It is of common knowledge that the media tends to show and focus on the negative things that happen around the globe. But why not look at the bright side of life? Why can’t we concentrate on the happy and positive things that happen in the world? In this article, we will go over some random facts that have one thing in common: they will all make you smile.
We're All Made Of Stars
Have you ever asked yourself where human life stems from? Well, according to scientists, almost every element on Earth was formed at the heart of a star. And the different elements that the human body is composed of - like hydrogen or oxygen - were once formed in the interiors of collapsing stars. You're probably wondering what all of this means, right?
Well, to put things straight, we were all made of remnants of stars and massive explosions in the galaxies. This means that in a way, we are all made of stardust. So next time you're staring out the window and gazing at the stars, you should give this a thought!
People Naturally Smile
Being blind is more common than you'd think: there are 39 million in the world. If you've ever met a blind person before, you may have noticed that they smile just like everyone else. But have you ever wondered how blind people learn to smile if they've never seen anyone else smile before?
According to a series of studies carried out in 2008 by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, sighted and blind individuals use the same facial expressions than everyone else, producing the same facial muscle movements as a response to certain emotional stimulations. Thus, smiles - amongst many other facial movements - are innate. In other words, smiles are ingrained in our genes. Isn't that cute?
Turtles Breathe Through Their Butts
We already learned a couple of new things about cows, but what do you know about turtles? These animals are also quite unique. To begin with, very few animals outlive turtles: they can live over 70 years, while the giant tortoises can live up to 150 years! What is more, in order to tell the age of a turtle, you must count the number of rings on the turtle's scutes: two rings account for one year.
But these are not the only curious facts about these funny-looking animals. The funniest feature of turtles is that they breathe out of their butt when they hibernate. If we get technical, it's not so much as breathing: what they actually do is diffuse oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. But if we want to keep it simple, it is accurate to state that when turtles hibernate, their butt is their main source of oxygen.
Wonderful Ideas Originated In Dreams
Dreams are one of the phenomena that have been investigated the most by psychologists. And here are some interesting facts about dreams: it has been proven that people forget up to 90% of the things that they dream of. In turn, within 5 minutes of walking, half of your dreams are forgotten.
But here's an interesting fact that will definitely make you smile: several of history's major breakthroughs have stemmed from dreams. For example, Google, the structure of DNA, and the song Yesterday of The Beatles were all ideas that came from dreams.
Rabbits Have Their Own Sport
Rabbits are one of the few mammals that are kept as domestic pets. However, there are several things that people don't usually know about them. For instance, did you know that their vision covers nearly 360 degrees? And did you know that their teeth never stop growing?
But what's even funnier is that Sweden has a rabbit show jumping competition called Kaninhop, which has been modeled after horse-back jumping. There are different types of competitions: they can either consist of a straight course, a crooked course, high jump, or long jump. What's the next step? A rabbit academy?
Can Spaghetti Grow On Trees?
The fact that spaghetti is made of flour - usually wheat flour - is a fact of general knowledge. However, it happens to be that in 1957, a BBC News program claimed that spaghetti grew on trees on a farm in Switzerland. I'm pretty sure that all of you who are reading this are fully aware that this is a joke. However, it turns out that at that time, not everyone became aware of this.
So after the program was broadcasted, many viewers believed that what the report said was true, and started calling the BBC to find out how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. As you can see, some people are so gullible, that you can't help but smile at their innocence!
You Were Once The Youngest Of All
Do any of you know how many people live on the planet? 7.7 billion people. And do you know how many people are born each day? Well, according to the most accepted statistics, around 360,000 babies born per day, which means that an average of 15,000 of them are born per hour. That is more than twice the number of people that die each day.
But did you ever think that you were once the youngest person alive? But don't get too excited, because you were probably the youngest person on earth only for like a fraction of a microsecond. Your thunder was stolen in no time!
The Beatles Used The Word "Love" 613 Times
Music fans, beware! You'll definitely like this one! I bet all of you are familiar with the British pop and rock band The Beatles. The band was formed in 1960 and is often regarded as the most influential band in the history of music. They have recorded over 280 songs during the ten years they were together.
One of the band's most famous songs is All You Need Is Love, which was written in 1965 and belongs to the famous album Magical Mystery Tour. But what many people don't know is that the word "love" appears in dozens of other of the band's songs. As a matter of fact, can you care to guess how many times the word "love" appears in all of the Beatles' songs? 613 times! Now there's a happy fact that you'll never forget.
Lions Sleep All The Time
Lions are one of the world's most feared creatures. However, if you ever come across a lion in the middle of the jungle, there's a high chance it won't attack you. Do you know why? Basically, because there's an 80% chance that it'll be fast asleep. The thing is, male lions sleep from 18 to 20 hours per day, while female lions sleep from 15 to 18 hours per day. Can you imagine sleeping for so much time?
However, this is not the only crazy feature of lions. Another curious fact is that a lion's roar can be heard from an 8-kilometer distance! Imagine how annoying it must be if a lion roars right next to your ear!
Squirrels Plant Thousands Of Trees
Squirrels are one of the cutest mammals in the world. And some of their features make them even cuter. For instance, most people know that they love to dig, but did you know that squirrels can smell food under a foot of snow, and then bury into the snow until they find it? Also, did you know that 25% of their food is stolen from other squirrels?
But what is perhaps the cutest thing about squirrels is the way that they help the environment. The thing is, squirrels always bury the nuts that they find beneath the ground. But even though they usually dig them out, many of these nuts remain beneath the earth, thus resulting in the growth of trees. As a result, squirrels are responsible for planting thousands of new trees each year simply by forgetting where they put their acorns.
Some Macaques Use Vending Machines
There are thousands of different species of primates around the world. Amongst these, we have the Japanese macaque, native to the snowy mountainous regions of the country's northern provinces. Although most monkeys live in warm climates, these ones can deal with temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit, mainly due to its extremely thick fur.
But if there's one thing that all primates have in common is their wit. And above all, Japanese macaques, as well as most primates, come up with extremely smart and hilarious methods of finding food. As a matter of fact, on several occasions, Japanese macaques have been spotted using coins in order to buy vending machine snacks in shops. At any time they'll start using credit cards!
A Penguin Named Knight
Penguins are quite a unique species. While most birds have wings for flying, penguins have adapted flippers for swimming in the water, making them one of the few flightless birds. All of the penguins in the world live beneath the Equator, except for the Galapagos Penguins. But the photo shown below was taken in Norway. What was a penguin doing in Norway?
The penguin's name is Nis Olav, who lives in Edinburgh Zoo. He happens to be the mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard, and King Harald V named him knight on August 15, 2008. But apparently, this title wasn't good enough for little Olav, so on August 22, 2016, he was promoted to brigadier, in a ceremony attended by over 50 members of the King's Guard.
Rats Laugh When Tickled
Even though most people are afraid of rats, they're actually quite adorable creatures. To begin with, they're quite sociable creatures. In fact, they can become lonely and depressed when alone. Moreover, they tend to take care of injured and sick rats belonging to their group. You can't deny that's extremely cute!
But what is more, it happens to be that rats make happy sounds when they play which resemble laughter. As a matter of fact, they "laugh" when they are tickled. If you don't believe me, then you must know that scientists have carried on research as to the reactions that take place in a rat's brain when tickled. It appears to be that they enjoy being tickled on their backs and bellies and that they let out tiny giggles, even though the sounds are usually too high for us to hear.
The Voices Of Mickey And Minnie Got Married
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse are one of the oldest and most loved of all the cartoons ever created. But did you know that Mickey was inspired by the pet mouse that Walt Disney had as a child? And here goes another Mickey-related fun fact: did you know that each and every US president has posed with Mickey Mouse, except for Lyndon B. Johnson?
But here's the most adorable fact of all: the voices of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse got married in real life. Wayne Allwine, the man who played Mickey, and Russi Taylor, the woman who played Minnie, met in 1977 and decided to get married in 1991. How cute is that?
Puffins Mate For Life
Puffins are a very unique species of bird. To begin with, they are only found in Iceland, and nowhere else in the world. Secondly, look at how peculiar their features are! The colors of their beak are so bright that they look fake. As a matter of fact, their beaks are so peculiar that they change colors throughout the year: in winter they have a dull grey color, while in spring they turn orange!
But one of their cutest and most interesting features is that puffins usually mate for life, being one of the most monogamous animals in the world. In fact, couples usually go back to the exact same place to nest year after year. They even perform a mating ceremony with their loved one, in which they gently rub their beaks together. Moreover, to make them even cuter, they tend to build their nests on cliff sides, and they even care to make a separate room for their toilet.
Bhutan Has A Gross National Happiness Index
The Kingdom of Bhutan is not a very well-known country, especially due to the fact that it receives a very little amount of tourists per year. Several things make this country one of a kind. To begin with, smoking has been absolutely prohibited all throughout the country since 2004. Secondly, the country's capital Thimphu has no traffic lights. How weird is that?
But the country's most striking feature is that it has replaced the western concept of Gross National Product by that of "Gross National Happiness". This index is obtained by taking into account a wide series of factors, such as good governance, natural environment, cultural values, and sustainable growth.
You Can't Own Just One Guinea Pig In Switzerland
Guinea pigs are loveable creatures. But although most of us have seen a guinea pig at some point in our lives, there are several things that we don't usually know about them. On the first hand, paradoxically, they are not from Guinea: on the contrary, they originated somewhere near Bolivia and Peru, in the Andes region in South America.
But the funniest guinea-pig-related fact is that in Switzerland, it's illegal to own only one guinea pig. According to an animal rights law introduced in 2008, denying your guinea pig pet the chance of socializing with others of its species is an act of cruelty that is forbidden. If this hasn't made you smile, then I don't know what else can!
Sea Otters Hold Hands
Sea otters are one of the cutest animals in the world. If you wish to see one, then Alaska is the place to go, since that's where 90% of the world's sea otters live! They're also very hungry animals: believe it or not, they eat 25% of their body weight in food each day.
But even though most of you are familiar with this animal, I bet none of you knew that otters actually hold hands. But if you find this cute, wait until you know the reason behind it: it turns out that they hold their hands tight in order to keep from floating away from each other. As a matter of fact, otters like to stick together, so when they sleep they wrap themselves in seaweed and float together in a group, usually pairing up to hold hands.
Male Puppies Let Females Win When Playing
Dogs are probably the world's most common animals. But let's talk about what people don't usually know about them. For instance, did you know that a dog's sense of smell is 10,000 times stronger than that of a human? Did you also know that dogs can actually feel jealous if humans display affection towards another person?
What is more, recent studies have proven that when male dogs play with female dogs, they often let the females "win" (for example, letting her keep the bone when fighting over it), even if the male has a marked physical advantage. This conduct is usually observed in puppies, though adults may also behave the same way at times. Doesn't this make you smile?
Cows Have Best Friends
All of us are familiar with cows. They're practically one of the commonest animals, right after cats and dogs. But these animals have several unique features that little do we know about. For instance, did you know that a cow needs to drink an average of 40 gallons of water per day in order to survive? Or that an average cow chews 50 times per minute?
But apart from the random facts I've just mentioned, here's the cutest thing about cows that you probably don't know about: they are very sociable animals and they frequently make best friends. According to research carried out by scientists at Northampton University, not only do they have best friends, but they also get stressed when separated.
Cows Produce More Milk When Listening To Music
Yes, we're back to cows! Apart from the facts that we've already talked about, it is also worth mentioning that cows hear both lower and higher frequencies better than humans. And now that we're covering the topic of sounds, here's a happy fact: cows actually seem to enjoy music.
Although this sounds like a joke, studies have actually been carried out in order to measure the effects that music has on cows. According to the research's findings, cows produce more milk while listening to soothing music. In the fieldwork of one of these studies, they played R.E.M's Everybody Hurts. Who would've known that cows were into an alternative rock?
Gentoo Penguins Propose To Each Other
Yes, we're back to penguins! But know we're gonna talk about a different species: the one that was named knight was a king penguin, while the ones that appear in this photo are Gentoo penguins. This particular species of penguins are known for the fact that they elaborate very sophisticated nests: they make them out of different materials, ranging from pebbles, molted feathers, and vegetation.
But the cutest thing of all is that Gentoo penguins, which show monogamous behaviors, "propose" to their lifemates. And do you know how they do it? With a pebble! It has been proven that male Gentoo penguins offer a pebble to the female Gentoo, and then wait for the female to show any sign of affection. If she does, then a couple is sometimes formed.
The Marvel Superhero With A Hearing Aid
Though initially with a different name, Marvel started in 1939, and it is believed that a total of 7,000 characters have been invented in all of Marvel's comics. But even though Spiderman, Thor, and Ironman the most famous of all, there's one particular superhero that almost nobody knows, and he happens to be the sweetest of all.
The superhero that I'm talking about is Blue Ear —he happens to be a superhero with a special listening device, which gives him the power of supersonic hearing. It was created in honor of Anthony Smith, a 4-year-old boy born with a hearing disorder called mosaic trisomy. The point was to encourage little Anthony to use a hearing aid of his own without feeling embarrassed. Isn't that one of the sweetest stories you've ever heard?
Dolphins Give Each Other Names
Penguins are probably one of the sweetest animals in the world. To begin with, they are one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. Second of all, they are extremely protective: as a matter of fact, they are often seen sticking together with sick, the old and the injured in their pod. Thirdly, they tend to be very friendly towards human beings as well as to other animals.
But apart from all the things listed above, their most adorable feature is the fact that they give each other names. Although it seems like something completely made up, this has been proved by scientists. Research has shown that dolphins develop their own individual whistles and they recognize both their own and other people's names.
Elephants Eat All Day
Elephants are one of the cutest animals of all time. They are obviously known for their huge size and enormous ears, but also because of their longevity: in fact, they have the same lifespan than humans. Their tusks are made up of ivory, which is something extremely rare to find in an animal.
But the funniest thing about elephants is that they eat all day long. Literally. Well, almost literally, since they eat from 18 to 20 hours per day. There are two main reasons for this: on the one hand, they weigh from 3 to 5 tons, and as you can imagine, an incredibly high amount of calories are needed in order to keep these big guys going! But on the other hand, they are vegetarians, and it is widely known that leaves and grass have way fewer calories than meat. So if you come across an elephant, there's a 79.2% chance that he'll be eating!
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