Test your knowledge with these 100 fascinating facts
No matter your age, there's always something so satisfying about learning new, interesting fun facts. Even better when you get to share those tidbits in conversation. Lull, avoided. People, delighted. it's a win-win.
Trivia exists for every interest, too. Maybe you’re a wordsmith and will be fascinated to learn that a fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia — or that the longest English word is way longer than that one. Think: 189,819 letters long.
Then there are fun facts that will remind you just how different — and quirky — people are all around the world, doing things you wouldn’t even think to make up for movies. Like how a woman in the U.K. once called the police when her ice cream didn’t have enough sprinkles. Or that someone purchased a lock of Neil Armstrong’s hair for $3,000 in 2004. Perhaps you want something a little more … useful? Well, while Rhode Island is the smallest state in the U.S., Vatican City is the smallest country in the world.
It’s always a good time to learn something new. In fact (no pun intended), learning fun and interesting facts and trivia knowledge can actually have a positive effect on your ability to remember new information.
Knowing a handful of offbeat and entertaining facts is also a great way to connect with others. Whether you're trying to come up with an icebreaker at work or impressing your in-laws with your world history wisdom, there's an interesting fact for nearly every situation.
Awkward silence at a dinner party? Share with the rest of the table that it's impossible to hum while holding your nose.
Trying to connect with your social media-obsessed teens? Enlighten them that the real name for a hashtag is an octothorpe. (Don't be too offended if they roll their eyes in response.)
If you want to impress your fellow sports fans on game night, tell them that referees for the final NFL Super Bowl game get Super Bowl rings, too.
Do you have a go-to interesting fact like those? Why not upgrade your interesting fact files with some new ones? Below, we’ve got 100 of the best random facts just waiting to be learned and shared.
Interesting facts for adults
Australia is wider than the moon.
Venus is the only planet to spin clockwise.
Allodoxaphobia is the fear of other people’s opinions.
Human teeth are the only part of the body that cannot heal themselves.
Competitive art used to be an Olympic sport.
The first person processed at Ellis Island was a 15-year-old girl from Ireland.
Google Images was created after Jennifer Lopez wore the green dress at the 2000 Grammys.
Lemons float, but limes sink.
The Eiffel Tower was originally made for Barcelona.
It would take 19 minutes to fall to the center of the Earth.
The real name for a hashtag is an octothorpe.
Neil Armstrong’s hair was sold in 2004 for $3,000.
The longest English word is 189,819 letters long.
The tiny pocket in jeans was designed to store pocket watches.
People once ate arsenic to improve their skin.
“The Terminator” script was sold for $1.
Penicillin was first called “mold juice.”
A fear of long words is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.
The quickest commercial flight in the world is in Scotland.
The first commercial passenger flight lasted only 23 minutes.
No number before 1,000 contains the letter A.
There were active volcanoes on the moon when dinosaurs were alive.
Sudan has more pyramids than any country in the world.
The circulatory system is more than 60,000 miles long.
The Pope can’t be an organ donor.
The world’s longest concert lasted 453 hours.
It’s impossible to hum while holding your nose.
Africa is the only continent in all four hemispheres.
All mammals get goosebumps.
Japan has one vending machine for every 40 people.
McDonald’s once made bubblegum-flavored broccoli.
Finland has more saunas than cars.
The longest time someone has spent holding their breath underwater is 24 minutes and 37 seconds.
Frida Kahlo painted 55 self-portraits.
Avocados are actually fruits, not vegetables.
NFL Super Bowl referees also get Super Bowl rings.
It’s illegal to own only one guinea pig in Switzerland.
Only four countries in the world have national anthems with no lyrics.
The letter “Q” doesn’t appear in any American state’s name.
Walt Disney currently holds the most Academy Awards at a lifetime total of 26.
The average cloud weighs over one million pounds.
Wearing a necktie could reduce blood flow to your brain by up to 7.5 percent.
Animals can also be allergic to humans.
Finland has ranked as the happiest country in the world for 7 years straight.
Bottlenose dolphins are the only other species to have names for themselves.
Your brain alone burns around 400 to 500 calories each day.
Approximately 10% of people are left-handed.
Besides water, tea is the most popular beverage worldwide.
Your heart beats an average of 100,000 times each day.
The first animals to travel to outer space were fruit flies.
Interesting facts for kids
Bats are the only flying mammals.
Tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable.
Chihuahuas are the smallest dog breed.
Snakes smell with their tongue.
Buzz Lightyear’s original name was Lunar Larry.
A chicken once lived for 18 months without its head.
Ketchup was once sold as medicine.
A sheep was the first animal to be cloned.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.
The closest planet to the sun is Mercury.
A mile is 5,280 feet long.
Platypuses sweat milk.
Massachusetts is the home of basketball and volleyball.
Bananas glow blue under black lights.
A woman in the United Kingdom once called the police when her ice cream didn’t have enough sprinkles.
Russia has 11 time zones.
Japan released sushi-inspired Kit Kats.
Comets smell like rotten eggs.
Vatican City is the smallest country in the world.
Bees can fly higher than Mount Everest.
Cap’n Crunch’s full name is Horatio Magellan Crunch.
President Theodore Roosevelt had a pet hyena.
The Hollywood sign used to say Hollywoodland.
Peanuts aren’t a type of nut. (They are actually legumes.)
Blue whale tongues can weigh as much as an elephant.
Skin is the body’s largest organ.
The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.
Fingernails grow faster than toenails.
Giraffe tongues can be 20 inches long.
Shrimp’s hearts are located in their heads.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest building.
The largest continent in the world is Asia.
The fastest animal is a cheetah.
Ants don’t have lungs.
There’s a planet made almost entirely of diamonds.
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States.
Australia is home to the Great Barrier Reef.
The largest animal in the world is the blue whale.
Sea otters sleep while holding hands.
Dogs sweat through their paws.
Flamingos aren’t born pink.
Your nose and ears never stop growing.
Cats can’t taste anything sweet.
The surface of the sun is around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Male deer shed their antlers every year.
Approximately one quarter of the bones in your body are in your feet.
Horses and cows usually sleep standing up.
There are more than one million different species of insects on the planet.
Around 80 percent of orange cats are male.
The world’s largest butterfly, Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, has a wingspan of around 10 inches.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
