15 Facts That — Surprisingly — Like, A Lot Of People Don't Know
Recently, Redditor u/Kaepora25 asked, "What's a thing you thought most people knew but was actually unknown to most?" As a self-proclaimed fun-fact enthusiast, I rounded up and fact-checked 15 of the most fascinating things people shared:
1."Sign language isn't universal. Sign languages are their own unique languages, not just a signed version of spoken language."
There are, in fact, around 300 different sign languages. Different countries have their own sign languages as well, which vary even if the "base language" is the same. For instance, both American and British sign languages are based on the English language, but they are two entirely different sign languages. Languages can also vary regionally and culturally, like dialects or accents do in spoken language.
2."UTIs in the elderly can cause them to hallucinate or be disoriented."
Older patients with UTIs tend to have untraditional symptoms. They often experience symptoms such as delirium, tachycardia, frequent falling, or — in more extreme cases — hallucinations.
3."The difference between less and fewer. 'Fewer' is used when something is countable, ie: Bob has fewer apples than Sally. 'Less' is used when it’s not, ie: Bob shows less kindness to horses than Sally.'"
4."Froot Loops are all just one flavor."
Despite the various colors, Froot Loops are reportedly all one flavor, which is a blend of orange, lemon, lime, apple, cherry, raspberry, and blueberry. Fun fact: Trix and Fruity Pebbles — two other rainbow, fruity-flavored cereals — are also just one flavor.
5."A pony is not a baby horse. A baby horse is called a foal. A pony is a horse that as an adult is below a certain height."
Size-wise, a pony is usually under 14.2 hands high as an adult. They mature to their full size more quickly than horses do, too.
6."The fact there are multiple ski resorts in Australia. Always seems to blow people's minds."
Parts of Australia, like New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, do get snow during their winter months of June, July, and August, so you absolutely can go skiing there! And speaking of Australia's winter months...
7."That wintertime in the northern hemisphere is summertime in the southern hemisphere. January can be the middle of the summer or the middle of the winter, but Christmas is always in December. This is absolutely shocking information for some people."
8."Poison dart frogs are only poisonous if you feed them toxic bugs. They are perfectly safe to handle if you feed them crickets."
The poison dart frog is considered to be one of the most toxic animals in the world. Scientists believe the bugs poison dart frogs eat — like formicine ants —are what make them so poisonous. So, zoos feed poison dart frogs a different diet —namely, crickets or fruit flies — which allows zookeepers to handle the frogs without the risk of being poisoned. There's currently no treatment or antidote for their toxins, too.
9."That alt + tab is the shortcut to change windows on PC (command + tab for Mac). I've worked in plenty of computer-based roles, and I've never failed to amaze someone with this handy trick I just assumed everyone knew."
And, if you're someone (*cough cough, me) who has a billion tabs open at once, you can use ctrl + tab on Windows and Macs to switch between tabs and find juuust the one you were looking for.
10."Deoxygenated/venous blood isn’t blue, it’s dark red."
You might've been taught as a child that the blood flowing through your veins is blue because it hasn't been exposed to oxygen. That, however, is a myth. It's actually a dark red color. When you look at a vein in your arm, for instance, it only appears blue or purple-ish because you're viewing it through layers of fat and skin.
11."That you shouldn’t mix bleach and ammonia."
If you didn't know, bleach + ammonia = a toxic chloromine gas that can cause breathing issues, nausea, vomiting, and damage lung tissue. Here are a few other common household cleaners you definitely shouldn't mix:
Bleach + vinegar = chlorine gas (eye and respiratory irritant)
Hydrogen peroxide + vinegar = peracetic acid (eye, skin, and respiratory irritant)
Bleach + rubbing alcohol = toxic chloroform (major organ damage)
You can learn more here.
12."That your car’s fuel gauge has a little arrow next to the gas pump icon indicating which side your gas cap is on. Super handy when driving a rental or a new car."
13."That sugar hinders your immune system."
Foods that are high in added sugar and that significantly raise your blood sugar can in fact have negative impacts on the functionality of your immune system by increasing the production of inflammatory proteins. You can read more about it here.
14."Zebras are black with white stripes."
Though they might look like they're white and have black stripes at first glance, underneath their fur, zebras have dark skin. They grow both black and white fur, and their black fur gets its color from melanocyte cells. Their white fur has deactivated melanocytes, which means that active melanocytes — or black fur — is their "default" color, thus making them black with white stripes.
15.And finally, "The amount of men who think women can 'hold in their period' in the same way you can wait to use the bathroom is so very concerning. Just in case you are one of these men and are reading this: it is bleeding. One cannot 'hold it in' any more than you could 'hold in' the blood coming out from a wound."
Do you know a fact that you were shocked to learn isn't common knowledge? If so, tell us about it in the comments below or via this anonymous form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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