Interesting Facts - Page 242

1206
The axolotl is only found in the wild in few small bodies of water in Mexico City.
1207
There is a subdivision in Europe where Buddhism is the majority religion. This is Kalmykia, a Russian republic which lies on the Caspian Sea. It is home to the Kalmyks, a Mongolian steppe people who migrated from Mongolia and who practice Tibetan Buddhism.
1208
Each year, an estimated 100,000 people die from snake bites. But a heroic man from Wisconsin named Tim Friede is helping to lessen this number. By allowing himself to be bitten by venomous snakes over 200 times, he has developed immunity to a wide variety of snake venom. His blood is being used to develop a universal antivenom that can be given to snake bite victims without needing to know the type of snake that bit them.
1209
Until a meteorite shower hit L'Aigle, France in 1803, it was not commonly accepted among scientists that meteorites even existed, with many dismissing them as a legend.
1210
The largest locust swarm on record was formed in 1875 by the now-extinct Rocky Mountain locust. It was 2,900 km long, 180 km wide, and involved an estimated 3.5 trillion locusts.
100 Recent Comments
+2
Level ∞
Feb 20, 2026
Credit @Danny999 for 1206
+4
Level 81
Feb 23, 2026
The largest nuclear bomb ever seriously proposed was the Sundial. With a yield of ten gigatons of TNT, it would have instantly incinerated an area the size of France.
+2
Level 18
Mar 9, 2026
We humans sure do come up with some fun and creative ways to inflict maximum damage on ourselves.
+3
Level ∞
Mar 12, 2026
Fact #1034
+1
Level 65
Feb 24, 2026
Bombay Beach is a CDP in Imperial County, California. It is found on the Salton Sea. In the 1950s and 1960s it was a thriving resort town and Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby often visited. However, this golden era fell after salinity levels increased in the lake. Today, it has under 250 residents, is in extreme disrepair, and the population is aging.
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Level 61
Feb 24, 2026
- Every violent supernovas occur in total silence as space is a vacuum which sound has nothing to bounce off of

- A teaspoon of a neutron star would weigh about 6 billion tons, or the rough weight of Mount Everest.

- If two pieces of metal were to touch in space, they would bond together, permanently.

- If you spent just one hour near a supermassive black hole, centuries or even millennia could pass back on Earth.

- You can fit every single planet in our solar system in-between Earth and the Moon with room to spare

- In the past few hundred million years, the moon has shrunk around 150 feet from interior cooling

- Even though the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxys will collide with each other in about 4 billion years, it is unlikely for any star to collide as space is so empty

+2
Level 39
Feb 24, 2026
So If I am understanding this right, Kalmyks have super powers and they have built a society on top of water.
+1
Level 39
Feb 24, 2026
Former Turkmenbashi Saparmurat Niyazov banned the playing of video games, listening to car radios, performing opera and ballet, smoking in public, long hair on men, and even growing facial hair.
+1
Level 36
Feb 25, 2026
The actual name of Area 51 is Nevada Test and Training Range.
+4
Level 28
Feb 25, 2026
don't know if this has been said yet, but in 75 BC Julius ceaser was kidnapped by pirates and the asked for 20 talents, and he told them to ask for 50
+2
Level 61
Feb 25, 2026
If you don't know, 20 talents was equal to 400 to 600 years of wages for a laborer while 50 talents is representing over 1,000 years of wages.
+2
Level 86
Mar 9, 2026
He felt insulted by the small ransom, that's why he told them to raise it.

He also promised them that he would capture them and finish them.

True to his word, as soon as he was let free, he raised a private fleet, attacked them in their island, recovered the silver talents, took the prisoners to Roman land, ordered their crucifixion and (because they had grown on him) slit their throats so they would not suffer through the whole ordeal.

Bear in mind: by that time, he was just a nobleman with no military office.

+4
Level 63
Feb 26, 2026
Five of the six populous cities in California have religiously-affiliated names: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento. The only one that does not is Fresno.
+2
Level 65
Feb 27, 2026
John O’ Groats, the northernmost part of Great Britain, is found further north than Juneau, Alaska
+2
Level 65
Mar 2, 2026
Glasgow is further north than Ketchikan
+1
Level 55
Mar 11, 2026
And Moscow
+2
Level 61
Feb 28, 2026
Marcus McDilda, a US WW2 fighter pilot, was shot down 2 days after Hiroshima was bombed. When interrogated he was asked about the nuclear bombs, of which McDilda had no clue about. The Japanese threatened to chop his head off with a Katana if he didn't tell them about the bomb so McDilda lied. Due to the language barrier and the fact that the Japanese had no clue about atomic bombs, they bought it. He told the Japanese that Tokyo and Kyoto would be bombed next with hundreds of bombs. McDilda became an important person and shipped to Tokyo. This lie helped the Japanese surrender WW2.
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Level 61
Feb 28, 2026
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Level 86
Mar 9, 2026
Oddly enough, Kyoto had already been spared by Henry Stimson, Secretary of War during WWII.

His rationale was that such a cultural and religious treasure could not be destroyed (some said that another factor was that Stimson honeymooned there).

After several times when Kyoto was re-added to the main target list over and over again, Stimson appealed to President Truman, who agreed with him and permanently scratched it off the list.

This caused another city to enter into the main target list as a replacement: Nagasaki.

+1
Level 61
Mar 9, 2026
I remember hearing about that from somewhere. I just didn't know if it was Kyoto or some other city in Japan.
+4
Level 36
Mar 3, 2026
Japan has so many vending machines that there is approximately 1 vending machine for every 40 people
+1
Level 18
Mar 9, 2026
This is the one thing Japan has come up with that I’m absolutely shocked hasn’t been more widely adopted in the U.S.
+1
Level 61
Mar 10, 2026
Why would we need more vending machines? They suck. One time I wasted money because one of the spaces was empty with the food behind it so it dropped nothing!

I much prefer a human interaction when getting my food, because I know they would at least give me something if they mess up!

+1
Level 61
Mar 3, 2026
During WW2, American Soldiers had graffitied the phrase "Kilroy was here," often accompanied by a cartoon of a bald man with a long nose peering over a wall, at places they had been.
+1
Level 61
Mar 3, 2026
Tokyo is an anagram of Kyoto
+2
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
Listen is also an anagram of Silent. Very ironic.
+1
Level 61
Mar 4, 2026
Had a teacher who had a poster of that lol
+2
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
Very cool teacher it seems
+1
Level 53
Mar 3, 2026
Near the city of Khor Fakkan, there is a UAE exclave in a part of Oman… which is an exclave in the UAE
+2
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
Isn't this kinda well known by now??
+2
Level 61
Mar 4, 2026
Wait until bro hears about India and Bangladesh pre 2017
+2
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
O yea that was a total nightmare (I even live near the Bangladesh border lol). About 100 exclaves of India in Bangladesh and 50 of Bangladesh in India (if my source is not faulty)
+1
Level 61
Mar 4, 2026
And pre 2015 (sorry, I got mixed up) there was a complete mess in which there was a Indian field surrounded by a Bangladeshi enclave surrounded by India in Bangladesh. This was the only third-order enclave until India and Bangladesh came to agreements.
+2
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
Lot of beef b/w India and Bangladesh(even now)
+1
Level 65
Mar 10, 2026
in india they dont want to hear the word beef

holy cow

+1
Level 53
Mar 4, 2026
Yeah i have heard about that, but i decided to just go with the one that’s still there today
+1
Level 61
Mar 9, 2026
I mean there is a worse exclave horror. The towns of Baarle-Hertog (Belgium) and Baarle-Nassau (The Netherlands) are mangled with each other. It is known as the most complex and most intertwined border in the world.

They were caused by people deciding what Kingdom to be a part of. The kingdoms later became a part of Belgium and Netherlands, creating a confusing border

+3
Level 53
Mar 4, 2026
There have been more Presidents of Israel born in Belarus than Presidents of Belarus born in Belarus.
+1
Level 65
Mar 4, 2026
well how many presidents has Belarus had
+1
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
Google says 20
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Level 53
Mar 7, 2026
Only one official president: Alexander Lukashenko.

There have been three other rulers from 1991-1994, however they were only temporary rulers until the election in 1994, never official presidents.

There have been three Israeli presidents born in regions that are now Belarus. I did send an explaination message replying to Pontiac claiming that my fact was false, but he deleted his message which deleted mine.

+1
Level 61
Mar 9, 2026
Yeah, I guess the internet only recognized one Belarussian President of Israel instead of 3 and put that Belarus had 5 presidential elections instead of only one president. Sorry, great fact.
+2
Level 32
Mar 4, 2026
All the world’s bacteria stacked on top of each other would stretch for 10 billion light-years.

The tree Welwitschia mirabilis can live to over 1,000 years, but only grows two leaves.

About 136 MLB players have hit a home run in their first MLB at bat.

Wind turbines kill between 10,000 and 100,000 birds each year in the UK.

+1
Level 36
Mar 4, 2026
First fact is dispossible wth. If only bacteria stretched for 10 billion light years I can only imagine how much would ALL microorganisms on Earth stretch for
+1
Level 61
Mar 6, 2026
I mean you have trillions of bacteria in your mouth and feet so
+1
Level 36
Mar 6, 2026
Yes but after all they're like about 1 micrometre or something
+1
Level 61
Mar 7, 2026
But 1 trillion x by 8 billion and divided by whatever a micrometer is and then multiply it by 3 because feet as well, is still a very large number. And then add the quadrillions of bacteria that aren't on the human body.
+1
Level 36
Mar 7, 2026
Yes but a light year is no joke too. It's like 9.46 trillion km. And 10 billion light years is basically 9.46 X 10^22 km, which is 94.6 sextillion km.

And to make it more comparable, the largest known structure in the universe is HCB Great Wall which is about 10 billion light years. Isn't the figure of bacteria spanning 10 billion light years a bit too exaggerated?

+1
Level 61
Mar 7, 2026
You'd be shocked with how many bacteria there are on this planet.
+1
Level 36
Mar 8, 2026
Yeah there are a lot of bacteria, but so is the distance of 10 billion light years. My trusted sources tell me about 10^30 bacteria. Multiply it by 10^-6 m(which is 1 micrometre) so you get 10^24 metres. Divide by 10^3 to get your answer in km which is 10^21 km. I agree it's a huge distance but not that huge. The actual length is off by almost a factor of 100
+1
Level 61
Mar 8, 2026
+1
Level 36
Mar 9, 2026
Ok
+2
Level 65
Mar 5, 2026
There is a WikiHow guide on how to pee standing up as a woman
+1
Level 36
Mar 5, 2026
Can't be. That's kinda ludicrous and where in the wide world do you even get these facts
+2
Level 65
Mar 5, 2026
somewhere I got it
+2
Level 36
Mar 5, 2026
You sure you ain't browsing the other side of the internet?
+2
Level 65
Mar 5, 2026
no
+1
Level 36
Mar 6, 2026
I highly doubt that
+3
Level 65
Mar 5, 2026
Elon Musk is an American citizen and was born in Africa. Thus, he is African American
+1
Level 53
Mar 5, 2026
The Yamaha company that makes motorcycles is the same Yamaha that makes pianos and other musical instruments
+2
Level 61
Mar 6, 2026
A US Navy Submarine sank the IRIS Dena on March 4, 2026. The last time a submarine was used to sink an enemy ship was on August 14, 1945, during WWII
+1
Level 61
Mar 6, 2026
Even though there was wars such as the Afghanistan War, Vietnam War, and Korean War, the last time the US Congress declared war was on June 4, 1942 during WWII.
+5
Level 65
Mar 6, 2026
All 196 countries contain either Q, U, I, Z, M, A, S, T, E, or R
+2
Level 24
Mar 7, 2026
How about Fiji?
+8
Level 36
Mar 7, 2026
New Einstein in the making
+4
Level 61
Mar 7, 2026
Read the fact again, VERY SLOWLY
+2
Level 81
Mar 6, 2026
Until 1971, Iran claimed Bahrain as its fourteenth province.
+1
Level 61
Mar 7, 2026
Imperial Japan might have been worse than Nazi Germany during WWII. Don't believe me? Well during WWII, Japan's unit 731 conducted an experiment to see how much water is in the human body. This process comprised of weighing the body, drying out the body (making human jerky), and then weighing the body again. This was done on live people! They found out that 78% of the body is water btw.
+2
Level 65
Mar 7, 2026
Before 1936, Haiti and Liechtenstein had the same flag. They discovered they were the same at the Olympics and Liechtenstein added a gold crown to differentiate
+1
Level 36
Mar 8, 2026
Why don't Chad and Romania do the same? I know they're a different shade of blue, but they should look more distinct, no?
+1
Level 81
Mar 8, 2026
Both of them claim they had it first and refuse to budge. And depending on how you look at it, either can be right.
+2
Level 81
Mar 8, 2026
In 1995, the Russian republic of Ingushetia began construction on a new city to replace its capital of Nazran. The new capital, Magas, was built… three miles southeast of Nazran.
+2
Level 65
Mar 8, 2026
MAGAs?
+1
Level 61
Mar 9, 2026
I don't find that too wild, unless it was changed for congestion issues.
+1
Level 36
Mar 9, 2026
The easternmost point of Russia is closer to St. John's, Newfoundland, than it is to the westernmost point of Russia
+3
Level 65
Mar 10, 2026
and the westernmost point of russia is further east than the easternmost point of russia
+1
Level 36
Mar 10, 2026
I had a stroke while reading your comment and therefore couldn't understand what you wrote. Please explain
+1
Level 61
Mar 10, 2026
Well you see, the westernmost point the country of Russia extends over the 180° Parallel which means it is further east than Eastern Russia. This also makes Alaska further East than Maine.
+1
Level 36
Mar 10, 2026
This is precisely why I hate the 180th meridian and love the IDL
+1
Level 61
Mar 10, 2026
The International Date Line is horrible! The 180th Parallel is much, much better at dividing East and West.
+2
Level 75
Mar 10, 2026
The IDL does not determine East and West and never did.
+1
Level 61
Mar 11, 2026
And thank God for that! It would be a very strange way to divide the East and West if it did
+1
Level 36
Mar 11, 2026
But the 180th meridian divides entire countries
+1
Level 36
Mar 11, 2026
Like one portion is 179 degrees east and the other is 179 degrees west
+1
Level 61
Mar 11, 2026
And? The 180th Meridian is supposed to be a straight line. Also so does the Equator and the Prime Meridian and yet they define East and West / North and South
+1
Level 36
Mar 11, 2026
Yes but I could only imagine how chaotic it would be if the 180th meridian was the IDL.

Anyways the wording of the original reply which started this IDL v/s 180th meridian controversy is kinda incorrect. If you say "the westernmost point of Russia is further east than the easternmost point of Russia," then it makes very little sense to call Kaliningrad the westernmost point of Russia. That title would go to whatever portion of Russia extends over the 180th meridian. Essentially it makes the westernmost and easternmost point of Russia the same, no?(Which also renders my fact incorrect and baloney)Because you have the westernmost point and the easternmost point at the same place. (Sorry if my comment is too long)

Here I insert a map to make things easier to understand:

Map

+2
Level 75
Mar 11, 2026
Compare Interesting Fact 74. All of Alaska is east of the IDL (relatively speaking) but it crosses the 180 Meridian.
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Sorry I got an "Access Denied" message from Google Docs
+1
Level 36
Mar 12, 2026
Done!
+1
Level 61
Mar 13, 2026
Done with what?
+1
Level 32
Mar 11, 2026
Fredric Baur, the inventor of the Pringles can, is buried in one.

Woodpeckers tongues wrap around their brain to cushion them from a concussion when they peck against tree trunks.

The man who invented the match.com website lost his wife to a man she met ... on match.com

+2
Level 65
Mar 11, 2026
the pringles one is already added somewhere
+1
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
Leeches have 32 brains
+1
Level 65
Mar 12, 2026
I wish I was a leech
+2
Level 61
Mar 12, 2026
I mean the only thing they accomplish with their 32 brains is being a blood sucking parasite. Proof that the amount of brains doesn't equal intelligence
+2
Level 36
Mar 12, 2026
!!CORRECTION HERE!!

The correct sentence would be, "I wish I were a leech," not "I wish I was a leech." The latter sentence is dismally wrong.

+2
Level 65
Mar 12, 2026
bro seriously
+1
Level 39
Apr 16, 2026
If he had 32 brains he wouldn't have made that error.
+1
Level 22
Mar 12, 2026
the last interesting facts page... for now
+1
Level 61
Mar 13, 2026
The next one got added bro