Ah, the Internet– talk about a double-edged sword! On one hand, it’s the most miraculous invention of the century, an intangible entity that connects people all over the world. 

On the other hand, it can be really, really distracting.

After all, how can you possibly focus on your work if you know that there is a machine on your desk that will deliver millions of photos of adorable puppies and babies and kitties and pigs at your beck and call?

Yep, that’s a double-edged sword if we’ve ever heard of one…

BUT, adorable conundrums aside, another thing that the Internet excels at is delivering lots and lots of facts! With just a simple Google search, you can be taken far down a rabbit hole where you’ll learn a ton of useless AND not-so-useless information!

Just the other day we found ourselves on yet another one of these aimless “fact-finding missions” and had quite the revolutionary thought– why don’t we share these findings with our readers? Yep, revolutionary, indeed.

So, without further ado, here are 17 facts that will absolutely blow your mind. Lucky for you, we’ve also included images to help you remember the data.

But we do have to warn you: after seeing some of these, we’re guessing you won’t want to attribute ALL of the images to the factoids. Seriously, guys, you won’t think of things the same way again. Confused yet? You’ll see what we mean…

1. Space smells REALLY bad

   Apparently, it smells like a mixture of diesel fumes, gunpowder, and barbecue smoke. Weird, right?

2. Your splayed fingers would have helped you in geography class

   We’re learning this tip about 20 years too late!

3. You can tell the direction you’re facing by looking at the sun

   North is at noon, east at three o’clock, south at six o’clock, and west at nine o’clock. Also, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Get it??

4. Traffic lights are WAY bigger than they seem

   In fact, each one is about the size of a small child. Time to re-think everything that you see from your car window from now on…

5. A chef’s torque (hat) symbolizes a culinary tradition

   Each torque is comprised of 100 pleats. Why? The number is meant to symbolize the number of ways you can cook an egg.

6. Sharks are less of a threat to us than we are to each other

   In fact, people bite people 10 times more often in NYC annually than sharks bite people in the OCEAN annually. Yep, gotta love the Big Apple!

7. You’re never supposed to shake a Polaroid picture

   Apparently, it damages the photo permanently. Thanks a lot, Andre 3000!

8. Van Gough painted “The Starry Night” while he was in a mental institution

   This was the view that he saw out of his window while he was a patient at Saint-Paul de Mausole asylum. Suddenly, this painting is even more striking to us than it was before…

9. Adding bubbles to your bathwater keeps it warmer for longer

   Yet another great reason to enjoy a bubble bath after a hard day’s work.

10. A group of pugs is called a “grumble”

    Quite the fitting name, if you ask us!

11. Colonial-era prisoners used to be served lobster

    Back in the day, the shellfish was cheap and very easy to come by. Times sure have changed!

12. Crayola packages have a hidden “smile” on them

    Can you spot it??

13. And the Goodwill logo contains a hidden “G”

    And can you spot this one, too?

14. The inventor of the Pringles cylinder had an odd last request

    He demanded that his remains be placed in one before he was buried. We’re not kidding!

15. You can figure out the number of days in each month by looking at your knuckles

    Start with January. If the month is on the knuckle “bump,” then it has 31 days!

16. An average cloud weighs “100 elephants” and a storm cloud weighs “200,000 elephants”

    An average elephant weighs about 5 tons, just for reference. Bet you won’t think of clouds — or elephants — the same way again!

17. Your thumb and middle finger don’t make a snapping sound when rubbed together

    The sound actually comes from your palm!

We’d love to hear your take on this list! Were you aware of any of the facts? Do you know of any others that you think we should add to the list? Are there any that you wish you could “unhear?”

Sources: Mental Floss
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