40 Unsettling Facts We Regret to Inform Are True

This article appeared in Cleverclassic and has been published here with permission.

40 Unsettling Facts We Regret to Inform Are True

Knowledge is power is what they say. Sometimes, though, you learn things that you immediately want to unlearn. From little bugs that live on your face to the number of bacteria your phone has on its surface, these random facts will leave you feeling very unsettled. But, there are so many other unsettling facts out there, and we are sure some of you are a little intrigued. Here are some of those unsettling facts we regret to inform you are very true!

You Never Know

We all pass people every day and don’t think anything of it. But, we will be thinking about it from now on after learning this fact. Why someone would want to know this and actively go through the math to solve the problem seems a little crazy.

You Never Know

In fact, we think we are more worried about the fact this person wanted to calculate this than the fact we may have just strolled past a serious criminal.

Close Neighbors

Most of us try hard to keep our skin healthy and fresh-looking. But we might have a problem now that we know about the Demodex mites that live on our skin at all times. This just sounds like something from a sci-fi horror film!

Close Neighbors

We can literally feel your skin crawling, and that might just be because it is. This is so disturbing and something that we will not soon forget. Ew! How are we meant to sleep knowing that!

After Birth

This is both unsettling and sad. But it’s a good thing that we would not have to see it unless, for some reason, the coffin had to be unearthed. Now anytime we think of a woman passing away, we are going to imagine this.

After Birth

Of all the facts that we wanted to know in our life, this is one we think we could have lived without knowing for sure! This is the thing nightmares are made of!

Missing

When you get all kitted up to head out for an outdoor adventure, we are sure the last thing you and your family are thinking is that it is the last time you will see each other. Knowing this statistic makes us a little nervous about heading out to enjoy nature.

Missing

The only thing we can say is the next time we are headed out, we will make sure to bring a map and a GPS so they won’t add our number to the tally.

You Don’t Need This

The animal kingdom is vast and super interesting. Also, it is a little disturbing.  This bug — cymothoa exigua — takes over this fish’s mouth, which just seems rude and a little entitled.

You Don’t Need This

We feel for this fish and just hope that the parasite lets the fish enjoy its meals sometimes. This image, though, is something from our nightmares!

Do What I Say!

It is unsettling enough to think about an animal eating another’s excrements. However, knowing about the parasite toxoplasma gondii and what it does to rats is even more unsettling. The only thing we think about is Tom & Jerry for some reason.

Do What I Say!

We kind of feel bad for rats that have this because they are walking into their own doom. Nature is so wacky, don’t you think?

Anniversaries Are Important!

The last thing we want to think about is our final day, but when you think about it, you do really pass it every year. This definitely puts your life in perspective and is kind of unnerving, to say the least.

Anniversaries Are Important!

Who in their right mind would think about this and then share it with the world. Whoever it was should find a new hobby quickly before people turn on them!

Waiting Room

Many people, including us, are fascinated with learning about serial killers. But maybe they shouldn’t because this would make us look around the shoulder through the rest of our lives.

Waiting Room

Maybe we were right as children — there are monsters in the closet. They just aren’t the hairy, toothy kind but rather the psychotic kind!

Zombie World

The natural world and animal kingdom seem to be scary places to us. This is especially true after learning about desmidiospora myrmecophila. How anything could be created to infect another animal to benefit them is just messed up.

Zombie World

Can you imagine suddenly not having control of your own actions and having to live the life someone else wants you to? That seems like torture! But maybe the ant is unaware, and that is all we hope.

Moove Over

When we think of dangerous animals in the world, most of us think of sharks, snakes, scorpions, or even lions. How many of you thought a cow would be more deadly? Well, apparently, that is the case.

Moove Over

They look so harmless and cute to us. We can imagine, though, if you make them mad, they could run you over. This is not the way any of us wants to go, we are sure!

One-Way Road

Nature has a way of letting animals evolve to be the most efficient beings in their environment. This can lead to some beautiful things, but it can lead to some pretty unsettling things too!

One-Way Road

The fact that jellyfish eat and poop from the same place just seems wrong to us. How does anything taste good when this is your system! We are so ruined by this and feel bad for the jellyfish!

That Is Scary!

Finding out you have a tumor is a scary thought all on its own. But once we learned that you could end up with something like this, it becomes almost unbearable and a little disgusting! Why would nature allow something like this to happen?

That Is Scary!

Also, we wonder how it is to be that someone figured this out. We are sure it is with some sort of research project. On top of that, we are sure that the scientist’s first thought was that someone was playing a prank on them!

Happy Endings

There are so many wonderful things about life that most of us prefer to think about rather than thinking about what happens when life ends. Things like this fact are just one example of things we would rather not know.

Happy Endings

This has to be hard to handle when the gravedigger is trying to get the gentleman into his final resting place. This is the only thing we keep thinking about, and that might be the most unsettling thing so far.

Man in the Mirror

How many times have you seen a horror film where they used a monster in a mirror? If you are like us, you have seen quite a few. This seemed silly to us until we read about the Troxler effect.

Man in the Mirror

We cannot even imagine looking in the mirror and seeing a monster looking back at us. We can’t figure out why our brain does this, but it is horrible!

Swimming With the Fish

Sometimes the unsettling fact is simply looking at something you already know in a different way. Take, for instance, any of us who knows that sailors of the past were buried at sea. This seems poetic until you think about it from a different view.

Swimming With the Fish

Now that we have, we are not sure we want to head out on a beach vacation anytime soon! After all, who wants to swim in a cemetery!

Nevermore

One of our favorite poems growing up was Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” But though it was well written, we would never have thought that it could be autobiographical. That is until we learned this fact.

Nevermore

Now, we’re super friendly with crows because no one wants a murderer showing up on their front door seeking revenge! How did someone even figure this out!? We would like to hear that story.

I Know You!

Those that are closest to you have more power to hurt you the most. This is something we think we all know. But the fact that that extends into something as heinous as this is even more unsettling.

I Know You!

Why would someone even share this information with the world? We think we were all happy, oblivious to the fact that our friends could be plotting to get rid of us!

What Is That?

We are sure there are a lot of tragedies out at sea that no one ever knows about.  One thing is for sure if we looked down and saw a pair of feet without an owner, we wouldn’t be sticking around for too long to find out why!

What Is That?

After all, the rest of the body has to be somewhere, and if it isn’t then, we know that something out there has taken care of it.

Pucker Up

It’s part of the progression of any relationship, the first kiss. This can be an exciting time, and one most of us eagerly wait for. But maybe now that might change, at least for us, because it seems that kissing is even less sanitary than we knew!

Pucker Up

Why did someone have to tell us this!? Now it ruins everything, and we can stress about not only if we know how to properly kiss but also about what bacteria we are passing on to someone we care about!

Unsolved Mysteries

We all assume that if some foul play were to befall us, the person who committed the crime would be caught and tried. But apparently, the criminal system in the US is a little overtaxed and overworked, so you might not get your justice.

Unsolved Mysteries

How is this even possible?! This makes us so mad and a little worried about the system in general. After all, what do our tax dollars go to if not to make sure justice is served?

Say What?

There are so many television shows that are crime thrillers that we have all become infatuated with psychopathic murderers. These serial killers seem like works of fiction to many, but they are not.

Say What?

This fact is so unsettling because you never know who they are. So the fact that your neighbor could be one is frightening. These are the types of facts that should be kept secret, don’t you think!

Charge It

Plastic sometimes breaks down and finds its way into our water. This fact is becoming more and more known. Fish ingest the plastic, and then when we eat the fish. So, we too take in that plastic.

Charge It

This is something most of us know. But the fact that it is enough to make a credit card makes this fact way more unsettling. We are scared to ask what that does to our bodies. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

Wipe it Down

Nowadays, most of us go everywhere with our cell phones. It is not only a line of communication but practically our lifeline to everything. Because it is always with us, it makes sense that it is riddled with bacteria.

Wipe it Down

But we are very grossed out by the fact that it is so riddled with bacteria that you would be better off putting your ear to a toilet seat. Maybe it’s time to carry sanitizing wipes with us all the time!

You’re Still Talking

Sometimes there are facts that make you wonder how this came to be known. This one’s definitely one of them. The fact you still are alive half a minute after being beheaded can’t be that vital for the world to know.

You’re Still Talking

On the other hand, at least we know that if this happens, we might have enough time to say one or two choice words before leaving this world!

Gone AWOL

We all look to our military forces to protect us from dangers and to help allies to defend their lives. But along with that, we all assume that they are super responsible and able to keep track of all their tools of the trade.

Gone AWOL

This fact is not only unsettling but scary. How do you lose something like that? It is not like they are small enough to put in your pocket!

It’s Raining Spiders!

There are freak occurrences in nature that sound like they were written for a Hollywood film but are actually true. Few of them for us are as terrifying and heart-attack-inducing as the fact that there are places where spiders rain from the sky!

It’s Raining Spiders!

How the heck does something like this happen? And why does it have such a sweet-sounding name like “angel hair”! That is not a good name at all!

Good for You?

Over the past several years, many people have been talking about the benefits of green coffee. We even thought about trying some, as we are sure many of you have. But after seeing what the FDA says, maybe we will just wait for the next big thing.

Good for You?

After all, we don’t know about you, but we don’t want to drink bug juice just to get some sort of health benefit that we are sure we can get another way.

This Tastes Different

If you see a natural yogurt, you will see that it is white, and sure if you add strawberries into that yogurt, it will probably change color. But we have always thought some of those yogurts are a little too red!

This Tastes Different

Now we know why and wish we didn’t. How can using crushed-up bugs be considered safe? These companies are feeding us bugs! No more flavored yogurt for us!

Destroying Sleep

Sleep is a very important part of the human regenerative system. If you don’t get the right type and amount of sleep, it can affect your health, but the last thing we thought would be true is that your body would turn against you and ruin this system.

Destroying Sleep

Why would our bodies do something like this to us? This just seems like a betrayal and one we find super unsettling! Luckily, if you are reading this, you probably don’t have it.

Checking Off the Boxes

We have all seen movies and know that being a psychopath is not a good thing. These movies have all led us to believe that finding one of these mentally unhinged people is super rare. However, that might not be the truth.

Checking Off the Boxes

Though most of the women out there probably already had a feeling that they knew more than a few that ticked off the psychopath box, it is different when you know it is a true statistic. This is just a little frightening, especially if you are out there in the dating world.

Did You Hear That?

The human body is wondrous and gross, all in the same breath. That is what learning this fact has taught us. Can you imagine being in a morgue and hearing someone groan? This would be most people’s last day because they would run as fast as they could to get away from that.

Did You Hear That?

Unless you are in this field of work, there is no reason that any of us needed to know this! So unnerving and just a bit scary!

Ladybugs

When a ladybug lands on you, the last thing you are thinking is, “I wonder if they ate some of the other ladybug eggs before they grew up?” But now that you have read this fact, you’ll probably be less inclined to think these red and black bugs are as adorable as you once did.

Ladybugs

We know we don’t! We mean, they are still cute, but we will definitely not be wishing on them anytime soon!

Medical Error

When we go to the doctor, we trust that they know what they are doing. They have diplomas and certificates hanging on the wall for a reason, and they speak a language we are only partially able to understand. But now that we know this fact, we might be a little more cautious.

Medical Error

How can something like this not be known? And how does this even happen? Well, doctors are not magical beings, and apparently, they too, make mistakes.

Breathe Deep

Taking a nice relaxing walk in nature used to sound so nice to us. That is until we learned that somebody inhaled a fir tree seed, and the tree took root in their lungs. This is not a good way to get fresh air as we are sure it hurts a bit.

Breathe Deep

We can’t even imagine the face of the doctor when they pulled out a tree from this guy’s lungs. That had to be pretty unsettling!

Why’s it So Dark?

Though we are sure no one has to worry about this for several eons, the fact that the sun would explode at some point makes us a little nervous. This might be one of those facts filed under better to be left in the dark.

Why’s it So Dark?

After all, there is no need to worry us about it; there is nothing we can do to stop whatever happens if the sun explodes. We would rather just be oblivious!

Talking to Me

When you hear someone say they hear voices, most of us probably would steer clear of them just to be on the safe side. But the fact that so many kids hear voices might indicate that there is something seriously wrong with them.

Talking to Me

This may be why so many kids have imaginary friends! And that is a super cute phase that any kid goes through, right?

That’s Just Super!

There have been a few eruptions of supervolcanoes in the history of the world. They have changed the climate and led to a lot of devastation. But for many people, the fact that so many of them are still active today is pretty unsettling!

That’s Just Super!

For us, the more unsettling fact is that there hasn’t been one in a while. We just wonder what all that volcanic pressure building up will have for us when it finally can’t hold it anymore! Maybe Mars isn’t such a bad idea, after all?!

Murdering Hornets Are Real

A bug that can bite you, kill you, and be attracted to human sweat?! Is this a seventies monster movie? Nope, they are Japanese Giant hornets, or they might be called murderous hornets!

Murdering Hornets Are Real

If this is what they were talking about on the news, then there is a cause for an alarm! We just want to know why nature is out to harm us in such a nasty way!

Get On the Dance Floor

Sometimes some of the weirdest and most unsettling facts come from history. It might seem like a fun day to have a dancing plague in comparison to other plagues, but the fact that hundreds of people were dancing for days could become a bit uncomfortable.

Get On the Dance Floor

We are sure many of you love to dance, but we cannot even imagine dancing to death. This is like the worst dancing contest ever!

Passing Time

It’s a unique thing to have lived through two different centuries. We can only imagine someone who was born in the 1800s and has lived through the 1900s. This is why it is pretty incredible to learn this fact.

Passing Time

But also, it is a little unsettling to think that this could be us one day. How weird is that? Sure she may not have seen much of the century as she was born in November, but still, she must have had a crazy and interesting life.