Life can be scary, and a lot of times we push certain fears aside just to get through the day. But when those fears show up as undeniable facts, they hit a bit differently. Just like a small fall on the ice can remind you how fragile the human body is, a quiet moment under a sky full of stars can make you suddenly aware of how tiny we are in the universe.
A Reddit user recently opened a discussion on facts that genuinely scare people, and the answers spanned the cosmos, the body and even everyday routines.
We picked the ones that really stood out… see if they get you thinking too.
#41
Women can and do have heart attacks without ever knowing or showing symptoms.
Report
4points
#43
Prions exist. Basically, they’re a messed up protein that causes other proteins to fold wrong, which is fatal. I don’t know the science- just that prions are terrifying. That’s what caused the “Mad Cow” disease back in like the late 90s? Over in the UK. I learned about prions then as a kid and been scared since.
Report
4points
#45
In 1859 a solar storm hit the earth with so much power it sent sparks through telegraph wires. The next one, and there will eventually be a next one, will fry most of our infrastructure.
But hey good news, we may not live to see if. If a single biologist on this planet figures out how to make harmful "left handed" microbes (microbes that are identical to existing ones but with proteins facing the opposite direction) it will probably wipe out all life on the planet because absolutely nothing is adapted to deal with it.
But hey good news, we may not live to see if. If a single biologist on this planet figures out how to make harmful "left handed" microbes (microbes that are identical to existing ones but with proteins facing the opposite direction) it will probably wipe out all life on the planet because absolutely nothing is adapted to deal with it.
Report
3points
#46
My solution to the Fermi Paradox ("so where are all the aliens?"). Its much more likely by probability that aliens have not just already come to earth but have already colonized it if they were intelligent enough to have the technology to do so, than they haven't, we just aren't aware.
3points
