Fact: McDonald’s once made bubblegum-flavored broccoli

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

This interesting fact will have your taste buds crawling. Unsurprisingly, the attempt to get kids to eat healthier didn’t go over well with the child testers, who were “confused by the taste.” Find out which countries have banned McDonald’s.

Fact: Some fungi create zombies, then control their minds

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

The tropical fungus Ophiocordyceps infects ants’ central nervous systems. By the time the fungi been in the insect bodies for nine days, they have complete control over the host’s movements. They force the ants to climb trees, then convulse and fall into the cool, moist soil below, where fungi thrive. Once there, the fungus waits until exactly solar noon to force the ant to bite a leaf and kill it. Don’t miss these 12 animal “facts” that are actually false.

Fact: The first oranges weren’t orange

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

The original oranges from Southeast Asia were a tangerine-pomelo hybrid, and they were actually green. In fact, oranges in warmer regions like Vietnam and Thailand still stay green through maturity. For more interesting facts, find out which “orange” came first: the color or the fruit.

Fact: There’s only one letter that doesn’t appear in any U.S. state name

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Can you guess the answer to this random fact? You’ll find a Z (Arizona), a J (New Jersey), and even two X’s (New Mexico and Texas)—but not a single Q. Check out these other 50 fun facts about every state in America.

Fact: A cow-bison hybrid is called a “beefalo”

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

You can even buy its meat in at least 21 states. Don’t miss these other random facts about your favorite foods.

Fact: Johnny Appleseed’s fruits weren’t for eating

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Yes, there was a real John Chapman who planted thousands of apple trees on U.S. soil. But the apples on those trees were much more bitter than the ones you’d find in the supermarket today. “Johnny Appleseed” didn’t expect his fruits to be eaten whole, but rather made into hard apple cider.

Fact: Scotland has 421 words for “snow”

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Yes—421! That’s too many fun facts about snow. Some examples: sneesl (to start raining or snowing); feefle (to swirl); flinkdrinkin (a light snow). Don’t miss these other 11 random interesting facts about snow.

Fact: Samsung tests phone durability with a butt-shaped robot

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Do these interesting facts have you rethinking everything? People stash their phones in their back pockets all the time, which is why Samsung created a robot that is shaped like a butt—and yes, even wears jeans—to “sit” on their phones to make sure they can take the pressure.

Fact: The “Windy City” name has nothing to do with Chicago weather

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Was this one of the random facts you already knew? Chicago’s nickname was coined by 19th-century journalists who were referring to the fact that its residents were “windbags” and “full of hot air.”

Fact: Peanuts aren’t technically nuts

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

They’re legumes. According to Merriam-Webster, a nut is only a nut if it’s “a hard-shelled dry fruit or seed with a separable rind or shell and interior kernel.” That means walnuts, almonds, cashews, and pistachios aren’t nuts either. They’re seeds.

Fact: Armadillo shells are bulletproof

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

In fact, one Texas man was hospitalized when a bullet he shot at an armadillo ricocheted off the animal and hit him in the jaw.

Fact: Firefighters use wetting agents to make water wetter

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

The chemicals reduce the surface tension of plain water so it’s easier to spread and soak into objects, which is why it’s known as “wet water.” Find out which of your favorite science “facts” are actually false.

Fact: The longest English word is 189,819 letters long

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

We won’t spell it out here (though you can read it here), but the full name for the protein nicknamed titin would take three and a half hours to say out loud.

Fact: “Running amok” is a medically recognized mental condition

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Considered a culturally bound syndrome, a person “running amok” in Malaysia commits a sudden, frenzied mass attack, then begins to brood. Learn some more random facts and trivia you’ll wish you’d always known.

Fact: Octopuses lay 56,000 eggs at a time

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

The mother spends six months so devoted to protecting the eggs that she doesn’t eat. The babies are the size of a grain of rice when they’re born.

Fact: Cats have fewer toes on their back paws

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

Like most four-legged mammals, they have five toes on the front, but their back paws only have four toes. Scientists think the four-toe back paws might help them run faster. Do you know any other fun facts about cats?

Fact: Kleenex tissues were originally intended for gas masks

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

When there was a cotton shortage during World War I, Kimberly-Clark developed a thin, flat cotton substitute that the army tried to use as a filter in gas masks. The war ended before scientists perfected the material for gas masks, so the company redeveloped it to be smoother and softer, then marketed Kleenex as facial tissue instead.

Fact: Blue whales eat half a million calories in one mouthful

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

These random facts are mindblowing! Those 457,000 calories are more than 240 times the energy the whale uses to scoop those krill into its mouth.

Fact: That tiny pocket in jeans was designed to store pocket watches

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

The original jeans only had four pockets: that tiny one, plus two more on the front and just one in the back.

Fact: Turkeys can blush

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

When turkeys are scared or excited—like when the males see a female they’re interested in—the pale skin on their head and neck turns bright red, blue, or white. The flap of skin over their beaks, called a “snood,” also reddens.

Fact: Most Disney characters wear gloves to keep animation simple

SHUTTERSTOCK (2)

Walt Disney might have been the first to put gloves on his characters, as seen in 1929’s The Opry House starring Mickey Mouse. In addition to being easier to animate, there’s another reason Disney opted for gloves: “We didn’t want him to have mouse hands because he was supposed to be more human,” Disney told his biographer in 1957.

Fact: The man with the world’s deepest voice can make sounds humans can’t hear

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

The man, Tim Storms, can’t even hear the note, which is eight octaves below the lowest G on a piano—but elephants can. Check out these 16 little-known interesting facts about the greatest songs of all time.

Fact: The American flag was designed by a high school student

TATIANA AYAZO/RD.COM, SHUTTERSTOCK

It started as a school project for Bob Heft’s junior-year history class, and it only earned a B- in 1958. His design had 50 stars even though Alaska and Hawaii weren’t states yet. Heft figured the two would earn statehood soon and showed the government his design. After President Dwight D. Eisenhower called to say his design was approved, Heft’s teacher changed his grade to an A.