Helen Duncan was the last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. A "psychic," she held a seance in 1941 and revealed the sinking of the HMS Barham, which was classified and only known to the Navy and the sailors' families. She actually heard it from an intelligence leak, and her "vision" was inaccurate on many key details (like the design of the sailors' uniforms). The Navy investigated the leak, which led to her trial for witchcraft and fraud. She was sentenced to nine months in prison.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #493: Helen Duncan.
.
.
#psychics #frauds #bullshit #scams #intelligenceleak #witchcraft #history #legal #ww2 #hmsbarham #stupid #strangebuttrue #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
27.02.2026 14:13 β π 5 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
"aaaaaaa ccccc deeeee ghiiiiiii Illl mm nnnnnnnnn oooopp grrs ttttt uuuuu" was the first written human description of Saturn having rings, by Christian Huygens in 1655. He encoded it as a Latin anagram in his book Systema Saturnium, before claiming credit for the disovery three years later. This was proof he discovered it first, while giving himself time to refine his initial findings.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #492: aaaaaaaΒcccccΒdeeeeegΒhiiiiiiiΒllllmmΒnnnnnnnnnΒooooppΒqrrsΒtttttuuuuu.
.
.
#huygens #christiaanhuygens #space #saturn #planets #astronomy #science #history #strangebuttrue #cryptography #tripcode #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
24.02.2026 15:19 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
The Cox-Zucker machine is an algorithm in arithmetic geometry by mathematicians David A. Cox and Steven Zucker. Their paper: "determines whether a given set of sections provides a basis (up to torsion) for the Mordell-Weil group of an elliptic surface E->S, where S is isomorphic to the projective line, " whatever that means. Also, Cox and Zucker said that as soon as they met as students at Princeton, they collaborated specifically because the paper's title would be so funny.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #491: The Cox-Zucker Machine.
.
.
#mathematics #geometry #coxzuckermachine #pardonmyfrench #pardonmymath #strangebuttrue #wtf #facts #funfacts #math #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
20.02.2026 14:18 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Fact check: Is it really illegal to talk to dolphins?
The Marine Mammal Protection Act doesn't specify communication, but prohibits
"interfering with marine
mammals" in a way that alters their natural behavior. This includes attempting communication. So it's probably okay to talk to one; but if you're trying to get them to talk back, you may need a lawyer.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #490: The Marine Mammal Protection Act.
.
.
#mmpa #marinemammalprotectionact #dolphins #whales #cetaceans #nature #marinebiology #biology #zoology #laws #legal #facts #funfacts #didyouknow #strangebuttrue #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
17.02.2026 15:54 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Finnair Flight 666 flew to HEL on Friday the 13th, October 2017 (Copenhagen to Helsinki). It landed safely without incident.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #379: Flight 666 direct to HEL.
.
.
#thingsstupidpeoplearescaredof #finland #finair #666 #friday13 #fridaythe13th #markofthebeast #superstition #metal #flight666 #strangebuttrue #aviation #denmark #webcomic #comics #wtf #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
15.02.2026 13:57 β π 6 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
"Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe" is a 1980 documentary where the legendary filmmaker fulfills a bet to eat his own shoe if his friend ever completed their film. At its premiere, Herzog boiled his shoe in garlic and ate it on camera. It wasn't even Herzog's first strange bet. While filming "Even Dwarfs Started Small, " he bet his crew he'd dive into a cactus patch while they film it, if there were no more accidents on set. There weren't, and he made good on his promise.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #489: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.
.
.
#wernerherzog #wernerherzogeatshisshoe #bets #filmmakers #movies #strangebuttrue #wtf #art #facts #funfacts #moviefacts #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
13.02.2026 16:38 β π 8 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Also buy my book! www.amazon.com/Useless-Fact...
11.02.2026 13:52 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Buy the book! www.amazon.com/Useless-Fact...
10.02.2026 13:26 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
The Breathalyzer's co-designer, Dr. Richard Lacey, was caught drunk driving in the UK in 2024.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn: #488: The Breathalyzer.
.
.
#truecrime #breathalyzer #baddrivers #uk #crime #offbeatnews #strangebuttrue #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
10.02.2026 13:26 β π 4 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
The Torpedo fish wasn't named after the torpedo, but the other way round. The underwater missile was named after the fish, which are now called electric rays (genus Torpedo, family Torpedinidae). The name, in turn, comes from the Latin torpΔdo, meaning lethargy or sluggish-ness. The name was fitting because the original design was more like a sea mine than today's self-propelled device.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #487: Torpedo.
.
.
#torpedo #torpedofish #electricrays #nomenclature #whatsinaname #fish #submarines #missiles #explosives #strangebuttrue #didyouknow #funfacts #facts #webcomics #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
07.02.2026 18:40 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
I sold two books yesterday! w00t!
04.02.2026 09:13 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
#fermiparadox #drakeequation #aliens
03.02.2026 14:08 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
03.02.2026 12:14 β π 11606 π 1122 π¬ 157 π 48
02.02.2026 12:58 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
The Matrix Defense is a legal defense based on the 1999 movie The Matrix (where the entire world is revealed to be a huge computer simulation) and argues that the defendant committed their crimes because "none of this is real."
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #486: The Matrix Defense.
.
.
#matrixdefense #law #legal #matrix #movies #thematrix #solipsism #philosophy #delusion #delulu #bullshit #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
03.02.2026 12:28 β π 5 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
β’Kkrieger is the world's smallest-sized computer game at just 96 kilobytes, and this was in 2004. Despite its tiny filesize, it was a first-person shooter with 3D graphics, textures, original music, and detailed maps; and looked like Doom or Quake from the era. It was made by German demogroup theprodukkt for a game demo competition, which it won. For perspecΘive on how small 96 KB is, this comic's image file is around 1 MB, or about ten times larger.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #485: .kkrieger.
.
.
#kkrieger #computergames #gaming #worldrecords #germany #theprodukkt #strangebuttrue #wtf #3dgames #doom #quake #firstpersonshooter #geek #funfacts #facts #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
23.01.2026 16:22 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Ancient Egypt covers such a vast expanse of time (3150 BC to 30 BC), that each era of ancient Egypt had their own ancient Egyptian anthropologists studying previous eras of even more ancient Egypt before them.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #484: Ancient Egypt.
.
.
#ancientegypt #egyptology #history #anthropology #egypt #strangebuttrue #science #webcomic #comics #wtf #facts #funfacts #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
18.01.2026 18:36 β π 8 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
Paging @ufbd.bsky.social
15.01.2026 02:46 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
The most expensive speeding ticket was for β¬650,000 (or US $1 million). It was handed out in 2010 to a Swedish millionaire for doing 180 mph in his Mercedes AMG SLS in Switzerland (the speed limit was 72 mph). Some European countries base traffic fines on the offender's income and car's value as well as speed. In 2015, for example, a Finnish millionaire was slapped with a $58,000 fine for going just 15 mph over the speed limit.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #483: The World's Most Expensive Speeding Ticket.
.
.
#baddriving #speedingticket #speeding #switzerland #finland #scandinavia #supercars #webcomic #comics #facts #funfacts #didyouknow #strangebuttrue #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
11.01.2026 15:08 β π 6 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0
Told my baby nephew that @ufbd.bsky.social went to a comic book art school, and his immediate response was, "I want to go there." If you buy Useless Facts Badly Drawn, the book, you too can inspire the small children in your life!
07.01.2026 04:36 β π 5 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
The one-electron universe is a hypothesis that says the entire known universe consists of just one single electron, moving backwards and forwards through time.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #482: The One-Electron Universe.
.
.
#onelectronuniverse #quantumphysics #quantummechanics #science #wtf #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
03.01.2026 15:37 β π 10 π 3 π¬ 0 π 1
Takanakuy is held in some parts of Peru where entire villages ring in the new year by getting drunk and beating the crap out of each other. The idea is to settle old scores and grudges, and start the new year with a clean slate. The results are legally binding.
It's unclear how healthy this is, but it certainly can't make political debates any worse.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #78: Happy New Year! #Takanakuy
.
Sauce: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takanakuy
.
#happynewyear #newyear #tradition #traditions #culture #cultures #peru #cuzco #southamerica #themoreyouknow #comic #webcomics #cartoons #uselsssfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
31.12.2025 14:22 β π 6 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
The Sator Square is a word square or grid of five five-letter words (sator, arepo, tenet, opera, and rotas). It has existed since 62 AD and has been found all over Europe, the Middle East, Asia minor and North Africa.
However, nobody knows its real meaning or origin. It could also be an early meme. It was also featured in the worst movie ever made by mankind, Christopher Nolan's Tenet.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #481: The Sator Square.
.
.
#satorsquare #satorrotas #satorrotassquare #ancientmemes #history #strangebuttrue #mysteries #badmovies #badsciencefiction #timetravel #webcomic #comics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
29.12.2025 13:23 β π 8 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0
Two full pages of references
Another page and a half of references
It even has three and a half pages of references, so you can be sure your useless facts are actually facts. @ufbd.bsky.social
amzn.to/4pbNFaC
25.12.2025 03:26 β π 2 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
The book Useless Facts, Badly Drawn, that has a picture of an alien on the cover and a speech bubble that reads: 100% interesting but 110% useless facts you're guaranteed never to use!
My copy of @ufbd.bsky.social, by my very talented friend Marcus Santiago, got delivered today π
You too can get it, at this link:
amzn.to/4pbNFaC
25.12.2025 03:20 β π 6 π 1 π¬ 1 π 1
Roland the Farter was King Henry II's royal court jester who was famous for performing an act called the "saltum, siffletum, Pettum" (a jump, a whistle, and a tart, simultaneously) for the king's court every Christmas. He was apparently so good at it that the king gave him 110 acres of land in Suffolk.
Useless Facts, Badly Drawn #480: Roland the Farter. Also, Happy Yule etc
.
.
#rolandthefarter #courtjesters #jesters #medievalhistory #kinghenryii #strangebuttrue #farts #performingarts #comics #webcomics #uselessfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
24.12.2025 14:16 β π 3 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Krampus is the anti-Santa Claus. We all know about jolly St. Nick rewarding good kids with presents on Christmas. But in pre-Christian folklore, he was also accompanied by Krampus, a "half goat, half-demon" who would punish bad kids. He's depicted as dark and hairy, with goat horns, cloven hooves and a long, pointed tongue. Variations show him with birch branches for whipping naughty kids and a sack in which to carry them to hell. So, uh... Merry Christmas!
Bonus Yule edition! A lump of coal isn't much of a threat. Teach your ill-behaved crotchfruit vermin offspring all about the horrors of Krampus and scare them straight!
.
#Krampus #santa #christmas #folklore #comic #comicstrip #comics #facts #trivia #funfacts #uselessfactsbadlydrawn
23.12.2025 05:35 β π 8 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
ππ€
20.12.2025 09:54 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
