess, when putting it that way, trivia nights don't sound that bad.

Another reason why we can't get enough of these lists full of juicy bits of information is quite simple, really - it's curiosity. Or as Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher, called it, "the lust of the mind."

Duncan Pritchard, a professor of philosophy, specializing in epistemology (the science of knowledge) at the University of California, Irvine, believes we are quite lucky to have this biological trait. "We often don’t know what facts are useful in advance, so it’s helpful to be gaining new information," he told Bored Panda in an email. "Particularly, surprising information, as it may drive further useful inquiries in the future."

You know that feeling when you're scrolling through your feed, and suddenly you find yourself deep in a rabbit hole reading about a celebrity's latest feud, or some obscure conspiracy theory, like "Illuminati"? Well, turns out, that's just your insatiable curiosity at work. The same way we accidentally learned how to make a fire by striking rocks against each other.

Yes, the practical application of most of this information applies to water cooler chats and awkward 'breaking the ice' moments. Still, though, we just can't help but indulge in learning about things that seem utterly irrelevant to our lives. Partly because it makes us feel good about ourselves.

"Learning something surprising can make us feel clever — this is one feature of the internet, in that it makes us feel that we know things that we probably don’t know that well at all," Pritchard explained. "It’s nice to feel clever!" It sure does, especially when there's dopamine involved, a Scooby Snack-type of hormone that makes us feel good as a reward for doing/learning something new. 

And thus, "sometimes we are just interested in surprising information for its own sake," as Pritchard argued. "There’s a joy we get from learning something new, independent of whether it has any practical utility."

But what happens if your hunger for curiosity suddenly starts declining? It's been widely reported that as we get older, naturally, we start showing a lower level of intellectual curiosity. For those who would like to rekindle their eagerness to learn new things, Young suggests looking at it this way: "What’s something you’re already curious about and could perhaps make an effort to learn more about?"

Curiosity, he explains, "can be paradoxical in that it tends to increase as we know more — more knowledge doesn’t just fill in what we know, but also shows what we’re missing."