15 Facts That Sound Made Up But Are Actually True

1. Over 10% Of The Total Photos Ever Taken In The World Have Been Shot In The Past Year

Our picture taking is growing exponentially. We took over 1 trillion photos in 2015.

2. It Rains Diamonds On Saturn and Jupiter

According to the BBC, diamonds literally fall from the sky on Saturn and Jupiter.  The largest diamonds would likely be about a centimeter – “big enough to put on a ring, although of course they would be uncut,” says Dr Kevin Baines, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

3. The American Flag Was Designed By 17 Year For A School Project

Robert G. Heft designed it for a school project while living in Ohio.  And the teacher wasn’t that impressed. He received a B- on the project.

4. Maine Is The Closest State To Africa

The closest point in the United States to Africa is Quoddy Head State Park, Maine.

5. Reno Is Further West Than L.A.

Surprisingly true. Reno is further west.

6. Humans Have A Genetic Disposition To Hibernate

All humans have genetic mechanisms that can trigger hibernation as an extreme survival tactic.  Here are the details.

7. Saddam Hussein Was Awarded The Key To The City In Detroit

In 1980, then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was awarded the key to the city by the mayor for donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to a local church.

8. A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off Lived For 18 Months

This is true.  In 1945, a farmer didn’t properly behead a chicken and as a result the bird lived for 18 months.   “Mike the Headless Chicken” survived for 18 months on a mixture of water and milk fed into his esophagus.

He became quite the attraction and the owner charged 25 cents to see the bird.  This netted him the equivalent of $47,500 / month in today’s dollars.

9. Honey Never Spoils

Due to its chemical make-up, it theoretically will never go bad.

10. The Song “Coconut” (aka “she put the lime in the coconut…”) Has Only One Chord and Is The Only Song To Be On Billboard Hot 100 With No Chord Changes

Harry Nilsson’s song reached No. 8 in 1972.

11. John F. Kennedy, Aldous Huxley And C. S. Lewis Died On The Same Day

The three famous men died within hours of one another on Nov. 22, 1963.  It inspired a novel about the three meeting in Purgatory.

12. Hitler Was Named Time Magazine’s ‘Man Of The Year’

In 1938, Adolf Hitler was Time magazine’s Man of the Year.  In addition, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1939.

13. If You Fly Directly South From Detroit, You Will Hit The Canadian Border

You will crossover the town of Windsor, ON and then reenter U.S. airspace.

14. Doctors’ Messy Handwriting Accounted for 7,000 Deaths A Year

According to the National Academies of Science’s Institute of Medicine, sloppy handwriting caused 7,000 deaths in 2006. With the increased usage of electronic records triggering automated prescriptions, this number is decreasing.

15. Mt. Everest Would Be Submerged In Water If It Was Placed In The Deepest Part Of The Ocean

The Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep bottoms out at 36,037 feet while Everest stands at 29,026 feet, meaning the deepest part of the Mariana Trench is 7,044 feet deeper than Everest is tall.