As
human beings, we always try to gain knowledge of everything around us. We are curious to know new things, events and facts. Sometimes those facts can be strange and embarrassing, but they still count as knowledge. Here are 100 embarrassing and awkward cold facts that will make you think twice, or maybe even thrice.
1. The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896 when Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
2. The first person to survive a fall from an airplane was a Serbian stewardess who landed on a monastery and only suffered minor injuries.
3. The world's largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.
4. The longest official name of a place is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, in New Zealand.
5. Honey never spoils, and it can be edible for over 3000 years if properly stored.
6. A cockroach can live several weeks without its head, but eventually, it will starve to death.
7. In Texas, it is legal to kill Bigfoot if you find him.
8. Airplane cabins are pressurized to the altitude of 8000 feet, which is why your food might taste a little bit bland in the air.
9. The shortest war was long before the Zanzibar and Britain war, and it was between the Kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden that lasted for only 14 minutes.
10 The first movie ever made was only about 2 minutes long.
11. The world record for the biggest feet size was held by a man from Venezuela with a US size 26.
12. The longest recorded flight by a chicken was 13 seconds.
13. The phrase "eat humble pie" originated from a medieval pie made from the innards of deer and other unpopular animals.
14. The word "set" has the most definitions in the English language.
15. The inventors of the iPhone made a mistake when they placed the headphone jack and the charging port right next to each other.
16. Every person has a unique tongue print.
17. In ancient Greece, having a small penis was considered a sign of intelligence and refinement.
18. The female hyena has a pseudo-penis that is longer than the males, and she gives birth through it.
19. There are more possible iterations of a game of chess than there are atoms in the universe.
20. A shrimp's heart is located in its head.
21. A sneeze can reach up to 100 miles per hour.
22. The largest mammal on earth, the blue whale, is also the loudest animal on earth when it comes to vocalization.
23. The average person will spend about six months of their life waiting in line.
24. Wasabi, the green spicy paste served with sushi, is usually made up of horseradish, food coloring, and mustard.
25. The lifespan of a squirrel is about 60% longer when they live in cities than when they live in forests.
26. The longest siege in history was the Siege of Candia, which lasted for 21 years.
27. Wombats have cube-shaped poop.
28. Caffeine is the world's most commonly used stimulant.
29. The African elephant can weigh up to 22,000 pounds.
30. Every year, KFC releases a special edition fried chicken-scented candle.
31. The longest recorded flight by a chicken was 13 seconds.
32. In the United States, there are more vacant houses than homeless people.
33. During the 1814 Battle of New Orleans, one side kept shooting after a ceasefire was called, resulting in 275 American casualties in less than half an hour.
34. The average person will spend about one-third of their life sleeping.
35. The Potato Museum in Brussels has over 7,000 varieties of potatoes on display.
36. The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 BC.
37. The world's largest earwax ball weighed 25 grams.
38. In England, it was once illegal to wear a suit of armor in Parliament.
39. The Philippines is the only country in the world where divorce is illegal.
40. The tallest statue in the world is not the Statue of Liberty, but the Statue of Unity in India, which stands at 597 feet tall.
41. Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest and came in third place.
42. The world's largest ball of string weighs over 21,000 pounds.
43. In ancient Greece, some people used to think of the heart as the most important organ, while others thought it was the liver.
44. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on earth.
45. Otters hold hands while sleeping to avoid drifting apart.
46. The shortest English word that contains all five vowels is "Eunoia."
47. Pineapples take about two years to grow.
48. Cows have best friends and become stressed when they are separated.
49. The Florida Keys are the only place in the continental United States where you can see live coral reefs.
50. The shortest commercially released song of all time was Noel Coward's "Why Must the Show Go on," which is only 17 seconds long.
51. By the time you finish reading this sentence, billions of red blood cells in your body have died and been replaced by new ones.
52. The longest English word that can be typed using only the left hand is "stewardesses."
53. Baby giraffes can stand up and walk within the first hour of their birth.
54. The highest temperature ever recorded on earth was in Furnace Creek Ranch, California, at 134 degrees Fahrenheit.
55. The lifespan of a taste bud is only about ten days.
56. Eating large amounts of licorice can lead to heart arrhythmia.
57. Blue eyes are considered to be a genetic mutation that occurred 6,000-10,000 years ago.
58. The world's largest jigsaw puzzle had over 550,000 pieces.
59. The world's largest rubber band ball weighs over 9,000 pounds.
60. In the 17th century, men used to wear high-heeled shoes more than women did.
61. Tasmanian devils can eat up to 40% of their body weight in a single sitting.
62. The shortest complete novel ever written is "I Have Waisted e Life" by Anita Williams, which consists of 55 pages of one long sentence.
63. The last words of playwright William Shakespeare were, "I commend my soul into the hands of God, my creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ, my Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting."
64. Elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror, which puts them in a very small group of animals with this ability.
65. The loudest burp ever recorded was at 109 decibels, as loud as a chainsaw or a motorcycle.
66. The last movie to be released on VHS was "A History of Violence" in 2006.
67. The shortest president in US history was James Madison, who was only 5'4" tall.
68. The oldest surviving recipe is for beer and dates back to 1800 BC.
69. The average human body contains enough iron to make a three-inch nail.
70. Stress can cause your hair to turn gray prematurel.
71. The longest word in the English language is "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis," which refers to a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine silica particles.
72. The highest point in Florida is only 345 feet above sea level.
73. The hangover that occurs after drinking too much is called "veisalgia."
74. There are more possible ways to shuffle a deck of cards than there are stars in the Milky Way.
75. The longest sentence in the English language contains over 4,000 words.
76. The shortest war was between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896 when Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
77. The longest word in the English language that can be typed using only the right hand is "lollipop."
78. The coldest temperature ever recorded on earth was -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit in Antarctica.
79. The oldest computer virus in existence is called "Elk Cloner" and dates back to 1981.
80. The Eiffel Tower was originally built as a temporary exhibit for the 1889 World's Fair and was intended to be dismantled after the fair ended.
81. The shortest named town in the world is O, in Norway.
82. The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896 when Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.
83. The human nose can detect over 1 trillion different smells.
84. A group of zebras is called a "zeal."
85. Honey never spoils, and it can be edible for over 3000 years if properly stored.
86. The shortest distance between two points on the earth's surface is actually through the earth, not over it.
87. The Great Pyramid of Giza weighs about 6.5 million tons.
88. The longest time a person has ever gone without sleeping is 11 days.
89. The oldest known piece of chewing gum is over 9,000 years old.
90. The world's largest hot dog was over 60 feet long.
91. The world's largest collection of traffic cones is owned by a man in England who has over 5500 cones.
92. Sloths can hold their breath underwater for over 40 minutes.
93. The shortest government in US history was that of William Henry Harrison, who was President for only 31 days.
94. The oldest living tree in the world is a bristlecone pine tree in California that is over 5000 years old.
95. The bird with the largest wingspan is the albatross, which can have a wingspan of over 11 feet.
96. The longest jump by a grasshopper was over 22 feet.
97. Some species of orchids can live up to 100 years.
98. The world's largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.
99. The ice at the South Pole is 9000 feet thick in some places.
100. The shortest battery life on a smartphone was on the Kyocera KD101SZ, which could only last for 30 minutes on a single charge.
In conclusion, the world is full of bizarre and strange facts that are not only awkward but also mind-boggling. Knowing them helps expand our knowledge and makes us realize how diverse and sometimes bizarre our world is. These 100 embarrassing and awkward cold facts will not only make you think twice, but also create a hunger for more peculiar knowledge.
