1. The T-Pose of an anteater only looks funny...
When an anteater stands up on its hind legs and spreads its forelegs, don’t assume that it wants to cuddle. Even though some people call this position the "anteater's hug," it’s anything but an expression of affection. The so-called T-pose is a warrior stance and a warning that the animal is about to attack. As a matter of fact, two South American men lost their lives in the past decade because they didn’t take the odd position seriously.
2. 15% of what you breathe in on public transportation are the dead skin cells of passengers.
If you’ve ever had a scratch or wound on your skin and watched it heal over time, you will have noticed the amazing regenerative abilities of your skin. Well, it turns out that the human skin is constantly renewing itself, injured or not, and much of the cells that flake off end up in the air or become dust particles. So, essentially, a significant amount of the air we inhale is polluted with dead skin cells.
3. This unassuming building may be the creepiest museum in the world.
This is the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a museum dedicated to collecting and displaying various rare and unusual mutations, and anomalies of the human anatomy. The museum is full of conserved specimens, internal organs, and models displaying creepy human diseases and genetic mutations. As the museum’s website suggests, it’s “disturbingly informative.”
4. Dracula does not exist, but vampire moths do!
Few people will be frightened by a mosquito or tick, but there’s one blood-sucking arthropod that’s legitimately creepy - Calyptra thalictri. This large moth has red eyes and feeds on human blood. Worst of all, they can latch onto your skin without being noticed and feed on your blood for nearly an hour!
5. The Transport Security Administration (TSA) missed more than 95% of contraband in a secret inspection conducted in 2015.
Now, this fact is creepy! A study with undercover agents who were tasked to smuggle contraband items like weapons and mock explosives through TSA checkpoints across the US found that the security check failed to detect 67 out of 70 attempts. This made the TSA ineffective at detecting 96% of the contraband attempts.
6. There is a rare condition called prosopagnosia that makes a person unable to recognize faces.
If that doesn’t sound scary, patients suffering from this condition often describe people’s faces as blank. They cannot recognize their friends and family, or even their own faces in the mirror. The condition develops as a result of brain trauma in an area of the brain called the fusiform gyrus, which is located at the back of the head near the base of the skull.
7. The original Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland used real skeletons.
The original Pirates of the Caribbean Disney ride opened in 1967, and this early version used real skeletons, arguing that the prosthetic versions they tried were not creepy enough. Disney used skeletons from the University of California Los Angeles’ anatomy department. Eventually, the skeletons were replaced, but many people believe that some of the ‘replicas’ are still real.
8. This cute frog has enough poison to kill 10-15 adults.
The golden poison frog (Phyllobates terribilis) inhabits the Pacific coast of Colombia. At first glance, this little frog may appear quite cute, but this first impression is highly misleading. In reality, the bright yellow skin of the frog is a red flag, as it is saturated in a deadly poison called alkaloid toxin. Just one milligram of the poison can make 10-15 adults drop dead in an instant.
9. The prehistoric inhabitants of England used human skulls as cups and bowls.
This fact is as creepy as it gets! It turns out that people who lived on the territory of modern-day England thousands of years ago hollowed human skulls and used them as drinking vessels. The specific skull from the image above was found in Gough's cave, in Somerset, England, and it’s about 14,700 years old.
10. The animals are by far not the deadliest part of Australian nature.
Australia is infamous for the many kinds of deadly animals that live there. But all these murderous creatures combined don’t come close to the deadliest natural phenomenon in Australia - the sun. It has been estimated that ⅔ of Australians will get skin cancer before they turn 70, and the mortality rate of skin cancer in the country is the highest in the world.
11. Aztec priests thought that the tears of children stopped droughts.
Of all the creepy ancient traditions and beliefs, this Aztec belief is by far the most spine-chilling. For those of you who don’t know, Aztecs believed in human sacrifice. More specifically, they sacrificed women and children as part of their ritual to sun god Huitzilopochtli when they experienced droughts, all because Aztec priests were convinced that their tears would bring the rain.
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