Want to be met with murmurs of approval from your kids? Drop a random factoid on their ass. That’s right, nothing stops a kid, or an adult for that matter, in their tracks quite like a bizarre or interesting fact. The best type of fun facts defy logic and sound borderline insane, which is what makes them so irresistible. For example, did you know flamingos are born grey? Or what about the fact that parts of the Great Wall of China were built with sticky rice? That’s kind of wild to think about even for an adult.
So if you want to keep your kids enthralled for a solid half hour, sit them down and throw these nuggets of golden wisdom their way. To make it easier, we’ve gone ahead and rounded up some of our favorite interesting facts. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something new along with them.
1. Polar bear fur is actually clear and their skin is black.
2. Baby flamingos are born grey, not pink.
3. A woodpecker’s tongue actually wraps all the way around its brain, protecting it from damage when it’s hammering into a tree.
4. A shrimp’s heart is located in its head.
5. Elephants suck on their trunks for comfort.
6. Anteaters have no teeth.
7. Nine-banded armadillos always have quadruplets and they’re always identical.
8. Wombat poop is cube-shaped.
9. A flock of flamingos is called a flamboyance.
10. Goats have accents.
11. Dolphins give names to each other.
12. Gorillas can catch human colds.
13. The turkey was once almost named the national bird.
14. A group of owls is called a parliament.
15. There are 32 muscles in a cat’s ear.
16. Snails can regenerate their eyes.
17. Want to know if your pet turtle is a boy or girl? If you listen closely you’ll hear the difference. Female turtles hiss and male turtles grunt.
18. A starfish can turn its stomach inside out.
19. French Poodles are actually from Germany.
20. Henry VIII knighted all four of his “Grooms of Stool” — the people in charge of wiping his butt for him.
21. Jeanette Rankin was elected to congress four years before women were even allowed to vote.
22. Women couldn’t apply for credit at a bank until 1974.
23. Before the invention of modern false teeth, dentures were commonly made from the teeth of dead soldiers.
24. In ancient Egypt, servants were smeared with honey so flies would flock to them, instead of the pharaoh.
25. It was once considered sacrilegious to use a fork.
26. Abe Lincoln was a champion wrestler. He was also a licensed bar tender.
27. Since 1945, all British tanks have been equipped with the necessary items for making tea.
28. Pope Gregory IV once declared war on cats because he believed black cats were used by Satan. His declaration lead to the mass extermination of cats.
29. That lack of cats led to a rat infestation which, in turn, led to the spread of plague.
30. John Adams was the first president to live in the White House.
31. The average person living in Sweden eats about 22 pounds of chocolate a year.
32. While the Wright Brothers are famous as a pair, they actually only flew together once. They promised their father they’d always fly separately.
33. Montana has three times as many cows as it does people.
34. Parts of the Great Wall of China were made with sticky rice.
35. 90 percent of the world’s population lives above the equator.
36. Finland has more saunas than cars.
37. 60 percent of the World’s lakes (three million total) are located in Canada.
38. Virginia is the only state that has the same state flower and state tree, the Dogwood.
39. In Egypt, it’s considered incredibly rude to salt food that has been served to you.
40. 99 percent of Libya is desert.
41. The height of the Eiffel Tour can vary up to six inches, depending on the temperature.
42. George Washington never got to live in the White House.
43. California’s state animal, the grizzly bear, doesn’t live in California anymore.
44. Armadillos are almost bulletproof.
45. Hawaii and Arizona don’t practice daylight savings.
46. Chicago is the birthplace of the ferris wheel.
47. Mike the Headless Chicken once lived for 18 months after his head was cut off.
48. All babies are covered head to toe in body hair in utero called lanugo. Don’t worry, it all falls out before birth or shortly after.
49. Crows are so smart they can recognize a human face.
50. Bees will sting bees from other hives trying to steal their nectar. So buzz off.
51. Space is utterly silent.
52. No one knows how many stars and planets there are in the universe. Still think we’re alone?
53. Because of the difference in levels of gravity, a 200 pound person on Earth will weigh 76 pounds on Mars.
54. It takes 1.255 seconds for light from Earth to reach the moon.
55. Our Sun bends the light from distant stars which means the true location of stars in the sky is not where we see them.
56. According to the theory of Time Dilation, the faster an object moves the more time slows down for it. So if you’re traveling near the speed of light time would slow down for the faster you go.
