The term “plastic surgery” was coined in 1839, 70 years before plastic was even invented. It comes from the Greek word “plastikē” which means “the art of modelling” of malleable flesh. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_surgery#Etymology
After 13 years of trying to find the structure of a protein, scientists created an online competitive game called Foldit that asked gamers to try and solve it. The structure was then found in 3 weeks. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.theguardian.com//technology/2014/jan/25/online-gamers-solving-sciences-biggest-problems
A meteorwrong is a rock that is believed to be a meteorite, but is in fact just a rock that is terrestrial in origin, also known as a pseudometeorite. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meteorwrong
The USSR successfully sent a spacecraft and entry probe to Venus in 1966 becoming the first space probe to hit the surface of another planet – three years before the US put man on the moon. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_3
The tongue is a unique organ exhibiting many static and dynamic characteristics which differ considerably between individuals. Tongue prints are as unique as fingerprints. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5210096/
Violets can be smelled for only a few moments at a time because they get their scent from ionine which shuts the smell receptors off after simulating them. After a few breaths the scent pops up again. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12643663
A new microbe called a hemimastigote was found in Nova Scotia. The Hemimastix kukwesjijk is not a plant, animal, fungus, or protozoa. It constitutes an entirely new kingdom, a new branch on the tree of life. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-a-newfound-kingdom-means-for-the-tree-of-life/
A Calvin and Hobbes comic from 1992 referred to the start of the universe as the “Horrendous Space Kablooie” (or HSK) because they thought “The Big Bang” was too boring. The term has since become popular among scientists and has been included in books and university courses. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes#Art_and_academia
The center of the Milky Way tastes like raspberries and smells like Captain Morgan. Astronomers researching the giant dust cloud in the middle of the galaxy found the chemical ethyl formate, which gives raspberries their flavor and smells like rum. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/apr/21/space-raspberries-amino-acids-astrobiology