15 Real, Proven Facts That Are So Unbelievable, They Kinda Sound Like Bullsh*t

Recently, Redditor u/kinein_myrrhine asked, "What is a real, proven fact that sounds like impossible fantasy bullshit?" As an enjoyer of any kind of fun fact, I took it upon myself to sift through some of the best facts in this thread, fact-check them, and share them with you all! So, without further ado, here are 15 facts so unbelievable, they seem false, but are 100% true:

Note: responses have also been pulled from these similar threads.

1."Babies have more bones than adults. A lot more."

x-rays of babies

2."There's a jellyfish that doesn't have an anus! Whenever too much waste product builds up in its body, it simply makes a hole somewhere on its body, discharges the waste, and then the hole closes back up again."

—u/lonely_nippleThis is the warty comb jelly, the only creature we know of that does this. When it has to go, part of its gut fuses with the outer layer of its

3."The US military has lost several nuclear weapons and not all of them have been recovered."

a bomb going off at night

4."It took a long time for the Giant Tortoise to be scientifically recognized because to be catalogued, a sample had to reach London. Turtles turn out to be really, really good to eat."

two giant tortoise

5."That butterflies retain memories from their larval (caterpillar) form. So while it is all goo in the pupa form, something is keeping some memories intact."

illustrated photographs of the different stage of a butterfly coming out of its cacoon

6."The first English scientists to receive a preserved platypus were so absolutely 100% convinced it was a hoax that he nearly took the specimen apart trying to find evidence that it had been assembled from multiple different animals."

—u/SoldMySoulForHairDyeIt's true! In 1799, zoologist George Shaw — the first to publish a description of a platypus — said of the animal,

7."The Children's Crusade was a Holy Crusade made up nearly entirely of children. Their goal was to siege and take the Holy Lands for the Catholics, fixing their fathers' and brothers' perceived failures and taking the city. Most of them died before getting anywhere out of Europe."

drawing of and army of children wearing armor and holding swords

8."If there are 23 people in a room, the probability that two people have the same birthday is over 50%."

someone blowing out birthday candles

9."Previously fish-free lakes and ponds can be populated by fish thanks to migrating ducks. When ducks eat fish eggs, some of them can pass through the digestive system unharmed and hatch in new waterways."

—u/sola_clamoris

10."The release of all of the original Star Wars trilogy is closer in time to WWII than the present day."

a scene from star wars and soldiers marching during the war

11."I remember reading that if you look at pictures of sick people, your immune system will automatically give itself a little boost just by looking at the pictures."

person about to sneeze

12."There are more bones in gummy worms than real worms."

—u/PandaAnt17A common ingredient in gummy worms (unless specified to be vegan) is gelatin. Gelatin is made from animal bones, skin, and cartilage, which are processed for their collagen. Real worms have no bones, as they are invertebrates and actually have a hydrostatic skeleton. So, it looks like gummy worms really do have more

13."Animals can see completely different colors than us. Pretty wild when you think about it."

closeup of a cat's face

14."There is a jellyfish that is 'immortal.' It returns back to pupa state and then again grows and repeats the cycle!"

—u/AkkadBakkadBambeBo80Turritopsis dohrnii, aka the Immortal Jellyfish, can transform back into a polyp (the

15.And finally, "That sharks are older than the rings of Saturn."

a shark in water and saturn

Do you know a fun fact like these? If so, tell us about it in the comments below!

Note: Reddit submissions have been edited for length, clarity, and correctness.