Some Fun Facts that You Might Not Know

I always find it interesting to know some anecdotes that can surprise people. They are useful for starting a conversation, switching topics, and of course, showing off your erudition. Below are 10 fun facts (maybe not so fun, but whatever) that are interesting to hear about and can enrich your knowledge. If you already know any of them, rejoice in being knowledgeable; if not, hopefully they will make your day.

Now, here we go...

Fun Facts about Famous People:

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  1. Albert Einstein was not poor in Math. At 16, he scored 1 out of 6 in his high school in Aargau, Switzerland, with 1 being the highest grade and 6 the lowest. The next year he scored 6 because the grading system was reversed. Nevertheless, he wasn’t good at French.

  2.  Sir Isaac Newton died a bachelor. Besides his glorious achievements, including the invention of Calculus, the great scientist had an unpleasant personality. He was ruthless towards other scientists, such as Robert Hooke, whose reputations and works were still attacked by Newton even after Hooke’s death. He also possessed little empathy and warmth for others, remained solitary with few friends, and was pretty much a hypochondriac. Perhaps it was better for women to stay away from him.

    You might not know that Newton has also made a list of his sins. He probably realized his insolence later.



Fun Facts about Celebrities:

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  1. Taylor Swift has three cats: Dr. Meredith Gray, a Scottish fold cat named after Meredith Gray in Grey's Anatomy; Olivia Benson, another Scottish fold cat named after a character in Law & Order: SVU; and Benjamin Button, a Ragdoll cat named after the main character in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. They all appear in the 'ME!' Music Video.

  2. By the way, Taylor Swift’s favourite number is 13. She believes that it’s her lucky number and shows it everywhere. You can probably find some 13s in her music videos.

  3. A former member of One Direction, Liam Payne has a spoon phobia (it’s called Koutaliaphobia). Not that he is afraid of spoons, but his childhood experience of washing dirty spoons at his school (as a punishment) traumatized him. Sanitary issues, understandable.

  4. The Jonas Brothers has a “Bonus Jonas”: Frankie Jonas. He is 20 now, seven years younger than his third brother, Nick Jonas. Now Frankie is a TikTok star and attends Columbia University.

  5. Elon Musk is the current richest person in the world. He surpasses second place, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of 184.1 billion dollars. As a founder of SpaceX and owning 21% of Tesla,  Musk’s net worth is about 1.5 million times more than the median net worth ($121,700) of US families. He can probably buy a country, if possible—the gdp of Algeria is $168 billion.


Fun Facts about Animals:

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  1. Albatrosses spend most of their life in the air and only land to mate. They can travel around the world in 46 days in a single flight. Sadly, these amazing birds are now endangered.

  2. When honeybees sleep, they hold each other’s feet. Probably to prevent others from falling over in their dreams.

  3. Woodpeckers have really long tongues that they wrap around their skulls. This adaptation helps them hunt the insects in narrow openings. It also prevents them from getting a concussion.


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*Special thanks to Caroline Beisher, Sofia Monteleone, Caroline Bates, Brasley Zanaty, Henry Spradlin, and Catherine Kung for contributing to this fun facts list.

Angela Yang '22