Surprising Science Facts That Will Change How You See the World

Home General Surprising Science Facts That Will Change How You See the World

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By Monica Gray - March 20, 2023

The world is more complex than we realize. Certain, fascinating scientific facts change how we understand the world. Did you know there’s a species of jellyfish that’s immortal? Or that there’s a species of shark that can walk on land? This might change how you sunbathe at the beach! These scientific facts make us wonder just how much we actually know, and how much there is we don’t know. Everything just isn’t as it seems, even though our science experiments during our youthful days tried to prove otherwise.

Hawaii Inches Closer To Alaska Every Year

Surprising Science Facts That Will Change How You See the World — Quora

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Every year, the Pacific Plate slowly drifts north towards the North American Plate. It looks like Hawaii can’t get enough of Alaska! This is because hot, less-dense rocks rise before they sink and cool down. The land above this moves, albeit minutely, but every year it moves 7.5cm closer. The speed is comparable to the speed at which fingernails grow. These plates are in constant motion. As the Pacific Plate continues its journey north, the volcano becomes dormant, with a new volcano taking place (Scientiaeducare).

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This Species Of Jellyfish Figured Out How To Cheat Death

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There’s a species of jellyfish that can live forever, and it’s called hydrozoan Turritopsis dohrnii. Try saying that ten times fast! It’s smaller than your pinky nail and can reverse its lifecycle. It figured out a way to live forever and surpass mortality. It holds the secret to cheating death by shrinking into a ball, reabsorbing its tentacles, and turning into a new polyp, all after it experiences starvation or physical damage. This process is called transdifferentiation and is rare. If humans could shrink into little blobs and turn back into babies, the world would be a very different place (NHM).

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Hurricanes Can’t Go Past The Equator

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Because of the Coriolis effect, low pressure rotates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. This pulls storms away from the equator. In the southern hemisphere, storms rotate clockwise, meaning, if a hurricane tried to pass the equator, it would lose its rotation and dissipate into thin air. The Coriolis force is at a maximum at the poles, and a minimum at the equator, which means hurricanes can’t form within 5 degrees latitude of the equator. If you ever stand just beneath the equator during a Northern hemisphere hurricane, you don’t have to worry about it catching up to you (Weather).

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Human Saliva Has A Painkiller More Powerful Than Morphine

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And that painkiller is called opiorphin. It’s six times more powerful than morphine, one of the most potent painkillers in the world. We have this as a self-defense mechanism to fight against pain. Did you realize that wounds in your mouth heal faster than in other areas of your body? This is thanks to the antibodies in the germs that fight wounds and heal faster (Tender Care Dental).

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Cut Grass Screams When It’s In Pain

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Much like humans scream when they’re in pain, cut grass also screams. But it doesn’t make a noise as we do, it emits a tasty, delicious smell that most of us have come to know and love. The smell of grass is not happy, it’s a distress signal. Since grass can’t speak, the only way it can communicate is through smell. It screams to warn other plants it’s in danger. Plants nearby will pick up on the smell and do what they can to protect themselves from the imminent danger of a lawn mower (News).

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Your Tears Won’t Fall In Space

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It sounds like the best place to cry is outer space. Tears only stream down your face due to gravity. Outer space doesn’t have gravity, so instead of falling down your face, your tears will just pool and eventually float off into the distance. This makes those breakup tears sound way more dramatic. If you do need to cry in outer space, it’s better to grab a towel and wipe the tears off your face before they drift away into the unknown (Space).

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The Shortest War In History Was Less Than An Hour

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The shortest war lasted a whopping 38 minutes. That’s shorter than your favorite television show. This was the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896, and little is truly known about it. It began with the signing of the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty that was signed between Germany and Britain in 1890. Even though the war was short, there were over 500 casualties on one side of the war, and on the other side, only one soldier was seriously wounded (Brittanica).

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There’s Enough DNA In Our Bodies To Go From The Sun To Pluto And Back

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If you unraveled all of the DNA in your body, you’d have enough to stretch from the sun, across the Milky Way, to Pluto, and back, not once, but 17 times. Diving even further into DNA, we share 99% of our DNA with every other human on earth, which means we’re more alike than different. We’re made up of 37 trillion cells, with 5cm of DNA. If you do the math, that’s a lot of DNA to stretch across the galaxy. Instead, it’s raveled up inside of our bodies and makes us who we are (Scitech Care).

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Gorillas And Potatoes Have More Chromosomes Than Humans

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It might make sense that gorillas have more chromosomes than humans, but potatoes, too? Humans have 46 chromosomes, chimpanzees have 48, and potatoes also have 48. But even more surprising is the fact that a rattlesnake fern has 184. So it doesn’t matter how advanced the creature is, it has to do with, simply, the chromosomes needed to make the creature. We can think of it like instructions, and it doesn’t matter how many instructions are needed to make up something, as some need more than others (The Tech).

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This Jellyfish Sting Will Make You Feel Dreadful

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Getting stung by a jellyfish isn’t on anyone’s agenda. But getting stung by the Irukandji jellyfish, which floats around in the waters of Australia, will give you Irukandji syndrome. This syndrome isn’t something you want to feel. It’s a horrific, impending sense of dread that’s so dramatic, oftentimes, people will bed doctors to put them out of their misery so they don’t have to feel the dread any longer. Rarely, the sting will cause cardiac arrest and death (Rehack).

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Our Necks Are Similar To Giraffes

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If you take a look at our neck vertebrae, we have the same number as giraffes. You may find that shocking, considering giraffes have the longest necks in the world. There are seven bony cervical vertebrae, the giraffe’s is just way more noticeable. In males, giraffe necks can reach up to 2-3 meters. The only difference is the length of the neck. If humans walked around with giraffe necks, the world would be a little bit different. Those unreachable tree fruits would be a lot more accessible (U Tokyo).

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Light Travels From The Sun To Earth In Only Eight Minutes

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It comes as no surprise that there’s nothing faster than the speed of light. It’s even faster than the speed of sound. It takes eight minutes for light to travel from the sun to the Earth since it travels 300,000km per second. Because there are about 150 million kilometers between the Earth and the sun, this equates to roughly 8 minutes and 19 seconds of travel time. This means that it travels at more than 183,292 miles per second. The moon is a lot closer to us than the sun (Wood TV).

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Butterflies Use Their Feet To Taste

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Butterflies don’t have a tongue. Instead, they have a proboscis which equates to having your mouth extended into a long tube. Even though they do have some taste buds on this tube, they mostly have taste buds on their feet. To put it in human terms, that’s just like us walking around all day, tasting our shoes. But butterflies have this because they land on plants to taste them and decide if they want to lay their eggs on them. If a butterfly lands on you, chances are, they’re tasting you (Florida Museum).

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If You Took A Tunnel Through The Center Of Earth, You’d Reach The Other Side In 42 Minutes And 12 Seconds

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Hypothetically speaking, if you drilled a tunnel straight through the center of Earth, you’d reach the other side in less than 45 minutes. That would make the travel time from going from one side of the world to the other faster than it takes to even get to the airport. Too bad this is completely impossible and will never happen, though it’s nice to dream. Some scientists even claim it could take as little as 38 minutes to fall through the Earth, considering the differing densities in its core. In the 1970s, the Soviets tried drilling a hole deep into the center of Earth, though they only got about 0.1 percent of the way. That’s virtually nothing (Live Science).

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Flamingos Are Quite Flamboyant

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A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance. Flamingos flock together by the thousands and typically gather in lagoons and swamps. It’s a proper name for these bright pink creatures. They spend a lot of time together, and typically fly and eat all together. You’ll find these stunning birds around the world in countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia (The Atlantic).

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Ninety-Percent Of The Heaviest People In The World Have Been American

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Out of the heaviest people ever recorded in the history of the world, nine out of ten of them were American. The heaviest person in the world was Jon Brower Minnoch, who weighed 636kg, or roughly 1,402 pounds. The only person not from America, who was the second heaviest person ever in the world, was Manuel Uribe from Mexico. The rest were males from the USA, with two exceptions who were female (Science Kids).

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The Tallest Mountain Is On Mars

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The tallest mountain in the solar system is on Mars, not Earth. Sorry, Everest. The tallest mountain is called Olympus Mons and towers 16 miles, or 24 kilometers high. That equates to being three times taller than Everest. It’s a giant volcano, and there’s no saying when it will next erupt. If you were standing on top of it, you wouldn’t even realize it’s a volcano, because it more closely resembles a gently sloping plane (Space).

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The Largest Animals To Ever Live Are Antarctic Blue Whales

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You probably believed dinosaurs were the largest animals to ever live on Earth. It’s our marine friend, the blue whale, who is still very much alive today. They weigh up to 400,000 pounds, which is equal to 33 elephants, and reach up to 98 feet in length. To put it even more into perspective, the whale’s heart is the size of a small car. Its calls are even louder than a jet engine, making it not only the biggest animal on earth but the loudest (World Wildlife).

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There Are More Possibilities In Chess Than There Are Atoms In The Universe

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This is due to the Shannon Number, which is the number of all the possible moves in Chess. The number is finite, though it’s incredibly large, so much so, that it’s more than there are atoms in the universe. This was discovered by Claude Shannon, who found there are 10¹²⁰ possible moves in chess games, which is more than the estimated number of atoms in the universe (Alfonso).

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The World’s Largest Snowflake Was 15 Inches Wide And EIght Inches Thick

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When we think of snowflakes, we think of soft, delicate pieces of snow that fall gently from the clouds in the sky. But there’s always a possibility for something bigger, and that’s huge snowflakes. The world’s largest snowflake was eight inches thick, and fifteen inches wide. It’s referred to as the Keogh snowflakes because it happened at Fort Keogh. To put it into perspective, the size of the snowflake was the size of a dinner plate (Apukka Resort).

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You Can Enjoy 5,000-Year-Old Honey

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Honey is one of those things that never expire. Ever. You can eat honey that’s 5,000 years old. It’s a tasty treat that pairs well with tea, cakes, and oatmeal. It’s a healthy alternative to sugar and provides tons of nutrients our bodies need. And the best part is that it never goes bad, though you have to make sure you store it correctly. You must seal it in an air-tight container and never expose it to moisture. Most bacteria cannot grow in honey, which keeps it safe from going bad. If it smells bad or fermented, then it’s time to toss it (Eating Well).

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Summer On Uranus Lasts 42 Years

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Imagine a summer that lasts nearly half your life? You would never truly know what winter feels like unless you were born just after the 42-year summer ended. The Earth’s tilt gives us seasons, and we experience several seasons. Summer never feels long enough, but 42 years is a bit too long. That being said, winter on Uranus also lasts 42 years. This is due to the poles on Uranus that reverse until it’s been one year, which takes 42 years on Uranus. And one year on Uranus is 84 years on Earth (Earth Sky).

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The Great Barrier Reef Is Bigger Than You Think

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The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth. It stretches for 1,429 miles and covers an area of 133,000 square miles. It’s also the largest coral reef system in the world. The reef is built from millions of tiny organisms called coral polyps. It’s also the only reef visible from outer space, due to its sheer size. It’s made of 3000 reefs and 900 coral islands. Even though it’s so big, it faces numerous environmental threats that scientists are hoping to restore shortly (Great Barrier Reef Tours Cairns).

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Octopuses Have Three Hearts

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Octopuses have not one, but three hearts. They also have blue blood and a donut-shaped brain. Blue blood plays a role in the reason they have three seats because their bodies transport oxygen using a copper-rich protein. The hearts serve different purposes, as one pumps blood around the body and the other two pump blood to the gills, but it all comes down to supporting the octopus and its active lifestyle (New Scientist).

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You’ll Walk Around The Planet Five Times In Your Lifetime

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This was studied due to the average amount of steps people take daily, which equates to around 7,500. If you stick to this and live to the ripe age of 80 years old, then you’ll have walked around the planet five times. That’s about 216,262,500 steps. It sounds like a lot, but doing it every day over eight decades isn’t too much. If you’re someone who takes more steps and lives to be over 80, then you’ll walk around the planet even more (NASCO).

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Clouds Are Heavy, Not Light

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You’d think clouds are weightless. They float in the sky after all. But despite the facade, they weigh just over a million pounds. Because they’re made of thousands of tiny drops of water, this makes them heavy. The weight is distributed across a large space. Clouds are less dense than dry air, which is why they float (Science Alert).

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Sloths Only Defecate Once Per Week

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Could you imagine a world where we only use the toilet to defecate once per week? We feel bloated if we skip one day, an entire week of food building up in our stomachs sounds miserable. Sloths only defecate once per week, and usually in the same spot. They have a slow metabolism which keeps them from using the toilet as often as humans. It’s also a mission for sloths to use the toilet, as they have to climb down from the trees to the ground to go to the bathroom (Lonely Planet).

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One Species Of Shark Not Only Swims But Walks On Land

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There’s a species of shark that can walk on land. It’s known as the epaulet shark and it can walk between coral at low tide and on land. It’s appropriately referred to as the “walking shark.” They inhabit shallow coral-reef systems and crawl along the sea floor with their “feet.” It can survive for long periods without oxygen. They also strategically hunt in places where prey cannot escape. You can spot these wild creatures in Indonesia (Oceanic Society).

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A Lake In Africa Turns Animals Into Stone

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We’ve heard of Jesus turning water into wine, but have you ever heard of the lake that turns animals into stone? It’s called Lake Natron and it’s located in Tanzania. Because the water is extremely alkaline, it appears to turn the animals that enter the water into stone. The water is as acidic as milk of magnesia, which is a treatment used to neutralize stomach acid. The lake can go up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit (DW).

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Hot And Cold Water Don’t Sound The Same When They’re Poured

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If you pour hot water into a cup and cold water into a cup, pay attention to the sound. They’re different, even though they’re the same element. Because water changes its thickness depending on its temperature, the colder water makes a higher pitch than the hotter water, which gives off a lower pitch. The higher viscosity in cold water makes it bubble less when it’s being poured. The molecules in hot water move around more rapidly. You may find comfort in pouring hot tea or coffee in the morning because the sound is low and soothing (Daily Mail).

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The Sun Is White, Not Yellow

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The sun is a mixture of all wavelengths in the visible spectrum. When all colors are mixed, it turns white. Under the illumination of sunlight, we see so much color. But to us, it looks yellow because the Earth is more efficient at scattering blue light than red light. We can’t look hard enough at the sun because it would damage our retinas, but we do have a white sun that shines light down on our planet (Science Focus).

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The Longest Living Organism On Earth Is A Tree

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This tree is called a Bristlecone Pine. It’s very resilient to harsh weather and bad soil, which is why it’s able to live in numerous different weather conditions, even the harshest conditions that would inevitably kill other species. It grows just below the treeline in California, Nevada, and Colorado, at incredibly high altitudes of 10,000 feet where other living organisms rarely live. Patriarch Grove is home to the largest Bristlecone Pine in the world, surrounded by a stunning, ethereal landscape (USDA).

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We Call A Group Of Owls A Parliament

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We all know Parliament involves a group of intelligent people coming together to make drastic decisions that affect millions of people. Owls are often referred to as being intelligent and wise. The owl also represents the Goddess of Wisdom. Generally, owls live on their own, and it’s rare to see an owl with another one. Young owls will live with their parents until they can reach an age of independence (Bird Fact).

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You Can Only Fold A Piece Of Paper In Half A Total Of Eight Times

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No matter if you’re dealing with a huge piece of paper or a tiny piece, you can only fold it in half up to eight times. A folded piece of paper doubles its thickness. The more you fold the paper the larger it gets, because the average piece of paper is .0039 inches thick. If you continue folding the paper ten times, it will reach the thickness of your hand. It continues growing so rapidly that if you fold it 51 times it would eventually reach the sun. Folding it also reduces its total surface area, and eventually, you’ll run out of the surface area (The Paper Mill Store).

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You Can Fit All The Planets In Our Solar System In Between The Earth And The Moon

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With over 200,000 miles of planets stretching across our solar system, you’d think we need a lot of distance to squeeze in all of our planets in between the Earth and the moon. We even have room for the dwarf planet of Pluto. To figure this out, all scientists had to do was take the total diameter of planets and measure the distance between the earth and the moon (Universe Today).

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The World’s Oldest Animal Is A Clam

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The clam lived to be 507 years old. Scientists named him Ming, and he broke the Guinness Book of World Records. Scientists originally thought he was 405 years old. The second oldest animal in the world is the Greenland Shark, which lived to be 400 years old. The clam was the oldest individual whose age could be determined with precise accuracy. The clam was found on the shores in Iceland, and in the process of figuring out the clam’s age, the clam died. Scientists mistakingly measured his age, but later on, with proper and advanced scientific technology, they determined the actual age of the clam, which is 507 years old (Museum).

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Home Top Stories These Unbelievable Pictures Will Have You Questioning Reality

These Unbelievable Pictures Will Have You Questioning Reality

By SCS Staff - March 18, 2023

Have you ever come across a picture that gave you the heebie-jeebies? You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach where your instincts tell you something isn’t quite right? Well, whether you’re a fan of horror movies or crazy natural occurrences, this list has pictures that will leave you both frightened and in awe. There’s no limit of crazy pictures circling the internet, and we dug through the trenches to find you the creepiest ones! Grab some popcorn, cozy up with a blanket, and prepare to see a side of reality you rarely see.

An Alien Selling An Iron?

These Unbelievable Pictures Will Have You Questioning Reality — Photo Credit: reddit.com

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Most people would cringe in horror when seeing this image. A redditor shared this disturbing photo in r/oddlyterrifying, and we definitely agree that it’s terrifying. At first glance, it appears as though an actual alien has taken this picture, but science can explain the distorted image. It’s all about the way light refracts and the curve of the image where the photo was taken. As hilarious as it would be if an actual alien took this picture, it was definitely just an average person looking to sell this iron.

Apocalypse… Or Not?

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When you see a dark cloud hovering in the distance, only to realize it’s an actual swarm of birds blocking out the entire sky, it’s understandable to start questioning reality. Blackbirds are known to swarm in large flocks, but this is massive even by those standards. We wonder if the people in their cars were concerned when this picture was taken. It looks like something out of an apocalyptic novel or movie where an army of zombie birds takes over the planet. Maybe moments like this are where the creators of The Birds, a hit 1960s thriller, got their ideas from.

Natural Occurrence or Sign of End Times?

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Many people interpret the bible verse talking about fish raining down from the sky as a sign of the end times. This picture definitely gives most people the chills. There are hundreds of fish on this highway, miles away from the ocean. It seems like the act of an angry, divine being, but it’s actually a 100% natural occurrence. There are a couple of explanations for why fish fall from the sky. Large birds occasionally drop their prey onto land, although this wouldn’t explain an occurrence like the one seen in this picture. The cause of this incident is more likely to be tornados or hurricanes. The brutal wind picks up the sea creatures and drops them miles away from where they belong. It’s a powerful reminder of the force of nature!

The Deepest Indoor Pool in the World

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People who love diving will get a kick out of this indoor pool, but it probably gives most people the heebie-jeebies! It’s difficult to tell where the water starts and where it ends in this photo. Mostly, it just looks like a bottomless pit! But this indoor pool located in Brussels does have an end. It goes down to 33 meters (108 feet), far deeper than most indoor pools and even lakes. This would make anyone nervous if they’re not used to being in very deep open water, but if you’re an experienced diver looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, then visiting this pool is something to add to your bucket list.

Spiders In A Crystal?

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At first glance, it looks as though this quartz crystal is filled with dozens of tiny black spiders. It gives off a very morbid tone when you think about all these spiders getting fossilized and trapped in a forever grave inside this crystal, where everyone can see them. However, looks can be deceiving. It’ll make you feel better to know this crystal isn’t filled with long-dead spiders, but instead contains Mannardite phantoms. Mannardite phantoms are little crystal growths, and they can form in many different ways. Sometimes they look fairly even and uniform, but other times they have a strange appearance like the ones in this picture! It’s comforting to know this is an act of nature rather than a grave of spiders.

Prehistoric Ice Plants?

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The pattern of ice covering this car’s windshield is very unusual. It looks like a prehistoric ice plant has taken over the windshield and is desperate to escape its frozen confines. We have no idea what would cause this strange phenomenon, but it looks very otherworldly. It’s normal for windshields to freeze over during freezing weather, but it doesn’t usually create such an intricate pattern! Perhaps this windshield was covered in water and it led to this design. Whatever created this fascinating occurrence, we are left both frightened and in awe!

The Cabbage Patch From Hell

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This cabbage patch looks like it’s risen from the depths of the underworld! The cabbages appear to be growing completely rotten, and they look the exact opposite of appetizing. The true question is: what is going on in this picture? Did some kind of fungus or disease infect this entire crop? It’s unbelievable to see an entire cabbage patch in such dire straits, and it’s probably every farmer’s worst nightmare to see this happen to their crop. We hope the person in charge of this cabbage patch has a good plan of action to eliminate this crop and ensure this never happens again!

Cave Dive At Your Own Risk

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Underwater cave diving sounds terrifying. You’re going through a small, dark space deep underwater where many divers have previously met their deaths. However, plenty of people enjoy underwater cave diving and are specifically trained in how to handle these situations. Can you imagine diving down to a cave only to see this sign? It must be a horrifying sight that turns the enjoyment of your hobby into pure fear. Those who are brave enough to go beyond this point must have a lot of knowledge and a serious dedication for cave diving.

Pure Nightmare Fuel

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This picture is the definition of nightmare fuel. The shadow cast by these water bottles reveals what looks like two demonic twin souls trapped within the water bottles. Can you imagine seeing this and then trying to take a sip out of the bottles? Heck no! Take those bottles to a stream and release the demon souls straight into the water. It’s the only way to save yourself from permanent haunting. Or, you could rationalize the image based on the science of how shadows are cast when water is involved. Still, you probably shouldn’t drink the water after seeing this. Better safe than sorry!

Dead Man’s Fingers

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Now this looks like something you’d find in a horror movie. Imagine wandering through a forest filled with deciduous trees and stumbling upon this nightmare. Most people’s first instinct would be to scream and run in the other direction! It looks like an old, decaying hand is clawing it’s way out of the ground. In fact, it’s actually a type of fungus. This is xylaria polymorpha, which is colloquially known as dead man’s fingers. This fungus often grows around dead or rotting trees and is found in many forests across North America, Britain, and Ireland.

Every Seafarer’s Worst Nightmare

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Those who spend a lot of time on the ocean must eventually adapt to the ominous feeling of knowing anything could be swimming around underneath you. Sharks, stinging jellyfish, giant intelligent octopuses, and massive whales all linger under of the surface. When you’re in a small boat, it’s easy to feel vulnerable and frightened. The seafarers in this photo must have been horrified when they saw this picture and realized how close to death they were. It’s not as though the whale would go out of it’s way to destroy that boat, but a simple flick of its fluke could easily rip this boat in half and send these people straight into the gray, murky water.

The Trouble With Tribbles

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You could be forgiven for thinking these furry little fungi attached to this tree are actually living animals. They have a vague resemblance to Tribbles from the original Star Trek series and tend to multiply just as quickly! Don’t worry though, they aren’t actually alien creatures from another planet! This is a species of mushroom known as “Lion’s Mane” but its scientific name is hericium erinaceus. What looks like fur on these mushrooms is actually spiny teeth, which are used to distribute seeds to allow these mushrooms to multiply. You’ll often find Lion’s Mane growing near hardwoods in North America.

Common Eagle or Alien In Disguise?

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Have you ever seen the 2009 Sci-fi/Horror movie The Fourth Kind? In this movie, aliens visited people at night under the visage of an owl and it was honestly terrifying! The way those owls looked into your soul is very similar to the look the bird in this photo is giving the camera! However, this picture doesn’t feature an alien. The bird in this picture is a harpy eagle, which exists in Mexico and South and Central America. This bird looks like something out of a sci-fi movie with its large, human-like eyes, legs the size of human arms, and massive 7ft wingspan. This powerful raptor is the largest in its region and definitely causes us to do a double take when looking at its picture.

Is It The Devil?

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There are so many disturbing aspects of this picture. From the strange, egg-like shell this plant seems to be emerging from to the black, sticky goo barely holding the flesh-colored areas together, every part of this plant is pure nightmare fuel. So, is this a demonic seed planted to tempt humanity or something more mundane? Well, it’s actually another type of fungus! This fungus is called “Devil’s Fingers” and is found scarcely throughout Britain. This fungus does hatch from a gelatinous egg where tentacle-looking arms sprout. The fungus smells like rotting flesh to attract insects, which then spread it’s seed. Despite knowing it’s an act of nature, we still think it looks super creepy.

A Sea of Eyes

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Lots of people raise sheep. They’re adorable, sweet, and provide plenty of entertainment with their cute ba-baaing. Sheep were so common that they became the star of most people’s nighttime routines. Children were told to count sheep to fall asleep, and it was a common practice. However, that practice would probably end the moment someone took a picture of sheep at night with their flash on, just like this picture. A sea of glowing eyes and unimpressed faces were captured in this picture, which make the sheep look less cute and fuzzy and more intimidating. This is a picture we wish we could unsee!

Real Life Game of Thrones Chair

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Most people know about the infamous chair on the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. It’s a literal throne made of swords, but unlike the chair in this picture, you aren’t supposed to sit on the sharpest points. The chair featured in this photo is actually a torture device, and you’re seeing hundreds of nails that the victims were forced to sit on for hours or even days. The chair resides in a museum of torture in Guanajuato, Mexico. It’s horrifying to think about the atrocious acts committed throughout human history, and pieces of history like this chair serve as a chilling reminder of just how cruel people can be to each other.

This Picture Gives Everyone Acrachnophobia

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Camping is a wonderful activity that gives people a break from the daily grind and the endless feeling of being “on” due to the way technology has taken over most people’s lives. Can you imagine setting up your camping spot, enjoying the great outdoors, and then waking up to find this? This camper’s tent is completely taken over by spiders and they don’t appear to be in any hurry to leave! It seems incredible that this many spiders would randomly decide to take over a tent, and it opens up a ton of questions. What attracted these spiders to this tent? How long will they stay? On the bright side, these are daddy longlegs, which aren’t harmful. Also, the person using this tent should be grateful the spiders chose to congregate on the outside of his tent instead of joining him inside!

Is This Bird Even Real?

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When you look at this picture, how does it make you feel? Sketched out? Creeped out? It certainly isn’t a comforting feeling! This bird doesn’t even look real with it’s yellow eyes, massive mouth, and awkwardly held wings. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was some strange sculpture or depiction of an alien bird species, but it’s actually a known species native to Venezula. The Potoo bird is a nocturnal insectivore that only grows between 8-inches to 2 1/2 feet. It’s unusual appearance gives most people the ick when they see it, but it’s completely harmless to humans and you’re unlikely to see it during the day.

Tentacle Takeover

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What is going on in this picture? It looks as though tentacles are growing out of the corner of this shelf in a person’s pantry closet. It’s a startling picture because it raises so many questions. What caused this growth? And how did the person who owns this pantry not notice this monstrosity before it grew to such incredible lengths? Well, before you get too excited and start thinking it’s an alien or crazy fungus, the answer is actually quite mundane. This person simply left a bag of potatoes sitting in their pantry for far too long. Of course, the question remains, how did they not notice for this long? It would have to take months of those potatoes going untouched for them to grow sprouts of this length! Perhaps the homeowners went on vacation and simply forgot about the potatoes.

Making A Statement The Creepy Way

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There’s a lot to unpack with this picture. First of all, someone went through a great deal of effort to decorate their old buick in old dolls. Second, they wrote “#CRYBABYBUICK” and then “GIGGLE” underneath. What possessed this person to do this to their car? Are they making fun of a car that constantly breaks down and needs repairs? Or, are they poking fun at themselves for some reason? Either way, this is a very creepy way to make a statement!

Read This Sad Fish’s Thoughts

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The ocean is filled with strange, unbelievable looking species of fish. Most people are familiar with the creepy anglerfish that appears to have a little lantern attached to his head. The species in this picture looks even more surreal. Aside from it’s sad, nearly humoniod face, the most disturbing aspect of this fish is the fact that it’s head is literally see-through! You can see straight to the brain of this fish, and it almost looks as if it knows it’s most sensitive organ is on display. While it’s commonly referred to as a “spook fish” the real name of this species is barrelleye fish. What other creepiness is the ocean hiding?

If This Roof Could Talk…

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This picture is incredibly disturbing at first glance. Whoever designed this roof must have known exactly what they were doing because there is no way they didn’t notice the face-like shape they were creating with these window placements. It looks as though this roof has eyes and a mouth with two perfect teeth, and it’s filled with secrets. We can only imagine what this roof has seen throughout it’s lifetime and what it would say if it could talk. This must look even more creepy at night with lights shining out of those windows!

Dimensional Portal In The Tree?

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The person who captured this photo knew the true cause, but to anyone seeing this picture, it looks like something out of a fantasy movie. Glowing purplish light is shooting out of this tree as if there’s a portal to another world expanding out of the tree! The reality of the photograph is much less fantastical but no less astonishing. A firefighter captured this photo while fighting wildfires in Western N.C. The inside of the tree is burning up, and you can see the flames escaping. According to the person who took the photo, that purple color isn’t the result of a filter. That’s simply what a fire looks like when it reaches the scorching temperatures of these wildfires.

Never Leave Your Bike Unattended

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Most people know not to leave their bikes unattended because of the risk of theft. But how many people realize nature might try to steal their bike as well? Can you imagine locking your bike up and going into work or school, only to come out and see this horror? This person’s bike has been completely taken over by a nest of bees and there’s no way he’s riding that bike home with a group of new bee friends under his seat. This person is likely going to have to cut their losses and give the bike over to the bees. After all, it’s not worth getting stung a million times over!

A Shadow Of His Former Self

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Well, this photo looks more than a little disturbing at first sight. Most people know reptiles shed their skin on a yearly basis. It’s an important part of their growth and keeps them healthy. It’s not uncommon for people to stumble across pieces of shed skin from snakes or lizards, but it’s usually a piece from their body or tail. The shed skin in this picture is the entire head of a lizard, which even appears to have the lizard’s expression intact! This is quite an unusual find, and most people would probably leave it where they found it. Those who have an affinity for strange science or epic pranks are definitely the ones who would take this shedding home!

The 4 Seasons at Home

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This is unbelievable and very creepy. While hanging out at home, OP took a picture of his backyard. Each window pane appears to capture the trees in his yard in a different season of the year! This is obviously impossible, unless his backyard is in some sort of strange time-loop that affects each of his trees differently. But the more logical explanation is that these are four different species of trees that flower in different temperatures and therefore give OP’s backyard an unusual appearance. It’s both awe-inspiring and very strange!

These Teacups Defy Science

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These teacups appear to defy science at first glance. Each teacup looks as if it has small holes throughout its body, yet they’re still magically able to hold liquid. How does this work? Well, aside from magic, but there’s a more realistic answer to that question. The teacups actually have a design that just creates an ocular illusion. The teacups actually have shiny metal on the inside, which gives the appearance of holes. The outside features a raised honeycomb design that also lends to the illusion. It’s a fascinating teacup set that would make for great conversation!

A Cry For Help

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This poor oven is clearly crying out for help, but that appears to be the limit of its communication. What type of help does it need? And how exactly does one help an oven? This is pretty unbelievable since ovens don’t have the consciousness needed to ask for help, and we’re pretty sure they weren’t designed to call for help when experiencing an issue. However, there is an explanation for this odd phenomenon. It’s probably an error code, which would indicate the specific type of help your oven needs. Hopefully, you still have that oven manual lying around so you can decipher this ominous message!

Taken Underground

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Millions of people are abducted in the United States each year, and sadly, most of them are children. As if that sad fact weren’t disturbing enough, someone had the intuition to compare these two maps. The top map shows the places where the majority of kidnappings happen in the US each year. The bottom map shows underground cave systems throughout the country. These maps appear far too similar to be purely coincidental. We have to wonder if kidnappers are using underground cave systems to remain undetected for years. Perhaps someone should forward this photo to the FBI.

What’s In The Wall?

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Everyone knows the creepy feeling when you can hear something skittering about in your walls. Typically, it means you have mice in your home, but occasionally a different creature could be the cause. Sometimes a shrew gets into homes by accident, or you could have a ton of cockroaches running through your home. It’s far more rare to find a tortoise behind those noises! We have so many questions about this photo. How did the tortoise get into this person’s home? Did it break through their wall or did the homeowner smash their wall to pull the tortoise to safety? Unfortunately, we won’t get the answers to these questions, but it’s fun to speculate!

You Shall Not Pass

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It’s always important to pay attention to your surroundings when you’re walking through the woods, and this tree is a prime example of the dangers you could be subjected to if you’re not on your A-game. There’s no way you can safely touch the bark of this Silk Floss tree, so it’s best not to even try! This fascinating tree is covered in brutal, sharp spikes meant to deter predators from the delicious and delicate pink flowers that grow on its upper branches. Nature is amazing and terrifying in the ways it works to protect itself. We’ll definitely be giving this tree a wide berth the next time we come across one!

Is This The Fabled Leviathan?

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Many people have heard of sea monsters, and their origin is complex. However, many historians credit the fabled Leviathan as the basis for most sea creature stories that have popped up over the centuries. Leviathans are supposed to have large tentacles and massive bodies that lurk deep in the sea. This photo looks as if it provides concrete evidence of their existence until you realize one thing. The tentacle-looking objects in the picture are actually just seaweed! Yes, it’s ginormous seaweed, but still just run-of-the-mill seaweed. That’s less exciting than the existence of a sea monster but also far less terrifying.

The Jeweled Ladybug

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This is one of those photos that makes you question what exactly you’re looking at. The first thought many people have when looking at this photo is it’s a ladybug made of little jewels. That would make an impressive art piece, but the reality of this picture is somehow even more impressive! This stunning imagine captures a unique moment in nature that very few people have ever seen with their own eyes. What you’re seeing is a ladybug covered in dew droplets. It’s amazing how unreal and man-made this picture looks. Nature does some wonderful things!

Shocking Turn of Events

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Imagine sitting in the passenger seat of a friend’s car while driving along a country road and watching the ceiling console above you fall out without warning. Then, imagine the console looking as though it has bright glowing eyes and a mouth frozen open in a scream! That’s the image captured in this picture, and it’s truly a shock to the system. There’s no telling whether this ceiling console looked normal before it collapsed or if it always had this shocked appearance. However, we imagine the person in the passenger seat probably had a similar expression once this console fell in front of them!

Don’t Touch The Lamp!

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People who are afraid of spiders will probably cringe in horror when they see this picture. Can you imagine looking at your lamp and seeing the shadow of a giant spider hiding just under its shade? Most people would probably throw the lamp outside or run outside themselves and give the house over to their new spider overlord. However, unless you live in Australia, it’s unlikely you’ll find a spider of this size just chilling in your home. What you’re actually seeing in this picture is the structure of the lamp and the area where you screw the lightbulb in. The shadow is just distorted in such a way that it resembles a spider. Still, the image definitely makes our heart race at first glance!

Rainbow Pool

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How beautiful is it to come across a rainbow pool in the middle of the woods? Imagine going for a stroll with your friends or significant other and spotting this! You might believe you’ve stumbled upon a magical water wonderland, but the reality is actually a bit more creepy. What you’re looking at is the result of rotting plants at the bottom of this bog. As the plants rot, they release natural oils that rise to the surface of the water and create this colorful, rainbow-like appearance. It’s similar to how spilled oil creates a rainbow-like effect in oceans or lakes, except this is 100% natural. It’s both fascinating and a little creepy since it’s the result of dead plants!

Perfect Uniformity

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The shocking and perfect uniformity of these clouds gives this picture its unrealistic appearance. Something about the white snow, the white lines on the road, and the eerily perfect white clouds gives us the shivers! However, if you’ve ever lived in the mountains, then you know this is a fairly regular occurrence. This photo was taken in the Berkshire Mountains in Maine and depicts an average day in the life of someone commuting to work. This would give most people the creeps to drive through, but for the Mainer who posted this picture, it was just another day.

You’re Saying This Isn’t Photoshopped?

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This photo genuinely looks like the result of some heavy photoshop. It’s one of those pictures that makes your eyes water and makes you scratch your head in confusion. However, when you look closely, you’ll realize this is the result of a camper taking a picture from the inside of their tent. The front of their tent is unzipped and shows a stunning view of the forest where this person is camping. Once you know how this photo was taken, it’s easier to see that it’s a real picture and not a result of photoshop. But it still made us do a few double-takes at first!

This Horse Is A Magician

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Most people have heard of famous magicians like David Blane and Criss Angel showing off their levitation skills in front of large crowds, but you’ve probably never heard of a levitating horse before! The horse lying down in this picture appears to be floating off the ground, but this is another example of an ocular illusion. In reality, the horse on the right has cast a shadow at just the right spot to create the appearance that it’s the shadow of the horse lying down while levitating. Pretty spooky at first glance, but very mundane once you look at it for a minute!

Fiercy Ice Cave

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This stunning picture was taken at exactly the right moment. Sarah Bethea, a photographer with a love of nature, went exploring a glacier ice cave in Iceland when she came across this beauty. The giant ice formations look stunning at any time, but this picture captured something truly unbelievable. Rays of bright orange sunlight strobed through the entrance of the cave right at sunset and lit up this ice formation, causing it to look as if it were made of amber. It’s absolutely stunning and leaves most people who see this photo in awe.