The definition of a fact is something that is known, or proven to be true. There is a difference between these two parts of the definition however, as many things have been proven to be true that were not initially known, and many things were thought to be known that were ultimately proven untrue.

Therefore, when a fact is presented to you that contradicts something you would naturally believe, it becomes something of special interest. But that is the beauty of facts: they are true whether you decide to believe in them or not.

In this gallery, there is a collection of facts that would seem to our intuition to be untrue, or at least surprising. But because they are facts, and therefore are either known or proven to be true, it becomes fascinating to consider them, and wrap ones head around the information. Then, we can take them in our minds from a proven fact, to a known one.