15 Horrifying Scientific Facts That Scare the Crap Out of Us
That fact that any of us are here, healthy, and living on this planet right now should not be taken for granted. After writing this piece, I'm fairly sure I should have died by this point in my life, but here we are.
Published 2 years ago in Funny
Thanks to AskReddit, we've compiled the most terrifying scientific and medical facts that the internet has to offer. From blood clots to black holes, there's something a bit horrifying for everyone.
Did I need to know that rabies can eat away at humans without us even knowing we have the viral disease? Sure didn't, but it's some useful information that could save a life, so I'll take that. Enjoy facing the facts!
1
There was an event in the 1800s caused by solar activity where telegraphs operated on their own without power and I think caused minor damage. Should such a solar event happen again, it would destroy all of our internet network capabilities and other electrical gear. 'The Carrington Event.' -123eyecansee
2
If you get diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 65, you had the disease since your early 40s at least. And you experienced very mild symptoms but didn’t notice them. And your brain fought like hell to compensate for the deficit. When you get diagnosed, your brain is already very severely damaged and will never recover from the deficit. -Alkuna
5
The metaphysical aspect of consciousness. Where is consciousness? What is it? When does it really end? Where does it go when we die? When we sleep? How does it occupy our entire being without being physically present? We are quite literally the universe experiencing itself, in a fragile little bubble on a mote of dust in a sunbeam.
And yet, what exactly are we? That’s the sort of question that keeps me up at night. I don’t fear death, I don’t fear world annihilation, but I am deeply unsettled by the mere experience of being aware. -Bloorajah6
When the atom bomb was being created, the leading scientists associated with the project at the time had to calculate the flammability of the Earth's atmosphere in order to ensure that detonating the bomb would not cause the atmosphere to combust.
At the time when the first atom bomb was detonated, these scientists still had not answered this question, meaning that we legitimately just crossed our fingers and hoped we wouldn't set the fucking planet on fire. Humans are stupid. -Otherwise-Win79368
The Dark Era of the universe. When all the star fuel is gone (and it will be) and all the white dwarves have gone cold and dark (and they will) and all the black holes have evaporated away into elementary particles (and they will), the universe will be a cold, dark place... Forever. -Imissyourgirlfriend2
14
The Pacific Northwest has a 600 mile long subduction zone that is approximately 70 years overdue for a 8.8 to 9.2 magnitude earthquake, and nothing on that coast is built to withstand that. There has never been a strong earthquake on that coastline since European contact, because the last major earthquake happened in 1700.
Unlike Japan, which had a comparable earthquake in 2011, the PNW isn’t ready for it and things aren’t built to withstand what’s coming. Some day soon, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland, and Victoria are all going to lurch 6 feet inland, shake violently for 5 to 7 minutes, and then get hit with a 100 foot tall tsunami.
It is projected to kill tens of thousands, displace millions, and wipe out trillions of dollars of wealth; the 2nd largest humanitarian disaster in North American history, second only to Haiti. And it seems like people are just pretending this doesn’t exist. -pineappledan
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