Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share Facts That Sound Like BS But Are Completely True

People Share Facts That Sound Like BS But Are Completely True
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Make us preferred on Google

I'm certain I've mentioned this before, but did you know that Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza? If that doesn't do your head in, I don't know what will.

What if I told you that we were once this close to nuclear proliferation but that a courageous Soviet officer stopped things before they got too out of control? (That one really makes you realize how fleeting life is, doesn't it?

After Redditor Uwusnapmyneck (oh dear) asked the online community, "What fact sounds like BS but is actually true?" people shared the best ones that came to their minds.


"There is a fence in Australia..."

There is a fence in Australia that is longer than the distance from NYC to London.

And thats not like a 'trick statement'. It's a long fence.

zangor

"You can live for years..."

You can live for years with heart failure.

Elventroll

"The jet engine..."

The jet engine was actually invented before the ballpoint pen.

CrazedAviator

"For 40 years..."

For 40 years, hundreds of children were sent by their parents to a "boarding school" in Maine, USA that cost $50,000 a year.

It was actually an abusive cult that psychologically tortured them, including an actual fight club where staff would demand that one child be beaten by multiple other children, this was called "the Ring" and was called a therapeutic tool by the drug addicts who ran the place.

This "school" was only closed down in 2011.

secularaluces

"It's nearly impossible..."

It's nearly impossible to wipe out coyotes from an area. If you kill them the females will begin to have bigger litters to balance it out. In some instances even killing 70% of an area coyote population wasn't enough to stop them repopulating.

[deleted]

"This is especially noteworthy..."

One of the earliest humans we know of by name, Ea-Nasir, is known because he was a shady merchant who sold low quality copper... and had a special room in his house where he kept hate mail sent by people he'd swindled.

This is especially noteworthy since they were written on clay tablets, which were valuable at the time and therefore were usually wiped clean and reused by the recipient. He went out of his way to keep and store records of how hated he was.

Madhighlander1

"The great Danish astronomer..."

The great Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe died in 1601 from being too polite. He tried to hold in his pee for a long dinner one night and his bladder burst. He died from bladder poisoning a few days later.

Max27265

"If you see a picture..."

If you see a picture of a starving kid with a disproportionately large belly, it doesn't mean the kid's been recently fed or overfed or anything like that - most of the time it's abdominal edema caused by low protein intake.

csiczi00

"This is because in most creatures..."

Giraffes can only make low bleating sounds, because the path of evolution made it so that the vagus nerve (which controls the larynx) has to make a trip as long as 15 feet (!) from their brain, down around their heart, and back up again to the larynx.

This is because in most creatures with short or no necks the nerve only makes a very short detour to the heart and back. Evolution kept this setup, just lengthened the nerves, and now (it is believed) the trip is so long for giraffes that they have a small but noticeable delay in controlling parts of their head. So, even if they can make more sounds, they wouldn't be very good at it since intricate vocalizations require good muscle control.

LoneQuietus81

"There are more iterations..."

There are more iterations in a game of chess than there are atoms in the observable universe.

look_for_the_helpers

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshots of Jessica Tarlov and Emily Compagno; Abdul El-Sayed
Fox News; Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Jessica Tarlov Has Perfect Clapback After Fox News Co-Host Criticizes Abdul El-Sayed For Not Being A 'Practicing Physician'

Fox News host Jessica Tarlov had the perfect response to her colleague Emily Compagno after Compagno complained that Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is not a "practicing physician."

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist who campaigned on expanding healthcare access, strengthening the economy, and ending unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, became the first progressive to win a statewide primary in a state carried by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. He is set to face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers during next month's midterms.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump during White House event
The White House

Trump Ripped After Openly Lusting Over MAGA Sisters With Tone-Deaf Joke Following Cornell Sexual Assault Allegations

President Donald Trump was criticized after openly lusting after Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy and her sister Leah Campos during a Hispanic Heritage Month event that took place amid national outrage following the sexual assault allegations that have been the center of a scandal at Cornell University.

A former Cornell student known only as "Jane Doe" filed a civil lawsuit detailing an October 2024 sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house and Cornell's handling of the assault after it was reported to school officials. Cornell’s chapter of Chi Phi was closed shortly afterward and remains barred from campus.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth; Gavin Newsom
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Just Threw Out A Bunch Of Absurd Slurs While Talking About Transforming The Military—And Gavin Newsom Clapped Back Hard

California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Hegseth delivered a slur-filled speech about who he's trying to bar from U.S. military service.

Speaking at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Hegseth claimed that the Trump administration's cultural reimagining of the nation's armed forces has been a grand success. But, as evidenced by what he told those in attendance, this "success" was only possible because the Department of Defense has made no secret of excluding certain groups.

Keep ReadingShow less
Tom Holland; Florence Pugh
Jeff Spicer/ Getty Images for Sony Pictures; NBC

Florence Pugh Revealed That Tom Holland Is The Reason She Appears In 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'—And We Love To See It

Florence Pugh has built a career on scene-stealing performances, but her latest Marvel appearance came with one particularly flattering endorsement: Spider-Man himself.

While promoting her latest historical drama, East of Eden, Pugh stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where she was asked about her surprise appearance as Yelena Belova in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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

Woman Reveals The Fallout After She Caught Her Sister's Fiancé Cheating Just 2 Hours Before Their Wedding

Some people would rather live in a state of oblivion than know the truth.

TikToker @kelsgordon realized her sister was one of those people when she discovered, just two hours before her sister's wedding, that her sister's fiancé had a whole other romantic relationship in the works—and she intended to go ahead with the wedding anyway.

Keep ReadingShow less