15 Unbelievable “Did You Know” Facts That Will Surprise You

Our world is filled with hidden wonders and unexpected truths that defy common knowledge and challenge our understanding. These surprising facts, once uncovered, can leave us in awe and remind us of the incredible complexity and marvels that exist in the most unexpected places. Here are some “Did You Know” facts that are almost hard to believe yet completely true.

More stars than sand on Earth

Earth has 7.5 sextillions (75 plus 17 zeros) of grains of sand, including in beaches, deserts, and sandboxes. Experts estimate that there are around 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe, each containing millions to billions of stars. When you total these numbers, you get a mind-boggling figure.

Unlike strawberries, bananas are berries

Botanically, bananas qualify as berries, while strawberries do not. A berry is classified as a fleshy fruit formed from one ovary, and bananas fit this classification. On the other hand, strawberries develop from multiple ovaries and are considered aggregate fruits.

Octopuses have three hearts

True to the octopus’s reputation for multiple body parts, they have three hearts. Two hearts circulate blood to the octopus’s gills, while the third circulates it to the rest of the body. Their unique circulatory system helps meet their high oxygen demands.

A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus

Venus takes around 243 Earth days to rotate once on its axis, but it only takes about 225 Earth days to go around the Sun. This means a single day on Venus lasts longer than a year, and a solar day on Venus is about 117 Earth days.

Hot water freezes faster than cold water

Known as the Mpemba effect, warmer water can freeze more quickly under certain conditions than colder water. Although several theories have been proposed, this counterintuitive phenomenon is still not fully understood.

Honey never spoils

Archaeologists have found 3000-year-old honey pots in good and edible condition in an ancient Egyptian tomb. Honey’s natural properties, such as its low water content and acidity, inhibit the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms.

Spider silk can be stronger than silk

One strand of spider silk is thinner than human hair but five times stronger than steel of the same diameter. Spider silk’s unique molecular structure gives it incredible tensile strength and elasticity, earning it a spot on the list of the toughest natural materials known.

Wombat poop is cube-shaped

Wombats produce feces in the shape of cubes due to the elasticity of their intestines, which compresses the feces into blocks. This unusual shape prevents the droppings from rolling away, which helps wombats mark their territory effectively.

Cleopatra lived closer in time to Apollo II than to the construction of the Pyramid of Giza

Cleopatra VII, the last active and famously attractive monarch of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, lived around 69-30 BCE. The Great Pyramid was built around 2580-2560 BCE, whereas the Moon landing occurred in 1969 CE.

Sharks have been around longer than trees

Sharks have existed for about 400 million years, while the earliest trees appeared around 350 million years ago. They existed 200 million years before dinosaurs and have survived five mass extinction events, showcasing their incredible adaptability.

Humans share about 50% of their genes with bananas

Yes! Bananas are our genetic relatives. While it might seem surprising, humans share a significant portion of their genetic makeup with many living organisms, including fruits like bananas. Since genes comprise 2% of DNA, humans share 50% of their genes with the berry.

There are more moves in chess than there are atoms in the known universe

The number of potential moves and positions in chess is astoundingly high, estimated at around 10^120, known as the Shannon number. Contrastingly, the number of atoms in the explored universe is around 10^80.

A cloud can outweigh one million pounds

Despite their fluffy appearance, clouds are made up of tiny water droplets or ice crystals. A typical cumulus cloud can weigh approximately 1.1 million pounds (500,000 kilograms) and contain a vast amount of water.

There’s a species of jellyfish that is biologically immortal

The Turritopsis dohrnii, also popularly called the “immortal jellyfish,” has the unique ability to revert its cells to an earlier state after reaching maturity. This process allows it to start its life cycle over, theoretically capable of living indefinitely under the right conditions.

The human brain can remember 50,000 distinct scents

The human nose has around 400 unique types of scent receptors scattered throughout the nasal passages. It can identify up to a trillion distinct smells, and together with the brain, it can recall approximately 50,000 different scents.