The human brain is pretty good at reasoning and deduction.
That is, with what we can see around us. Once the scales shift, we're not exactly the best at knowing what's going on. Fortunately, we have scientific instruments for that stuff.
Here are 21 facts that don't seem possible, but they're 100% real.
1
Michael Jackson
“The day Michael Jackson's hair caught fire was the exact middle of his life, to the day.”
2
Geography
“The United States is only 2.4 miles away from Russia.”
3
Compasses
“When compasses were first used on ships, sailors thought they had evil powers. Compasses were stored in boxes called a ‘binnacle.’”
4
Ocean Viruses
“It is estimated that viruses kill about 50% of ocean biomass every four days.”
5
Russian Cars
“The Russian luxury Russian SUV Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition, attempted and failed to use whale ‘part’ skin for their SUV interiors.”
6
Plutonium
“$4 billion of plutonium will fit into a shoe box, just not for very long.”
7
Presidential Raccoon
“President Coolidge was given a raccoon for Thanksgiving, but pardoned it instead of eating it.”
8
Moose and Orcas
“Orcas are natural predators to moose. Moose often swim between arctic islands, where they are vulnerable.”
9
Cheetahs
“Cheetahs are technically small cats. They meow like house cats, and can’t roar.”
10
Clouds
“A typical cumulus cloud weighs 1.1 million pounds.”
11
Spy Squirrels
“Iran once arrested 14 squirrels on suspicion of espionage.”
12
The Amazon River
“There isn’t a single bridge across the Amazon River.”
13
Cats
“Many ancient sailors believed cats were magical, and often risked their own lives to save them in wrecks.”
14
Smoking
“The Germans were very anti-smoking during World War II, one of the first societies to become so.”
15
Barnacles
“A barnacle has a ‘piece’ up to 10 times the length of its body.”
16
Pineapples
“It takes two years for a pineapple to grow.”
17
Nintendo
“Jack the Ripper was still active when Nintendo was founded. Nintendo was founded in 1889.”
18
Scotland
“Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.”
19
Absolute Zero
“The coldest place we know of in the universe is actually... on Earth! In a scientific lab.”
20
Netflix
“Netflix was founded before Google.”
21
Ethiopia
“The Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the rest of the world.”