Growing up, a lot of us had that one friend who seemed to have a new yarn to spin every day. Some would tell you about the crazy and unbelievable things they did, like backflipping three times while water-skiing, but others managed to come up with questionable "facts" about more broader topics. 

Like that time President Kennedy totally said he was a jelly doughnut in his famous speech at the Berlin Wall. Or that nougat was originally spaceship insulation that the Apollo 11 crew discovered they could eat (which I'm sorry to say I fell for as a kid).

But sometimes you'll come across something that couldn't possibly be true and that old friend comes to mind again. So you head off to Snopes.com for the proof you'll need to rattle whatever joker told you that a flood of beer killed nine people in London, and it turns out to be true.

And so: we present these 12 facts that sound completely untrue, but are actually right on the money.

1. The state of Maine is home to more black bears than black people.

Maine may has a reputation for being ethnically homogeneous, but surely that must be an exaggeration, right? Technically no, since Maine's most recent census records itsAfrican American population at 1.4%, which means there are approximately 18,621 black people currently living in Maine.

Yet Maine's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife estimates that over 25,000 black bears roam the state, while National Geographicputs the number closer to 30,000. 

2. Congress mentions Hitler an average of 7.7 times per month.

In 1990, American attorney Mike Godwin posited that the longer an internet discussion goes on, the more likely it is that someone will be compared to Hitler or the Nazis. 

Well, apparently Godwin's Law also applies to the House of Representatives, which we now know thanks to Capitol Words, a searchable database that allows you to see how often a word has appeared in the Congressional Record since 1996.

If you search "Hitler," you'll find that your elected officials have mentioned the infamous dictator a grand total of 1,792 times. It seems to have tapered off in recent months, but the latest spike in Hitler mentions dates back to only a year ago. Hitler's name was mentioned 56 times in the House between March and April of 2014. 

3. Vending Machines have killed more people in the United States than sharks.

This one is more probable than definitively true because there's a much better pool of data on shark attacks than on vending machine-related fatalities. While the Florida Museum of Natural History has recorded 35 fatal shark attacks in the US to the present day, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission only accounts for vending machine deaths between 1978 and 1996.

Still, even that fairly shallow data pool puts fatal vending machine mishaps higher than fatal shark attacks, since it recorded 37 vending machine-related deaths in that time.

4. Monsters Inc. came out closer to the fall of the Berlin Wall than the present day.

Apologies if this makes you feel old, but it's true. The film's 2001 release was 12 years after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, but 14 years before now.

5. British surveyors calculated Mount Everest's height at 29,000 feet high, but falsely reported it as two feet higher.

Apparently, they were worried this seemed like too "nice" a number for an official report and didn't want people to think they were using a round estimate.

Not that it really matters, since none of the current measurements by Indian, Chinese, and American surveyors agree with these calculations. You wouldn't think there'd be this much debate about measurement, but the three countries can't seem to agree as to whether Mount Everest is 29,028 feet high (India), 29,015 feet high (China) or 29,035 feet high (US).

6. 90% of all American silent films are gone forever.

That's right, the library of silent films we have now are a drop in the bucket compared to the number that once existed. This is partially due to the flammable and unstable nitrate stock these old films were recorded on, and to the fact that film restoration is an expensive and time-consuming process.

But a lot of these old movies were intentionally destroyed by their studios because they became expensive to house and were thrown out once they stopped being profitable. 

7. Pocahontas and William Shakespeare died less than a year and 150 miles apart.

Comparing the dates of the two historical figures' deaths puts Pocahontas' kidnapping and forced relocation to England at around the time of Shakespeare's retirement, but the close proximity is particularly interesting considering that by the time Shakespeare died, Pocahontas was planning to return to Virginia.

Before she could make the trip, however, she fell ill and was taken ashore to Gravestown, where she soon passed away. Gravestown happens to be less than 150 miles away from Shakespeare's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, where he reached the end of his life. 

8. Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer.

More specifically, the Cancer Council of Australia says that diagnosis will happen by the time they reach the age of 70. Australia's reputation for sunny skies may seem enviable to the gloomier parts of the world, but it leaves them more than twice as likely as Americans, Canadians, and the British to contract a form of skin cancer.

9. The pathologist at Albert Einstein's autopsy stole his brain for 40 years.

Prior to his death, Einstein had left instructions to be cremated and have his ashes scatteredin secret "to discourage idolaters." But, without his or his family's permission, Dr. Thomas Harvey took his brain from Princeton Hospital. A few days later, Einsten's son, Hans Albert,gave his reluctant consent to the brain's continued existence, as long as any investigation of the brain was done in the interest of science.

But Harvey was fired for refusing to give the brain back to the hospital and so he had the brain divided into 240 pieces in Philedelphia and wandered the American Midwest. After 40 years of unsuccessfully courting brain researchers, some of which time being spent hanging out with William S. Burroughs, Harvey finally returned Einstein's brain to Princeton Hospital.  ‎

10. Vatican City has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

While these statistics from 2002 only show 397 civil offences and 608 criminal offences, they're staggering compared to the Vatican's population of roughly 500 people at the time. 

The inflated crime rate can be attributed to the millions of visitors Vatican City has every year, as the most widespread crimes are petty theft cases like pick-pocketing and shoplifting. Another factor is that the Vatican doesn't have the infrastructure to prosecute criminals, and instead must pay to send them to Italy.

11. The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series, the Ottoman Empire was still in power. 

In October 14, 1908, the Chicago Cubs were enjoying their status as back-to-back World Series champions. Around the same time, the"Young Turk" revolution had taken hold and the Pasha family were governing the Ottoman Empire.

But the rest of the 20th century wasn't kind to either the baseball team or the empire, as the Cubs haven't won another World Series to this day and the Ottoman Empire collapsedfollowing its defeat in World War I. 

12. Bangladesh has a larger population than Russia.

Even though the Russian Federation is over 10 times the size of Bangladesh, its population of 142,960,868 falls short ofBangladesh's 153,405,612 people. In fact, with an average of 8.4 people per square kilometer, Russia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.

This has a lot to do with the fact that Russia's large borders encompass a lot of inhospitable territory. Only 13.1% of its land is used for agricultural purposes.‎

Nice

Awesome piece, will have to check out the site.

See another one: Russia is the only place in the world gas-flaring is legally permitted. The reason for this is the country's government's complaint of inhospitable cold which they hope continuous gas-flaring would warm up.

An enlightening piece.

Very educative

Oyinbo and American history truth. I was expecting scientific or nature facts

13. General Murtalar Muhammed is the greatest ruler Nigeria's ever had

Really? Vatican city with highest crime rate despite Pope's presence? His 'holiness' did not affect his Habitat.

Really cool

Op! U r gud. Whr z twaci? Plz giv him one glass of palmy drink ma brudah...... To ur gud health

ATMC:
Really? Vatican city with highest crime rate despite Pope's presence? His 'holiness' did not affect his Habitat.

Even if Christ lived there same is likely to happen since there's no facility to persecute an offender.

falseman:


Even if Christ lived there same is likely to happen since there's no facility to persecute an offender.

Good one man. I was about to tell her that even God as the Chief Judge of Humanity has never lead to a decrease in man inhumane to man.

stranqe facts..

How about Nigeria? Is Nigeria not the only country her president is an illiterate? Isn't that a fact that sounds like a lie, but actually true?

alright

Source

interesting facts

Russia
I like that country

I need Naija made facts.





The guy above me tho.. Who Russia don help

flowjoe:
Russia
I like that country

Have you being to Russia before making this statement?

Hmmmmm... Interesting facts

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mmm... quite informative

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Dongreat:


Have you being to Russia before making this statement?

oga oo, it's been not being
I haven't been there yet, but I'm gonna go der & get me a mikel-obi-like chic

flowjoe:

oga oo, it's been not being
I haven't been there yet, but I'm gonna go der & get me a mikel-obi-like chic

Oga English master, thank you for your correction, not needed but thanks anyway. One advice in life is judge a book after you have read it. Get to Russia or any other European country before you make conclusion about the standard of living.

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Dongreat:


Oga English master, thank you for your correction, not needed but thanks anyway. One advice in life is judge a book after you have read it. Get to Russia or any other European country before you make conclusion about the standard of living.

hhaha Bro no pun intended just kidding about the mikel stuff, but I'm going der. straight up!

flowjoe:

hhaha Bro no pun intended just kidding about the mikel stuff, but I'm going der. straight up!

No pun intended too man. Experience they say is the best and only master in life. I wish you goodluck on your green pasture.

irrelevant facts, none resonates with nigerians