Everyone knows that a fun fact can break the ice at parties or lower the tension in the office or with your friends. It provides a moment of incredulous wonder that startles the mind and creates a sense of endearment towards the purveyor of said fact.
Of course, the best facts are the ones that make people’s eyes bulge and jaw drop. Ones that make whoever you are talking to go, “wait, what?!” Facts like these are easy to find and if you can remember a few and store them in your arsenal you will have some excellent conversation fodder for future.
Luckily, we have rooted around and found some top notch facts for you to wow your friends with in 2018.
- There are bones on Seymour Island, Antarctica, that show that around 40 millions years ago, penguins reached an incredible 6 feet in height and weighed around 250 pounds. Can you imagine a human sized penguin waddling around in the Antarctic Peninsula? They wouldn’t look like such cute creatures then.
- From the 5th until the 16th century, England and Scotland hosted flyting events. These were essentially the medieval equivalent of rap battles and involved participants hurling witty insults at one another.
- You know how clouds look all light and fluffy? Well get ready for your mind to be blown. The average cumulus cloud weighs around 1.1 million pounds. This is because it contains up to 200 tonnes of water. No wonder turbulence can get so bad!
- It has been scientifically proven that a large head, round face and big eyes are an adorable collection of features. This cuteness then motivates care-taking behaviours in other individuals. This is why we find babies so cute and want to look after them.
- During the night the discs of your spine relax, meaning that you are actually about 1% taller in the morning than you are in the evening. Make sure you get to basketball try-outs first thing!
- Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire. The former is believed to have been founded in 1096, although the date is unsure. The Aztec Empire came way later, in the 1400s.
- Mammoths co-existed with the building of the pyramids. In fact, mammoths didn’t go extinct until around a millennium after the completion of the Great Pyramid.
- For 15 years, the mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna was a cat named Stubbs. He died last year to the great sorrow of the inhabitants of the town. If a cat was in charge of a town for 15 years, Trump being elected to office makes a lot more sense.
- Sloths live in moist and humid conditions, which means that sometimes plants grow in its fur. On top of this, the creatures have poor eyesight. As a result of these factors, sometimes sloths grab their own arm, thinking it’s a branch, and fall to their death.
- Ever wanted to know the difference between a hare and a rabbit? Well, a hare is born covered in hair and able to see while a rabbit is born blind and naked.
