One of the best parts about the internet is how great a learning tool it can be. Even if you’re just casually browsing some random forum or website, you can stumble across a weird fact you’ve never heard before. The next thing you know, you’re knee-deep in research and it’s been hours since you last had a snack.

The members of the r/AskReddit online community had a lot of fun sharing the most mind-blowing facts that they recently realized. It sometimes takes a tiny thing to change your perspective completely. Whether that’s seeing a duck in a tree, thinking about space travel, or finally comprehending how late the Roman Empire actually fell. Scroll down for some fresh facts that you (probably!) don’t know.

Bored Panda wanted to learn more about source reliability and how to reverse our shortening attention spans, so we reached out to Susan A. Nolan, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Seton Hall University. You’ll find her insights as you read on.

#1

Being poor is very very very expensive. Once you have a decent amount of money and no debt, it’s very easy to live super cheap.

Once you have the money to buy things, it’s MUCH easier to say no to those things.

Image credits: anon

We asked Professor Nolan about the key factors that indicate that a source or a claim made somewhere is most likely reliable. She was kind enough to shed some light on this.

“The best sources provide links to the original sources for the information they are sharing. This lets us check out the sources ourselves. If in doubt, click on those links,” the expert from Seton Hall University told Bored Panda via email.

“Credible original sources should indicate the evidence behind the fact. Did it come from a study from a researcher linked to a university, medical center, or other established organization? Was the finding published in a scientific or medical journal?” she drew attention to some questions that everyone should be asking.

#2

I got really high and started thinking about our modern life.

Clean pottable water on tap.Living in air conditioned houses with multiple rooms.
Able to drive around in a machine capable of carrying thousands of pounds.
Able to go experience food from around the world with little difficulty.
(Edited in)–Able to flush away your waste with water, NOT have it just build up and putrify somewhere, but be treated, cleaned and recycled.
Able to talk to people across the world in real time.
Even if it is expensive, the medical capacity we have in the first world is astounding.

When you realize that we are all living like “mini” kings with our luxury, you start to apprecaite it more.

It blew my mind just how much we take for granted. Hot showers is definitely one people really do not appreciate

Image credits: Edgezg

#3

When I found out a large percentage of people walk around all day without an inner monologue it really messed with me. How do you think? Do you think? How do you make decisions?

Image credits: GrumpyOldMan59

“If the original source is a .com website, you should ask if the purpose of the site is to make money. Source websites that end in .edu, .gov, or .org don’t necessarily mean that they are credible, but it’s a good sign!” Nolan explained to us.

“Finally, trust your gut. If it sounds too good or weird or unlikely to be true, it may not be,” she said that audiences shouldn’t ignore their instincts about various claims made on the internet.

In the meantime, the psychology professor shared her thoughts on what people can do to reverse the trend of shortening attention spans. Screen time is key here.

“The best thing to do is to cut back on screentime. Try to be completely offline for an hour a day and maybe even build to one day a week,” she said.

#4

Earth is the only planet in the observable universe that we know of whose only Moon is simultaneously 1/400th of the size and at 1/400th of the distance of its Sun, making it the only known planet capable of having perfect eclipses.

It’s a very cool coincidence, if you ask me.

#5

That you could legitimately travel at warp speed through the center of galaxies and never run any real risk of hitting a star. That’s how spread out space really is.

Image credits: justanotherguyhere16

#6

People are writing all these profound things while I flipped my s**t when I found out Blue on Blue’s Clues is a girl.

Image credits: LongjumpingCake1924

“Go old school. Put your electronics out of arms reach and read a book or magazine on paper. Start training your brain not to expect to jump to something new every few minutes,” the professor urged.

Nolan co-runs the ‘Misinformation Desk’ blog on Psychology Today and can also be found on X (formerly Twitter).

Studies have shown that our attention spans really are shrinking. Time reports that based on Gloria Mark’s research, people could focus for around 2.5 minutes when using electronic devices before shifting their focus elsewhere. Now, the is down to around 47 seconds. Mark is a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of ‘Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity.’

#7

Owl‘s silent flight. I mean i always knew that but a while ago was the first time i actually witnessed it. Owl came flying towards me and landed only a few feet away and you couldn‘t hear anything. Crazy.

Image credits: Zealousideal-You-324

#8

Percentages can be reversed.

30% of 70 is 70% of 30.

Image credits: sfkf8486

#9

Difference between a million and a billion. Someone explained it in terms of time, a million seconds is 11 days and a billion seconds is almost 31 years. I knew a billion was a lot more but damn this put it in perspective.

Image credits: Disastrous-Rise-1279

Lisa McLendon, Ph.D., the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Bremner Editing Center Coordinator at the University of Kansas, previously explained to Bored Panda that legitimate news sources follow “a code of ethics and standards for journalism.” For one, they don’t publish rumors. They also verify information and correct errors.

“The New York Times, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press (AP), etc. are examples of this, and established local newspapers are too. One way to tell is whether other news outlets cite them. For example, AP picks up and distributes content from its members, and only legitimate news outlets are members of AP,” Lendon told us earlier.

“But there are ‘pink slime’ news outlets that have popped up in the U.S. that look similar to legitimate newspapers but push highly biased and even incorrect information. Are they even located in your community? Are they trying to push a particular agenda while trying to appear that they aren’t? For health information, make sure it comes from a hospital or doctor who does not have a vested interest in selling you something.”

#10

That people that are blind from birth don’t see “black” or “nothing,” they see with their eyes what you see with your elbow.

Image credits: HeavyRightFoot19

#11

Moses was the first human to download info from a cloud to a tablet 

#12

That sharks predated the rings of Saturn.

Image credits: BeardedDominant

A big part of thriving in the digital age means knowing how to interact with the news, social media, and various sources. To put it very simply, you want to avoid falling prey to (and sharing) misinformation. And you want to limit the amount of time you spend in front of screens, especially when consuming negative content.

It helps to be a bit skeptical of any facts that you come across when browsing the internet. If something feels too good or bad to be true, it probably is. If you have the time, feel free to do some independent research. Cross-reference the facts using a wider range of sources, with different leanings. Consider the reliability of both the sources and the people making the claims, too. What’s their track record like? Are they looking at claims from a variety of perspectives or do they have a clear bias? Think about what the source might be trying to achieve here.

#13

One day I sat on a tram, passing a river. There was a duck in a tree. I realised I’ve never seen ducks in trees. No one else seemed to notice, but I was puzzled.

Now whenever I come across something that seems intuitive but I have never considered I call it a duck in a tree.

Image credits: Ol_Pasta

#14

That my girlfriend (now wife) actually, genuinely loves me. I sincerely thought I was unlovable until that point.

#15

The Roman Empire fully fell less than 50 years before the discovery of the new world

Image credits: South-by-north

There’s no source in the world that is going to be right about everything they write, 100% of the time. But the difference between a reliable source and an unreliable one is that the former will do their best to correct their mistakes. To err is to be human. To fact-check, edit, and admit to having made mistakes is to be divine… at least in the media industry.

The simple truth is that people are incredibly busy in this day and age. Not everyone has the time (or, let’s be honest, the energy) to check every single fact. So it becomes necessary to rely on sources based on their reputation. 

Reading cool facts, discovering new topics, staying up to date with the news, and doing research is fun, sure. But it’s important to remember to take care of your physical and mental health first and foremost. If all you ever do is browse Reddit, scroll through Instagram, and binge-watch TikTok, you may want to shift your focus. Make sure that you’re getting plenty of sleep, eating right, getting lots of exercise, and spending time with awesome people. It’s easy to get lost in screens.

#16

When you see the weather forecast it says 80 percent chance to rain. That means it’s 100 percent going to rain but only 80 percent of the region will see rain.

Image credits: wooties05

#17

We went from kitty hawk to the moon inside of 66 years.

Image credits: alczervikslumberyard

#18

They were colonizing the Wild West the same time as they were building skyscrapers in Manhattan. I always think of them taking place eighty to a hundred years apart. It’s wild.

Image credits: Emilayday

Zippia claims that the average person living in the United States spends 7 hours and 4 minutes looking at screens every single day. (Over half of that involves staring at the phone.) That’s slightly higher than the global average for daily screen time of 6 hours and 58 minutes. Considering that some experts recommend less than 2 hours of screen time per day, most people around the world could stand to do better. 

The problem is, however, screens have become vital to professional success, as well as communication, leisure, and entertainment. Many people need computers and phones to do their jobs. So it comes down to limiting our screen time after work hours. You could, for example, delete or hide the apps that eat up most of your time, or stop bringing your phone with you to the bathroom. A lot of the time, people check their phones because they’re bored and anxious, not because they’re on the hunt for some specific info.

#19

Sometimes is more important to like your colleagues than the actual job.

I had s****y jobs with the most amazing colleagues and had s****y colleagues and the most amazing job. I’d pick the first every time.

Image credits: chr989

#20

How many compound words are just hiding in plain sight in English.

You’ve got plenty of obvious ones like Breakfast. But some sneaky ones like Holiday and Disease.

#21

That I’m not responsible to make other people happy

#22

Breakfast is simply breaking your morning fast

#23

Alcohol is really poison..

#24

When I learned about the 20/80 rule, my life was turned upside down.

It says that 20 percent effort produces 80 percent results, but 80 percent effort produces only 20 percent results.

I couldn’t believe it at first, but when I set a goal of sticking to the rule for a week (to test it), I realized that my productivity was much higher because my time is now limited. I stopped wasting time and try to get things done as quickly as possible so I don’t have to stretch it out all day.

As a result, I have more free time for myself and my family, as well as hobbies and additional education.

#25

Matter and energy can be changed, but it is never destroyed. It is just changed. The second law of thermodynamics states that, within any system, nothing ever remains the same. Change is constant.

#26

The light from the stars we see were emitted thousands of thousands of years ago and could potentially be from stars that are no longer there

#27

Well, it may sound stupid af, but when I was 11 I realised that moon REFLECT sun’s light, it doesn’t glow on it’s own, and that night staring at it was a whole new experience xD

#28

ponies aren’t baby horses.

#29

Just how much white-collar crime there is and how little of it gets prosecuted.

#30

You die. No matter what, how good or bad you do, how hard you fight or how fast you give up. Eventually we all just… Die. Everyone does it, and fairly quickly, no one will remember your failures or successes. Your name might live a few millenia but eventually no one cares. It’s freeing. You’re free to be you. F**k that person, say that dumb s**t, eat that coney, just be a person amongst uncountable billions that lived and died. It’s all you, go live, laugh, love, you basic b***h.

#31

It still blows my mind that I can walk without thinking about moving specific muscles. Like, I can just go around thinking dumb thoughts while my body just contracts the necessary muscles to move all these appendages just because I pointed in a direction and thought “go.”

#32

That lungs look more like sponges rather than two pockets of air.

Image credits: BigGuy_BigGuy

#33

Narwhals are real! I learned this at like age 45.

#34

Alucard is not an old fashioned mens name, similar to Abner, and Atticus. It’s just Dracula spelled backwards.

So edgy.

#35

That every time you shuffle a deck of cards it’s extremely likely that no deck of cards in history has ever been in the same order you just shuffled your deck to.

Image credits: roughly7chickens

#36

When you lose weight, most of it ends up as carbon dioxide which is exhaled from your lungs.

Image credits: Wannagetsober

#37

I know it’s odd but A looks like tip of a pencil.

#38

Some day there will be zero evidence our Earth ever existed. The sun will eventually consume the Earth.

#39

If you just do something, it becomes so much easier to do. Just get it over with, whatever it is.

#40

Be there or be square…. Because you’re not around.

Image credits: tachyfootsteps

#41

I saw this on a Facebook meme today: the word Ohio looks like a tractor.

Image credits: cronin98

#42

Mercury is on average the closest planet to any other planet in our solar system.

#43

You can’t get peoples respect just by being nice. I was nice my whole life and no one treated me seriously. I’ve noticed drastic change in how people treat me once I started to care less about other peoples opinion and was more confident sharing my worldview.

#44

The speed of light is consistent in relativity no matter how fast you are traveling because of the effects speed has on time and gravity. If you are traveling at 99% the speed of light, then the light you emit from a flashlight would appear to be traveling away from you at the speed of light because your time is slowed.

Image credits: Myzx

#45

You can turn the lid on medicine containers upside down to disable the child proof features (having to push down and turn). This also makes it easier for people with arthritis.

#46

PlayStation symbols = the number of lines used.

**o** = 1

**x** = 2

? = 3

▪️ = 4

#47

“I’ll see you around!”

“Not if I see you first!”

Took me a while to realize this meant if that person sees you first they will avoid you and you will end up not seeing them

#48

Money only has value because we believe it has value. The reason a $10 bill can buy you $10 worth of items or service is because we all agree on what the value of the bill is.

#49

Breakfast doesn’t have to be sweet.

#50

Not one Beatle was 30 years old yet by the time they broke up.

#51

That there are far more psychopaths than most of us think.

#52

We’re all just a bunch of atoms thinking about themselves

#53

7/8 German soldiers who died in WW2 (out of an estimated 5 million total) died on the eastern front. Also, 8-10 million Soviet soldiers died on the eastern front. I think we know the war was absolute hell, but those numbers from the eastern front are insane! 

#54

If you earn 50.000 € a year, starting directly after school and are working for 40 years until you retire, that’s only 2.000.000 €.

This 2 million includes your whole life. Every holiday you ever make. Every gift you ever gave. Every car you ever bought. Your wedding, your house, your kids Christmas presents. Everything.

And yet, there are people out there who buy cars worth 2 million or even more. Ever heard someone making 10 millions? That’s 5 times your life. A billion? That’s the lives of a whole town.

Even if your double the income. There are people out there who could buy your live a thousand times

#55

The other day I was in a thread with a bunch of men that had their minds blown after they realized our hair is twisted up in the towels on our heads after a shower.

THAT blew my mind.

#56

How bizarre acting is, I got really high once and I was watching a movie and it dawned on me how strange the whole thing is , you get random people pretending to be other people for my entertainment…. weird

#57

It always blows my mind that the match was invented after the lighter

#58

Racism is there to distract us from the wealthy hoarding all the money and resources. I read what L B Johnson said about the lowest white man…

#59

That how small we are compared to the universe and how our problems dont matter just like us. We are a multicellular specie living in the universe’s TINY super cluster’s TINY galaxy’s TINY solar system’s TINY star’s TINY PLANET’S TINY nation. And you’re still brainf***ed over your job? Relax! Nothing really matters, eventually everything will die out. So, do whatever you want, live your best life and make sure you had a fun time. Go ahead, have a fun time because we all will have to leave any second now. Good Luck.

#60

Poison dart frogs arent poisonous in captivity. I own 5 of them and anytime I tell someone I own some I always get “do you ever lick them” or “can you go k**l someone with them”.. but yeah they get their poison from what they eat, and all I give them is fruit flies.

#61

* We live closer to the T-rex than the T-rex to Stegosaurus.
* Cleopatra lived closer to us than she did the building of the Pyramids at Giza
* Wooly Mammoths existed when the Pyramids were being built.
* The Appalachian Mountains are older than bones. By tens of million of years.
* Humans migrated to Australia before they got to Europe.
* Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA is found in most humans not from Africa.
* Squid largely evolved themselves out of themselves out of the fossil record.

#62

Pablo Picasso and Eminem were both alive at the same time.

#63

Possoms and opossums are different animals and not related at all.

#64

The lass that played John Connors step mom in Terminator 2 also played Vasquez in Aliens

#65

When things are messy or bad, not only do the adults that will fix/figure things out never actually show up, but as you age, people assume you’re now the adult who will fix/figure things out.

#66

That stripper poles spin

#67

Oxford university is older than the Aztecs

#68

I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to

#69

The game TAG is an acronym and stands for Touch and Go