Everybody loves a cheeky chicken McNugget now and again. Perhaps, even, multiple McNuggets. Today I learnt that, for all the McNuggets I've ever eaten in my life, McDonald's only produces nuggets in four different shapes: The Bell, The Bow-Tie, The Boot and The Ball.

Mind. Blown.

The Second World War swallowed up the years between 1939 and 1945, affecting people across the globe and ending as the deadliest conflict in human history. As some of humanity's darkest days, it's origins and legacy are taught in schools across the world. It may be easy to understand who attacked who - but it isn't easy to fully comprehend the scale until it's laid out for you in simple, easy to understand terms.

Just like this two-part video series does.

In 1979, two years after the death of Elvis Presley, a gold vinyl appeared in record stores across America. The album was titled 'Reborn' and featured a masked man bedecked in an Elvis-style jumpsuit and trademark pompadour. His name was Orion - and his singing voice was eerily similar to the king of rock and roll.

Could it be that Elvis was still alive and performing under a new name?

Everyone knows how Hollywood legend James Dean died — young and badly, crashing his Porsche 550 Spyder on September 30, 1955. More than half a century later, the mystery of his supposedly “cursed” Porsche is as compelling as ever.

You know what would be really handy? If a trained rally driver with access to a bunch of all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles helpfully explained the difference between these two ever-more confused terms. Oh wait, here he is!

The English language was first spoken in early medieval England around 1400 years ago. This gradually gave rise to today's 'Modern English' which became the dominant form by the 1550s. Today I discovered some of the earliest English words that are still in common usage today.

In 1967, filmmakers Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin claimed to have run into a hairy, upright-walking creature while filming a documentary about horse riding in the Northern Californian wilderness. To back their claims, they presented an extremely shaky film shot on a Cine-Kodak K-100 camera that clearly depicts a large, bipedal humanoid rapidly walking away from the camera while glancing behind it. This became popularly known as the Patterson–Gimlin film and remains the most famous 'Bigfoot footage' ever captured.

The 59.5 seconds of film have sparked fierce debate among scientists and Bigfoot enthusiasts, with the unusual gait of the creature often posited as proof that the footage is genuine. Until recently, the shakiness of the footage made it difficult to tell one way or the other. Today I discovered a digitally remastered version on the internet that has been painstakingly stabilised to remove all camera movement. Watch it and judge for yourself.

We all know the sound a happy cat makes. But did you realise a bunch of other animals also purr, including big arse polar bears? Neither did I.

The camel spider is a type of Arachnid found in most deserts around the world (with the exception of Australia, thank God.) They are notable for having ten limbs, the biggest jaws of any Arachnid and the ability to grow to distressingly large sizes. Oh yeah, and they literally scream while chasing down prey.

The Melbourne Cup is sometimes deplored but the central place it holds in Australian mainstream culture is rarely disputed. And its promotion came quickly. Its first running in 1861 drew about 4000 spectators. In 1870 an estimated 30,000 attended and 100,000 was claimed for the 1880 running – about a third of the population of Melbourne. Even allowing for some boasting spurred by colonial rivalry, these are remarkable figures.

Graphic designers, you should probably stay away from this one. This optical illusion messes with your vision in a way that creates false colours that could linger for over three months - though don't worry, you have to be trying pretty hard to have that pronounced an effect. It's called the McCollough effect, and here is how it works.

One of the unintended benefits of virtual-reality headsets is the ability to watch TV. The Google Daydream, Samsung Galaxy Gear VR and PlayStation VR are provide excellent private viewing theatres to catch up on your favourite shows.

Today I discovered that this concept isn't new. In 1937, a British company launched a tiny, personalised TV set known as the 'Television Monocle'. Tell me you don't want one.

Being the Queen of England definitely has its perks. In addition to being the fabulously wealthy figurehead of an entire nation and getting to have your face on coins and stuff, it turns out you also get first dibs on any dolphin entering British waters. No, really.

We all know about avocados - delicious, green, creamy, expensive, irresistible to hipsters and guaranteed to keep you from buying a house. But have you ever stopped to question just why an avocado is called an avocado? The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, has to do with humanity's unending obsession with genitalia.

Most of you have probably heard about the the Somerton man before - a corpse discovered propped up against a stone wall at Somerton beach on 1 December 1948 with no identification and the tags on his clothing removed. But did you know there was an eerily similar case in the 1970s?

With a burned body, a glamorous woman, multiple identities and mysterious men in black, the Isdal Woman mystery goes beyond most people's understanding.

Tesla is a bit of a control freak when it comes to repairing its electric vehicles. If you try to buy parts to make your own repairs, they won't let you. The company views it as a way of protecting its reputation and ensuring quality. But YouTuber Rich Benoit believes Tesla owners should be able to work on their own cars, so he found a way to do it.

Two blowflies were chowing down on a dog turd mixed with their own vomit for lunch. One of the flies farted. The other one said: "Don't be so disgusting while I'm eating!"

But anyway.

The word 'nightmare' is instilled in us from a very young age - usually the first time a bad dream causes us to scream out for a parent or guardian. But have you ever wondered what a 'mare' actually is?

Here's another reason to hate smoking. Cigarette butts are among the most abundant types of human-produced garbage in the world's oceans - and they take decades to decompose.