50 amazing ‘did you know’ facts most people actually don’t know

The current skin you’re in will be gone in a month – our skin sheds 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells each day. In fact, over 100 of those cells probably flaked off while reading this sentence. However, it rejuvenates just as quickly as it deteriorates. Regular exfoliation twice a week helps rid lingering skin cells to make room for a fresh layer.

Trees talk. Their roots are connected through an underground network of fungi, nicknamed the Wood Wide Web, that allows them to share resources with each other. They ‘talk’ by transmitting nutrients to one another through the fungi. For instance, a mother tree, or oldest and strongest tree in the forest, will share some of her sugars with smaller, nearby trees.

The secret to pain relief may be in your backyard. For centuries, willow bark has been used as an alternative to aspirin. The active ingredient in the bark, salicyl, turns to salicylic acid and is more gentle on the stomach than over-the-counter aspirin.

Why do people smile when they have their photo taken? Smiling in photos is said to have originated from a Kodak advertising scheme that focused on capturing moments of happiness with the product. Since then, it’s been the norm to grin into the camera. A study comparing yearbook photos from 1905 to 2005 showed an increase of lip curvature over time.

The longest human neck extends to 19.55 centimetres, belonging to women in the Padaung tribe in the highlands of northwestern Thailand. This is about twice the length of an average human neck. As a cultural practice, the tribe fashions heavy brass rings on a female’s neck from the ages of 5 to 9 and add more as she ages.

Before it became sushi, that tuna could sail off the plate in lightning speed. The fastest speed a tuna can swim has been recorded at over 45 km/h.

What’s widely credited as the first documentary, Nanook of the North, was not true. Most of the film was staged – including its cast and surroundings. Although it ‘blazed cinematic trails’ for its time, most of the film is full of “faking and fudging in one form or another,” as said in Criterion.

You’d think that the bigger the stomach, the more hot dogs would be able to fit, right? Not quite. Popular Science expanded on the theory that lighter contestants can out-compete their heavier eaters. The reasoning behind this is that a skinny person has room for their stomach to expand without being blocked by a ring of fat.

Instead, the ‘pioneer of rockabilly music’ Carl Perkins wrote the illustrious song that sold 2 million copies before Presley covered it, according to the LA Times. It is even said that Perkins wrote the song on an old potato sack, according to Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader Wise Up!

That’s the typical amount of time it takes to watch one episode of The Office. But in 2016, professional free diver Aleix Segura Vendrell broke this world record in a breathtaking attempt.