21 Facts That Remain Unknown to the Majority of People

Hopefully you are in the majority, and can learn a thing or two.

Published 10 months ago in Wow

If you're a regular internet scroller, then you're no stranger to a fact gallery. They're a great way to learn a bit of trivia, but once you've read a few, you'll notice that many of the facts tend to repeat themselves, and aren't so "unknown." This gallery tries to break that trend, by using only fun facts that remain unknown to the majority of people. Hopefully you're in that majority.

Names are a big theme in this gallery, especially names you might not have known existed. When you squeeze toothpaste onto your toothbrush, that little nub is called a nurdle. Sounds right, doesn't it? And although not everyone has it, the space between eyebrows is called the "glabella." Neither of those names comes close to the spectacular name of a New Zealand hill however, which is called Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu. It's 85 letters long, and the longest name in the English language. Try saying that three times fast.

Here are 21 facts most people still don't know.

1
Dragonflies have legs but cannot walk. They are the only insect that can fly backwards. The only other animal that can fly backwards is the hummingbird.

2
The blob of toothpaste on your brush has a name. Its name is "nurdle."

3
Octopuses have three hearts, and nine brains. A central, and one in each arm.
4
One lesser-known fact is that there's a technical term for the space between your eyebrows. It's called the "glabella."

5
In America, it's more expensive to put someone to death than to put them in prison for the rest of their life without parole. Much of this is in the legal process involved in making sure it is not handed down lightly.
6
If you are born completely blind you have a 0% chance of developing schizophrenia. Yet if you GO blind you have a higher rate of developing schizophrenia.
7
Every individual has a unique tongue print.

8
The opossum is the only marsupial native to North American.
9
It is almost impossible for a third party candidate to win the US presidency, but not necessarily for the reason you think. If there is a close three way race for president and the final results have the top candidate with 40% of the electoral votes while the other two have 30% each, most people believe the candidate with 40% of the electoral votes will win the election, but that is incorrect. Unless a candidate has more than 50% of the electoral votes, the election results are thrown out and the House of Representatives will vote on the president essentially giving the 3rd party candidate no chance of winning even if they came out on top in the general election.
10
If you go up slightly into a higher tax bracket, you don't end up getting less. You're still taxed your old rate on your money that stays under the bracket, your new surplus of money is what's taxed at the higher bracket. But you're not bringing home less money if you go slightly into the next bracket.

11
"Tainted Love" was not written by Soft Cell. It was written by Ed Cobb, formerly of American group the Four Preps, which was originally recorded by Gloria Jones in 1964.
12
I didn’t think about it for a while, but it is also funny for me, that the brain named itself brain.
13
It's a pure coincidence the Sun and the Moon appear the same size from Earth.

14
You probably don't remember the last time you burned a CD-R. But it happened. Same with floppy disks.
15
Pineapples don't grow on trees, they actually grow from a plant close to the ground.
16
Koalas have one of the smallest brain to body ratios of any mammal, and those brains are smooth. They won’t eat their food if it’s not on the tree, and they have lots of Chlamydia. They are bad animals.

17
Honey never spoils.
18
The longest place name on Earth is 85 letters long; “Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu.” It is a hill in New Zealand that’s name means "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his flute to his loved one" in the Maori language.
19
Decimate means to reduce by 1/10th. Decimate is not analogous to annihilate or obliterate, despite sounding similar.

20
Improper oral hygiene leads to a plethora of diseases as you are literally swallowing mouth bacteria allowing it to flourish in your body. Brush your teeth, people.
21
Blinkers are things that cars can use. Even BMWs.