tech
December 27, 2025
55 Facts That Blew Our Minds in 2025
The Atlantic’s Science, Technology, and Health desk has had a busy 2025: Our writers have spent the year probing the limits of human consciousness and gene-editing technology, studying the ubiquity of microplastics, investigating the origins of a mysterious ALS outbreak, and even chasing down rubble from the White House’s demolished East Wing. Our reporting has led us to a number of strange and delightful facts. In a year defined by slop, we hope these nuggets of reality inspire some genuine awe:
TL;DR
- Women's hands are generally more sensitive to warmth than men's.
- The U.S. releases 100 million sterile flies weekly in Mexico.
- A sea slug species, Elysia chlorotica, appears to perform photosynthesis.
- The Pepsi-Cola jingle was the most recognized tune in America in 1942.
- Satellites can detect the blowhole spray of whales.
- Some AI skeptics are not saving for retirement due to automation fears.
- Scientists discovered a new color named 'olo', described as a teal or blue-green mix.
- Modern potatoes may have descended from ancient tomato plants.
- AI spending accounted for 92% of U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025.
- A child received the first customized CRISPR gene-editing treatment for a rare genetic condition.
- Baseball players experimented with four-sided bats in the late 1800s.
- Little League attempted to exclude girls in the early 1970s, citing potential breast cancer risks.
- In 1900, a temperance advocate destroyed saloons using bricks, rocks, and a billiard ball.
- The New Jersey Meadowlands landfill accepted rubble from the London Blitz and New York's old Penn Station.
- Amtrak service was disrupted for months due to a sinkhole between Albany and the Berkshires.
- Insects likely comprise over half of all animal species, with 80% undocumented.
- Malibu has a flock of wild parrots possibly descended from escaped pets.
- A hawk learned to use crosswalk signals to hunt prey.
- A 2018 Danish study suggested tennis players live longer than swimmers, cyclists, and joggers.
- Academy Award winners for Best Cinematography from 2011-2013 were all 3-D movies.
- Some veterinarians recommend sunscreen for pets, especially light-colored dogs.
- Robot dogs inspect cars at a Hyundai factory in Georgia.
- A global cocoa shortage is forcing confectioners to reduce or eliminate chocolate in candies.
- The U.S.'s first racially integrated women's baseball league begins play in spring 2026.
- There are an estimated 25,000 city-killer-size asteroids in near-Earth orbits, with less than half found.
- The autopsy rate in the U.S. dropped from one in five in 1972 to below one in 10.
- The word 'cooties' originally referred to lice and insects encountered by soldiers in WWI.
- An ALS outbreak in a French town may be linked to wild mushrooms.
- Eggs are naturally seasonal.
- Orange juice manufacturers blend batches to maintain consistent flavor.
- 19th-century patent medicines sometimes contained explosives.
- The Baader 632 Thigh Filleting System processes 230 chicken thighs per minute.
- Male fertility issues can sometimes be resolved by treating the female partner.
- The Animal Welfare Act excludes fish, insects, cephalopods, and most rodents from its definition of 'animal'.
- A single weed vape can contain 5,000 milligrams of THC.
- Soy sauce laced with ostrich antibodies is available in Japan.
- Washing contaminated lettuce does not effectively remove E. coli.
- Living organisms might be better understood as dynamic patterns rather than collections of atoms.
- An AppleWatch system can detect nightmares and vibrate to stop them without waking the wearer.
- A vegetative patient began talking after being given Ambien in 1999.
- Saturn's moon count nearly doubled with the confirmation of 128 new satellites.
- Olive Garden's 'Tour of Italy' dish contains 3,200 mg of sodium.
- Turkey contains less tryptophan than cheddar cheese or octopus.
- An AI start-up spent $1.8 million on the URL friend.com.
- Calling a loved one by name can cause anxiety or nausea in some individuals.
- Bodybuilders are learning that bulking requires only about 10% more calories than maintenance.
- LinkedIn's 'Videos for You' tab functions similarly to TikTok.
- Soap's primary disinfectant quality might be its ability to loosen debris by making hands slippery.
- Plastic-bristled toothbrushes can introduce 30-120 microparticles of plastic into the diet per cleaning.
- Plastic is essential for the durability, stretch, and bubble-forming ability of chewing gum.
- Sketchy texts offering tax rebates or warning of unpaid tolls are likely from a syndicate based in China.
- Bronze-cut pasta production creates significant 'pasta dust' requiring extra cleanup.
- Tanning beds primarily emit UVA rays, which damage skin, and fewer UVB rays that boost vitamin D.
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