Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Most Obscure Animal Facts They Know

Who doesn't love animals?

Be they cute and cuddly, or ferocious and dangerous, it's hard to imagine anyone who isn't fascinated by at least one animal on this planet.

Particularly as there's almost always something surprising and unusual to learn about animals, no matter the species.

Redditor colonoscopescount was curious to learn unusual, largely unknown facts about animals discovered by other members of the Reddit community, leading them to ask:

"What is your number one obscure animal fact?"


"The Ants go rolling in a ball, hurrah, hurrah..."

"Army Ants will create 'balls' during high water floods."

"The ball will roll allowing every ant to get a breath."- H010CR0N

Be weary of fake bananas.

"The chemical compound which is used to make fake banana flavor is the same compound honey bees use as an alarm pheromone."

"So never eat banana sweets near a beehive, and if you suddenly smell banana near a beehive, run!"- generic-volume

Unconventional nursing.

"The duck billed platypus has no nipples to feed their offspring."

"Instead, milk oozes from the skin."- ChimpyChompies

platypus GIFGiphy

Every inch is soft and cuddly.

"Rabbits don't have pads on their paws."

"Only fur."

"So if you see a cartoon rabbit with pads on it's paw, completely wrong."- FOTBWN

Providing all kinds of relief.

"Vultures urinate on their legs and feet to cool off on hot days, a process called urohydrosis."

"Their urine also helps kill any bacteria or parasites they’ve picked up from walking through carcasses or perching on dead animals."- Iron_Chic

Small but mighty.

"There is a genus of frog called 'Mini'."

"There are only three frogs in the genus, and their scientific names are all puns: Mini mum, Mini ature and Mini scule."- SwimmingOnMars

Pbs Nature Frog GIF by Nature on PBSGiphy

A built in Brita!

"Penguins have a gland above their eye that converts saltwater into freshwater."- Yeeteth_thy_baby

Blind but terrifying

"The vast majority of Greenland sharks are blind thanks to a special parasite that eats their eyes and replaces them."

"It is thought that this might actually be helpful because their eyesight was sh*t anyway, the parasites wave like lures and may have an anglerfish-like effect, and the sharks are super slow so that might be one of the few ways for them to catch live prey."

"Imagine something eating your eyeballs and it being an upgrade."- Fabled_Webs

Don't be fooled by their Beauty

"Butterflies will drink blood given the option."- Semicolon7645

A jumping baby factory.

"A kangaroo will mate again one to three days after giving birth."

"The newborn will latch onto a teat in the pouch and as long as it thrives, the kangaroo can put its newly fertilized embryo in a state of dormancy and have a back up baby ready to go."

"If the newborn grows out of the pouch or dies, the kangaroos hormones will send signals to start the development of the egg."

"So they can have an adolescent Joey, a nursing one, and one in stasis all at the same time."

Yo Mama Australia GIF by Nat Geo WildGiphy

So many animals on this planet.

So much to learn every day.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Roger Marshall
Newsmax

MAGA Senator Slammed After Scolding Americans For Whining About High Gas Prices Amid Iran War—And Wow

Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall chastised Americans for complaining about high gas prices and insisted they should consider that their "national security is even more important" than whatever blows are being dealt to their wallets at the gas pump.

Consumer prices are up 3.3% compared to a year ago, largely fueled by a surge in energy costs. The energy index jumped 10.9% in a single month as oil and gas prices climbed sharply. Amid the Iran war and the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, oil has risen back to around $100 a barrel, pushing gasoline prices up by a record 25%.

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo and tweet by X user @oatmilkanie
@oatmilkanie/X

Kid Goes Viral After Leaving Sweet Note On Plane For The Person Sitting In Their Seat On The Next Flight

A lot is going on in our world right now that gives us pause, and some of us might feel our hearts breaking under the weight of all of it. That makes acts of kindness, no matter how small they are, more important than ever before.

X user @oatmilkanie shouted out an unidentified child who clearly got the memo when they boarded a plane and discovered that the child had written a note for the next person to sit in their seat, directly on the paper nausea bag that's snuggled in the seat pocket in front of the passenger's knees.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kndllleclaire's TikTok video
@kndllleclaire/TikTok

TikToker Thinks She's Met Her Dream Cowboy At A Bar—But The Internet Has Some Bad News For Her

Sometimes when you meet someone, everything goes so perfectly that you can't help but imagine that it's meant to be.

But one of the harder lessons in life is that, regardless of how perfect the match is, the person may not be as single as they might present themselves to be.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @jamar.marriott's Instagram video
@jamar.marriott/Instagram

Dad Goes Viral After Filming His Daughters' Hilariously Dramatic Reaction To Sinking In A Ball Pit

Kids truly say the darnedest things, but there's nothing quite like watching kids play together and invent stories.

33-year-old dad Jamar Marriott was out with his three daughters, Jaida (6), Olivia (8), and Maya (16) at the local trampoline park, which includes an impressively large ball pit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @mich3113.0's TikTok video
@mich3113.0/TikTok

Woman Creeped All The Way Out After Finding Hidden Door In The Ceiling Of Her Airbnb

A lot of us already cannot sleep well when we're visiting someone else's home or staying in a hotel, because we're uncomfortable in a different bed and maybe even a little creeped out in the unusual space.

But discovering a whole other room with a creepy door would quickly transform a space from a rental to something out of a horror movie real quick for anybody.

Keep ReadingShow less