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

Melania Trump
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Melania Just Held A Bizarre Press Conference To Debunk 'False Smears' Related To Jeffrey Epstein—And Everyone Had The Same Response

First Lady Melania Trump had everyone thinking the same thing after she held a bizarre press conference on Thursday to deny that she had anything but casual ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the late disgraced financier, pedophile, sexual abuser, and sex trafficker.

Mrs. Trump publicly denied any ties to convicted sex offenders Epstein and his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell, saying claims linking her to Epstein are “lies” meant to damage her reputation. She said she met her husband, President Donald Trump at a New York City party in 1998 and did not meet Epstein until 2000, contradicting a witness statement in the Epstein files that alleges Epstein introduced the couple.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sarah McBride; Nancy Mace
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Dem Rep. Sarah McBride Perfectly Shames Nancy Mace For Her Transphobic Response To McBride's Condemnation Of Trump

Delaware Democratic Representative Sarah McBride pushed back at South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace after Mace responded with transphobia to McBride's criticism of President Donald Trump's genocidal threat to kill the "whole civilization" of Iran.

Trump has insisted that God supports his war on Iran and declared—before a provisional ceasefire was announced—that "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" ahead of a deadline to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges that legal scholars and world leaders have said would constitute war crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JD Vance
News Nation

JD Vance Dragged After Making Bizarre 'Skydiving' Analogy About His Wife To Explain Iran Ceasefire Deal

Vice President JD Vance had critics raising their eyebrows after he used a bizarre analogy about his wife–Second Lady Usha Vance—going skydiving while attempting to explain the United States' position on Iran's right to enrich uranium.

Vance addressed reporters on the tarmac at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport as he left Hungary, where he had voiced the Trump administration’s support for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán only days before the country’s elections.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @mikemancusi's Instagram video
@mikemancusi/Instagram

Comedian Explains How Millennials' Midlife Crises Are Different From Past Generations—And He's Spot On

Don't make promises you cannot keep, unless your goal is to hurt someone.

Millennials know that practically better than anyone. They were fed a long and impassioned series of advice, hyper-focused on the importance of getting a college degree in order to find a good job. They were also force-fed traditionalist ideals of getting married, having kids, and buying a nice house with the money they'd be making from that great job, of course.

Keep ReadingShow less