We should all strive to be curious, open-minded, and seek to get as close to the objective truth as possible. However, this doesn’t change the fact that, well, the truth can often be pretty uncomfortable. You need a lot of emotional resilience to live with the knowledge about how the world really works.
Amateur and veteran researchers took to an online thread to share the scariest science facts that they know that might keep you up at night. We’re featuring some of the most powerful ones, and the odds are that you might wish you could unlearn some of them. Scroll down to shift your perspective on how you see the world.
#61
A powerful solar storm could knock out large parts of modern civilization for months. If a massive burst of solar energy, called a Coronal Mass Ejection, hit Earth directly, it could damage transformers, satellites, GPS systems, internet infrastructure, and power grids around the world. A major solar storm known as the Carrington Event happened in 1859, long before modern electronics existed. If something similar happened today, the damage could cost trillions and leave some areas without power or communication for weeks or even months.
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4points
#62
Some research was just released that indicates that microplastics in the upper atmosphere are making climate change worse.
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3points
#64
The AMOK is slowing and following a predicted northward trend as it does. Once it stops, England and Northern Europe will descend into an ice age. The disruption will cause massive collapse in current biological systems. We've got about 50-70 years although it is accelerating toward collapse at a much much faster pace than predicted.
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3points
#65
We don't know how effective the rabies vaccine actually is. We think it's somewhere between 80% and 100%, but for obvious reasons it's difficult to test. Rabies, thankfully, does not transmit all that easily so we don't have a good way to know if an encounter is a viable transmission vector and often times we don't even know if a specific wild animal even has rabies.
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2points
