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45 Fun, Weird and Random Facts 

Is there anything more fun than discovering something new?

Well buckle up, because we’ve got 45 of the most amazing, random, fun and intriguing facts right here to enjoy!

Let’s get started!

#1. The Whale

Whales are cetaceans. In prehistoric times, they had legs and lived on land.

They are related to cows, pigs and the hippopotamus.

Whales breathe air, are warm blooded, and feed their young milk.

They can shut down one side of their brain while resting and keep the other side aware of when they need to take a breath.

whale-shark

#2. The Blue Whale

The Blue Whale is the largest animal on earth and an adult can be as long as 3 school buses.

They can grow as long as 33 meters of 100 feet, which is longer than a T-Rex dinosaur.

The tongue of a Blue Whale can weigh as much as an elephant.

T Rex

Also Read: Whale shark facts for kids

#3. Whale Babies

A human female carries a baby 9 months before it is born.

A female whale carries its young for one year and the young baby (calf) are suckled for at least 7 months.

A calf can drink almost 250 liters of milk every day.

Calves learn their behaviors from the adult whales that are part of the family or pod.

humpback-whale

#4. Marsupials

All marsupials carry and suckle their young in a pouch. Kangaroos, opossums, Tasmanian Devils, wombats, koala bears and wallabies are all marsupials.

Australia has over 120 species of marsupials, New Guinea has 53, South and Central America have 90, and North America has 2.

The young are born and travel up the mother’s body to the pouch where they latch on to a nipple.

One newborn can be the size of a pea, and is called a joey.

koala bears eucalyptus leaves

#5. The Avocado

An avocado is a pear-shaped berry, and therefore, it is a fruit.

They are a ‘superfood’ because one ounce of the pulp has 50 calories and they are high in monounsaturated fat (good fat), that helps lower cholesterol.

They are the main ingredient in guacamole, can be added in salads or smoothies, and some people use them in brownie recipes.

Avocado

#6. Caviar

Caviar is the released egg masses or roe of some fish.

Sometimes it is cooked and sometimes it is eaten raw. The eggs of the sturgeon and some other species of fish are the base for caviar.

In the United States, several kinds of caviar is produced from Pacific salmon, shad, mullet, bowfin and some species of sturgeon.

caviar

#7. The Bicycle

The two-wheeled bicycle was invented in 1817 by a German civil servant by the name of Baron Karl von Drais.

He patented his invention and called it a Draisine and it was a success because it had two-wheels, could be steered, and was powered by pedaling.

It was nicknamed the hobby-horse or the dandy horse and was first manufactured in Germany and France.

Draisine Nachbildung

#8. The Typewriter

From the 1500s to the 1700s, many people invented different type machines.

Most offices used typewriters until the 1980s and then began using the computer, which copied the arrangement of the typewriter keys to make it easy for trained typists to use a computer.

The arrangement is called QWERTY, named for the 6 keys in the first row on a typewriter.

Qwerty typewriter

#9. The Banana

The banana is actually a berry that grows in clusters.

There are many species of bananas: cooking bananas called plantains and dessert bananas.

They come in a variety of sizes, colors (green, yellow, red, purple or brown), and firmness and are seedless. The soft flesh is rich in starch. 

banana-joke

#10. World’s Biggest Spider

The Goliath birdeater belongs to the tarantula family and is the largest spider in the world. 

It is found in South American rainforests. Even though its name is birdeater, no one has seen it eating a bird.

It lives in burrows in the ground. In some places in South America, it is roasted in banana leaves and eaten and they claim it tastes like shrimp.

Goliath birdeater
Goliath birdeater – yes, I know…

#11. The Ostrich

The ostrich is the largest bird in the world.

An adult can be 9 feet tall and weigh 320 lbs. The eyes of an ostrich can be 2 inches across and one eye is bigger than its brain.

It is the only bird that has 2 toes on each foot; all other birds have either 3 or 4 toes.

ostrich-farm

#12. Coffee

One legend about coffee is the story of Kaldi, a goatherd in Ethiopia.

He noticed that his goats became excited after eating the beans of the coffee plants.

The first evidence of coffee beans being roasted, ground, and brewed was in the 1600s in Arabia.

The drink was used to make people stay awake during religious activities and prayers.

coffee beans

#13. Camels

Most people associate camels with the desert areas of Africa and the Middle East.

Their origins, however, are in North America millions of years ago.

Scientists believe these prehistoric animals eventually crossed the land bridge that connected Alaska to Eurasia.

They also migrated to South America and evolved into llamas and alpacas.

camels transporting people

#14. Toothbrushes

As long ago as 3000 BC, the Egyptians and Babylonians used frayed twigs to brush their teeth.

About 1600 BC, the Chinese chewed sticks that had a fresh taste to sweeten their breath.

It is thought that the first natural bristle toothbrush was invented by the Chinese.

It was made of the bristles from the necks of hogs attached to bone or bamboo handles.

natural bristle toothbrush
Napoleon’s Toothbrush, Europe, 1790-1821

#15. The Pencil

The first lead pencil was invented after a graphite mine was discovered in England in 1564.

They were mistakenly called lead pencils but were actually pure graphite. The ore was cut into squares and then inserted into wood holders.

In 1795, a French officer in Napoleon’s army patented the method of mixing powdered graphite with clay to make long, thin rods that could be encased in wood strips.

napoleon-bonaparte

#16. The Ballpoint Pen

In the early 1930s, a journalist named Bíró noticed that newspaper ink didn’t drip, and dried quicker than the liquid fountain pen ink.

He discarded the nib of a fountain pen and closed one end almost shut.

He filled the pen tube with printing ink and left one end open enough to insert a tiny metal ball than was free to spin and touch the ink.

As the pen was passed against paper, it left an ink mark.

biro pen

#17. The First Zoos

In 2400 BC, Shulgi, the ruler of Ur, which is modern day Iraq, collected animals for his own pleasure and it was not a public zoo.

In 1500 BC, Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt collected animals from all over Africa.

Emperor Wen Wany of China collected animals from all over his extensive empire to show off his wealth.

His zoo consisted of more than 1,500 acres where his animals could roam.

red panda in zoo

#18. Dice

Many historians think dice were first used by fortune-tellers.

Before 3000 BC, two-sided sticks with numbers written on them were used by Ancient Egyptians.

The oldest known dice were found in an archeological dig in Iran and have been dated to about 2300 BC.

Ancient biblical writings mention a game of dicing using ‘casting lots’.

The Ancient Greeks, in their games of skill, used 4-sided bones with each side having a different value.

dice

#19. Paper Clips

The first paper clip was patented in the U.S. in 1867. It was to be used to attach tickets to cloth.

The modern wire paper clip was never patented, and was produced by the Gem Company in England in the early 1870s.

The ad for these clips or fasteners were touted as being better than any pin to hold papers, bundles of letters, and pages of a manuscript for a book.

paper clips

#20. Post-it Notes

In 1968, Dr. Silva, a scientist at 3M, was trying to develop a super glue.

One of his creations was a glue that never dried and which 3M could not use.

Eleven years later, Art Fry, a colleague of Dr. Silva, decided the glue could be used as a temporary bookmark.

Fry experimented with yellow scrap paper from the lab next door. 3M’s ‘Press ’n Peel’ bookmark went on sale in 1977.

post-it sticky notes

#21. Leggings

Modern women probably think wearing leggings is a new fashion statement.

They are wrong – people have been wearing leggings for centuries. The Scots wore them under their kilts during the 1200s to keep their legs warm.

Armies through the centuries have used them for warmth and to keep sand, mud, and manure out of their boots.

When Lycra was invented in 1958, the fashion industry went crazy with the idea of stretchy pants.

leggings-kilts

#22. Seahorses

Seahorses mate for life, which is extraordinary for a fish.

A female seahorse lays hundreds of eggs in a pouch on the male seahorse’s abdomen, something similar to the pouch of a kangaroo.

When the eggs hatch, the babies float together in groups grasping each other’s tails.

They swim upright and can float up or down by adjusting the air in their swim bladder.

Black Sea fauna Seahorse

#23. The Woman General

Casimir Pulaski was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1745.

When he was just a teenager, he fought for Polish independence and was banished by Russia. He fled to Paris and then to the United States.

He joined George Washington’s army in 1777. At the age of 35, he was killed in a battle at Savannah and was buried.

His skeleton was recovered and DNA has proven Casimir Pulaski was a woman.

Casimir Pulaski

#24. Spider Webs

Ancient Greeks and Romans discovered a way of keeping wounds clean and prevent infection.

They used spider webs as gauze material on soldiers’ wounds.

They also discovered that it helped blood to clot to stop bleeding.

Today, we know that spider webs are rich in vitamin K which helps heal wounds, cuts, and lacerations. Wow!

spider web ornament Ukraine

#25. Kangaroos

There are more kangaroos in Australia than people. A male kangaroo is called a boomer and the female is called a jill.

Kangaroos cannot move backward and use their tail as a third leg for balance.

When a joey (baby) first leaves its mother’s body it is only a gram in weight. It climbs up the mother’s body and into her pouch where it latches onto a nipple.

It remains attached for several weeks before it lets go and peeks outside the pouch.

Kangaroo on beach

#26. Ice Cream

Marco Polo may have introduced ice cream dessert to the Italians when he returned from China in 1295.

He brought back a recipe for a dessert made of snow, rice, and milk. The recipe spread throughout Europe and was called cream ice.

However, in Ancient Rome in about 60 AD, Emperor Nero is said to have dispatched his messengers to go up into the mountains and bring back snow.

He then had the snow mixed with different fruit and honey.

ice cream

#27. French Fries

Belgium and France have both claimed they invented French fries. The Belgians claim they served fried potatoes to American, British, and Canadian soldiers during WWI.

Because French was the language spoken by Belgians, the soldiers started calling the fried potatoes “French” fries.

Historians, however, can date the Belgians eating deep fried potatoes back to 1781.

french fries

#28. Sloths

Sloths live almost all of their lives in trees and their main source of food is vegetation.

They are solitary animals and only ever get together with another sloth to mate.

A female sloth gestation period is between 7 and 10 months and she only gives birth to one baby.

The three-toed sloth can swivel their head almost 360 degrees, much like an owl.

sloth

#29. Giraffes

The giraffe is the tallest animal on the planet.

The spots on a giraffe are like fingerprints – no two giraffes have the exact same patter.

A giraffe’s tongue about 2-foot long and is a blue-purple color.

A giraffe only has bottom teeth.

A female giraffe gives birth while standing up and most land mammals are prone on the ground.

When a baby giraffe is born, it already has horns. These protect its head when it drops two meters from its mother when born.

giraffe facts

#30. Venus

One day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days. Venus is the only planet that spins clockwise.

There are more volcanoes on Venus than on any other planet in our solar system.

Astronomers have counted more than 1600 volcanoes that have been seen.

The surface of Venus is estimated to be 870 degrees Fahrenheit and is hot enough to melt lead.

venus facts

#31. Laughing Animals

Studies about animal behavior have been carried out by scientists. They have concluded that some animals can laugh to show pleasure.

Animals of the ape family make sounds like laughter when they wrestle, chase in fun, or when they are tickled.

Brown rats make loud squeaks when they are play wrestling.

Dogs will make laughing sounds while panting and wag their tails in response to happy situations. They also have a “play-face” when they are happy or excited.

Dolphins have a particular sound they make when they are play-fighting. View our dolphin infographic 

dolphin facts infographic

#32. Toads and Frogs

Only the male toad can croak and most male frogs croak.

Toads have lumpy, bumpy skin and frogs’ skin is smooth. Frogs look wet even when they are not in water.

Frogs have legs that are longer than their entire body, which are made for jumping and hopping. Toads have shorter legs and don’t hop but crawl instead.

The spawn or eggs of a frog are laid in clumps and toads lay their eggs in long strings.

glass-frog

#33. Pet Hamsters

Studies have been done that prove hamsters can carry the salmonella virus and can transfer it to humans.

They can also catch a cold or the flu from humans. They have the same symptoms as humans – runny nose, being tired and lethargic, and sneezing.

Hamsters can become unhappy if you take their toys away or if their cages are left dirty and are not cozy and warm.

hamster in cage

#34. Fingerprinting

The first person to develop a method of recording individual’s fingerprints was a chief police officer in Argentina in 1892.

In 1901, Scotland Yard in London, England used a French scientist’s method of iodine fuming to transfer fingerprints on surfaces to paper.

This technique was then adopted by various police departments around the world, including in the United States.

In 1902, fingerprint identification resulted in the first arrest and conviction of a murderer in the United States.

#35. Ravens

Ravens are extremely intelligent. They can recognize individual humans, and can imitate a human’s speech.

They are acrobats – they do rolls and somersaults while flying, and can even fly upside down.

They play games with sticks by dropping them in midair and swooping down to catch them before they land. They recognize a gunshot and will come to see what animal has been killed.

#36. Miss Piggy

Jim Henson created all the characters of The Muppets. In 1974, the Muppets appeared on the Herb Alpert T.V. special.

They were such a hit that, in 1976, they were given their own T.V. show.

Before 1976, Miss Piggy was called Piggy Lee and she was in love with Hamilton Pigg who smoked a cigar.

Miss Piggy, with her new name, fell in love with Kermit the Frog, who she affectionately called Kermie.

#37. Strange Phobias

A phobia is an intense fear of something that normally would not cause you harm.

Most people know that claustrophobia is a fear of closed-in spaces, and hydrophobia is a fear of water.

One strange phobia is xanthophobia, the fear of the color yellow.

There is a new phobia that has been named recently and that is nomophobia. It is the fear of being without a mobile phone.

People with this phobia “freak out” when their cell phone battery dies.

iPhone desirable

#38. Bamboo

Almost all plant growth is measured in inches per day. Because bamboo grows extraordinarily fast, it is measured in miles per hour!

In fact, it is the fastest growing plant in the world. It is strong and flexible and has a multitude of uses.

It can be used to build roads, houses, scaffolding and furniture. People boil and eat new shoots, and it provides food for many different animals.

Manufacturers also use bamboo fibers to make cloth and clothing.

pandas eat bamboo

#39. McDonald’s

The smallest McDonald’s restaurant in the world is not for humans – it is for bees.

The McDonald’s company decided to build its smallest restaurant in Sweden to help increase the bee population. The “McHive” can house thousands of bees.

The building looks like a miniature McDonald’s fast-food outlet and even has a number of tiny golden arches.

McDonalds-McHive-bees

#40. Cookies in Space

Scientists invented a space oven so that astronauts could bake cookies in space.

There are positive psychological effects of the smell of home baked cookies. The smell can boost the morale of astronauts who are in space for long periods of time.

It gives them a sense of being at home in a normal situation, in which they are not while travelling in space.

astronauts

#41. Goosebumps

Why do we sometimes experience goosebumps where the hairs on our arms stand upright?

This is an inherited phenomenon from our prehistoric ancestors. This reaction was a way of retaining body heat.

It also was a way for our ancient ancestors to look bigger when confronted by danger.

With less body hair today, goosebumps don’t make us look bigger, but signal a reaction to cold or the thought of something scary or emotional.

goosebumps-arm

#42. Blushing

A human is the only animal that blushes. It is an involuntary reaction that signals embarrassment or shame.

To be embarrassed, a person has to understand other people’s opinions. Blushing is a way to communicate our emotions to others.

A lot of information is sent by a blush; it signals that we may be sorry, we are embarrassed, shy, modest, angry or are stimulated in a romantic way.

kissing world record

#43. Airplane Food

Almost everyone has complained about how awful airplane food tastes.

When a person is flying, almost 30% of their taste capacity is suppressed.

This reduces their ability to taste salty or sweet food. It has been proven that our ability to taste is affected by our ability to smell.

The dry air and the low air pressure in the aircraft cabin affects our noses too and we lose some of the ability to smell.

first successful airplane flight

#44. Most Expensive Car

There are many very expensive cars on the market, such as Ferrari, Bugatti, Mercedes Benz, and others.

But today, the most expensive car in the world is a new Rolls-Royce Sweptail. It recently sold for $13 million.

Even if you have that kind of money, you will not be able to buy one because only one was ever made and it was custom-made for the buyer.

The most expensive old car was a 1963 Ferrari GTO that sold for $70 million.

Rolls-Royce Sweptail

#45. Typhoid Mary

Today, we know the way a disease can be contracted but this was not true in the 1880s.

Doctors did not believe that a person could carry a disease but not show symptoms.

After investigating the outbreak of typhoid and linking Mary, a cook, to the outbreak, doctors finally believed that a disease could be passed to others even if they had no symptoms themselves.

Mary was in quarantine for the last years of her life.

sickness emoticon

We hope you enjoyed these amazing and random facts!

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