The world is a beautiful place, but with beauty comes horror. And while we do know a few tidbits about this planet we call home, there are a lot of bizarre and even downright scary things we have no clue exists among us. We have compiled a list of 50+ freaky facts to bend your mind so far back that it would be hard not to share them with anyone else. From horrifying hospital know-hows to icky info on creepy-crawly bugs, these truths will make anyone question the nature of our reality here on Earth.
The Horrid State of the U.S. Health Care System
The saying that 'health is wealth' is true wherever we go, and that is because being healthy is the only way for us to ensure that we would live long enough to see ourselves succeed in life. However, keeping the body in tip-top shape isn't always easy.
It's shocking that 41% of Americans become trapped in medical debt annually, especially since the United States is considered a modern, highly-developed, and privileged nation. We can't wrap our heads around this statistic based on a Kaiser Family Foundation report because healthcare is supposed to be a basic human right.
A Cannibalistic Version of Little Red Riding Hood
Many of us grew up on fairytales, either reading them as childhood tales or listening to our parents tell them as they tuck us in the night. "Little Red Riding Hood" is among those we have come to love. However, this European story of a little girl visiting her grandmother only to encounter a menacing wolf originally had a more morbid ending.
In the version of "Little Red Riding Hood" that we know, the young gal and her grandma survive the frightening experience. But in one of the original narratives, the wolf forces Red Riding Hood to eat her poor granny.
Empty Homes Outnumbering the Homeless
A place to call home is one of the basic needs that need to be met before anyone can truly say that they are living a stable and comfortable life. Sadly, the World Population Review website has shared that over half a million people are homeless in the United States.
Here's a fact that makes everything more twisted: there are more empty houses than there are people experiencing homelessness. As per the News Nation Now website, over 16 million homes have been sitting unused across America in 2022.
Facebook Is Destined To Be A Space For The Dead
Deeply thinking about it, social media is a weird phenomenon. These internet platforms don't even exist in the real world, yet many people act like it is the only reality they know. Then again, the fake societies that we're building in these simulations are beginning to mirror the real world.
Over 72% of the American population is found on Facebook. And similar to Earth, this social media platform will begin to reflect more dead users than the current living ones still using their accounts. Isn't that creepy?
The Secret To Making Horror Movies Scary
Not everyone likes getting scared on purpose, so the horror genre isn't everybody's cup of tea. But have you ever wondered what makes these movies so spine-chilling? Yes, music plays a big role in it, but it isn't just that.
Many scary films are known to use infrasound or frequencies that often can't be heard by the human ear. Interestingly, it can be felt by the body in various ways, from inducing anxiety to dizziness and even heart palpitations. An example of a movie that uses this method is the 2007 film "Paranormal Activity."
Living Among Murderers
With the emergence of biopics about serial killers like "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" in 2022, the fascination for death has escalated everywhere. The FBI estimates that between 25 and 50 active serial murderers exist in America at any given time, and a lot of them have never been captured.
In a lifetime, an average person would walk past 36 murderers. The unnerving thing about this is that we usually can't tell if the person we're passing by has ever killed a human being.
Age-old Diseases Just Waiting
Global warming and climate change are real, and anyone who doesn't believe in them should start doing their research. Among the threats that come with melting ice caps and glaciers is the possibility that a brand new worldwide illness could present itself in the next few years.
Apparently, thousands of various diseases remain frozen in time in the world's numerous glaciers. This fact alone should push humanity into doing everything it can to save the planet before disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and fungi come alive once more.
All It Takes Is Eight Minutes
According to Science Line, eight minutes and twenty seconds is the time that it takes for light from the sun to reach our planet. This means that if the sun blows up, we wouldn't know that it did until that amount of time passes.
The idea of the vast expanse of space can be too far-fetched for others to want to think about. However, life on Earth would literally cease to exist if the sun were ever to explode. It's good that it isn't supposed to happen until another five billion years, so make the most out of being alive.
Trees Can Grow In The Lungs
As kids, it was easy to believe anything was possible. We even believed it when someone told us that swallowing watermelon seeds would lead to a watermelon growing inside our bodies. Of course, we would eventually grow up to learn that these things weren't true… or were they?
A Russian man whined about extreme chest pain; even doctors thought he had a tumor after he got an x-ray. But after surgery, the medical practitioners were shocked to find a pine tree growing in this man’s lungs, which pierced his organs and caused him lots of pain.
Bad Handwriting Kills
They say architects are always on time while chefs are messy. These two are good examples of how stereotyping can worm its way into every profession. Nonetheless, some stereotypes are backed by facts.
Doctors are infamous for their sloppy handwriting, but this seemingly harmless quirk kills more than 7,000 people in the United States every year. With the rise of electronic devices, some changes are taking place. However, it's still pretty alarming since American physicians write about 3.2 billion prescriptions every year.
Human Catnip
As pet owners, it's hard not to think about the morbid thought of our pets eating us if they ever find us dead at home. And while some would say it's impossible, there are documented cases of cats and dogs eating their dead 'hoomans.'
A 2022 WION website article reported a gruesome incident of 20 Maine Coon cats feasting on the carcass of a woman who passed away at her Bataysk, Russia, residence. She was an established cat breeder, as per other media sources.
Climate Change Equals To Mutated Spiders
According to a 2018 National Geographic article, a 2009 study has shown that a combination of a warmer Arctic and earlier springs/longer summers can lead to larger wolf spiders. With a bigger size, they can then bear more offspring.
If you are someone with arachnophobia or an intense fear of spiders, this fact will surely bring chills up your spine. These eight-legged arachnids are already scary enough in their small form, so we wouldn't want to imagine ever seeing them double in size.
Morgue… In Case of an Emergency!
Thinking about people dying isn't pleasant, but it does happen all over the world—even on cruise ships. Because of this, employees on such vessels should know what to do in case such an emergency occurs. They are actually trained for it.
Not many people know that oceangoing cruise ships are required to have body bags and hold a morgue, as the Cruise Critic website reported. Separated from food storage spaces, most mortuaries are small, with enough room for three to six bodies.
Imagine Having A Tooth In Your Eye
Can you believe that putting a tooth in the eye can help people see again? Ophthalmologists call this procedure Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP) or "Tooth in Eye" surgery. It sounds strange, but it does work for patients experiencing corneal issues or illnesses.
The method was modified extensively in the '60s by Giancarlo Falcinelli, who coined the term modified Osteo-Odonto Keratoprosthesis (MOOKP). After perfecting the technique in about four decades, he streamlined the knowledge transfer and allowed patients in India to benefit from the complex procedure since 2003.
Fake News Is More Common Than You Think
Getting information is easier to do these days because of the internet but knowing whether they're legitimate or not is what's tricky. This is especially true when the ones spreading the information are big news outlets from local and worldwide stations.
Surprisingly, 44% of all the information released by world news outlets is inaccurate. On the other hand, a poll found that 62% of American adults believe that the things in newspapers, TV, or the radio is biased and should be taken with a grain of salt.
Boredom
Staring at something longer than usual can lead to what we're looking at seeming like a different object altogether. The brain is a complex organ that goes through millions of processes every second, and it sometimes does odd things.
For instance, if you stare at yourself in the mirror, your brain will start changing stuff around your face in boredom. And that's only after ten minutes! For our gray matter, this distortion process serves as a coping mechanism for boredom, which has led to many spooky tales.
Wearing Human Teeth
In the Victorian era, one had to pay a high sum for rudimentary dental care. And with limited knowledge and resources, people resorted to mediocre at-home oral hygiene. They cleansed their teeth with water, wetting twigs or rough cloths used as toothbrushes. Those who can afford it bought "tooth powder."
In our modern time, we have the tools and technology to take better care of our teeth. We can even replicate them to fit into dentures, unlike in the 1800s when they made dentures from the teeth of the deceased.
An Impending World-ending Eruption
This one is making us go on an existential crisis, and it's linked to volcanoes. Well, supervolcanoes in particular, which we have 40 of on our planet, according to the Exploring The Environment website.
We're fortunate that no supervolcano has erupted in the past 1,000 years. Then again, Wyoming's Yellowstone is a dormant one, which could mean that a huge eruption might come in the future. Yellowstone National Park is located in the Yellowstone Caldera, fueling about 10,000 geothermal elements like hot springs and geysers— half of the world's total.
A Freaky Fishy Fact
It's unsettling to see human teeth on this fish, but it actually exists in real life. It's called the Pacu fish, and it's native to South America. The only thing that's making us feel better about this fish is that it's not like the piranha with pointy razor-sharp teeth.
Pacus are not normally aggressive because they are vegetarians that mainly eat nuts and plants. They don't even have dominant or territorial instincts but knowing they can grow to the size of a small child is still making us feel creeped out.
Romance Between Related Royals
The late Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth are third cousins. There, we said it. They were both related to Queen Victoria, who bore nine children: four sons and five daughters. And for centuries, it was common for Europe's royal families to marry their close relatives to help consolidate thrones, power, and titles.
However, the children of mothers and fathers with a common bloodline are more likely to have birth defects and detrimental DNA mutations. An example is the Habsburg jaw, a pronounced facial deformity that resulted from 200 years of inbreeding, according to a study found in 2019.
Beware of New York Biters
New York City is one of the must-visit places in the world for some due to a lot of reasons, apart from it being home to America's first pizzeria. The Big Apple, where the Statue of Liberty is found, has some strange people, though.
A study found that more people have been bitten by New Yorkers than sharks in 1987. During that year, there were only 13 instances of sharks that bit humans. On the other hand, there were 1,587 reports of humans that bit humans.
A Wedding Dress Bought With Rations
Queen Elizabeth II left the world in September 2022 at age 96. She was Britain's longest-serving monarch, reigning for 70 years. She passed away after her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died in April 2021.
These two got married in November 1947, two years after the Second World War ended. Interestingly, the then Princess Elizabeth bought the material for her wedding dress using ration coupons. Women all over the United Kingdom sent in their coupons, but she returned them.
A Book Bound in Human Skin
Literary cannibals would love this freaky fact about an unusual item from Harvard's Houghton Library. The institution's rare-book repository verified that one of their books was bound in human skin.
Through a blog post, Houghton Library talked about the tests that revealed their copy of Arsène Houssaye’s "Des destinées de l’ame" being bound in human skin. Houssaye, a French author, gave the literary work, which translates to "Destinies of the Soul," to a friend and notable doctor during the mid-1880s.
The Crown Jewels Conspiracy
Queen Elizabeth loved her jewels, and she was even said to have had about 50 tiaras and crowns. Some of these priceless items go back 800 years, yet they don't belong to anyone but whoever is the reigning monarch.
The Sovereign’s Scepter With Cross is used for coronations and other historically significant events. It holds the world's largest diamond, which was reportedly gifted to then British monarch King Edward VII for his birthday in 1907. However, some say that it was looted from indigenous South Africans.
There's Practically No Outrunning Crocodiles
We can't imagine seeing crocodiles gallop like horses, but they can actually do it. Somehow, that makes the thought of coming across these reptiles even scarier because we now know that running might not even save us.
According to The Guardian, it was previously thought that only a few crocodile species could utilize a horse-like gait. However, they eventually found eight different species with this ability. Although it's hard to tell them apart, alligators and caimans can manage only do a trot by contrast.
Let's Talk About Operation London Bridge
A contingency plan by the codename of Operation London Bridge took place on the momentous moment that Her Majesty The Queen died. It ranged from the succession regulations to the procedure of bringing Queen Elizabeth II's coffin from Scotland's Balmoral Castle to London.
After the British Royal Family, the next to reeive the news is England's prime minister through a message that reads “London Bridge is down.” That person then goes on to pass the news to others. Apparently, the United Kingdom began the preparations for the monarch's death day during the '60s.
Dogs Are Sill Predators
Dogs are considered man's best friend and that's because they are some of the sweetest species on this planet. They are social pack animals that thrive off of affection and attention, after all. However, some folks have had bad experiences with these creatures, with over 4.5 million people getting bitten by them yearly in America.
And just when you think dogs playing with squeaky toys is cute, it actually isn't a hundred percent. The sound of those things reminds them of prey, inciting an instinctual reaction as dopamine gets released in their brain.
The Royal Send Off
Queen Elizabeth II's last departure from Buckingham Palace started when the slow-moving procession left her former residence for Westminster Hall. The late monarch's four kids, led by King Charles, walked at the back of the coffin.
In consideration to how much she was valued by the people of England, Queen Elizabeth II laid in Westminster Hall for four days while visitors came to pay their respects. Her funeral was actually the first one to take place in Westminster Abbey since the 18th century.
Real Skeletons At A Theme Park
Did you know that Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride used to have real skeletons as props? When it opened at Disneyland in 1967, every skeleton on the attraction were made of actual human bones. Over time, Imagineers or those behind the dream, design, and construction of Disney, from the theme parks to cruise ships, became skilled enough to produce more realistic bones.
Within the treasure room of the Captain’s Quarters, a dead man (who tells no tales) rests on his mattress, scrutinizing a map using a magnifying glass. In 2014, a Disney cast member finally confirmed this is the final remaining real skull.
Your Own Murder Mystery
If you get killed in the United States, there's a 1 in 3 chance that the authorities won't identify your murderer. As per NPR, the national "clearance rate" for homicide as of 2015 is 64.1%. Five decades before that, it was over 90%.
The estimate of criminologists is that about 200,000 murders have gone unresolved since the '60s, leaving loved ones to wait and wonder. Apparently, clearing murders has become more complicated in recent decades, according to homicide detectives.
Sunburn Is Deadly
The reason why we say that sunburns are deadly is that it literally causes apoptosis or cell death from a high dosage of UVB radiation. And even if the damaged cells dodge this programmed cell death, they become more inclined to evolve into cancer.
The process peaks one to two days later, explaining why the redness and pain of a sunburn can keep developing. Some immune cells begin to clean up skin cells in self-destruct mode, while some release chemicals that continue to damage weakened cells.
Creepy Decapitation
We wouldn't want our cause of death to be decapitation and knowing that we'll still be conscious for about 25 to 30 seconds as a mere head is why. It was a Frech physician that attended a guillotine execution in 1905 who discovered this creepy fact after calling out the name of a severed head thrice.
A famous beheading is that of condemned English queen Anne Boleyn in 1953. As soon as the swordsman struck, he held up the severed noggin for spectators to see. Witnesses later swore that her lips were moving like she was trying to say something.
Dead Bodies As Markers
As per the Smithsonian Magazine website, over 200 people have reportedly died while attempting to scale Mount Everest. But as of November 2022, the numbers have grown to 310 and most of the bodies are still in the mountain, making it somewhat of a graveyard.
So as compelling as it might be to climb this beauty of the Himalayas, we’d rather sit it out. We wouldn't want to be part of what is known as the Rainbow Valley, with bright-colored vests lining its path. Some of the dead even serve as grim "markers" along the route.
Every Birthday Brings Death Closer
We know that humans don't live forever, but thinking about death still makes us feel sad sometimes. And apparently, upon turning 18, we will mostly have 3,300 weekends and 57 summers left on average for the remainder of our lives. This thought is making us not want to celebrate our birthdays.
Then again, with the world's life expectancy being 72.98 years as of 2022, all those weekends don't seem so bad. We'll have to start thinking of adventures to fill them up.
A Haunted Station
Radio stations need to broadcast through a radio frequency that can often be traced. However, there's this mysterious station in Russia that has operated since 1982. It's called UVB-76, and it is still operating today.
Good thing for our nervous hearts, the IFLScience website explained it as a number station, used as a tool of communication between the Russian state and its agents. Apparently, it had even started to broadcast strange messages, from memes to the song "Gangnam Style," but would usually return to its normal beeps
Phones Are Nasty
According to a survey by Deloitte, Americans check their cellular devices about 47 times every day. This leads to a host of opportunities for microorganisms to transfer from our hands to our phones.
Scientists from Arizona have actually found that our cellular devices are ten times more contaminated than most toilet seats. As if that's not worse, another study also concluded that a typical high schooler's smartphone can house as many as 17,000 bacterial gene copies on it. Gross!
Corpse On The Set
In 1976, "The Six Million Dollar Man" crew members were prepping to shoot at the Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach, California. An episode would be shot at the "Laff in the Dar spooky ride, featuring a tunnel with ghouls, demons, and skeletons.
While fixing up the set, one of the TV show's employees discovered a mannequin dangling from a noose. But after reaching for its arm, the arm broke off in his hand. It was actually the corpse of the late Elmer McCurdy, an outlaw who passed away from a gunfight with authorities 65 years before he was seen in the funhouse.
Chlorine and Urine Equals Stinging
Raise your hand if you also thought that chlorine in the swimming pool was the culprit behind red eyes. We're horrified to find that chlorine mixing with people's urine was the main cause, after all. Let that sink in…
The CBC website reported that peeing in a pool depletes chlorine due to urine's nitrogen-containing compounds. The combination then leads to the production of an irritant that causes red eyes. Eliminating these irritants means more chlorine is needed in a pool. As for us, we'd rather wear goggles.
Scare Yourself Into Shape
Watching scary movies do get our hearts pumping, but we never knew that it was enough to make us lose some extra weight. Research from London's University of Westminster revealed that the activity can aid in burning off calories, as per Parade.
Horror fans can now rejoice because watching one 90-minute film from this genre can help them get rid of 150 to 200 calories. The amount is pretty close to the same number burned off during a 30-minute walk.
Some Kids Eat Their Mothers
A mother's love knows no bounds, and in this case, it even leads to life-and-death situations that we don't normally see as humans. This is all about female spiders loving their children so much that will allow their kids to eat them alive.
New York Post wrote that female velvet spiders present their own bodies as food for the young. This behavior of kids consuming their parents is common in a lot of spider species and even has a name—"Matriphagy."
Months In Our Lives Wasted
Driving is fun and can make us feel free, that is until we end up getting stuck at a red light, which may stay lit for 30–60 seconds. And on average, we will spend five to six months of our lives waiting for red lights to turn green.
That doesn't sit right with us, so we shouldn't be wasting our time even during red light stops. We'd rather play games with the kiddos and ask them about their day or even have spontaneous dance outbursts until the light turns green.
Speak To The Dying
Who really knows what the afterlife is like? It's a concept that any living person would find hard to comprehend, but here's a fact that might ease you into it. After people die, their bodily organs start to stop working, and hearing is one of the last senses to go.
So even if a dying loved one doesn't seem like they're responding, just keep telling them what you want them to hear before they completely pass. They might still be able to catch what you're trying to say.
The City of Love—And Death!
Paris is known as the city of love and romance. Part of its charm is the people themselves, living their lives as they get their croissants and baguettes to start the day. However, we just discovered something about the French capital that will probably shock you.
There are Catacombs existing under the city of Paris, housing millions of human remains. If you're into such morbidities, you can even walk through them with organized tour guides. But for us, it just gave the world's most romantic city a creepy twist.
Butterflies Like Blood
The word 'drink' can mean two things, as per Oxford Dictionaries: to consume fluids with the mouth and 'to be extremely attracted.' If we relate the latter to butterflies, then they do drink blood, just like they do with tears. Some even feed on rotting meat.
However, none of the things we mentioned are vital elements of a butterfly’s diet. Blood can be a source of sugar for these pretty insects. Meanwhile, tears offer salt, and rotting meat offers protein while attracting them with its smell.
We Could've Been Annihilated
Sixty-six million years ago, a devastating asteroid impact abruptly ended the reign of the dinosaurs that lasted 180 million years. Chicxulub, a six-mile-wide celestial body, hit the waters of what is now Mexico, initiating a mass extinction that took over 75 percent of Earth's species.
In January 2017, a lot of people thought we would suffer the same fate with the AG13 asteroid. It passed us by a fraction, and scientists only realized it was on its way two days before it could've potentially collided with our planet.
Mummy Mania
Can you believe that people ingested mummies for centuries, thinking that it cures illnesses? Mumia, a by-product of mummified bodies, was a medicinal substance consumed then by the rich and poor. It was even readily available in apothecary shops.
Mumia was made from the remains of mummies taken from Egyptian tombs all the way to Europe. Apothecaries grounded them for their metaphysical medicinal properties during the 12th century. And technically, mummies were prescribed as medicine in the 500 years that followed.
Alive and Headless
You might not have wanted to know this, but cockroaches can continue living with no heads for weeks. These creepy critters are disgusting, but they are also among the limited number of species that could outlive the next big bang.
As per the website Pest World For Kids, cockroaches breathe through tiny holes within every body segment. This is why, unlike humans, they don't need their mouths or heads to breathe. They will die from not being able to eat or drink, though.
A Lethal Glow
Eighteenth-century socialites are often characterized as vain, frivolous women who got poisoned by their white lead maquillage. Maria Gunning, the Countess of Coventry, was a society hostess renowned for her beauty. However, even as she lay dying, she is said to have still kept her white-lead-containing foundation on her face.
Lead was used as a supplement to make up before it was found that this mineral had adverse side effects on people's health. How can we blame them, though, when the Conversation reported that white lead maquillage can look quite lovely and natural?
Imagine Being Buried Alive
With the standards linked to funeral homes and hospitals, investigating for signs of life within the departed is of great significance. After all, nobody wants to be accountable for accidentally burying someone that's still alive, which has happened multiple times.
Thank goodness for safety coffins or security coffins. They are equipped with the means of preventing premature entombing and even allow an occupant to signal that they've been buried alive. A huge number of designs for such coffins were patented between the 18th and 19th centuries, with variations of the idea still available today.
Sitting Lifeless At Disney
A Facebook post published in June 2021 stated that when a Disney employee dies while in costume at Disney World, other employees must sit them on a bench. This is to make it seem like they're just sitting down until the park closes.
What you just read may have given you goosebumps, but it's not true at all. No evidence has been found that such a policy exists, as per historians of The Walt Disney Company, so you can stop psyching yourself out now.
Left With A Smaller Brain
Did you know that living in Antarctica for a few months can shrink the brain? It might be the ultimate brain freeze! Researchers have found that staying at a desolate study outpost in the continent for over a year does that to the human brain.
We can't blame the low temperatures of minus 58 degrees, though. The lead author of the study says it's due to the social isolation of having just eight co-workers, and the daily monotony of seeing miles and miles of white surroundings.
Amish Technology
Contrary to widespread belief, the Amish don't forsake every modern tech out there because they aren't totally against it anyway. Guidelines on usage might be different in every community, but many Amish folks use electricity, phones, and even their own special computer.
The Amish don't have access to the internet and can't watch videos or listen to music on their computers, but they can at least use them for other things. Who can say the Amish are stuck in the past now?
Our Daily Dose of Mucus
Yes, you read that right; an average human swallows about one to two cups of mucus or more than a liter every day. This might freak out a lot of people who would think it's gross, but mucus is normally found in our bodies.
When we're feeling well, we usually don't even notice that we're constantly swallowing mucus (about 38 ounces of it daily). However, whenever we're not feeling well, all that sticky, gelatinous goo becomes a lot more detectable.
Outnumbered By The Lifeless
Modern humans arose from Africa in the past 200,000 years, evolving from their most likely recent common ancestor, Homo erectus. Also called 'upright man' in Latin, they are now extinct human species that lived about 1.9 million to 135,000 years ago.
Knowing the above information, we can't help but think about how many dead people there are on our planet. As per The Guardian, there are 15 dead people for every 1 that's alive. And what's even eerier is that this number continues to grow.