20 Little-Known Facts That Seem Obvious Now But Most People Are Unaware Of

As kids, we thought we knew everything and were so fond of using the words, “I know, I know”. Maybe as a matter of ego, we wanted to appear knowledgeable and smart. But the wisest philosopher, Socrates acknowledged that “All I know is that I know nothing.”

Though we know so much there are still so many things to learn. The lessons never seem to stop. So when one Netizen inquired online “What’s a little-known but obvious fact that will immediately make all of us feel stupid?”, folks responded with a collection of insightful replies. If you have a curious mind, keep reading to learn all about the little-known facts of the world.

More info: Reddit

#1

You don’t actually bite down. You bite up because of your lower jaw.

#2

Cats, dogs, and other similar animals can’t see directly below their faces.

Because their snout gets in the way.

(That’s why you have to point out the treat a million times, they’re not stupid, the damn thing is just in their blind spot)

#3

911 operators have no f*****g clue where you are instantly unless you’re on a landline.

You HAVE to say where you are. It’s not our fault movies made you think we have a spy level video of you in your car.

Know your location.

#4

Percentages are reversible. 8% of 25 is the same as 25% of 8 and one of them is much easier to do in your head.

#5

Thee and Thou were actually the informal forms. The King James Bible used them so that the relationship with God would seem more personal.

#6

If you touch a baby bird, the mother will not reject it. I don’t even know who came up with it.

#7

World Wide Web contains fewer syllables than its intended short form – WWW, thus making the shorter version longer to say.

#8

Baby porcupines are called porcupettes.

#9

The words Laser and Scuba are actually acronyms and they stand for:

Laser- Light Amplification (by) Stimulated Emission (of) Radiation. Scuba- Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

#10

Antisocial means that you are hostile or harmful to organized society. As in being or marked by behavior deviating sharply from the social norm.

Asocial is rejecting or lacking the capacity for social interaction.

#11

Just like a dormitory is a place where you sleep, a laboratory is a place where you labor.

#12

Just like humans, British cows moo in regional accents.

#13

When a nurse gives you an IV – they aren’t leaving the metal needle inside your arm – they actually remove that and only a soft plastic tube remains – so you don’t need to keep your arm that straight, relax.

#14

you don’t give a person free REIGN, you give them free REIN.

a queen REIGNS over her queendom, but you REIN in a horse, which is where this comes from.

i see this mistake constantly, even in professional journalism, and it drives me nuts.

#15

Tear ducts drain tears, they don’t produce them.

#16

There’s a ‘d’ in fridge but not in refrigerator. It really bothers me…

#17

Most cats are like super lactose intolerant, and drinking milk is really really bad for them.

#18

Pufferfish are filled with water, not air. It wouldn’t even make sense, yet a lot of people are like what??

#19

Covered bridges are designed with roofs to protect and preserve the wooden structure from the elements. Without the cover they’d last about 20 years, with the cover they can last up to 100. They’re not built that way just to look charming.

#20

Words that are spelled the same but pronounced with emphasis on different syllables is actually indicative of the part of speech it is. Stress on the first syllable is a noun. Stress on the last syllable is a verb. Examples: CON-tract and con-TRACT. The former is a noun ( sign this contract) whereas the latter is a verb (the muscles contract). Same with record, address, impact, object, and a few others.

Shanilou Perera

Shanilou has always loved reading and learning about the world we live in. While she enjoys fictional books and stories just as much, since childhood she was especially fascinated by encyclopaedias and strangely enough, self-help books. As a kid, she spent most of her time consuming as much knowledge as she could get her hands on and could always be found at the library. Now, she still enjoys finding out about all the amazing things that surround us in our day-to-day lives and is blessed to be able to write about them to share with the whole world as a profession.