Didn't want to know?! Fascinating and scary trivia & fun facts
Even though we think we don’t want to know scary stories, our curiosity tends to win and we end up watching or listening anyway, right? In this article, we’ve collected general-audience scary trivia and fun facts—the kind that gives you chills but you just can’t stop reading.
Some of it might make a few people regret seeing it a little, but there’s also plenty that’s good to know.
If you’re the type who wants to be informed—about the good and the bad—then follow your curiosity and check it out!
- Not taught in school! A roundup of historical trivia and fun facts
- Actually scary nursery rhymes. Children's songs that give you the chills once you understand their meaning
- Trivia and fun facts about food (summary)
- A quiz of fun trivia: bite-sized knowledge that leads to new insights.
- Useful right away in daily life! Surprising trivia and handy tips
- A compilation of unsettling trivia and fun facts about Earth
- Scary but I want to know! A psychology test that reveals your hidden personality and secret side
- [For Seniors] Introducing Scary Trivia Quizzes & Fun Facts!
- Trivia quiz with useful tips to know: fun facts that come in handy at school or at home [for kids]
- [Dog Biology] Things You Might Not Know? Dog Trivia
- A roundup of insect trivia: fun facts you'll want to share
- A psychological test that reveals your past life! It even diagnoses your likely occupation and how your life ended.
- Trivia you think you know but surprisingly don’t? August trivia and fun facts quiz!
Fun facts and trivia of surprise and fear (11–20)
There are birds that suck the blood of other creatures.
When we think of bloodsucking creatures, insects and bats usually come to mind, but there are also bird species that drink blood.
These birds are finches, and only those living in the Galápagos Islands have this habit.
Drinking blood may sound frightening, but this behavior developed as a key adaptation for survival in an environment with scarce food.
Gut bacteria that help process iron and sodium have also been found, highlighting a uniquely Galápagos form of evolution.
Chaplin was kidnapped after his death.
The king of comedy, Charles Chaplin, died in 1977 at the age of 88, but about two months later an incident occurred in which his body was stolen from its grave and he was kidnapped posthumously.
The perpetrators demanded a ransom of 100 million yen but were arrested.
Known as a perfectionist, Chaplin would keep the camera rolling until he was satisfied; for City Lights, released in 1931, he is said to have reshot a roughly three-minute scene 342 times.
He was also famous for his pro-Japanese sentiments, having hired a Japanese secretary and even visited Japan.
In 17th-century Turkey, drinking coffee was punishable by death.
In 17th-century Turkey, drinking coffee in public was strictly prohibited, and violators could face severe punishments, including the death penalty.
Murad IV, the ruler when Turkey was still known as the Ottoman Empire, disliked coffee and reportedly set examples by destroying coffeehouses; he is said to have imposed extreme penalties such as forty lashes for drinking one cup and having offenders sewn into a sack and thrown into the sea for drinking two.
People continued to drink coffee in secret and even opened cafés, making enforcement extremely difficult, and over time the ban on coffee was gradually relaxed.
Today, Turkish coffee is inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list and is an important part of Turkey’s culture.
Dolphins sometimes bully smaller dolphins.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Bullying—No Way, Absolutely Not”? It sounds like a slogan from the Ministry of Education for anti-bullying, but it’s actually a song by BABYMETAL.
It’s a great track, so give it a listen sometime.
Speaking of bullying, it even exists in the world of dolphins.
This stems from their high intelligence, and they’re even known to bully in groups.
Some dolphins will chase fish without any intention of eating them, just to exhaust them—pretty mean behavior.
It kind of changes the cute image we have of dolphins, doesn’t it? To think that even dolphins, which are said to be able to connect with humans on an emotional level, have that side to them!
If you drink river water in areas where foxes live, you can contract echinococcosis.
Although foxes live in various parts of Japan, we rarely have the chance to see them, which makes them all the more tempting to approach.
However, it’s generally advised not to get too close to wild foxes, largely because of Echinococcus parasites that foxes can carry.
Echinococcus can infect humans as well and, after an incubation period, cause a range of serious symptoms.
To prevent Echinococcus infection, in addition to avoiding close contact with foxes, it’s also said you should not drink river water in areas where they live.
It’s a chilling bit of trivia: these cute foxes come with the risk of a terrifying infectious disease.