28 Strange and Surprising Facts To Make You Feel Seriously Smart

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Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Jun 3, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

You know it is hard to handle the fact that we were not educated to create intrigue, but to prepare us for factory work, something that even in our generation had largely been phased out. But even more outlandish in today's times when kids have access to the internet and all the information the world has to offer.

And while the education system might not make any substantial moves towards renewing their approach, we certainly can. And that is what we have lined up for you today with this list of strange and surprising facts to make you feel seriously smart, because we all deserve to be swept away by the magic of a moment in time that speaks to us and opens our minds. So take a moment, to scroll through this curiosity curating list and let yourself be intrigued, amazing and astounded at the wonders that lie within.

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  • 01
    Oddly History @oddlyhistory 8 places from our history that were wiped off of the map!
    via oddlyhistory
  • 02
    Herculaneum (Italy) Another victim of Mount Vesuvius' eruption, Herculaneum was buried in volcanic mud and preserved almost perfectly.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 03
    Roanoke Colony (USA) Known as the "Lost Colony," Roanoke's settlers mysteriously vanished in the late 1500s, leaving only the word "Croatoan" carved into th nowsts couerea abet male pola treeother in build of a wall- and enclosed some some wo" barcks of trees. All compaßsed W
    via oddlyhistory
  • 04
    Helike (Greece) An ancient Greek city believed to have sunk into the sea after an earthquake and tsunami around 373 BCE. Rediscovered in the 1990s.
    via oddlyhistory

  • You know, it’s funny, the older we get the more we understand this concept of what we have been looking for being right under our noses. But it is rather wonderful when a bonafide example of such wisdom pops up right in front of our eyes to make us remember. 

  • 05
    Atlantis (Unknown) The legendary city described by Plato was said to have sunk into the ocean, sparking centuries of speculation and searches.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 06
    Pompeii (Italy) Buried under volcanic ash in 79 CE after Mount Vesuvius erupted, Pompeii was forgotten for centuries until rediscovered in the 18th century.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 07
    Pripyat (Ukraine) 1970 Abandoned after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, this ghost town remains frozen in time, eerie and untouched.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 08
    Cahokia (USA) Once a thriving Native American city with massive mounds, Cahokia was mysteriously abandoned around 1350 CE.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 09
    St. Thomas (Canada) A small town flooded in the 1950s to make way for the St. Lawrence Seaway, leaving homes and streets Submerged underwater.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 10
    Oddly History @oddlyhistory In 1989, two million people held hands to form a human chain over 600 kilometres long TION TZ MOUT
    via oddlyhistory

  • It is a little sad to think that this might be among one of the last times the humanity came together to do something so much larger than themselves. No shouting, no negativity, just people coming together to show solidarity in a peaceful manner.

  • 11
    Cheezburger Image 10512912128
    via oddlyhistory
  • 12
    Cheezburger Image 10512912384
    via oddlyhistory
  • 13
    Oddly History @oddlyhistory After his passing in 1991, it was revealed that Dr. Seuss had secretly created a series of dark, surreal "midnight paintings" - a stark contrast to the whimsical books that made him famous.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10512912640
    via oddlyhistory
  • 15
    Oddly History @oddlyhistory This is the last photo ever taken of Marco Siffredi - just before he attempted to snowboard down Mount Everest in 2002. MAN
    via oddlyhistory
  • 16
    A Teenager At An Elvis Presley Concert At The Philadelphia Arena In Philadelphia (Pa), April 6, 1957
    via oddlyhistory
  • 17
    A Chippewa Indian named John who lived To Be 137 Years Old Before He Died In 1922. Photo Taken In 1915
    via oddlyhistory
  • 18
    Not Everyone Likes Bikini, Miami Beach, 1980s Do Not Be Decame YOU ARE HEADED FOR HELL!
    via oddlyhistory
  • 19
    A Protester encounters his childhood friend (a policeman) at a riot on April 6, 1972 104
    via oddlyhistory
  • 20
    MARS Ruby Bridges, the first African-American to attend a white elementary school in the deep South, 1960 MAR
    via oddlyhistory
  • 21
    Traditional Rwandan hairstyle (1923)
    via oddlyhistory
  • 22
    Aerial barnstormer "Jersey" Ringel with camera on top wing (1921) JERS EY RINGEL
    via oddlyhistory
  • 23
    Fred Howe, the Fatman and George Moore, the living skeleton, 1890
    via oddlyhistory
  • 24
    Anti British propaganda, Japan 1941 WC.
    via oddlyhistory
  • 25
    Grand Central Terminal, NYC, The sun can't shine through like that now due to the surrounding tall buildings, 1929
    via oddlyhistory
  • 26
    18 year-old Muhammad Ali stands alone at the 1960 Rome Olympics
    via oddlyhistory
  • 27
    Reporters who Exposed the Watergate Scandal watch President Nixon resign, 1974
    via oddlyhistory
  • 28
    Stoney First Nation member, guide Samson Beaver with his wife Leah and their daughter Frances Louise, 1907
    via oddlyhistory

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