GITNUXREPORT 2025

Useless Statistics

Useless facts reveal bizarre and surprising truths about our world.

Jannik Lindner

Jannik Linder

Co-Founder of Gitnux, specialized in content and tech since 2016.

First published: April 29, 2025

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Key Statistics

Statistic 1

Octopuses have three hearts

Statistic 2

Wombat poop is cube-shaped to prevent it from rolling away

Statistic 3

Pigeons can recognize themselves in a mirror, demonstrating self-awareness

Statistic 4

Cats have fewer toes on their back paws, typically only four, compared to five on the front paws

Statistic 5

There is a species of jellyfish that is biologically immortal, able to revert to its juvenile form

Statistic 6

Capuchin monkeys use tools to obtain food, such as stones to crack nuts

Statistic 7

Gorillas can catch human colds and other illnesses, which can sometimes threaten their populations

Statistic 8

An octopus has three hearts, but only two pump blood to the gills, the third heart stops when it swims

Statistic 9

The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896

Statistic 10

The world's oldest piece of chewing gum is over 9,000 years old

Statistic 11

The founding father Benjamin Franklin invented the first swim fins

Statistic 12

The Guinness World Record for the longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years, by Charles Osborne

Statistic 13

The oldest shoes ever found are over 5,500 years old, made of cowhide and found in Armenia

Statistic 14

The world's largest snowflake was recorded in Montana in 1887 and measured 15 inches across and 8 inches thick

Statistic 15

The original name of the search engine Google was "Backrub," and it was used internally at Stanford University

Statistic 16

The first product ever sold using a vending machine was holy water in ancient Greece

Statistic 17

The longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years, by Charles Osborne, starting in 1922 and ending in 1990

Statistic 18

The average person spends about 6 months of their lifetime waiting at red lights

Statistic 19

There are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones

Statistic 20

The inventor of the frisbee was turned into a frisbee after he died

Statistic 21

Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not

Statistic 22

The inventor of the Pringles can is buried in one

Statistic 23

Honey never spoils; edible honey has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs

Statistic 24

The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer due to expansion of metal

Statistic 25

The average cloud weighs about 1.1 million pounds

Statistic 26

The process of flushing a toilet can cause a plume of water that can reach up to 6 feet away

Statistic 27

Neutron stars are so dense that a sugar-cube-sized amount of material from one would weigh about a billion tons on Earth

Statistic 28

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time: 1/100th of a second

Statistic 29

There is a museum dedicated entirely to failed products called the Museum of Failure

Statistic 30

The inventor of the game "Twister" accidentally created the world's first multiplayer game for the blind

Statistic 31

The world's smallest mammal is the Etruscan shrew, which weighs less than a penny

Statistic 32

Wombat poop is so uniform that it can serve as a form of communication among wombats, with each shape indicating a different message

Statistic 33

There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the Earth's beaches, estimated at around 1 nonillion stars

Statistic 34

The chance of getting a royal flush in poker is about 1 in 649,740, making it one of the rarest hands

Statistic 35

The average person will walk about 70,000 miles in their lifetime, roughly equivalent to walking around the Earth three times

Statistic 36

The inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, Ruth Wakefield, never tasted her own invention because she had left the batch on the stove and went to church

Statistic 37

The word "bookkeeper" (and its variants) is the only unhyphenated English word with three consecutive double letters

Statistic 38

The "French" in French fries actually refers to the method of slicing, not the country of origin, which is believed to be Belgium

Statistic 39

The world's quietest room is in Microsoft’s headquarters in Washington, measuring -20.35 decibels, where visitors hear almost nothing

Statistic 40

There is a town in Norway called Hell, which freezes over every winter

Statistic 41

An elderly British man once tried to sue McDonald's because he found a chicken bone in his burger, believing it to be a safety hazard

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Key Highlights

  • The average person spends about 6 months of their lifetime waiting at red lights
  • There are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones
  • The inventor of the frisbee was turned into a frisbee after he died
  • The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896
  • Octopuses have three hearts
  • Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not
  • There is a town in Norway called Hell, which freezes over every winter
  • Wombat poop is cube-shaped to prevent it from rolling away
  • The inventor of the Pringles can is buried in one
  • Honey never spoils; edible honey has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs
  • The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer due to expansion of metal
  • The average cloud weighs about 1.1 million pounds
  • Pigeons can recognize themselves in a mirror, demonstrating self-awareness

Did you know that amid all the fascinating facts and quirky curiosities, the world is full of useless yet utterly entertaining trivia that keeps us bewildered and amused?

Biological and Natural Phenomena

  • Octopuses have three hearts
  • Wombat poop is cube-shaped to prevent it from rolling away
  • Pigeons can recognize themselves in a mirror, demonstrating self-awareness
  • Cats have fewer toes on their back paws, typically only four, compared to five on the front paws
  • There is a species of jellyfish that is biologically immortal, able to revert to its juvenile form
  • Capuchin monkeys use tools to obtain food, such as stones to crack nuts
  • Gorillas can catch human colds and other illnesses, which can sometimes threaten their populations
  • An octopus has three hearts, but only two pump blood to the gills, the third heart stops when it swims

Biological and Natural Phenomena Interpretation

These astonishing facts remind us that nature's quirkiest features—from a jellyfish's immortality to pigeons' mirror recognition—are essential truths highlighting both life's resilience and its bewildering complexity.

History and Records

  • The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896
  • The world's oldest piece of chewing gum is over 9,000 years old
  • The founding father Benjamin Franklin invented the first swim fins
  • The Guinness World Record for the longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years, by Charles Osborne
  • The oldest shoes ever found are over 5,500 years old, made of cowhide and found in Armenia
  • The world's largest snowflake was recorded in Montana in 1887 and measured 15 inches across and 8 inches thick
  • The original name of the search engine Google was "Backrub," and it was used internally at Stanford University
  • The first product ever sold using a vending machine was holy water in ancient Greece
  • The longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years, by Charles Osborne, starting in 1922 and ending in 1990

History and Records Interpretation

These trivial yet intriguing tidbits remind us that history's minutiae often outlast the grand narratives, proving that sometimes, the tiniest facts hold the most surprising truths about human curiosity and resilience.

Interesting Facts and Trivia

  • The average person spends about 6 months of their lifetime waiting at red lights
  • There are more fake flamingos in the world than real ones
  • The inventor of the frisbee was turned into a frisbee after he died
  • Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not
  • The inventor of the Pringles can is buried in one
  • Honey never spoils; edible honey has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs
  • The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer due to expansion of metal
  • The average cloud weighs about 1.1 million pounds
  • The process of flushing a toilet can cause a plume of water that can reach up to 6 feet away
  • Neutron stars are so dense that a sugar-cube-sized amount of material from one would weigh about a billion tons on Earth
  • A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time: 1/100th of a second
  • There is a museum dedicated entirely to failed products called the Museum of Failure
  • The inventor of the game "Twister" accidentally created the world's first multiplayer game for the blind
  • The world's smallest mammal is the Etruscan shrew, which weighs less than a penny
  • Wombat poop is so uniform that it can serve as a form of communication among wombats, with each shape indicating a different message
  • There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the Earth's beaches, estimated at around 1 nonillion stars
  • The chance of getting a royal flush in poker is about 1 in 649,740, making it one of the rarest hands
  • The average person will walk about 70,000 miles in their lifetime, roughly equivalent to walking around the Earth three times
  • The inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, Ruth Wakefield, never tasted her own invention because she had left the batch on the stove and went to church
  • The word "bookkeeper" (and its variants) is the only unhyphenated English word with three consecutive double letters
  • The "French" in French fries actually refers to the method of slicing, not the country of origin, which is believed to be Belgium
  • The world's quietest room is in Microsoft’s headquarters in Washington, measuring -20.35 decibels, where visitors hear almost nothing

Interesting Facts and Trivia Interpretation

These quirky statistics reveal that while our world is full of fascinating oddities—from fake flamingos to cosmic neutron stars—most of them remind us how wonderfully unpredictable and often amusing our universe truly is.

Unique and Quirky Facts

  • There is a town in Norway called Hell, which freezes over every winter
  • An elderly British man once tried to sue McDonald's because he found a chicken bone in his burger, believing it to be a safety hazard

Unique and Quirky Facts Interpretation

While Hell freezing over in Norway humorously defies expectations of warm Icelandic hospitality, the British man's misguided crusade reminds us that even in the land of traditional politeness, some folks take "safe food" quite literally—though such "statistics" highlight the unpredictable intersection of geography and human folly rather than any meaningful trend.