Facts that sound false but are true — Page 11
Our highest surprise rating: the facts people most often refuse to believe until they read the explanation. Every one of them is documented.
1017 facts
The first email message used the @ symbol to separate the user from the machine.
In 1971, Ray Tomlinson chose the @ symbol because it was rarely used in names and could indicate the user's location…
Leafcutter ants do not eat the leaves they cut.
They carry pieces of leaves to the nest and use them to grow a fungus, which feeds the colony. The leaves are the…
The African lungfish can spend months inside a mucus cocoon in the soil.
When water disappears, it burrows into the ground and secretes a mucus layer that hardens, keeping it moist. In this…
Tardigrades were the first known animals to survive in space.
In 2007, tardigrades were sent to space and exposed to vacuum and solar radiation. Many survived and reproduced…
Tardigrades can survive decades without water by entering a state called cryptobiosis.
When water is scarce, the tardigrade curls into a dry ball called a tun. In this state, its metabolism slows…
The axolotl can regenerate limbs, parts of the heart, spinal cord and even the brain.
The axolotl is an amphibian that keeps juvenile features throughout its life. When it loses a limb, cells at the…
Dua's layer in the human eye was only discovered in 2013.
Dua's layer is a structure about 15 micrometres thick in the cornea. It is very strong and impervious to air…
Garum, a fermented fish sauce, helped date the eruption of Vesuvius.
Analysis of garum pots found in Pompeii revealed that the sauce was made with bogues, a fish abundant in the…
Milbenkase is a German cheese ripened with thousands of live mites.
Milbenkase is made with quark seasoned with salt and caraway, placed in wooden boxes with rye flour. The mites…
The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and lowest places on Earth.
The region sits at an average of 120 metres below sea level and annual temperatures often exceed 50 degrees Celsius…
In 1518, hundreds of people in Strasbourg danced uncontrollably for days.
The so-called dancing plague began with one woman, Frau Troffea, and spread rapidly. People danced until they…
The Armillaria ostoyae fungus in Oregon is one of the largest living organisms in the world.
An underground network of this fungus covers about 9 square kilometres and is thousands of years old. Most of the…
The mantis shrimp delivers a punch so fast that the water boils and forms cavitation bubbles.
The mantis shrimp's punch reaches speeds similar to a .22 calibre bullet. When the appendage moves through the water…
The world's smallest QR code was created with silver atoms and can be read by a common phone.
Researchers at FZU used a scanning tunneling microscope to position silver atoms one by one, forming a QR code of 50…
Capuchin monkeys have been observed abducting baby howler monkeys in the wild.
Biologists documented five male capuchin monkeys carrying at least eleven different infant howler monkeys, a behavior…
The platypus has venomous spurs on its hind legs and glows under ultraviolet light.
The male platypus has venomous spurs behind its legs that can cause intense pain in humans. Its skin and fur also…
Cycads heat their reproductive structures up to 15 degrees Celsius above ambient temperature.
These ancient plants produce heat and emit infrared light to attract pollinating beetles. Heat pollination may be the…
The wood frog can freeze up to 70 percent of its body and come back to life in spring.
Up to 70 percent of the wood frog's body water can freeze. The heart stops beating, breathing ceases and the blood…
CSIRAC, Australia's first computer, still works and could help with quantum computing.
CSIRAC is the fifth automatic digital computer ever built and the first in Australia. Built in the 1940s, it is still…
The night parrot, an Australian species, was rediscovered after 100 years without records.
The night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) is one of the world's most mysterious birds. It lives in remote regions of…
Japanese researchers discovered an unknown anatomical structure beneath the navel.
The structure is a dense vertical sheath that wraps around a fat pocket and extends deep into the connective tissues…
The human skull has microchannels connecting the inner surface to the brain.
Spanish researchers described a network of microchannels in the skull that could be key in neurological diseases…
Live ants can ferment milk to make yogurt, scientists confirmed.
The ancestral technique from the Balkans and Turkey uses acids and bacteria present in ants to accelerate milk…
In 2025, a tsunami in an Alaskan fjord reached 481 metres high.
The tsunami of 10 August 2025 in Barry Arm fjord, Alaska, was the second-highest ever recorded. The wave reached 481…