24 Unexpected Facts That Had Us Stupefied

Did you know that a bald head is considered to be the epitome of female beauty, the panda isn’t a bear but a raccoon, and a cat has unique rights according to one of the religions? In this article, there are even more amazing facts about our planet that you have most likely never heard of!

Bright Side has collected some interesting facts from all over the world that will definitely astonish you.

In 1500 BC, a bald head was considered to be the epitome of female beauty.

Egyptian women used to remove all the hair from their heads with tweezers and they’d polish the skin with napkins. They would also put on a wig made of sheep wool or herbs. Sometimes they wore 2 wigs to make their “hair style” look more voluminous.

The “werewolf” syndrome can appear in people.

Hypertrichosis, or the werewolf syndrome, can appear at birth or develop over time.

This man from China suffers from a rare congenital giant pigmented nevus, commonly know as giant furred moles.

Each day, the Earth gets 60 tons heavier.

According to scientific calculations, the weight of cosmic dust and other particles falling down to Earth varies from 0.4 to 110 tons. On average, it’s 60 tons.

The first alarm clock could ring only at 4 AM.

The first alarm clock in the world was invented by Levi Hutchins in 1787. He just wanted to construct it for himself so he wouldn’t sleep through work and that’s why his alarm clock could only ring at 4 AM.

The most well-paid job in Hollywood is a screenwriter, not an actor.

2 weeks of screenwriting work may cost $500,000. If you’ve always wanted to make it in Hollywood, study screenwriting.

The word “camel” translates to “beauty.”

In Arabic, the word for beauty is “jamaal” which is taken from “jml,” a root that means camel.

A British man managed to travel around the world on a bicycle in 79 days.

British cyclist Mark Beaumont traveled around the globe in 79 days. He got up at 3:30 AM every morning and spent 16 hours a day on his bike for 76 days to cover 18,000 miles.

January 31, 1865 is the birthday of Russian vodka.

Even though this alcohol appeared earlier, January 31, 1865 is considered to be its official birthday. On this day, the famous Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev defended his doctoral dissertation On the connection of alcohol with water.

Horses can sleep standing up but can’t get REM sleep without lying down.

This is also true for cows, giraffes, camels, and zebras. They can sleep while standing up, but in order to get REM sleep, they have to lie down for a while.

Einstein didn’t wear socks.

Einstein said:

“When I was young I found out that the big toe always ends up making a hole in a sock. So I stopped wearing socks.”

“Why wear both shoes and socks when one of them would do nicely.”

The opposite faces of dice always add up to 7.

The thing is, 7 used to be a magic number and throwing dice is considered to be a kind of a magic ritual.

A panda isn’t a bear but a raccoon.

On one hand, pandas look just like bears. On the other hand, their color, habits, and lifestyle indicate that they belong to the raccoon family. Scientists still argue about this question, but most of them think that the second version is correct, though pandas are still put in the bear family.

Women spend around 10 years on applying makeup throughout their lives.

And men spend the same amount of time waiting for women to apply their makeup.

Alcohol protects from radiation.

It may sound strange, but Japanese scientists have concluded that beer and other alcoholic drinks can protect from radiation. 15 fl oz of light beer is needed to reduce the damage from radiation by 34%.

In New Zealand, there are parrots that attack sheep.

Kea are very smart, curious, and playful birds that are quite used to people.

But they eat carrion and attack live sheep. Kea jump on the backs of sheep and tear into their flesh.

The smell of bananas helps us lose weight.

Nutritionists say that peach, apple, and banana scents can help us lose weight. It’s never too late to prepare for summer, so get out those bananas!

If Barbie was as tall as a real person, her body measurements would be 36-17-33 in.

Her legs would be longer than half her body and her neck would be twice the length of the average person.

Jimmy Carter once sent nuclear launch codes inside his jacket pockets to the cleaner by mistake.

Fortunately, the codes were found inside a washing machine.

A night with the most expensive call girl in the world costs €30,000.

Her name is Michelle Braun and she owns the most prestigious escort agency that provides services to famous people.

A cracker from the Titanic was sold for $22,968.

The cracker came from a lifeboat after the Titanic had sunk. Today, this 106-year-old cracker is considered to be the most expensive one in the world.

Anatidaephobia is the fear that one is constantly being watched by a duck.

People suffering from anatidaephobia are sure that we should stay away from ducks as one of them is sure to be watching you.

The average human body contains a small amount of gold.

There is 0.2 mg of gold in the body of an adult: half is in the bones and the other half is in the blood and the organs. If the amount of gold is too high, then the liver, kidneys, and the hypothalamus start to accumulate it.

In Western China, people add salt to tea.

For example, in Tibet, people add yak butter and salt to their tea and then they mix all the ingredients and drink it. Such a weird beverage prevents dehydration and helps restore energy. Tourists may find the taste to be really disgusting.

Cats are the only animals that can visit mosques.

According to the legend, the prophet Muhammad loved his cat so much that he never woke it up when it was sleeping and did his ablutions from the same water that the cat drank. Not to disturb the cat while it was sleeping on his sleeves, Muhammad cut off the sleeves of his robe and put it on.

Do you know of any other interesting facts? If you do, feel free to share them with us in the comments section below!

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