Get ready to impress your friends with these surprising facts that most people don’t know!
1. Salt is not a spice or an herb — it’s a mineral!
Harvested from sea water or mined from underground rock deposits, salt is one of the only minerals we eat directly.
2. Sugar isn’t just sweet—it’s a preservative.
In high concentrations, sugar prevents bacteria and mold from growing, which is why it’s used in jams and syrups.
3. Honey never spoils.
Archaeologists found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that were still perfectly edible after thousands of years.
4. Bananas are technically berries, but strawberries aren’t.
Botanically speaking, bananas fit the scientific definition of a berry, while strawberries do not.
5. A day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus.
It takes Venus about 243 Earth days to rotate once, but only 225 Earth days to orbit the sun.
6. Water can boil and freeze at the same time.
This phenomenon is called the “triple point,” where all three phases of matter—solid, liquid, and gas—exist simultaneously.
7. Your body has more bacterial cells than human cells.
You’re actually made up of about 57% microbial cells—most of them living in your gut.
8. Peanuts aren’t nuts—they’re legumes.
Unlike walnuts or almonds, peanuts grow underground and belong to the same family as beans and lentils.
9. Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood.
Two hearts pump blood to the gills, and one to the rest of the body. Their blue blood comes from copper, not iron.
10. A bolt of lightning is five times hotter than the surface of the sun.
Reaching temperatures of 30,000°C (54,000°F), lightning can heat the air so fast that it causes the explosive sound of thunder.
11. Humans glow in the dark—just very faintly.
Our bodies emit a small amount of visible light, but it’s 1,000 times weaker than what the naked eye can detect.
12. Sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins.
By slowing their heart rate, sloths can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes—compared to a dolphin’s average of 10 minutes.