Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Confess Which Scientific Fact Scares Them To the Core​ The Core

I've never been a science fan.

I accept it as revolutionary and a part of life but I've misunderstood so much of it.

I just accept my lack of understanding and move on.

And in hindsight I may have done myself a favor.

Science is riddled with drama and fear.

Redditor bck83 wanted to hear from everyone about all the reasons science can be more terrifying than fun. They asked:

"What scientific fact or theory scares you to your bones?"

Science and math... two of my school career enemies. Educate me on what I don't want to know.

DANGER!!

danger smelling GIFGiphy

"There have already been five mass extinction level events."

justandswift

"And cockroaches survived all of them..."

wakeywakeygogetbakey

Fatal

"Naegleria fowleri (brain eating amoeba) has a 97% fatality rate and it’s immune to most antibiotics."

Old_Championship3196

"It's a disease that literally infects and kills neurons. This is not on the treatment, this is just how rabies work."

"Many other neurological infections leave people brain damaged, many neurological conditions that have nothing to do with infections do too. Just like having endocarditis is likely to give you heart damage, a disease that infects the brain is likely gonna leave you brain damaged. It's not a perfect treatment by any means, but it is there, and writing it off is neither fair nor accurate."

7Doppelgaengers

The Unknown

"Quite a common one, but space is SO BIG. Like, bigger than the amount that we can observe. Gives me the chills."

Backstage____

"And in all that we see, the entire universe seems to be entirely hostile to life - as in instant death. Temperatures, radiation, poison gases, vacuum. All of it is quickly fatal, except for this little pale blue dot. If there are any other pale blue dots out there they are probably very rare, and impossibly remote."

karthmorphon

Farewell to the mind...

"Alzheimer's/Dementia - anything where you lose your memory or become a burden to your family."

Motor_Relation_5459

"My dad has dementia and it's a constant cycle of adapting to the new reality and then noticing a new or enhanced symptom and having to adapt to that."

"I think it feels like when old cartoon characters are walking over a cliff and keeping on walking until they realize there's nothing under their feet anymore. I love my dad. He is only in his fifties and I don't think he'll remember who I am when I get married. He doesn't know what chess is anymore but he can play it really well. Dementia is a weird thing."

Patrochillean

Clueless

Biting Nails Reaction GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy

"There are between 6-10 nuclear missiles that are missing. No sovereign nation has a clue where they are, or who has control of them."

PatMenotaur

They always said science is fun. Clearly that was a lie.

All of it...

frozen anna sleeping GIFGiphy

"Your brain recalls memories when you die but your brain also recalls memories wrong so you're basically lying to yourself right before you die."

IndianaJonesDoombot

Any second...

"I suppose that at any moment you can have an aneurysm and bam you're dead and there's not much you can really do to prevent it or even predict it."

DoopFoopHoop

"Would just like to add, sometimes you don’t die. My mother didn’t. 4 weeks ago she went into surgery to repair the aneurysm."

"She’s been in the hospital ever since, sleeping most of the time and generally confused and not knowing where she is the rest of the time with only very very rare moments of apparent lucidity. She has an NG tube and is currently bedridden. It is horrible. We don’t know if she’ll ever get better."

SagittalSpatula

POV

"It's thought our galaxy is full of rogue planets wandering free from their original star. At any time one of these planets could wander through our solar system radically throwing off the fragile balance of our orbits. A big enough planet passing close enough could send us careening into the sun."

Fun_Boysenberry_5219

The Resistance

"Antimicrobial resistance. What's really crazy is, we owe our modern prosperity (especially in the US) to antibiotics. Each particular antibiotic only works for a short period of time, before pathogenic bacteria becomes resistant to it. We've been though numerous different antibiotics since the discovery of penicillin, and pathogenic bacteria have become resistant to almost all of them."

"We're running out of antibiotics that are still effective. About 4 or 5 years ago, I learned that there were babies born in India who had infections that were resistant to all known types of antibiotics. There's a good chance that in our lifetimes, we'll see people dying from common infections due to the lack of effective drugs to treat them."

uglyugly1

MAD

destruction GIFGiphy

"The theory of MAD, or mutually assured destruction. It's a great theory for helping me sleep at night, but uh... It kinda only works if everyone involved is always rational at all times, and never feels they have nothing to lose."

"Thankfully no human ever acts irrationally. And certainly if they did, we'd never let them keep control of nuclear weapons! That'd be insane. Ha ha. Really insane. Like, 'insane"'is honestly Putin it mildly."

Phoenix042

Know it All...

"The fact that we will never ever be able to know everything. like theres a limit to what we can know and theres so much out there that will we just never discover. Another one that scares me is that we are all alone on this floating rock. I doubt we are the only intelligent life in this universe but its possible that we are in a sense and that it self scares me so much."

starfire1905

Crawlers

"There are microorganisms and bacteria crawling around your eyes. Academically, I know that we think they are helpful and fight disease. However, I don't like the notion of stuff crawling around in/on my eyes."

BobTheGC

"Not just eyes, inside our gut systems and covering our skin. There are microorganisms on everything all the time. But don't worry, most of them are our friends! :)"

Snoo_18012

Bitten

"When you get rabies and didn't get treated until the symptoms show up, you're dead. When you experience single symptom of rabies you're already dead, there's nothing you can do about it. Also rabies symptoms can take long to show up, the incubation period for rabies can last up to years. So if you were bitten or scratched by an animal with rabies years ago, the symptoms could show up right now and you will die."

567stranger

Blasted

Cat Internet GIF by TJ FullerGiphy

"Gamma blasts scare the crap out of me they could happen at any time and nothing can stop them."

wetlettuce42

Emptiness

"Atoms are 99.99% empty space. The nature of all seemingly solid matter is an illusion."

osunightfall

"You also never REALLY touch anything. There is always an incredibly small space between you and an object, even if you push on it, due to electrostatic repulsion between your body's atoms and the atoms of the object. We just 'feel' it, due to electrical charges in our nerves. So, we never touch anything, but we 'feel' it in our brain."

ThePlooker

False Truths

"It is possible that the universe exists at a false vacuum level and at some point, any time or anywhere, vacuum decay could occur, sending a wave of destruction out in every direction. The only solace is that if it did occur, it would probably spread at no greater than the speed of light, so if it occurred in some other galaxy, humanity would be long gone before it reached here. Of course, that also means it could have already occurred in multiple places and at multiple times and the universe is just being destroyed bit by bit."

DarthWoo

It's Grim

"There is a thought that if there were a big enough landslide on the Canary Islands (which is a real possibility), if it were large enough it'd cause a giant tsunami causing significant damage to the Eastern United States. I've seen some of the models, they look quite grim."

llcucf80

Hunted

"The Dark Forest Theory. It’s an explanation as to why we haven’t heard back from aliens yet. They are purposely keeping quiet as there is no way to know if another life form may perceive you as a threat and decide to kill you off. Whoever pulls the trigger first is the winner. Everyone is a hunter. So, why risk reaching out?"

10Luke01

Changes

Too Much GIF by Satish GaireGiphy

"That humanity has changed so drastically in the last 100 years that it scares me how different life will be in even 50 years from now."

JP1426

"shutting off"

"Lots of people don't just pass away quickly. A lot of times they experience their organs 'shutting off' basically one by one. A common experience is your lungs filling with fluid and causing you to suffocate. Maybe death itself isn't too bad, as it is the ultimate peace: a release from the suffering of life. The part I'm most afraid of is the process of dying and what it will all feel like."

"If I'm old and at the point where doctors are certain i cannot live much longer, id hope they come up with something thats not totally agonizing. Since that is many, many years in the future it'll hopefully go smoothly with advancements in medicine and tech."

MCWizardYT

I need better news in this day and age.

Forget science... I'm sticking with Drama.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Teachers Share The Questions Students Asked In Class That Broke Their Hearts

Being a teacher is a calling.

It is not for the meek or weak of heart.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Emily Compagno
Fox News

Fox Host Slams Dem For Dropping An F-Bomb After Praising Trump For The Same Thing Just Minutes Earlier

Fox News host Emily Compagno was criticized after she praised Donald Trump's use of the "f-bomb" earlier this week before condemning Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett's use of the same word—on the same episode of her show, no less.

Trump made headlines this week after admonishing Israel and Iran for violating a ceasefire agreement he'd announced on Truth Social. Although he claimed the ceasefire had been "agreed upon," Iran fired at least six missile barrages at Israel after it was supposed to take effect.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ken Jennings; Emily Croke
@Jeopardy/Instagram

Champ's Wild Final Jeopardy Connection

In a dramatic conclusion on last Monday’s Jeopardy!, a contestant revealed a surprising relationship to the final clue's answer. Hailing from Denver, Emily Croke made it to the final write-in portion of the game show with $12,200 in earnings.

In the category of “Collections,” host Ken Jennings read the clue:

Keep ReadingShow less
State Department logo illustration
Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

State Department Slammed After Requiring Visa Applicants To Make All Social Media Posts Public For Vetting

The State Department is facing harsh criticism after it announced that anyone applying for an F, M, or J nonimmigrant visa will need to disclose all social media profiles from the last five years, requiring that all applicants set their posts to public so they can be properly vetted by its agents.

The agency said the new rules are part of a new screening process aimed at identifying individuals who may pose a threat to U.S. national security. According to the department, failure to comply could result in a denial, and consular officers have been instructed to flag signs of “hostility” toward the U.S.—though the criteria for such determinations remain vague.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Tiny Chef Show being canceled
@thetinychefshow/TikTok

Heartbreaking Animated Video Announcing Emmy-Winning Show's Cancellation Has The Internet Sobbing

Whether or not you've heard of the show, Nickelodeon's The Tiny Chef Show has been turning heads. Not only is it a show that children love, but it's an Emmy Award winner.

Despite all of this adorable, pea-sized chef's success, and a Minion-like voice to boot, the show appears to be canceled.

Keep ReadingShow less