25 Weird Facts That Sound Made Up But Aren't (2024)

25

We Created the World’s First Psychopath AI

In 2018, MIT introduced the world to Norman – an AI with a disturbingly dark personality.

Named after the infamous Psycho character, Norman was trained on violent content from a subreddit dedicated to death and chaos to see what happens when AI is fed just one type of data. After his nonstop exposure to these dark corners of the internet, Norman was put through Rorschach testing, and the results were exactly what you’d expect. Where other AIs saw harmless scenes, Norman saw brutality – like people being gunned down in broad daylight.

The researchers’ goal was to make a point: when you train AI with bad data, it learns some very dark lessons.

Norman’s since been retired (thankfully), but MIT still allows people to take similar inkblot tests to see if an AI this far gone could ever be “fixed.”

24

Hippos Have Pink Sweat

I know it sounds made up, but hippos really do sweat pink!

Well, technically, it’s not really “sweat” but an oily secretion from their skin that acts like a natural sunscreen and antibiotic all in one. This pink goo is packed with two compounds – hipposudoric acid and norhipposudoric acid – which gives it that rosy color while also keeping the animals’ skin safe from bacteria and sun damage.

It’s an entirely unique defense system that scientists are still studying.

23

The Thing People Find Most Revolting Is…

Nobody loves feeling disgusted, but it’s essential for survival.

A study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine surveyed over 2,500 people, putting their disgust response to the test across 74 different scenarios. The biggest “nope” factor? Infected wounds oozing pus.

Researchers grouped the results into six categories – like rotting food, lesions, and risky hygiene – each linked to potential infection.

Disgust, as it turns out, is one of humanity’s best defenses.

22

We Sent a Tribute into a Black Hole

When Stephen Hawking’s ashes were laid to rest, the European Space Agency (ESA) had a mind-blowing way to honor him. Alongside the memorial, they actually beamed a message from Hawking into deep space – straight toward a black hole.

The six-minute tribute, created by Blade Runner composer Vangelis, features Hawking’s iconic voice sending a message of peace. It will reach the black hole in about 3,500 years, freeze at the event horizon, and become a permanent cosmic echo.

21

Sloths Risk Their Lives Every Time They Poop

Thanks to their slow metabolism, sloths only “go” once a week, but it’s a major event – they can actually lose up to a third of their body weight in one go. But that’s not even the worst part: every time they poop, it’s just about as painful as giving birth.

Sloths have to climb down from the trees, perform a “poop dance” to dig a hole, and, fully exposed to predators, endure what most of us wouldn’t dream of doing without an epidural.

Scientists think this whole dangerous routine might actually support the moths that live in the sloth’s fur, possibly creating a strange, symbiotic benefit. But honestly? No one really knows for sure.

20

Japan Has a Hello Kitty Bullet Train

Heck yes, Japan has a fully decked-out Hello Kitty bullet train!

The train, operated by JR West, travels the Sanyo Shinkansen line between Osaka and Fukuoka, making stops in cities like Kobe, Okayama, and Hiroshima.

The experience is pure Hello Kitty, from pink and white decor to themed seat covers and window shades. The first car is a dedicated Hello Kitty gift shop, while the second features the “Kawaii! Room,” complete with a giant Hello Kitty statue for photo ops.

19

A Woman Traveled Over 4,000 Miles to Tag Someone

Most of us left the game of tag behind in childhood, but for Georgina Wilkinson and her friends, it’s an ongoing – and now worldwide – challenge.

In 2018, Georgina went all-in by traveling over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) from North Carolina to Scotland just to tag her friend Drew McEwan. The two met back in 2014 on a trip to China and, along with other friends, started the ongoing game of tag.

Georgina, who was “it,” enlisted Drew’s family to help her pull off the surprise. She even disguised herself as a gardener at Drew’s niece’s christening, waiting for the perfect moment. When Drew was asked to move the “gardener” out of a photo, Georgina tagged him and dashed back to the airport for her return flight.

18

An Aggressive Gay Swan Pair Were Booted from Austrian Lake

A gay swan couple turned their local lake in Austria into a no-go zone after they started attacking anyone who got too close to what they believed was their nest.

Swans are known for being, well, antagonistic jerks even on a good day, but these two took things to the extreme – launching at swimmers, jumping onto boats, and even pinning people underwater. Yep, they tried to drown people!

After several people ended up in the hospital, the local mayor stepped in, and the birds were removed before things got worse.

And here’s the kicker: they weren’t even defending eggs or cygnets. Their prized possession was nothing more than a colored plastic cup.

17

MIT Cracked the Spaghetti Mystery

If you’ve ever tried breaking a spaghetti stick into two clean pieces, you know the frustration – it almost always shatters into three or more. Even physicist Richard Feynman was stumped by this odd phenomenon.

In 2005, a group of French scientists developed a theory to explain the forces at work when we try to break a stick of spaghetti. They found that as the stick bends, it first breaks in the middle where the curve is sharpest, causing a “snap-back” effect that leads to additional fractures. Their work earned them an Ig Nobel Prize, but they still didn’t know how to break a piece of spaghetti into two halves.

And then, finally, researchers at MIT discovered the trick: you have to twist it. Using a machine to ensure precision, they found that if you twist the stick to a specific degree before bending it, it snaps cleanly in two.

And so one of humanity’s biggest mysteries came to an end.

16

A Bunch of Cows Brought a Fugitive to Justice

A herd of cows played a key role in capturing a fugitive in Florida.

Jamie Young, who had stolen an SUV, was on the run from police when she crashed into a stop sign in rural Seminole County. Desperate to evade capture, she fled from the vehicle and tried to hide out in a nearby pasture.

However, the 20 or so cows grazing there weren’t having it. They quickly gave chase, corralling her across the field with some mock charges until she was forced to jump a fence to escape the onslaught.

Thanks to the cows, police could see exactly where she was, and she was arrested.

15

The Dildo Brewery in Dildo

In Newfoundland’s town of Dildo, a local brewery embraced the town’s infamous name and ran with it – yep, it’s known as Dildo Brewing Co.

Since opening a few years back, they’ve gained fans and visitors from all over the world and they have some clever brews like the “Stout Dildo,” an Irish stout (of course), and the cleverly named “I’se Da Bye-PA.”

The owners did their best to ensure that the beer names stayed relatively classy, but let’s be honest – the humor practically writes itself.

14

Anatomy Study Ends After Too Much… Excitement

In a move that left some raising eyebrows (and maybe other things), Professor Alicia Walker from Missouri State University set out to study a potential link between penis size and self-esteem. She boldly went where no one had gone before (I think) – and asked men to measure and submit a few close-up photos to see if size really mattered.

However, what she got was an inbox flooded with responses from every angle – serious volunteers, pranksters, and quite a surprising number of SpongeBob memes.

With the joke entries piling up and her data integrity crumbling faster than a bad pickup line, Walker decided it was time to pull the plug.

13

The Xenomorph Wasp Creates Chestburster Larvae

Since Alien: Romulus just graced our screens, it feels only right to introduce a creature that brings the horror to real life – the Xenomorph wasp.

Recently discovered in Australia, Dolichogenidea xenomorph is a parasitic wasp with a life cycle that mirrors the infamous “chestburster” scene. This tiny terror injects its eggs into live caterpillars, where the larvae slowly devour their host from the inside. Once they’re big enough, they burst out, “chestburster” style, leaving a hollowed-out caterpillar in their wake.

Named after the fictional alien for obvious reasons, this wasp is part of a group of parasitoids or creatures that kill their host as they grow.

12

The Nutty Secret To Healthier Sperm

According to new research from Spain, a handful of nuts a day might just give your little swimmers a competitive edge.

The study found that men who added 60 grams of nuts to their daily diet saw boosts in sperm count, movement, and vitality. In fact, the “nutty” group’s sperm count shot up by 14%, while other key measures got a healthy lift too. With Western sperm counts declining due to pollution, poor diets, and smoking, this finding couldn’t come at a better time.

11

Crows and Necrophilia

I know that’s the kind of heading that makes you sit up – but yes, crows, the same birds famous for holding “funerals” for their fallen friends – sometimes take their grief in a whole other direction.

Researcher Kaeli Swift stumbled upon the nasty behavior by accident. Filming crow “funerals” with taxidermied birds, she expected somber gatherings… not mating displays. And then, to her shock, out of the 309 pairs she studied, 4% attempted necrophilia, often combined with aggression, like dismemberment. Swift thinks it might be springtime hormones gone haywire, but either way, it’s one of those animal facts that makes you do a double-take.

10

The 81-Year-Old Grandma’s $100 Million Art Heist Secret

When 81-year-old Rita Alter passed away in New Mexico, friends and neighbors remembered her as a sweet, quiet woman – a retired teacher, as ordinary as can be. But she had something shocking tucked away among her belongings: an original Willem de Kooning painting worth over $100 million. And the wildest part? It had been stolen in a 1985 heist from the University of Arizona Museum of Art.

Suddenly, suspicion skyrocketed. Did Rita and her husband, Jerry, pull off the heist themselves?

All clues seem to scream yes. Old photos placed the couple in Tucson that Thanksgiving and they even had a red getaway car that matched witness descriptions…

9

The Great Nursing Home Escape

Who says sneaking out for a concert is just for teenagers? In 2018, at Germany’s legendary Wacken Open Air – the world’s biggest heavy metal festival – two elderly metalheads defied age and expectations by escaping their nursing home to rock out with their fellow headbangers.

When nursing staff noticed their absence, they alerted the German police, who tracked the pair down around 3:00 AM at the festival, 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. The duo was reportedly “disoriented and dazed” but also totally captivated by the festival atmosphere.

8

Someone in Japan Spent an Hour Throwing an Octopus at a Wall

In one of the strangest crimes ever reported, Japanese police in Sapporo were looking for a suspect who, for reasons unknown, spent an hour throwing an octopus against a building wall.

An hour… (just, why??)

The bizarre incident was reported by a resident who was trying to sleep but couldn’t escape the rhythmic thumping coming from his wall. When police arrived, they found no suspects but did discover a very dead, very slimy octopus left behind.

7

People Can’t Turn Off a Robot Begging for Its Life

A recent study shows just how deep our empathy for machines can run—people actually hesitate, or even refuse, to turn off a robot when it starts pleading for its “life.”

German researchers had 89 volunteers work with Nao, a small humanoid robot, on a series of simple tasks. The real test came when volunteers were asked to switch him off.

In half the cases, Nao started “begging” not to be turned off, saying things like it was afraid of the dark or that it might never wake up again. Out of 43 people, 30 hesitated, and 13 refused entirely. Whether from compassion, surprise, or just plain discomfort, nobody had the heart to shut the little guy down.

6

A Fly Sabotaged a World Record Domino Attempt

A world record attempt in Germany was foiled by the smallest of intruders – a fly!

A team of 20 had set up over 600,000 dominoes in a gym near Frankfurt, aiming to break records for the longest wall, largest spiral, and more. But their shot at the most mini-dominoes toppled in a single run ended in disaster, all thanks to one tiny insect.

The fly landed on a fingernail-sized domino, setting off an accidental chain reaction that toppled the setup before it was ready. With no time to rebuild, the team had to forfeit the record.

5

A Zoo Tried to Pass Off a Painted Donkey as a Zebra

A zoo in Egypt became the subject of online ridicule after a photo of a “zebra” turned out to be a painted donkey.

Mahmoud Sarhan, a visitor to the International Garden in Cairo, snapped a picture of the suspiciously donkey-like animal, which quickly went viral.

Animal experts immediately noticed the telltale signs: long, pointy ears, a gray snout, and a rather small frame – not to mention smudged black stripes. I mean come on! And yet, despite the evidence, the zoo’s director insisted it was a real zebra.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the first time an Egyptian zoo got caught out – in 2009, a Gaza zoo admitted to painting their donkeys due to a zebra shortage!

4

A Man Saved World’s Longest Pier by Peeing on It

Southend Pier – the world’s longest pleasure pier – narrowly avoided disaster a while ago when a small fire broke out on its wooden planks. The unlikely hero? A local visitor, Thomas Watson, put out the flames by peeing on them.

Yep…

Watson was at the pier with his family when he noticed smoke rising from the boards. With the fire service en route but still a ways off, he decided to take matters into his own hands. By the time emergency responders arrived, the fire was already extinguished, leaving only a bit of charred wood.

3

Spiders Have a Favorite Color - and They’re Using It to Impress Each Other

Spiders aren’t just creepy – as it turns out, they’re color critics, too.

For years, scientists assumed spiders ignored color, but new research flipped that on its head: not only do they respond to color, they’re picky about it.

A study from the University of Cincinnati found that spiders are drawn to certain colors – and that bright colors are the best when you want to attract a mate. Female wolf spiders, for example, responded intensely to videos of male spiders with colors that sharply contrasted with their backgrounds. Even more surprising, male “eavesdropper” spiders, who watch others to steal their courtship moves, paid much closer attention to rivals sporting the boldest colors, regardless of the hue.

2

We’ve Created Robots with Real, Living Skin That Smiles Back at You

If humanoid robots already make you queasy, this might just push you over the edge: scientists in Tokyo have developed living, human-like skin for robots – complete with the ability to smile.

Tokyo University researchers unveiled the “biohybrid” skin earlier this year, layering collagen gel and real human cells over a robotic skeleton, which allows the skin to move and stretch without tearing. And the future implications are even wilder: researchers envision adding wrinkles, sweat glands, and even self-healing properties so robots can repair themselves, just like us.

But the work won’t stop at making robots look real – researchers also believe it could bring insights into human skin, aging, and even cosmetics.

1

A Greek Man Repeatedly Broke Into His Neighbors’ Properties to Smell Their Shoes

In a bizarre case that left a Greek court scratching its head, a 28-year-old man from Thessaloniki was sentenced to a suspended prison term for repeatedly breaking into his neighbors’ properties… to sniff their shoes!

The man was caught early one morning by police after a neighbor discovered him in their yard, nose-deep in a row of shoes left outside to air.

In court, he admitted he couldn’t explain his behavior and was deeply embarrassed, insisting he never meant any harm. Neighbors confirmed that while his actions were odd, he showed no signs of aggression during his nightly visits. However, after six months and multiple midnight “shoe raids,” the court finally stepped in, ordering therapy to curb his unusual obsession.

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