Monthly Fun Facts of January

Welcome, everyone, to the very first installment of Fun Facts, a monthly list of ten weird, crazy, and cool facts that you may not have heard of. If you need a brain break or just want to read something interesting, this installment is for you.

To begin, here is the list of ten fun facts for January 2018:

#1: The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn. (Source)

#2: The longest word in the English language contains 189,819 letters. The word is ‘Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl…isoleucine’, the chemical name of ‘titin’. (Source)

#3: Apples, strawberries, and plum all belong to the rose family. (Source)

#4: There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way. (Source)

#5: Cherophobia is a phobia where a person has an irrational aversion to being happy. (Source)

#6: A large storage tank burst in Boston in 1919, releasing a wave of molasses which killed 21 people and injured 150. It’s known as the Great Molasses Flood. (Source)

#7: Elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror, which is thought to be a rare skill among animals. (Source)

#8: Since 2012, the town of Dull, Scotland has been paired with the town of Boring, Oregon. In 2013, the town of Bland, Australia was added and the three towns became known as the “Trinity of Tedium.” (Source)

#9: In 2016, Marilyn Monroe’s iconic sequin gown she wore while singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to President John F. Kennedy was sold for $4.8 million to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. (Source)

#10: A goldfish will turn pale if left for long periods of time in a dark room. (Source)