21 Living Without Visual Imagination
Approximately 4% of people lack a visual imagination, meaning they cannot experience the “movies in the head” effect. Instead, their imagination relies on language, abstract concepts, raw emotions, or sensory inputs such as sounds and tactile sensations.
22 Robespierre’s Botched Suicide Attempt
During the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre, upon realizing he was to be executed, attempted suicide by shooting himself in the mouth. The attempt failed, leaving him with a shattered jaw. When he was taken to the guillotine, the executioner tore off the bandage holding his jaw together, causing him to scream in agony before the blade ended his suffering.
23 Mysterious Disappearances at Sea
Disappearances in the ocean are more common than most realize. Keys, sunglasses, airplanes, submarines, entire cities, and, disturbingly, individuals have all vanished without any trace. The International Cruise Victims Association reports that at least 165 individuals have “just disappeared” at sea over the past 20 years. Before this organization existed, multiple ships vanished annually, with some cases suggesting passengers were mysteriously thrown overboard.
24 Ghost Ships Still Haunt Seas
Despite advancements in technology and communication, ghost ships-vessels found adrift without a crew or any sign of distress-continue to appear. One of the most recent cases involved a Taiwanese fishing vessel discovered in January 2021, drifting off the coast of Midway Island. The ship was intact, but the crew was nowhere to be found.
25 Outlaw’s Body Mistaken as Prop
Elmer McCurdy, a failed outlaw of the American Old West, met an unusual postmortem fate. His embalmed body became a carnival attraction, touring for years. Eventually, he was mistaken for a mannequin and ended up as a prop on the set of the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man. During filming, his arm accidentally broke off, revealing bone and muscle-and the horrifying truth that he was a mummified corpse, not a mannequin.
26 Mystery of Salish Sea Feet
Since 2007, at least 24 detached human feet have been discovered along the coasts of the Salish Sea in British Columbia. Many of these feet were still inside shoes.
27 Iceland’s Necropants Wealth Ritual
In 17th-century Iceland, folklore described the creation of necropants-pants made from the skin of a deceased man. The process involved obtaining permission from the individual before death and then exhuming the body after burial. The process involved carefully flaying the lower half of the body to create the pants. A stolen coin, preferably from a poor widow, was placed in the scrotum to attract wealth. The wearer believed the pants would continuously generate prosperity, and they were often passed down through generations. A preserved pair of necropants is displayed at the Museum of Icelandic Sorcery and Witchcraft.
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28 Dahmer’s Horrific Zombie Experiments
Infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer attempted to create “sex zombies” from his victims by drilling holes into their skulls while they were still alive. He then poured acid or hot water into the holes in a horrifying attempt to make his victims more submissive.
29 Troxler Effect Distorts Reflections
The Troxler Effect is an optical illusion that can make people see distorted or monstrous images in mirrors. This phenomenon occurs when the brain fades out features that aren’t the focus of direct attention, replacing them with surrounding visual information. The Troxler Effect may contribute to the origins of mirror-related urban legends, such as the myth of Bloody Mary.
30 Cockroaches Burrow into Ears
Cockroaches are natural burrowers and cannot move backward. There have been disturbing cases where cockroaches burrow into human ears but are unable to exit on their own, creating painful and unsettling situations.
RE: Fact #21 (Living Without Visual Imagination) – Since we can’t get inside each other’s heads, how can we be sure this isn’t like that whole “no inner monologue” debate? How do we even know two people experience this the same way?
RE: Fact #21 (Living Without Visual Imagination) – Turning 40 and finally getting it has really helped me understand why people are into guided meditation and stuff. I used to think they were all just blindly following along.
RE: Fact #27 (Iceland’s Necropants Wealth Ritual) – People were way creative when they didn’t have social media to distract them huh?
I’d love to check out that Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants version.
Pagan Trousers Brotherhood
Seriously, how did they come up with this crap?
Did some killer wear their victim’s skin and need a reason why?
Those pants are almost certainly a myth. They were probably invented in ’87 to get people interested in that Icelandic witchcraft museum. The “steal from a poor widow” bit really seals it for me—it’s obviously a hoax.
Doesn’t that poor widow have enough on her plate already?
RE: Fact #30 (Cockroaches Burrow into Ears) – The sound it would make. OMG
Why’d I even read this fact.
It was like a really strong itch, you know the kind, like when something in your ear is bugging you.
Yep, happened to me once. I grabbed some tweezers, eased them in to open my ear a bit, and the thing crawled right out.
In the ER, we put numbing medicine in your ear. That way, you won’t feel anything while we carefully take it out, bit by bit.
RE: Fact #25 (Outlaw’s Body Mistaken as Prop) – Elmer McCurdy was a nobody outlaw in the Old West. His body, all preserved and stuff, ended up in a traveling carnival. Years later, people thought he was a dummy until he showed up on the set of *The Six Million Dollar Man*. During filming, his arm fell off, showing he was actually a real dead guy, not a fake.
RE: Fact #36 (Cannibalism in Soviet Gulags) – There are some really wild stories about Gulags during the Stalin era.
Back in the 1700s, sailors traveling between London and Shanghai did the same.
Dive bars used to have trap doors. You’d wake up on a boat, and your choice was jump or work.
RE: Fact #4 (Hidden Brain Malformations Risk) – Some people are born with an AVM – and never know it’s there until a scan shows it. Then, boom, it can burst out of nowhere. No warning whatsoever.
My 22-year-old niece had this happen yesterday. She’s in a coma now. It’s just awful.
My dad passed away last year. It was tough, we wish we’d known earlier. He was in a coma for a bit, then his body just couldn’t take it anymore after the AVM burst. At least he’s not in pain now.
Turns out it could be genetic, so my brothers and sisters and I are getting checked out.
And, AVMs can mess with your personality, affecting decisions and behavior. Dad was different in his later years, and his death explained a lot.
My friend was driving and suddenly had no clue who he was or where he was going, so he pulled over and called for help. Luckily, a big hospital did brain surgery and fixed him right up.
Of all the awful stuff in this factrepublic article, this one freaked me out the most. Imagine suddenly forgetting everything – what you’re doing, who you are, where you are – and possibly dying on the spot.
RE: Fact #31 (Fake Pilot Licenses Exposed) – That’s just a whole another level of corruption! Putting so many people at risk and they’ve just gotten permission to fly again to Europe again last year I think. I hope the EU did a thorough investigation.
RE: Fact #12 (Tarrare’s Dark Eating Habits) – My little cousin has the same thing.
When my mom first told me, I kinda laughed – a chubby kid always wanting food, right? But it’s actually awful. My aunt has to lock up all the food and keep a close eye on everything. They couldn’t even have a pet dog because he’d steal and eat the dog food! It’s heartbreaking telling him he can’t eat when he’s truly hungry and crying, saying he’s starving. He really *feels* starved, even if he isn’t.
It’s just a nightmare, honestly. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
I was scared you’d say he tried to eat the dog.
Is he absorbing his food properly, or does his brain just not get the “full” signal? I’m really curious.
RE: Fact #5 (Pigs Consume Everything) – Nah, I’m good, thanks.
RE: Fact #2 (Chainsaw’s Surgical Origins Revealed) – Two Scottish doctors, John Aitken and James Jeffray, invented a early version of the chainsaw we use today. They used it for different medical procedures in the late 1700s—one for cutting through a woman’s hip bones during childbirth, and the other for removing diseased bone.
Wow, is that ever going to get better?
Nope. Symphisiotomies were done in Ireland until pretty recently, and a big lawsuit happened a few years back because of the lifelong problems they caused some women. These women are dealing with constant pain, trouble walking, and bladder/bowel issues.
RE: Fact #9 (Man Lived with Lover’s Corpse) – Looking at the body later, it was clear how far he’d gone. They found a tube in her vagina – used to make it easier. Wow. Let’s just forget that happened.
I don’t reuse my underwear after showering—that’s just not sanitary.
That’s insane. Seven years with a… that thing? The stench alone must’ve been unbearable.
The article said he wasn’t cheap about perfume, that’s the one thing. It’s probably like, a hoarder thing – people get used to anything eventually. He probably just couldn’t smell it anymore after a while.
Help! I need to forget I ever saw this post.
RE: Fact #34 (Dentures from Fallen Soldiers) – Coming home to a ten-pound sack of teeth after a long workday? Ouch.
False teeth slavery
RE: Fact #2 (Chainsaw’s Surgical Origins Revealed) – The past was awesome.
The doctor said it was bad, the baby might not make it, and neither might she if we don’t act fast.
The nurse was told to keep burning Mr. Smith with cigarettes for his migraines while the doctor rushed off to another emergency, needing a chainsaw and his gimp outfit in Delivery Room B.
Imagine 150 years from now, people thinking our medical treatments are totally wild. “Seriously? They used someone else’s kidney? Gross!”
RE: Fact #12 (Tarrare’s Dark Eating Habits) – Maybe the wendigo was just someone with Prader-Willi syndrome. Back when food wasn’t so plentiful, wouldn’t someone with that condition have turned to cannibalism to fill an endless hunger? If they were kicked out of their tribe for breaking a rule, wouldn’t they get skinny and eat raw animals or anything they could find? Imagine: dirty, pale, alone, just constantly hungry, every action driven by that need. Makes you think, huh?
RE: Fact #26 (Mystery of Salish Sea Feet) – Why just legs though?
RE: Fact #37 (Chernobyl’s Lingering Radioactive Threat) – So a ticking timebomb huh?
RE: Fact #13 (Cordyceps Fungus Controls Insects) – Hey! Larry’s doing a handstand! Check it out, everyone! Larry, what’s with the handstand?
“I dunno, it just feels good,”
RE: Fact #5 (Pigs Consume Everything) –
RE: Fact #7 (Eva Perón’s Disturbing Legacy) – That’s not it Argentina’s president and his third wife kept her body at their breakfast table.
Wow, there’s a lot more to this story! After Peron died, her funeral was crazy—eight people died in the crush, and tons more were hurt. They originally planned a huge mausoleum for her, something like the Taj Mahal. While they built it, Peron kept her body at home, even at the dinner table! Later, they moved her to her old office. Then, a coup sent Peron running, and he couldn’t take her with him. Her body was in storage for ages, and this guard even started “talking” to her and having meals with her! Finally, she turned up in Italy, staying there for years until a terrorist group swapped her for another Argentinian dictator.
Evita really missed a lot of stuff. And if my hubby didn’t bury me right away, stuck me in storage, and let some creep get friendly with my body, he’d be facing a haunting so intense, South America would shake in its boots.
Huge crowds
Seriously, it’s way worse than that. They kept his first wife’s embalmed body on their dining room table for nineteen years after she died.
Lots of us have stuff piling up on the dining room table, right?
RE: Fact #39 (Reality as Brain’s Simulation) – There’s no way to prove anything exists beyond your own mind, and never will be. All you have is your own simulation, and it even pauses every 12 hours or so. And this simulation is completely personal, you’re never in the same universe as anyone else. We’re all stuck in our own little simulated worlds, all alone.
We are the universe experiencing itself.
A young dude tripping balls today figured out that everything’s just energy vibrating slowly, we’re all part of the same consciousness having different experiences, death’s not real, life’s a dream, and we’re all imagining ourselves. Now, here’s Tom with the weather.
We’ll never actually grasp the whole truth. What you’re experiencing is real, but it’s filtered through your human brain and body. It’s still reality though. The idea of “experiencing reality directly” doesn’t make sense to me.
Even if we see totally different things, we’re both experiencing reality. There’s no such thing as a “true reality.” Everything’s filtered through how our bodies work.
RE: Fact #21 (Living Without Visual Imagination) – It’s annoying not knowing if I have aphantasia. I’m not even sure what “imagining” something actually means. People say, “Imagine an apple,” but I can draw one without looking at a real one. It’s not like I *see* it in my head, though – I just know what it looks like, and that’s how I draw it. It feels more like thinking about an apple’s description than seeing a picture. Is there a way to figure out if it’s aphantasia or just how my brain works? And if it’s just my brain, can I change it to visualize better?
Forget the apple. Picture a cow. Now spin that cow to the left. If you can’t, or that doesn’t make sense, you might have aphantasia.
So, is this thing like a 3D model of an apple or a cow floating in black space, or is it more realistic, or something totally different?
I hear stuff in my head – it’s actually a thing. Comparing that to seeing things in my head is what made me realize I have aphantasia.
That was a big help! My mind’s eye is super clear and easy to use.
But visualizing things is all blurry and messy, like trying to grab a shadow.
I always figured everyone was the same, but some people are just better at it than others. After reading your comment, I think I’ve got mild to moderate aphantasia.
Yeah, I get that. We’re all just looking at different parts of the same thing.
RE: Fact #17 (The Call of the Void) – Being able to consider an idea without believing it is a sign of a smart person.
RE: Fact #6 (Eye Worms) – They grow to be between 1 and 2.5 inches long. WTF
I’m going to ignore that.
Was that in Baldur’s Gate 3?
RE: Fact #17 (The Call of the Void) – It’s a relief to know I’m not alone in feeling this way; it’s pretty scary to feel like this for no apparent reason.
Your brain’s just doing a quick check, making sure you won’t actually do it. Ever thought about clocking your coworker? Or maybe planting a big smooch on them?
It’s way more worrying if you actually do these things than just having the thoughts. Everyone gets ’em.
I’m constantly fantasizing about kissing my male coworkers. Then *bam*—a boner. Seriously, brain, cut it out! Anyone else?
Voidcaller: Big, bad, chaotic evil aberration.
Armor Class 15, 105 hit points, moves 40 feet.
Stats are good: Strong, pretty nimble, tough, not so smart, perceptive, and super charismatic. Saves are great against Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma attacks. Good at deceiving, figuring people out, noticing things, and persuading. Resists physical damage from non-magical weapons, and ignores being charmed or frightened. Can see through walls (120 feet), and has a really good perception. Understands common but can’t talk, telepathy (120 feet). Challenge rating 7.
Special stuff: Its armor class includes its wisdom. To see it, you have to succeed on a tough (DC 18) Wisdom saving throw. Failure means you can’t see it, but you can try again at the end of each turn. If you succeed, you’re immune for a day.
Attacks: It uses its claws twice, and they hit hard with slashing and psychic damage. It also has a ranged psychic attack that’s a real powerhouse. Its main attack is “Call of the Void”. It charms a creature, slows them down, and makes them want to hurt themselves. The charmed creature has to try to get themselves killed or attack themselves each turn, unless they succeed on a saving throw. They get to try and break free each turn.
RE: Fact #27 (Iceland’s Necropants Wealth Ritual) – Honestly, the museum charges admission, so if people go, those pants are bringing in some cash.
Yeah, they totally ripped me off.
They’re just copies, not the real thing.
I’d be bummed if their donation box isn’t a necropant scrotebag.
RE: Fact #21 (Living Without Visual Imagination) – It’s weird to think about not being able to imagine things.
My super creative husband was really surprised I can’t picture things in my head.
RE: Fact #13 (Cordyceps Fungus Controls Insects) – I wish there was a wasp equivalent.
There’s also an ant version, if that helps.
RE: Fact #20 (Instinctively Sensing Being Watched) – That’s true – if you feel like someone’s staring, chances are they are.
I haven’t really looked into it, but it’s true. It’s not just a feeling of being watched; it’s more about the situation. Walking down a dark road? You might get that feeling, even if nobody’s around, just because a predator *could* be there. But when there actually *is* a predator—animal or creep—that’s when it’s really useful.
RE: Fact #13 (Cordyceps Fungus Controls Insects) – That’s a nasty fungus.
Evil? Nah, probably just nature’s pest control. It’s all about population balance.
Lots of people around, huh?
RE: Fact #24 (Ghost Ships Still Haunt Seas) – Could it just have been Prince Zuko hunting for the Avatar?
RE: Fact #17 (The Call of the Void) – Ever wonder if it’s like that “throw the baby” thing? Lots of people picture themselves doing it, my wife and I both have. It’s bizarre, but apparently it’s a common thing. Maybe it’s our brain’s way of learning that tossing a baby is a bad idea. If you’d never even *thought* about throwing a baby, you might do it in a panic if you needed both hands free. But if you’ve already thought, “Throwing the baby? Yeah, no way, that’s awful,” you’re less likely to actually do it.
RE: Fact #1 (Intestines Reposition Themselves Naturally) – I mentioned this earlier, but if you have belly surgery and they need your intestines moved, they don’t put them back exactly the same. They just kinda shove them back in, and they sort themselves out. Then I totally freaked when someone else said you can often feel them wiggling into place.
Wow, nursing school’s a trip. Saw a belly surgery—the surgeon tossed the intestines in a black trash bag on the gurney. Afterward, he just shook the stuff back in, kinda mushed it around, then sewed him up. Definitely not like those TV shows.
Did he pat the belly a couple times and say it wasn’t going anywhere?
Seriously, if they just toss them back in and mess around with them, wouldn’t that cause bruising?
RE: Fact #10 (Grizzly Man’s Final Recording) – I’m not too worried about calling that guy out for his kinks.
I’m bummed out and need to forget that creepy stuff I just read about that guy and his disgusting sex doll.
Stalking and sexual harassment aren’t cool; they’re illegal.
RE: Fact #8 (CPR Mannequin’s Tragic Origin) – Everyone’s always trying to save her, but it’s never going to work.
That’s a bummer.
RE: Fact #35 (Calculated Deaths in War) – That’s just so many deaths. How did they estimate weeks ahead?
I read about the German plan at Verdun, the idea being to attack somewhere the French couldn’t give up, forcing them to keep sending in more and more troops. It almost worked; some French units had casualty rates over 100%! That’s because when soldiers died or got hurt, they were replaced, and if those replacements also became casualties, a unit could easily have more casualties than it had soldiers to begin with, especially in a brutal, long battle like Verdun.
So, Falkenhayn’s plan was just to grab Verdun – a key part of the French defenses. When that didn’t work, he basically shrugged and said he just wanted to wear them down. But, yeah, the attack flopped.
Germany messed up big time by keeping the same guys in Verdun the whole time. Imagine being a German soldier there on February 18th – if you survived, you probably stayed until November 21st! France, though, rotated troops constantly, bringing in fresh guys for a few weeks before sending them to a quieter spot to recover. About 70% of French soldiers saw some action at Verdun.
The deeper I get into WWI, the more I see that nobody was really on the right side.
Hey, I’m American, and I’m saying we’re not always the bad guys in every war. We pretty much started the whole “good guy” thing, actually.
RE: Fact #19 (Dolphins’ Shocking Violent Behavior) – Also heard they are kind rap*y.
As a scuba instructor, I’m quick to correct anyone who shouts, “Sharks!” I tell them shark attacks are super rare, and dolphins? They’re the ocean’s version of Brock Turner – rapists.
RE: Fact #29 (Troxler Effect Distorts Reflections) – So it is kind of a visual trick that plays on how you see and think.
I’ve had sleep paralysis a couple of times, but only one time was it seriously creepy. That time, it was so real I had to touch the thing to make it disappear.
RE: Fact #22 (Robespierre’s Botched Suicide Attempt) – They say he tried to give a speech, but the angry crowd shouted him down.
He was one of the few bad guys taken down by the craziness he’d created himself. Most others got away with everything awful they did, and without a shred of decency.
There’s nothing good about how he ended up.
RE: Fact #32 (Cherry Pits’ Deadly Cyanide) – So I can the pits and make a poison shake?
RE: Fact #5 (Pigs Consume Everything) – It’ll eat right through bone.