Strange Facts That You Didn't Learn In School

1.

Only six percent of the salt we use is for food. It's mostly used for industrial chemicals, but even clearing the ice off roads uses more salt than food.

2.

There are only about 13 active blimps running in the world. At least, that's the number of blimps being used for advertising.

3.

In the 1800s, the ruler of Egypt almost destroyed the Pyramids to make a dam. He only stopped when a French engineer convinced him it would cost too much money.

4.

Lighting strikes the Earth 100 times a second. About 2,000 people die from lightning strikes each year. It's amazing that it doesn't happen more often with those numbers.

5.

John Harvey Kellogg thought Corn Flakes were plain enough to help stop masturbation. Yes, really. He also thought the knuckle shuffle caused tuberculosis, epilepsy, insanity, and of course, blindness.

6.

This is what your hands look like after you wash them. Notice how much is still on them when you only wash for three seconds?

7.

Drinking beer makes you more attractive to mosquitoes. Scientists can't figure out why that is yet, but drinking as little as 12 ounces of beer was found to increase mosquito bites.

8.

When you hold change, that metallic smell is coming from you. A chemical in your skin changes when it touches iron or copper and produces body odor that we think is coming from the metal.

9.

There's an optical illusion that can affect how you see for up to three months. It's called the McCollough Effect and it uses striped pictures like this to make you see colors that aren't really there. Don't worry, you need more than just the one I posted to do it right.

10.

Hiroshima, Japan celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That's because he wrote a letter to the people of Japan saying, “Japan knows the horror of war and has suffered as no other nation under the cloud of nuclear disaster. Certainly Japan can stand strong for a world of peace.”

11.

The eastern painted turtle can breathe through its butt. It takes less energy to do this than mouth breathing.

12.

This is how water can "bend" light. It's called refraction and it happens when light slows down and changes direction a little when it travels from air to water.

13.

Emperor penguins can stop some of their organs while they swim. This lets them stay underwater for about 20 minutes.

14.

The mini-pocket in your jeans was made for pockett watches. Not many people use those anymore, but the pocket is still around because it's good for loose change or bus tickets.

15.

Color affects your sense of taste. The color of the food itself, the plate, and even the lighting can make you think what you're eating is sweeter or more savory than it really is.