Table of Contents >> Show >> Hide
- What Is “Hey Pandas” on Bored Panda, Anyway?
- Why Our Brains Love Interesting Facts
- 25 Interesting Facts to Steal for Your Next “Hey Pandas” Moment
- How to Share Fun Facts Without Being “That Person”
- Turning “Hey Pandas” Energy Into a Daily Habit
- What It Feels Like to Be Inside a “Hey Pandas” Thread (Experiences)
- Conclusion: Your Turn, Panda
If you’ve ever been ambushed at a party with the question, “Tell us a fun fact about yourself,”
and your brain immediately bluescreens, you are not alone. That’s exactly why threads like
“Hey Pandas, What Is The Most Interesting Fact You Know?” on Bored Panda are so addictive:
they crowd-source the best trivia from thousands of people so the rest of us don’t have to panic-improvise.
The “Hey Pandas” posts are community prompts where readers share stories, opinions, and their
favorite bits of knowledgeanything from strange animal facts to tiny history details you never
learned in school. Similar Bored Panda compilations draw on user submissions and viral posts from
places like Reddit to curate lists of fascinating facts that make you say, “No way, that’s not real,”
and then immediately Google it to check.
In this guide, we’ll treat that original question“What’s the most interesting fact you know?”as a
jumping-off point. We’ll walk through why humans are obsessed with trivia, share a pile of
science-backed, history-flavored, and delightfully weird facts you can borrow, and look at how to use
fun facts to actually connect with people instead of just monologuing at them over chips and dip.
What Is “Hey Pandas” on Bored Panda, Anyway?
Bored Panda’s “Hey Pandas” is essentially an ongoing open mic for the internet. The editors post
a promptanything from “What’s the most unhinged question you’ve heard?” to “What’s your most interesting
fact?”and community members jump in with their stories or knowledge.
The submissions are then gathered into a finished post, complete with upvotes, comments, and lots of screenshots.
Over time, these threads have turned into a kind of living encyclopedia of human experience and random
knowledge. Some responses are deeply personal; others read like they escaped from the “fun fact” section
of a science museum. Quite a few posts round up contributions from big online forums like r/AskReddit,
where people share the coolest fact they think everyone should know.
In short, “Hey Pandas” is what happens when you toss curiosity, storytelling, and a comment section into
a blenderand the result is surprisingly wholesome.
Why Our Brains Love Interesting Facts
There’s a scientific reason you can’t stop scrolling those lists of “125 facts that will blow your mind.”
Curiosity lights up the brain’s reward system. Researchers at the University of California have
shown that when you’re curious about the answer to a question, areas of the brain linked to reward and
memory light up and release dopaminethe same feel-good neurotransmitter involved when we get a tangible
reward.
That dopamine burst doesn’t just feel nice; it also helps you remember what you learn. In one line of
research, people remembered trivia answers better when they were genuinely curious, and even unrelated
information presented at the same time got a memory boost.
Trivia and fun facts are basically a brain gym with zero sweating. Regularly playing trivia games or
diving into fact lists is linked with sharper mental agility and better recall across ages, according to
writers who study how trivia supports brain health.
In other words, “Hey Pandas” isn’t just a procrastination tool; it’s low-key cognitive training.
25 Interesting Facts to Steal for Your Next “Hey Pandas” Moment
Let’s get to the good stuff. Below are some crowd-pleasing facts inspired by big fact roundups and
science-backed trivia lists from sources like Reader’s Digest, BBC Science Focus, HowStuffWorks,
LiveScience, and other reputable outlets.
Use them in threads, icebreakers, or whenever a conversation needs a little “wait, seriously?” energy.
1. Mind-Bending Facts About the Universe and Our Planet
-
The Sun isn’t actually yellow. Outside Earth’s atmosphere, sunlight is essentially white.
It looks yellow from the ground because our atmosphere scatters shorter blue wavelengths, leaving behind
a warmer huebasically a built-in Instagram filter. -
Australia is wider than the Moon. The Moon’s diameter is about 2,159 miles, while the
Australian continent spans roughly 2,500 miles from east to west. So technically, you could say
the Moon is the smaller neighbor in that comparison. -
Saudi Arabia has no permanent rivers. Despite its size, the country relies on wadis
(seasonal riverbeds) and groundwater instead of continuously flowing riversan unusual feature for such
a large nation.
2. Weird Animal Facts You’ll Want to Tell Everyone
-
Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood. Two hearts pump blood to the gills while the
third sends it to the rest of the body. Their copper-based blood (using hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin)
makes it appear blue and works better in cold, low-oxygen environments. -
Hummingbirds can fly backward. They’re the only birds that can truly hover and move
backward thanks to wings that can rotate in almost any direction, beating up to dozens of times per
second. -
Platypuses “sweat” milk. Instead of nipples, female platypuses secrete milk through pores
in their skin, and their babies lap it up from the mother’s fur. Researchers have even looked at platypus
milk for naturally occurring antimicrobial properties. -
Sharks are older than trees. Fossil evidence suggests sharks have been around for more
than 400 million years, while the earliest tree-like plants show up laterso sharks were cruising
prehistoric oceans long before forests existed.
3. Human Body and Brain Facts That Sound Fake (But Aren’t)
-
Your tongue print is unique. Just like fingerprints, the surface of your tongue has a
one-of-a-kind pattern. Some researchers have even explored tongue scans as a possible biometric ID
methodthough “please lick the sensor” hasn’t exactly caught on. -
Not everyone has the same muscles. In some people, muscles like the psoas minor or the
sternalis are missing entirely, while others may have extra heads on muscles like the biceps. In large
anatomical surveys, one study noted that the psoas minor is absent in a big chunk of the population. -
Your brain runs on roughly the power of a dim lightbulb. Estimates often place the
brain’s energy use around 15–20 wattsenough to run a small lamp, yet that power supports everything
from breathing to composing dramatic texts.
4. History and Culture Facts That Change the Way You See the World
-
There are more people in California than in all of Canada. Canada is geographically
massive but relatively sparsely populated. Recent population figures put California’s population above
39 million, while Canada’s entire population is in a similar rangemaking the comparison a favorite
“wow” fact online. -
The fire hydrant patent is famously said to have been lost in a fire. The story goes
that a key early patent for the hydrant burned in a catastrophic patent-office fire, leaving historians
to reconstruct its origins from other records and municipal documents. -
Some countries have surprising national-anthem facts. For instance, Cyprus has used the
Greek national anthem instead of a separate anthem of its own, and the Greek anthem itself has more than
150 versesthough thankfully they don’t sing them all at soccer games.
5. Everyday Facts With a Side of “Wait, Really?”
-
There are thousands of apple varieties. One popular internet fact points out that if you
ate a different kind of apple every day for 20 years, you still wouldn’t get through all known varieties.
Agricultural and horticulture sources back up that there are thousands of cultivars worldwide. -
Type “askew” into Google, and the page tilts. It’s one of many playful Easter eggs that
search engineers have tucked into results pagesproof that even giant tech companies can’t resist a good
sight gag.
Are these the only “most interesting facts” out there? Absolutely not. The real point is that the internet
is overflowing with verifiable, jaw-dropping trivia. Bored Panda threads simply give that information a
cozy living room to hang out in.
How to Share Fun Facts Without Being “That Person”
Knowing lots of interesting facts is great. Turning into a walking, talking “Did you know…?” machine that
doesn’t let anyone else speak? Less great.
Psychology even has a name for why experts sometimes become tedious: the
“curse of knowledge.” Once you’re familiar with something, it’s hard to remember what it’s like
not to know it, so you may accidentally over-explain or assume your audience is already on your level.
To keep things fun and social, try these simple rules:
-
Lead with curiosity, not a lecture. Instead of “Actually, sharks are older than trees,”
try “I just learned something wild about sharkswant to hear it?” -
Invite other people’s facts. Mirror the “Hey Pandas” prompt in real life: “What’s the
most interesting thing you’ve learned recently?” You’ll discover which friends have secret volcano
obsessions. -
Connect the fact to the moment. Share weather facts when you’re outside, food facts at
dinner, or history facts when you’re near an old building. Facts land better when they feel relevant. -
Know when to stop. If people stop making eye contact and start checking their phones,
that’s your cue to save your remaining five octopus facts for another day.
Turning “Hey Pandas” Energy Into a Daily Habit
The joy of a thread like “Hey Pandas, What Is The Most Interesting Fact You Know?” is that it nudges you
to notice and remember the cool things you bump into. You can recreate that feeling in your daily routine.
-
Keep a “fact journal.” Whether it’s a notes app or a physical notebook, jot down any
fun fact that makes you pause. Over time, you’ll build your own custom trivia vault. -
Follow fact-heavy sites and newsletters. Outlets that specialize in short, well-researched
factsscience magazines, history blogs, or curated lists from places like Reader’s Digestare great
sources of bite-size knowledge. -
Play trivia or quiz games regularly. Studies on trivia and curiosity suggest that regularly
challenging your brain with questions can keep you mentally flexible and may even reduce stress when done
socially. -
Share one new fact a day at work or at home. Some workplaces even use “fun fact of the day”
to open meetings because it lightens the mood and encourages people to speak up.
Before long, you’ll be the person everyone tags when a new “Hey Pandas” question goes livebecause they
know you’ll have something delightful to contribute.
What It Feels Like to Be Inside a “Hey Pandas” Thread (Experiences)
If you’ve never participated in a Bored Panda “Hey Pandas” post, imagine walking into a giant, cozy,
slightly chaotic living room filled with people who are all itching to tell you the most fascinating thing
they’ve learned this year.
First, you see the prompt: “Hey Pandas, what is the most interesting fact you know?” It looks
simple, but your brain immediately starts rifling through old school lessons, random podcasts, and things
you heard once in a YouTube documentary at 2 a.m. It’s like a scavenger hunt inside your own memory.
As you scroll through the responses, there’s a familiar rhythm. Someone drops a short, punchy fact“Sharks
are older than trees.” Another person adds a mini-essay on a piece of history you’ve never heard of. A third
commenter jumps in just to say “No way, source??” and suddenly there’s a mini research team assembling
links and context.
The best part is how low-pressure it feels. You don’t need to be a scientist or historian to participate.
Maybe your fact is something tiny and personal, like the strange rule your hometown has about where you can
park on snow days. Maybe it’s something about your job that most people never see. “Hey Pandas” threads
quietly remind you that your lived experience counts as interesting knowledge too.
Posting your own fact feels a bit like stepping up to a microphone. You type it, reread it twice, add a
clarifying sentence so people don’t misunderstand, and then hit “submit.” For a moment, you wonder if
anyone will notice. Then the little upvote counter jumps, or someone leaves a comment: “I had no idea!
That’s so cool.” It’s small, but it’s a real little hit of connection.
Threads like this also make you realize how unevenly knowledge is distributed. One person casually mentions
a neuroscience study they read; another was raised on a farm and drops incredibly practical animal facts;
someone else knows obscure details about copyright law. You start to recognize usernames who always share
facts about space, or animals, or obscure 18th-century scandals. It feels like building a tiny, nerdy
neighborhood.
And then there’s the emotional side. In between “the Sun is actually white” and “hummingbirds can fly
backward,” there are facts that hit a different notestories from history that were left out of textbooks,
or details about how a law changed because ordinary people pushed for it. These remind you that facts aren’t
just trivia; they’re little windows into what people have valued, ignored, or fought for over time.
When the thread finally closes, the knowledge doesn’t go away. You carry pieces of it into your real life.
The next time you’re standing around awkwardly at a work event, you suddenly remember the thing about
octopus hearts or Saudi Arabia’s river-free map and toss it into the conversation. Someone laughs. Someone
else says, “Wait, for real?” And just like that, a random internet thread has paid you back in the
currency of real-world connection.
That’s the quiet magic of “Hey Pandas” and questions like “What’s the most interesting fact you know?”
They don’t just fill your head with information; they give you a reason to share it, a place where curiosity
is the default setting and everyone is invited to bring something to the table.
Conclusion: Your Turn, Panda
Whether your favorite fact is about three-hearted octopuses, the brain’s 20-watt power budget, or the
surprising geography of Australia and the Moon, it deserves an audience. Threads like
“Hey Pandas, What Is The Most Interesting Fact You Know?” capture how good it feels to learn
something new, pass it along, and watch other people light up in the comments.
So the next time someone asks for a fun factonline or offlineyou won’t freeze. You’ll have a small,
well-researched arsenal of interesting facts, plus the confidence to share them in a way that’s inviting,
not overwhelming. Curiosity might start with a single Bored Panda thread, but it doesn’t have to end there.