30 Ridiculous Random Facts That You Probably Didn’t Know

Do you like to learn? Of course you do. I don’t guarantee that these will change your life, but I’m pretty sure you’ll be happy knowing a random fact to, you know, impress (or one-up your brother) someone. Found on r/TodayILearned.

1. yzerdog

Ikea is owned by a “charitable foundation,” pays only 3.5% tax. (Link)

2. GTech

A man once went to Vegas, turned $50 into $40,000,000, and then promptly lost it all before the end of the year. (Link)

3. pokemon1010

Telling other people your goals makes you less likely to achieve them. If you want to reach them, science says stop talking. (Link)

4. ecstone

Due to the “welfare cliff”, a single mother of two is better off with a $29,000 per year job than she is with a $69,000 per year job. (Link)

5. iCanHelpU2

In 2009, Oklahoman cops tasered an 86-year old disabled woman in her bed for taking a ‘more aggressive stance’. There made sure she would not resist further by stepping on her oxygen line until she couldn’t breathe. (Link)

6. invno1

The fastest (english) typist in the world could maintain 150 words per minute with a max speed of 212 wpm. She also failed her high school typing class. (Link)

7. GrandpappyLuke

Viagra can even make flowers stay erect. (Link)

8. asdfjklsemic0lon

Haydn wrote a symphony nicknamed “the Palindrome” in which halfway through the 3rd movement, it is played the same way as the beginning, only backwards. (Link)

9. Living_free4u

Over the last two decades, Iran has experienced the fastest drop in fertility ever recorded in human history. (Link)

10. Amil359

In 2012 a blackout in India affected 620M people or 9% of the worlds population. The power outage is also the the largest power outage in history. (Link)

11. Onetimes2

A man impregnated 600 woman using his own sperm through a fertility clinic. (Link)

12. BorisChinchilla

Statistically speaking, Kansas is actually FLATTER than a pancake. (Link)

13. diskoboxx

Hundreds of retired NYC subway cars have been sunk into the ocean for use as artificial reefs. (Link)

14. Swizzle522

On August 15 1977 we received a 72 second radio signal from outer space and still don’t know where it came from. (Link)

15. jamieazure

There is a humming sound that up to 11% of people can hear around the planet that drives some of them to suicide. (Link)

16. thebestofnutrition

More than 600 people threw themselves into the crater of active volcano Mount Mihara in 1936. (Link)

17. DriveThruThur

“Lobster kettle” was a Victorian euphemism for sex. (Link)

18. jakesterlicious

In Nauru, a tiny pacific island, 95 percent of the population is obese, making it the most obese country in the world. (Link)

19. F16KILLER

On February 21 of 2003, a Chinese doctor infected with the SARS virus arrived in Hong Kong to attend a wedding. Although he had developed symptoms, he felt well enough to travel around the city. He died on March 4 and about 80% of the Hong Kong cases have been traced back to this doctor. (Link)

20. guytoronto

When you look at a clock, and the second hand seems to freeze for a moment, your brain is actually generating a false memory, and your perception of time stretches slightly backward. This effect is called chronostasis. (Link)

21. tinininji

Napoleon’s penis was not buried with him – spent years in various people’s possession, and was even shown to the public in New York in 1927. (Link)

22. monkeypumps

A couple named their child Dovahkiin (Dragonborn) and received a lifetime of free Bethesda games. (Link)

23. TheSputNic

When flushing the toilet (with the lid up) fecal mist can travel up to 20 feet in all directions. (Link)

24. Between40and50

Sharks were largely considered to be harmless until one series of five attacks in 1916, at which point they started to be portrayed as ruthless killing machines. (Link)

25. Yep_its_A

The 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham came with a built in mini bar. (Link)

26. CCPearson

There is a Museum of Menstruation that contains over 4000 items related to menstruation and is the only collection of its kind in the world. (Link)

27. H0H_SIS

There were originally supposed to be 190 Pokemon in Gen 1, but 39 were saved for Gen 2. (Link)

28. Green-K

In 1909 the citizens of Ulysses, Kansas, moved their whole city (including all buildings) to evade high taxes. (Link)

29. LolTurdFerguson

Maggot therapy is still used in the United States, and is considered a prescription only medical device by the FDA. (Link)

30. highperdrive

You can’t file for Bankruptcy in Dubai. In turn, people abandon their exotic sports cars in the airport parking lot while fleeing. Ferrari, Porche, Land Rover, and Mercedes. (Link) Thought Catalog Logo Mark

image – Johan Larsson

Follow Michael at @UghHugs.

Keep up with Michael on Twitter and thoughtcatalog.com

More From Thought Catalog