Useless Facts

The world wastes about 1 billion metric tons of food each year.​

Throwing-pasta-away.jpgAndrey_Popov/Shutterstock
Food waste is a huge problem. How big? About 931 million metric tons. That's how much food that researchers with the United Nations estimate was wasted in 2019, according to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, which surveyed 54 countries, finding that the majority of wasted food (61%) comes from homes while restaurants and other food services produce 26% of wasted food. Grocery stores make up just 13% of food waste. If you need a pick-me-up, read through these 50 Feel-Good Facts Guaranteed to Make You Smile.
 

The severed head of a sea slug can grow a whole new body.​

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It sounds like something out of a horror film, but it's all too real: The Elysia cf. marginata, a type of sea slug, has been found to not only survive decapitation, but to be able to grow a whole new body from it. Ecologists at Nara Women's University in Japan found that, a few hours after having their heads severed from their bodies, the snails' heads were already nibbling on algae as if nothing had happened. In about 20 days, one-third of the sea slugs studied had fully grown back their bodies—heart included.
 

Hair and nails grow faster during pregnancy.​

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A surprising side effect of pregnancy is that nails and hair grow faster than usual. This is due to changes in hormones as well as increased blood circulation and metabolism supplying nutrients. According to Amy O'Connor, writing for What to Expect, a pregnant person's hair also "might feel thicker and look more shiny and healthy than usual." Though she warns that it can occasionally mean that the expecting "may suddenly sprout strands in places [they'd] rather not." If you want to question everything you know, check out 50 Well-Known "Facts" That Are Actually Just Common Myths.
 

The world's smallest reptile was first reported in 2021.​

Dwarf-chameleon-on-fingertip.jpgPavaphon Supanantananont/Shutterstock
Those who think everything on the planet has already been discovered might just not be looking close enough. A tiny chameleon discovered in northern Madagascar and measuring just 28.9 millimeters is believed to be the smallest reptile on Earth. The itty bitty chameleon was recently discovered and reported in the January 2021 issue of Scientific Reports. But there's one thing about these critters that's big for its size: The genitalia of the males measures almost 20% of its body length.
 

Many feet bones don't harden until you're an adult.​

Child-playing-hopscotch.jpgMaria Sbytova/Shutterstock
Feet are enormously complex parts of the body. Each foot contains 26 bones, as well as 33 joints and 19 muscles, which work together to allow for a huge range of motion and movements. But many of these bones remain cartilage throughout a person's childhood, slowly ossifying into bone as the years go on. According to the Ontario Society of Chiropodists, all of the bones in the foot don't completely harden until a person is about 21 years old! And for more trivia to keep you sharp, sign up for our daily newsletter.
 

Some sea snakes can breathe through their skin.​

Sea-snake.jpgOksana Golubeva/Shutterstock
You might think that it's just fish that have gills, but there are several species of sea snake that breathe through their skin as well. For example, the Hydrophis cyanocinctus has been found to breathe through the top of its own head. It has a small hole and collection of blood vessels at the top of its head for picking up oxygen from the seawater and sending it to the reptile's brain while it moves underwater.
 

The heads on Easter Island have bodies.​

Easter-Island-heads.jpgShutterstock/Amy Nichole Harris
The iconic stone heads protruding from the ground on Easter Island are familiar to most, but many don't realize what lies beneath the surface. In the '10s, archaeologists studying the hundreds of stone statues on the Pacific Island excavated two of the figures, revealing full torsos, which measure as high as 33 feet.
 

The moon has moonquakes.​

Waning-moon.jpgShutterstock/taffpixture
Just as earth has earthquakes, the moon has—you guessed it—moonquakes. Less common and less intense than the shakes that happen here, moonquakes are believed by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists to occur due to tidal stresses connected to the distance between the Earth and the moon.
 

The moon has moonquakes.​

Waning-moon.jpgShutterstock/taffpixture
Just as earth has earthquakes, the moon has—you guessed it—moonquakes. Less common and less intense than the shakes that happen here, moonquakes are believed by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists to occur due to tidal stresses connected to the distance between the Earth and the moon.
 

There's no such thing as "pear cider."​

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"Wait," you're probably thinking, "I had pear cider last week." Actually, "cider" is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented apples, and only apples. Alcoholic beverages can be made from pears, but that drink is known as "perry." The drink was popular in England for centuries but fell out of favor during the second half of the twentieth century. That turned around in the 1990s when the drink was rebranded as pear cider.
 

Pineapple works as a natural meat tenderizer.​

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The fruit is packed with the enzyme bromelain, which breaks down protein chains, making it an ideal marinade for meats when you don't have a lot of time. But for the same reason, pineapple does not work for jams or jellies, since the enzyme breaks down gelatin as well. The bromelain is so strong that pineapple processors have to wear protective gloves, otherwise over time the enzyme eats away at the skin on their face and hands, leaving dry skin and small sores.
 

The feeling of getting lost inside a mall is known as the Gruen transfer.​

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We've all heard how casinos are designed to deliberately disorient visitors, causing them to lose track of time and where exactly they are. But did you know that there's a similar strategy behind the design of shopping malls as well? Officially known as the "Gruen transfer," this phenomenon was named after Austrian architect Victor Gruen, who identified how an intentionally confusing layout could lead to consumers spending more time and money in a shopping venue (though he would later disavow the approach).
 

The wood frog can hold its pee for up to eight months.​

Wood-frog.jpgShutterstock/Jay Ondreicka
Talk about having to go! Wood frogs in Alaska have been known to hold their urine for up to eight months, sticking it out through the region's long winters before relieving themselves once temperatures increase. The urine actually helps keep the animal alive while it hibernates, with special microbes in their gut that recycle the urea (urine's main waste) into nitrogen.
 

The hottest spot on the planet is in Libya.​

Saharan-desert-Libya.jpgShutterstock/Giampaolo Cianella
Specifically, the hottest spot ever recorded on Earth is El Azizia, in Libya, where a temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded on Sept. 13, 1922. While hotter spots have likely occurred in other parts of the planet at other times, this is the most scorching temperature ever formally recorded by a weather station.
 

You lose up to 30 percent of your taste buds during flight.​

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This might explain why airplane food gets such a bad reputation. The elevation in an airplane can have a detrimental effect on our ability to taste things. According to a 2010 study conducted by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, the dryness experienced at a high elevation as well as low pressure reduces the sensitivity of a person's taste buds to sweet and salty foods by about 30 percent. Add that dry cabin air affects our ability to smell, and our ability to taste is reduced further.
 

Your nostrils work one at a time.​

Small-child-nostrils.jpgShutterstock/Big Foot Productions
When we breathe in and out of our nose during the day, one nostril does most of the work at a time, with the duties switching every several hours. This "nasal cycle" is dictated by the same autonomic nervous system that regulates heart rate, digestion, and other unconscious bodily functions and is the reason why—when our nose gets stuffed up—it does so one nostril at a time.
 

Only two mammals like spicy food: humans and the tree shrew.​

Chinese-tree-shrew.jpgShutterstock/Vladimir Wrangel
While humans have long had the rare distinction of being the only mammal that actually enjoys spicy food, that list has seen a new addition, as a study by Chinese researchers found that tree shrews have a mutation in their ion channel receptor, TRPV1, which makes it less sensitive to the "hot" chemical in chili peppers. As a result, the adorable critters happily gobbled up corn pellets laced with capsaicin (the compounds that give peppers their spice) while other mammals in the study avoided them.
 

Rabbits can't puke.​

Red-rabbit-yawning.jpgShutterstock/Victoria Paladiy
Unlike cats or other animals that can cough up hairballs when they digest too much fur and other indigestible materials, rabbits are incapable of spewing. Their digestive system only goes one way, so the furry critters swallow plenty of roughage, which keeps things moving in the right direction.
 

The "M's" in M&Ms stand for "Mars" and "Murrie."​

MandMs-candy.jpgShutterstock/BORIMAT PRAOKAEW
That would be Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, the two businessmen who created the candy-coated chocolates. The two actually had a very contentious relationship, as Mars leveraged Murrie out of his 20 percent share in the company in 1949—years before M&Ms would become the best-selling candy in the U.S., paying him just $1 million for a share of business that would quickly be worth billions.
 
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