SURPRISING FACTS
This animal can sleep for up to three years at a time in certain conditions
Snail
Fun fact: Some species hibernate through droughts, slowing their metabolism to almost nothing.
This planet is closest to the Sun
Mercury
Fun fact: It’s not Venus — that’s the most common wrong answer.
This U.S. state has the most active volcanoes
Alaska
Fun fact: It has more than all other states combined.
This country has the longest coastline in the world
Canada
Why it works: Everyone guesses Australia or Russia.
This planet is known for its rings
Saturn
Fun fact: They’re made of ice and rock.
This U.S. president had a pet alligator in the White House
John Quincy Adams
Fun fact: He kept it in a bathtub in the East Room.
This animal is often said to have a three-second memory
Goldfish
Fun fact: They can remember things for months.
This letter does not appear in the periodic table
J
Fun fact: Every other letter does.
This planet has the shortest day of all the planets in our solar system
Jupiter
Why it works: Counterintuitive but factual.
This gas makes up the largest percentage of Earth's atmosphere
Nitrogen
Fun fact: About 78% of the air you breathe is nitrogen, even though your body barely uses it directly.
This animal can survive being frozen solid and then thawed
Tardigrade
Fun fact: Tardigrades are nicknamed “water bears” and can survive in space.
This country has more time zones than any other, but most people only know one of them
France
Fun fact: France controls several territories around the world, giving it 12 time zones total.
This language has the most native speakers worldwide
Mandarin Chinese
Fun fact: English is third.
This TV show ran for 10 seasons and ended in 2004
Friends
Fun fact: The finale was watched by over 50 million people.
This organ uses the most energy in the human body
The brain
Fun fact: About 20% of your total energy.
This famous landmark was originally intended to be temporary
Eiffel Tower
Fun fact: Built for the 1889 World’s Fair, it was almost torn down in 1910.
This food was once legally classified as a vegetable for tax purposes
Tomato
Fun fact: The Supreme Court decided this in 1893.
This ocean is the smallest by surface area
Arctic Ocean
Fun fact: It’s also the shallowest.
This actor starred in both The Dark Knight trilogy and American Psycho
Christian Bale
Fun fact: He lost 60 pounds for The Machinist and later gained significant muscle to play Batman- one of the most extreme body transformations in film history.
This type of animal regulates its own body temperature
Endotherm
Fun fact: That’s mammals and birds.
This country consumes the most chocolate per capita in the world
Switzerland
Fun fact: The Swiss eat about 10 kilograms of chocolate per person per year.
This common belief about lightning is false
Lightning can strike the same place multiple times
Fun fact: Tall buildings get hit frequently.
This element has the chemical symbol “W”
Tungsten
Fun fact: The symbol comes from its German name, Wolfram.
This film won Best Picture in 1994
Forrest Gump
Fun fact: It beat Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption.
This type of rock forms from cooled molten material
Igneous
Fun fact: Basalt, an igneous rock, makes up much of Earth's crust