10 Crazy Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

The world is an insane place. Even the most mundane, mundane, mundane things can have a strange backstory—or do something you had no idea they could.

Did you know that worms eat four to six times their body weight each day? Or that trained pigeons can distinguish between Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso? Who would have guessed?

There are, however, threats in the world. Bacteria have infested your phone (see below), and signs of the bubonic plague have been discovered in the New York City subway system. Things you've taken for granted or that seem perfectly natural will surprise you when you dig a little deeper. With that in mind, here are ten odd little details that will most definitely surprise you.

The only animals that enjoy spicy foods are humans.

It's an evolutionary mystery that scientists have struggled to explain, but humans are the only animals who enjoy spicy food. There do not appear to be any health benefits to eating painful peppers (though some research suggests that it may fight off fungus), so the best reason some have suggested is the thrill factor—similar to how humans are the only animals who enjoy roller coasters and scary movies.

Humans are the only animals with shrinking brains.

Our brains shrink as we age, and cognitive decline such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia will result. However, as far as researchers can say, we are the only animals who experience this shrinkage. Other species, like close evolutionary relatives including chimps and rhesus monkeys, have shown no related behavior.

Potato chips cause the most weight gain of any food.

A Harvard University study of over 120,000 people discovered that potato chips were to blame for an average weight gain of 1.69 pounds per person over four years. Other sources of fat include potatoes (1.28 pounds), sugar-sweetened beverages (1.00 pounds), and unprocessed red meats (0.95 pounds).

That fish is most likely incorrectly labeled.

That salmon is most likely not salmon. According to researchers, roughly one-third of all fish sold in restaurants and grocery stores is mislabeled—often to intentionally mislead consumers and persuade them to buy more expensive fish (getting tilapia while paying red snapper prices). Snapper was mislabeled 87 percent of the time, while tuna was mislabeled 59 percent of the time. It's far too common to be a coincidence.

Bananas are unable to reproduce.

Cavendish bananas, which we all know and love, are actually a cross between two different plant species. It has no seeds and can only replicate with the help of farmers who cut and transplant a portion of the plant's stem to produce our favorite yellow fruit.

It is impossible to hum while holding your nose.

To make the humming noise, you must pass air through your larynx, which is why you can't exhale while holding your nose and closing your mouth. You can't do that if you can't exhale any air. Still, it appears strange.

April 11, 1954 was the least interesting day in history.

That's according to True Knowledge, a tech company. Just two of the more than 300 million facts gathered by the search engine project happened on this date: a soccer player named Jack Shufflebotham died and a Turkish academic named Abdullah Atalar was born.

JFK was assassinated on the same day as Aldous Huxley and C.S. Lewis.

Under normal circumstances, the deaths of these venerable British writers (who died within about 10 minutes of each other) would be newsworthy. But it was difficult to pay attention to the death of the author of Brave New World or the Narnia series when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated within an hour. Is there a plot? You get to be the judge.

Larger forks encourage you to eat less.

Diners who were given smaller forks to eat their meals ate less, according to a report published in the Journal of Consumer Research. This is because the smaller forkfuls of food make diners "feel like they aren't making much of a dent in eating their food, and, therefore, satisfying their appetite," according to the researchers.

The termite is the longest-living insect.

Cockroaches have been around since dinosaurs roamed the planet, but the termite queen lives the longest of any insect. According to some scientists, these obese and disgusting critters can live for up to 100 years.

Do you like  these crazy facts? If you’re interested in funny things, consider There’s Nothing I Can Do Except Reach The Top Shelf Shirt. If you like weird things such as weird laws, check out Top 10 Weird Laws that Could Get You Fined.