If you’re a parent who doesn’t always have time for a bedtime story, or your children have memorized Goodnight Moon after hearing it 17 times, allow us to present you with an alternative to a simple pre-sleep story: telling your kids a new fun fact each night!
One parent on Reddit recently asked others to share the best, simple fun facts that can satiate a child’s curiosity at bedtime, and readers did not disappoint. Below, you’ll find all of the best facts that both kiddos and adults can enjoy, so be sure to upvote the info you can’t wait to share with your little ones!
#1
“Arctic” means “Bear” “Antarctic” means “No Bear”. Not because polar bears live in the arctic and no bears live in the antarctic, but because to get to the arctic you follow the bear constellations, the Big and Little Dipper, and to get to the antarctic you go away from them.
Image source: Maur2, flickrfavorites/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#2
In Switzerland, it’s illegal to own just one guinea pig; if you have any, you have to have at least two. They get lonely!
Image source: Tiffany-899, David/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#3
A flock of sheep in North Wales had to be quarantined because they’d learnt to lay down and roll over cattle grids. If they’d made contact with other sheep they might have passed the behaviour on, and all the cattle grids in Britain would become ineffective.
Image source: Norman-Wisdom, Pixabay/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
#4
Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale!
Image source: _Fire_Sign_, Rachel Claire/Pexels (not the actual photo)
#5
The rarest precious jewels in the universe are not diamonds or rubies, they’re pearls and amber.. Most precious stones just need minerals and pressure, and that’s found everywhere. Amber needs trees, and pearls need oysters, and those are only on earth.
Image source: _SkullBearer_, Khairul Onggon/Pexels (not the actual photo)
#6
Did you know that there are colors that humans can’t see? Animals like the mantis shrimp can see a lot more colors than we can, which means that there are “secret colors” that we will never get to know about. Non 4-year-old explanation: the vast majority of humans see things in “channels” of red, green and blue. Some humans are lucky and are born with four “channels”, called [tetrachromats]. Mantis shrimp see things in TWELVE different “channels”, and can even see ultraviolet and polarized light.
Image source: Kewkky, Elias Levy/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#7
Its funny how all of these end up being animal facts.
While sea otters sleep, they hold paws so they don’t float away from each other.
Also, sugar is pretty much tasteless to cats. They don’t have taste buds for sweetness.
Image source: punninglinguist, USFWS/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#8
Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.
Might be kind of “big thinking” for a 4y but that has always stuck with me.
Image source: mpmp4, Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels (not the actual photo)
#9
Butterflies taste with their feet. When they land on a flower, they can tell if it’s good to eat just by standing on it.
Image source: Always_Boring_Girl, nola.agent/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#10
Birds are dinosaurs.
Whales and dolphins are more closely related to hippos than fish.
A cartoonist named the spikes on the stegosaurus tail.
Image source: gamaliel64, Karen/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#11
There are more plastic flamingo lawn ornaments in the US than there are wild flamingos in the entire world.
Image source: SnowDemonAkuma, Don Graham/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#12
Horses can’t throw up and will get sick from tummy aches to potentially need surgery.
Image source: 99centmilk, isamiga76/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#13
1. Honey never spoils. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible!
2. Penguins waddle because their legs are short and their bodies are chubby. It helps them balance on the ice.
3. The sound a giraffe makes is called a “bleat.” It’s sort of like a sheep’s sound but much quieter.
4. A group of flamingos is called a “flamboyance.” Isn’t that a fun word?
5. Octopuses have three hearts! Two pump blood to the gills, and one pumps blood to the rest of the body.
6. Lightning is like a giant spark of electricity. It happens when tiny ice crystals bump into each other in a cloud.
7. Bees dance to tell other bees where to find yummy flowers. It’s like a bee dance party!
8. Cats have a special “meow” just for humans. They learned that we pay attention when they make that sound.
9. Your fingerprints are unique. No one else in the world has the same fingerprints as you!
Image source: eastbayted, Petras Gagilas/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#14
The fruit orange was named before we had named a color orange
Image source: Fartboyxx99, Jennifer C. Flickr (not the actual photo)
#15
Did you know that cats aren’t technically domesticated? They’re still technically wild.
Image source: jugtooter, Xiahong Chen/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#16
Tell them “Right now, as you are going to bed at night in the middle of winter, there is another little child somewhere else walking up in the morning where it is summer”.
Image source: Coffeman94, RDNE Stock project/Pexels (not the actual photo)
#17
* William I of England was too fat to fit in his coffin.
* Platypus lay eggs and make milk.
* Cows have 4 stomachs.
* Lots of fish can feel electricity
* Cheetahs mew like cats. They can’t roar.
* Red seaweed lives deeper in the sea than green seaweed.
Image source: Glad_Possibility7937, Klaus/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#18
The Flemish giant rabbit can grow to be the size of a dog
Image source: Vast_Parfait_726, richie graham/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#19
We are all made from star dust.
Image source: 03Pirate, Beyza Kaplan/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
#20
The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backwards.
Image source: cloudsinmycoffe, Frank Cone/Pexels (not the actual photo)
#21
Wombats poop cubes.
Image source: TheProtoChris, Christina Hendricks/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
#22
Owls cannot turn their eyes in their sockets, they are fixed in place which is why they do the goofy little head rolls/bobs. Its their method of depth perception.
Image source: FIREBIRDC9, DSD/ Pexels (not the actual photo)
#23
tell her about those butterflies that have wing patterns that look like eyes that makes animals think they’re a predator
a zebra’s stripes are as unique as a human’s fingerprints.
ok, let’s try for a non-animal fact. the planet Venus spins in the opposite direction of other planets
a word spelled the same way forward as it is backwards is called a “palindrome.” Mom, dad, and racecar are examples.
Image source: turboshot49cents, BRIJESH EP/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#24
When it’s Winter in the United States, it’s Summer in Australia. When it’s Winter in Australia, It’s Summer in the United States.
If a month begins on a Sunday, it will have a Friday the 13th.
Image source: hgswell, Rene Schwietzke/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#25
Sloths hair grows from their belly.
Sloths climb down from their tree about once a week to poop.
Kangaroos can pause their pregnancy.
Sharks sink if they stop swimming.
A giraffe has a nerve that goes from under their tongue alllllll the way down their neck down near their heart and then back up.
Only a small part of your eye can detect color. (Cones)
Smell is the strong scent tied to memory because the nerve that manages smell goes directly to the brain instead of having a connection along the way.
The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body by size to weight standards.
Image source: ThoseTruffulaTrees, Régis Leroy/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#26
There’s a SKELETON hiding inside everyone you know!
Image source: BlueCoatEngineer, Andrew Malone/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#27
While a zebra is smaller than a horse, a zebra can kick with more power than a horse (I think a horse generates about 2000 psi with a kick, while zebras are closer to 3000 psi).
Image source: DarkMatterMinx, Amy the Nurse/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#28
the US government has a federal reserve of 1.4 million lbs of cheese
Image source: 2-Minute-Ad, Jeremy Keith/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#29
Sure I have some suited for children.
* not all ladybugs, are ladies.
* locust are just hungry hungry grasshoppers.
* Most of the fruit we eat is bought from other nations during the winter.
* with each mile you go into the earth, the more warm it gets.
* There is no pasta at the center of the earth.
* Many house cats wandering neighborhoods are more likely to visit a neighbor if they use the same detergent as their owners.
* Dogs will wait for you, almost forever.
* Tomatoes, Cassava root, potatoes, corn and supposedly ~~earthworms~~ ~~apple pie~~ Navy bean soup… are all from the American continent.
* Exercise allows you to become smarter and faster.
Image source: GreenMirage, Bernal Saborio/Flickr (not the actual photo)
#30
Start with a subject and do facts for a week then switch it up. For example
Dinosaur facts for a week, then space, then history, then geography.
Image source: Fishwater024, jeanmartin/Flickr (not the actual photo)
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