11 Surprising Facts You've Probably Never Heard Before

Buzz Feed

2 days ago

I recently read The Wedding People by Alison Espach — 10/10 by the way, highly recommend — and one of the chapters mentioned that when bugs land on your food, they vomit on it before eating it.
After getting over the immediate shock and disgust, I immediately had to Google it to see if it was true. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's very, very true. The longer they sit on your food, the more likely it is that they threw up AND pooped on it, particularly on solid foods.
"Flies don't have teeth," according to an article from the University of Sydney. "They can't take a bite out of our food, so they have to spit out some enzyme-rich saliva that dissolves the food, allowing them to suck up the resulting soup of regurgitated digestive fluids and partially dissolved food.In most instances, spotting a fly on your food doesn't mean you need to throw it out. While there is little doubt that flies can carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites from waste to our food, a single touchdown is unlikely to trigger a chain reaction leading to illness for the average healthy person.Flies that land out of sight and wander about for a few minutes vomiting and pooping on your food or food preparation area are more of a concern. The more time passes, the greater the chance of pathogens left behind by the flies growing and multiplying on our food. That's when health risks increase."
After finding that out, I was inspired to share some other interesting facts. So, without further ado, here we go:
Jared Leto gave Margot Robbie a rat as a Suicide Squad gift.
Margot and Jared starred in the 2016 David Ayer's film Suicide Squad, based on the popular DC comics. The two got into character to portray the villainous lovers, Harley Quinn and Joker. To show his appreciation, Jared gave Margot a special present."When we shot Suicide Squad, not The Suicide Squad, Mr J (Jared) gave me a rat and he became a beloved pet," Margot said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "We called him Rat Rat. He liked beer and bath time. Then the landlord of the place I was renting found out I had a rat and said Rat Rat had to go. And so then Jai Courtney, who plays Captain Boomerang, said, 'I'll take Rat Rat.' And then his landlord wasn't cool with that either, and so then one of the costumers on the job took Rat Rat. And then she had to give Rat Rat away, and Rat Rat - she gave him to Guillermo del Toro's daughters [who] apparently have rats."
The ice cream used for commercials, TV, and movies, might actually be a completely different food.
Oftentimes, when you see ice cream used on the big and small screen, it's actually mashed potatoes. As anyone who has ever eaten ice cream in life knows, the popular dairy product melts very quickly, especially when it's being used under hot studio lights. Companies instead use mashed potatoes because they give a similar look, they don't melt, and by adding food dye, they can easily mimic any ice cream color. Mashed potatoes have also been featured as substitutes for meat.*Bonus: Shaving cream is sometimes used instead of whipped cream and glue is used instead of milk.
Leonardo DiCaprio used to be a breakdancer with a unique nickname.
Remember those moves he pulled out for The Wolf of Wall Street? Well, that wasn't something he learned for the 2013 film. In fact, Leo was actually a breakdancer when he was younger and was given the nickname The Noodle from his community of breakdancers due to his flexible limbs. He even competed in a breakdancing competition in Germany and placed second.
If you haven't seen The Wolf of Wall Street, here's a glimpse of Leo in action:
There are "Asian unicorns" in Vietnam...but it's not what you think.
There's a rare mammal species known as the Saola, native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. The Saolas are also known as spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid. The species was first documented in 1992, and they've been rarely seen since. They are reportedly "critically endangered." They're recognized for their sharp parallel horns and white markings on their face. Despite resembling antelope, they're actually related to cattle.
Toto the dog was paid more for The Wizard of Oz than some of its human costars.
In the iconic 1939 film, Toto was played by a Cairn Terrier named Terry. The canine earned $125 per week. That's nearly triple of what the actors who played the Munchkins were paid. They were only given $50 a week.
Ketchup was once used as medicine.
Before it became a staple at restaurants, cookouts, and homes around the world, ketchup was once used to cure a string of ailments. That's right, the second most popular condiment on Earth was once prescribed by doctors to cure things like indigestion, diarrheumatism, and jaundice in the 1830s.In 1834, Dr. John Cooke Bennett invented tomato ketchup as a cure and it took off. This was during a time when the Cholera outbreaks swept through communities around the world. In 19th-century America, tomatoes were thought to be deadly and poisonous, but after many tests, tomato ketchup prevailed. It became so popular that Dr. Bennett even made tomato pills.
Some of the dinosaur sounds you hear in Jurassic Park are actually animals mating.
Creating sounds for an extinct species can be hard. So, Gary Rydstrom, a Lucasfilm sound designer, decided to get creative. The noise the velociraptors make in Jurassic Park is actually the sound of tortoises having sex.
Chainsaws were invented to help aid women during childbirth.
The hand-cranked chainsaw was invented by Scottish doctors John Aitken and James Jeffray. It was specifically used during a procedure called symphysiotomy, where doctors cut the pubic cartilage to widen the pelvis and create more room to deliver the child. It reportedly provided a "quicker" and "safer" way to perform the procedure versus using knives and bone saws. According to Business Insider, "Two doctors invented the chainsaw in 1780 to make the removal of the pelvic bone easier and less time-consuming during childbirth. It was powered by a hand crank and looked like a modern-day kitchen knife with little teeth on a chain that wound in an oval."
Keanu Reeves has a private foundation that he doesn't want his his name connected to.
Known for his kind and generous demeanor, Keanu funds a foundation that specializes in cancer research and aids children's hospitals.'I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research,' Keanu told Ladies Home Journal in 2009 per Vogue, adding, 'I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does.'And if that wasn't pure enough, Keanu also auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom date with him in June of 2020 to benefit Camp Rainbow Gold, an Idaho-based children's cancer charity. The bidding went up to a whopping $16,600.
Belgium used to have a feline-based mail delivery service.
In the 1870s, cats were used to deliver mail in Belgium, but the system didn't last long because it proved to be unreliable."Belgian authorities, who in the 1870s recruited 37 cats to deliver mail via waterproof bags attached to their collars. It was an idea posited by the Belgian Society for the Elevation of the Domestic Cat, which felt cats' natural sense of direction was not being fully exploited. During a trial, the cats were rounded up from their villages near Liège, taken a few miles away, and burdened with a note in a bag - with the idea that the cat would return home complete with missive."
Lastly, the inventor of the Pringles can is buried in his creation.
Pringles can inventor Fred Baur died in 2008 at the age of 89. He made a very interesting request when it came to where his ashes would be preserved."At his request, some of Baur's ashes were buried in the very container that helped launch a billion-dollar snack food," NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
Do you know any wild, cool, bizarre or super interesting facts that a lot of people don't know? Share them with me below!