Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share The Saddest Facts They Know

People Share The Saddest Facts They Know
Image by Mandy Fontana from Pixabay

Make us preferred on Google

We live in a big, beautiful world... but there's a lot of pain and sadness in it, too. Did you know that on the tape of the Jonestown massacre you can hear the sounds of children crying as their parents feed them cyanide? Sorry to dump that on you, but that's a sad reality––and trust me, you don't want to listen to that tape.

People had plenty of heartbreaking facts of their own to offer after Redditor graham_cracker asked the online community,

"What's the saddest fact you know?"

"It was a mating call..."

"There's a recording of the last Kaua'i Oo bird singing before it went extinct. It was a mating call sung by a male bird. The song has breaks for the female bird to respond. There's no response because the male Kaua'i Oo is the last of its kind."

azalea

Kauai 'O'o

And that's the recording:

"He pulled his boat out of the lake..."

"A guy in my area had just retired on a Friday. The following Wednesday he was out fishing and a thunderstorm came up. He pulled his boat out of the lake and while standing next to his car on the boat ramp lightning took him out. 5 blessed days of retirement."

Hoppertime

Life can be cruel. What even are the odds of that happening?

"Elephants will mourn..."

"Elephants will mourn other elephants in their group dying and will hold funerals for them and will even recognize the bones of said elephant and cry out in sadness."

wanderingstalker

Rare Footage: Wild Elephants “Mourn” Their Dead | National Geographic

Of course I had to look this up. Thank you, National Geographic.

"There is a plastic bag..."

"There is a plastic bag at the bottom of the Mariana Trench."

Meh657

"Swans can die..."

"Swans can die of a broken heart when their mates die.​"

supadupaman

Ever heard of broken heart syndrome? Humans have been known to experience it as well, especially after sad and stressful events like the loss of a loved one.

People Share The 'Dirty Secrets' That Their Bosses Don't Want Customers To Know

"Dodo birds..."

"Dodo birds were really friendly because they had no natural predators and we killed them all."

Zach_Zootah

"Whales that sing..."

"Whales that sing in the wrong key get lost and are alone in the ocean."

MeowthePrettyKitty

Noooo. Why did you tell us this? Nooooo.

"A majority of people..."

"A majority of people, when asked, would rather die at home than at the hospital. A majority of people, when recorded, die at the hospital rather than at home."

DaShortRound

"For animal testing..."

"For animal testing involving dogs, most laboratories use beagles as they are the most forgiving of the people inflicting pain on them."

ShutUpChunk

I know what you're thinking. That was too much. That's why I've come prepared with these pictures of happy puppies from the American Kennel Club to brighten up your day. I'm nice like that and frankly, my own heart needed it.

Have some of your own facts to share? Feel free to tell us all about them in the comments below!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Amy Adams
Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Apple TV/Getty Images

Amy Adams Reveals She Saved Stabbing Victim's Life Thanks To Skills She Learned On Short-Lived TV Medical Drama

We've all heard how important it is to be a lifelong learner and to try to learn something new every single day. And if you're Amy Adams, what you learn might save someone's life someday.

While on the SmartLess podcast, Adams reflected on some of her biggest roles, like Arrival, and that one time she was on a limited series on CBS, only for the channel to cancel the medical drama after five episodes, even though it was only set to run for ten. The remaining five episodes were never released.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bill Burr on The Big Podcast; Shaquille O'Neal on The Big Podcast
The Big Podcast with Shaq/YouTube

Bill Burr Epically Roasts Shaq For Claiming That The Earth Is Flat Due To His Experience On Planes

There is arguably no conspiracy theory more notorious than the idea that the Earth is flat rather than round.

Despite hard scientific evidence to prove otherwise, "flat Earthers" seem to be growing at a surprising rate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lionel Messi
Kaz Photography/Getty Images

An Accidentally NSFW Statue Of Lionel Messi Was Just Erected In Argentina—And Hoo Boy, It's A Big Yikes

Well, they don't call it "erecting a statue" for nothing, it seems!

A new statue of soccer superstar Lionel Messi has been, yes, erected in the Patagonia region of Messi's native Argentina, and with all due respect to everyone involved, it really needed a few more rounds of quality control.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dwayne Johnson
VCG/VCG via Getty Images

Dwayne Johnson Sparks Debate After His Comments About Why He Stays Out Of Politics Rub Some Fans The Wrong Way

Former football player turned professional wrestler turned actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is facing fan backlash over recent comments he's made about remaining an apolitical public figure when most of his fellow performers have chosen to either speak out against injustice in fascism or wholly embrace it.

In an interview with Esquire, Johnson criticized his colleagues for sharing their political views with the public.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Elizabeth Warren
CNBC

CNBC Includes Hilarious Typo In Chyron During Elizabeth Warren Interview About AI—And We're Obsessed

After Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren appeared on CNBC to decry the lack of AI regulations in the United States, the network misquoted her in a chyron with a typo when she discussed AI's "funky, hinky bookkeeping."

Warren, who has been working with Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, a fellow Democrat, on legislation to address this deficit, also pointed out that the Trump administration has no regulators to speak of.

Keep ReadingShow less