Who doesn’t love a deep dive into a rabbit hole of interesting facts? I know I do… sometimes (or often) at the most ungodly hours. But every now and again, I come across something that I wish I hadn’t. The type of information I’m convinced I was better off not knowing. The stuff that keeps me awake even later at night, brewing over, or worrying about, whatever it was that I just read.
Did you know that thousands of lives are cut short every year because of doctors’ sloppy handwriting? Or that when a pregnant woman is buried, the gases inside her can push the baby out… A grim occurrence known as coffin birth. These are just two creepy facts that were mentioned when someone posted on TikTok, “Tell me the scariest fact you know. I don’t want to sleep tonight.“
Bored Panda has bravely gone through more than 20,000 comments to select the ones that gave us a case of the creeps. Feel free to add more in the comments section, and don’t forget to upvote your favorites.
#1
After 9/11, the rescue dogs searching the rubble started to become depressed because they weren’t finding any live bodies. Rescue workers started burying themselves in the ruins so the dogs could actually manage to ‘save’ someone.
Image source: 0liliac_edits0, Shantanu Goyal
If you’re just learning (from this list) that thousands of people pass away every year due to messy handwriting on doctors’ notes, you’re not alone. It does sound crazy… Although now that we think about it, it kinda makes sense. Many of us have tried, and failed, to read what’s meant to be a diagnosis and script for medication. And while jokes aplenty have been made about doctors’ handwriting, it’s no laughing matter.
An estimated 7,000 people suffer fatal consequences every year because of illegible scribbles on prescriptions, medical charts or notes. And according to a report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a further 1.5 million injuries occur annually due to pharmacists and healthcare workers misreading sloppy handwriting.
#2
Thousands of people [pass away] every year because of messy handwriting on doctors’ notes.
Image source: allstartedwthebigbang, Getty Images
#3
When a [deceased] pregnant woman is buried, the gases inside can push the baby out, which is also [deceased]. This is called coffin birth.
Image source: farfromthelighttheygo, Pablo Merchán Montes
A rather old (2005) study produced some shocking results. Three surgeons in the U.K. randomly selected operative notes from an orthopedic ward. Nurses, physiotherapists, and medical officers were then asked to rate the legibility of the notes.
Get this: only a quarter of the notes were rated as good or excellent. 37% were categorized as poor. And yes, times have moved since two decades ago, with electronic prescription systems and technology available at our fingertips, but many doctors around the world still choose to use a pen and paper to write prescriptions and notes.
#4
There are over 300 bodies on the tops of Mount Everest.
Image source: luke.bet, Parth Savani
#5
There’s a rare brain disorder called Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI), where a person loses the ability to sleep completely. No matter how exhausted they get, their brain’s sleep center shuts down permanently. Within months, they begin hallucinating, lose control of their body, and eventually [pass away] from total sleep deprivation. There’s no cure, and it’s genetically inherited, meaning if one parent has the gene, their child has a 50% chance of developing it later in life.
Image source: myluv.kiki, Getty Images
#6
MrBeast has more subscribers than the population of the United States.
Image source: mr..candr, mrbeast
At least one expert says patients should never be afraid to ask for clarity when it comes to a badly-written doctor’s note.
“Your health is worth a quick question or two, and most healthcare providers welcome the chance to ensure understanding,” wrote Dr Nyandia Maina, adding that doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and patients all play a role in catching potential errors before it’s too late.
#7
Every time you lay your head down in bed could be the last time. No need for theories when Aneurysms exist.
Image source: nouserfound41112, Getty Images
#8
Your mind can create false memories.
Image source: sugurugeto316, Getty Images
#9
We are on a rock floating in the middle of a dark void we don’t understand.
#10
Carbon monoxide is completely odorless, tasteless and invisible. And it can [end] you in your sleep without warning. Get a detector if you don’t have one.
Image source: Chance_Pair_6807, syda_productions
#11
There are thousands of creatures lurking at the bottom of the ocean we have never seen..
Image source: Specialist-Freedom64, Bobbi Wu
#12
There’s microplastics in your bloodstream and organs.
Image source: GayGorillaBioligist, wirestock_creators
#13
There are more bacterial cells in your gut than human cells in your body. These bacterial colonies are essential and can manipulate your health, mood, and behaviour.
Image source: Random-Mutant, Getty Images
#14
Your reflection is lying to you. You’ve never seen your own face. Only distorted reflections and pictures. Your brain actively edits what you see in the mirror to fit what it thinks you look like.
Image source: rwphax, Elisa Photography
#15
Not scary, but makes me sad. The cut grass smell that we love is grass telling other grass it’s under attack.
Image source: drifted78
#16
If you stare at yourself in the mirror for too long, especially in dim lighting, your brain starts to mess with you. Your eyes lose focus and your brain fills in the blanks — distorting your face until it looks warped, unfamiliar, or even monstrous.
Image source: theworldisdistorted2
#17
Chronic stress can cause your brain to start literally eating itself.
Image source: autxmn_mustdie, Getty Images
#18
Your organs could start failing at any moment without you knowing until it’s too late.
Image source: christmaskanao
#19
There are bees that eat flesh, they make honey, but MEAT honey.
Image source: amxliah5
#20
There are babies that are born with all of their organs outside of their bodies.
Image source: jordan.fay5
#21
If your immune system finds out you have eyes, it will attack them and you could go blind.
Image source: what_the_skibidi_rizzlr
#22
The movie the human centipede was inspired by real things that happened in Unit 731 during WW2.
Image source: itsveryundecided, Karolina Grabowska
#23
The earth, the solar system, even our galaxy and the ones surrounding it are all moving towards a massive region of gravity called ‘The Great Attractor’ and we don’t know what the great attractor is.
Image source: mrcasualcat
#24
There’s a real medical condition where a persons body starts shedding layers of skin much faster than normal, leaving them in constant pain and wrapped in bandages, so they are technically skinless.
Image source: yeezyyyyyyyyyy
#25
You’re not scared of being alone in the dark, you’re scared of not being alone in the dark.
Image source: flyingbobaytack1
#26
There will be a last time your name is ever spoken — and you won’t be alive to know when it happens.
Image source: jc_boxing1
#27
You’re not scared of heights, you’re scared of falling.
Image source: giraffe1738
#28
Your eyes see the world upside down so your brain flips it back.
Image source: klojo02
#29
India could send 2 million people to every country in the planet and STILL have 1 billion population.
Image source: der_bar20
#30
People’s final phone photos often show them smiling seconds before an accident. The unsettling part? They didn’t know it was their last one.
Image source: sugurugeto316
#31
There are documented cases of people who vanished in their own homes no sign of forced entry, no evidence, nothing but silence.
Image source: sugurugeto316
#32
If you’re ever in a forest and it goes fully silent, like FULLY silent. Never turn on a light or make noise. fine the nearest object, rock or tree, and lay down and wait for sunrise. If the crickets stop making noise then it means a big predator is coming and you have to hide.
Image source: user0643831568
#33
If your body randomly gets goosebumps or you get a burst of energy unexpectedly then that mean your body has picked up in something subconsciously and is preparing for a response in case it needs one.
Image source: _xstrenzo_
#34
The brain named itself.
Image source: strawberry_freckles_
#35
We have not discovered half of history yet…
Image source: es16743
#36
Live maggots have been found in nasal cavities.
Image source: hedudt
#37
Your body is at its weakest when it hits 3am.
Image source: mrtakeyoshordy
#38
The universe can collapse in any moment and you would not even realise that you were erased.
Image source: black.boy4962
#39
The fact is that you alone in your brain you can’t prove that there are objects around you, you are really alone, everything you see, you hear, you feel, could just be an illusion that your brain created.
Image source: blinsbop41
#40
When humans get so excited and feel the urge to aggressively squeeze something tightly they find cute, it’s actually our brain telling us that it’s too cute and it’s a way of coping.
Image source: moshing_loser
#41
Your favorite show, movie, or game will become lost media one day.
Image source: dandicuskittyfer
#42
You can easily manipulate a person by not finishing your sentences clearly, lowering your voice, or deliberately saying you had to tell them someone something but that it wasn’t a good time.. This will keep them guessing.. and keep them in your head.
Image source: zeypherlarsen
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