Umami is the recently identified fifth taste. It is described as a savory flavor and is caused by glutamate, an amino acid. It is associated with foods like tomatoes, meat, cheese, mushrooms, and more. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.rd.com/food/recipes-cooking/13-foods-with-natural-umami/
The Miracle Berry, or synsepalum dulcificum, is a fruit from West Africa which contains the taste modifier Miraculin. When you eat the fruit, the miraculin molecules bind to the tongue causing sour foods to taste sweet. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum
A 74 year old Japanese man dressed as a ninja and burgled 254 homes and stole $260,000 worth of goods before finally being caught by local police. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://grapee.jp/en/88152
A mouse’s sperm is much, much larger than an elephant’s sperm. However, the fruit fly produces the longest sperm known to science. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://gizmodo.com/this-is-why-a-mouses-sperm-is-longer-than-an-elephants-1743378063
Cats have a dominant paw very similar to how humans have a dominant hand. These preferences also differ by sex – same as in humans. Males tend to prefer their left paws, whereas females were more likely to be righties. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/01/animals-pets-cats-right-handed/
Glossy magazines are radioactive. They are made with a white clay called kaolin which contains elevated levels of uranium and thorium. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/consumer%20products/magazines.htm
A Ugandan man saw his father lose their land in a legal fight at age 6. He spent 18 years in school and became a lawyer and won back the land 23 years later. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47801008
John Willis is one of only a few white members in Ping On, Boston’s Chinese mafia. He was introduced to the group by a young Asian man he defended. John later learned Chinese, became the boss’s chief bodyguard, and received the nickname “White Devil”. He is currently in a federal prison for drug trafficking. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/exq8dm/how-did-a-white-guy-from-boston-become-a-mob-boss-in-the-chinese-mafia-111
Before Edgar Allen Poe sold his poem The Raven for $9, or roughly $300 in today’s dollars, to The American Review, the owner of Graham’s Magazine gifted him $15 after turning Poe down because he thought the poem was a cry for help. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/28/priority-edgar-allan-poes-poem-raven-rejected-one-magazine-eventually-sold-9/