While social interaction has proven to be a major factor in improving cognitive health, other components of trivia, such as learning new facts and recalling older information, can also be significant, says Professor Scott Brown from the University of Newcastle.
"Practicing pub trivia helps maintain our cognitive reserve, which is especially important as we age because it can provide a buffer against cognitive decline and other forms of dementia. It's the 'use it or lose it' notion, where if we keep doing these activities to work our cognitive muscles, it keeps them from atrophying early," he explains.
Professor Brown adds that the rewards of getting questions right, or even better, winning, can boost your mental health, and the dopamine rush can be both rewarding and motivating to learn more.
So let's dive straight in! Reddit user Own_Championship7862 made a post on the platform, asking everyone, "What's an unusual fact that most people don't know?" Since the replies have been pouring in, we decided to compile some of the most surprising ones and help you expand your knowledge.
#21

When someone gets a kidney transplant they generally just cram the new one in and don't take out the old ones. So the person ends up with three kidneys.
More eels swim out of the Bermuda Triangle than swim into it
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126points
#22

McDonald's engineered bubblegum flavoured broccoli in an attempt to get kids to eat more vegetables.
They still didn't want to eat it.
107points
#23
The Eiffel Tower can be 15 centimeters taller during the summer due to thermal expansion
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103points
#26

The raw image we see with our eyes is actually upside down. Our brains subconsciously flip it back to the correct way.
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95points
#27
Marriage between pirates were common and where the term Matey comes from. the French word for Matey is “Matelot” or “Matelotage” which was an agreement between two pirates to share their income and even inherit the other’s property in case of death
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91points
#28
Medical students commonly learn how to administer pelvic exams by practicing on unconscious patients, often without first obtaining explicit consent from patients to do so. While 21 states currently have laws that require teaching hospitals to obtain consent from patients to participate in this educational experience.
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90points
#29
A quarter of the population of Iceland is part Native American because when Lief Ericsson landed in Newfoundland, he brought one Native American woman back with him.
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86points
#30
The Atari 2600's release date and the last execution by guillotine happened less than 24 hours apart
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86points
#32
Octopuses have a brain in each of their tentacles as well as a main one in their body.
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79points
#33
T-Rex is closer to us than Stegosaurus. Curse your sudden yet inevitable betrayal
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79points
#35
Male rhesus macaques will pay to see pictures of female monkey butts. Payment is in the form of trading their juice rewards
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74points
#37

Bone marrow transplant, it’s possible blood type may change to the donors blood type
72points
#39
Frogs swallow with their eyeballs. They use their eyes to help them push the food down.
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65points
#40
A species of frog, the African clawed frog, was the most reliable pregnancy test for a few decades before at-home tests were widely affordable and accessible
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65points




