If a picture is worth a thousand words, all of the words these pictures stand in for are probably “holy s***!” or “WTF?!” The pictures will melt your brains. The explanations will make you run screaming. Reading this list is like taking the red pill in The Matrix, and we’re not talking about those Reddit groups. Read on at your peril. But do read on, because you might learn a thing or two.
1. Coasters Galore
Don’t have a coaster? The bottom of a Starbucks plastic cup fits into the lid to form a moisture barrier for cleanliness. This will also prevent your iced coffee or tea from leaving that infamous watermark ring on your wooden furniture.
Actually, a lot of plastic cups probably have this feature. Next time you get a drink from a fast food place, try it out. We might have been ignoring free coasters our whole lives.
2. Chickens Can Swim (Sort Of)
Chickens can float on water just like ducks. But, unlike ducks, chickens do not have waterproof feathers and they become heavy when wet. Chickens have a natural instinct to swim and do not have to be taught.
That’s a polite way of saying, “Don’t go around throwing chickens into the water. They’ll hop in when they’re good and ready.”
3. Plates Included
Food containers from restaurants will sometimes form a useful plate or eating surface. Many Chinese food containers will, in fact, unfold to create a plate. Therefore, you won’t have to waste any time washing unnecessary dishes.
Also, if you don’t finish your meal, you can refold the container and store it in your fridge. Every college student should know this!
4. The Missing Step of Eating a Cupcake
You will never make a cupcake mess again. Most people struggle with how to eat a cupcake without getting icing all over their faces and fingers.
Instead of trying to open your mouth as wide as possible, create a cupcake sandwich with the icing in the middle. This may look silly, but it’s remarkably effective.
5. Why Your Dog Gets Water Everywhere When She Drinks
Dogs have what are known as “incomplete cheeks.” This is what enables your dog to open its mouth wide, but it also prevents them from having the suction ability humans use to drink.
Dogs drink water by forming a tiny cup with their tongue and flick it back into their mouth. This is why your dog can occasionally make a mess while drinking out of its water bowl.
6. Get Into Your Car Even When the Battery’s Dead
On many newer cars with keyless fobs, there is still a hidden key lock in case the fob fails. You can usually access it by removing a small panel.
Sometimes this you have to use the key to get the panel loose, but it’s still a great thing to know. After all, electronic fobs can cost around $100-$200 to replace.
7. Sir Penguin
There is a penguin named Nils Olav that the Norwegian Royal Guard knighted in 2008.
Don’t believe us? See for yourself.
Sir Nils was presented as a gift from Norway the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland. After Nils was adopted, he became the official mascot of the Norwegian Guard, where he climbed the ranks until he was presented with the prestigious honor of knighthood. Since then, the title has been passed down to three separate penguins. Sir Nils Olav III currently resides at the Edinburgh Zoo, and was even promoted to Brigadier in 2016.
8. Collect ‘Em All
The backs of British coins can be arranged to display the Royal Coat of Arms.
The redesigned coins were introduced in 2008. The only coin that does not have the reverse side redesigned was the two-pound coin.
9. Thanks, Snapple
It takes 243 Earth days for Venus to make a complete rotation on its own axis. But Venus takes 225 Earth days to make one complete orbit around the sun.
So one Venus year is 225 Earth days, and one Venus day is 243 Earth days. Mind blown.
10. Easter Island Dirt Bath
Many people are confused by this, but the Easter Island heads actually have bodies too. Archaeologists have known about the torsos since early excavations began in 1914. These statues range in size, and the tallest is 33 feet.
Although the reason behind these statues is somewhat unclear, many people believe that the giant stone figures were created to represent the indigenous Polynesians’ ancestors.
11. Clothing Store Illusions
All clothing stores are out to get you!
There are a lot of secrets in the retail industry, and this is one of them. This is another example of how things aren’t always what they seem! It should make you feel better about your inability to fold your jeans that perfectly.
In fact, they are drawn to the movement of the matador and the cape—not the color.
12. A Song of…Oops, All the Characters Are Dead
George R.R. Martin has killed off a lot of people in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. Since the book series was adapted for the small screen in 2011, there have been 133 on-screen deaths (in just four seasons!).
In addition, the deaths have been overwhelmingly male, with 116 male characters meeting their demise compared to only 17 female characters.
13. The Angry Earth
An earthquake in New Zealand buckled a railroad track into an S curve. You might think this image is Photoshopped, but it is not. It is just what the Earth will do when you fail to offer up enough sacrifices to the Gods of Rock and Fire.
Actually, a fault beneath the ground ruptured on Sept. 4, 2010 near the town of Canterbury, New Zealand. Somehow the quake mushed the ends of the track together, causing it to buckle in a totally bizarre way.
14. Huh?
This banana is the longest ever discovered. Of course, it’s that way because someone laid a bunch of bananas end to end.
We can’t tell if the spaces are Photoshopped together, or if they were just delicately sculpted to look like one long banana. But this is not one long banana. We’re glad we cleared that up.
15. Cute and Disturbing
Okay, so the caption of this 2012 tweet reads, “Cutest thing in the world.” That’s true just about up until you think of what we normally do with burritos.
That’s right, we’re afraid someone took a big juicy bite out of that dog. We hope they didn’t; we hope this is just a cute staged photo. But we can’t prove no one ate the dog-rito, can we? We cannot.
