People have been sharing the scariest facts they’ve ever heard – 17 pieces of nightmare fuel

As internet edgelords like to remind us, facts don’t care about your feelings. But maybe they should, because some of them are pretty scary.

From overdue supervolcanoes to the threat of nuclear war, the world is full of facts that will keep you up at night. And if you like chilling certainties, you’re in for a treat.

That’s because stripeycat08 has invited the people of r/AskReddit to share their scariest facts by asking:

‘What is the scariest fact you know?’

If you’re feeling brave enough, here are the top answers. Disclaimer – just because we included them, doesn’t mean we endorse their accuracy.

Brace yourselves …

1.

‘I took part in the war. And there is a funny fact that if you hear the sound of the bomb that means you have already survived. Otherwise you won’t hear any noise except when it’s in the air. You hear the whistle until it explodes. Heard the explosion, you are alive. You have 5-6 seconds during the whistle to find a proper place to hide.’
-ParadoxSmoker

2.

‘I recently read that your immune system has probably killed multiple cancers in your body without you ever knowing about it. The terrifying part? It only takes one time for it to miss something for everything to go wrong.’
-AdorableNbusty

3.

‘As of right now there are an estimated 6 nuclear bombs from the US that are missing and unaccounted for.’
-Lastalmark

4.

‘That collagen is the only thing holding scar tissue together, without it, your healed scars would split open.

The scary part: As we age (from our late 20s onward), our bodies begin to deplete collagen faster than we can naturally replace it, and that is why skin gets loose and wrinkles form.’
-FitGrocery5830

5.

‘If our immune system detects our eyes, it will start destroying them’
-Lucky-Meal-9424

6.

‘We all have a roughly three minute lifespan extended only by the existence presence of air.’
-Informal_Upstairs133

7.

‘A grown-up is not going to come and fix my problems: I am the grown up fixing problems for others. Those poor, poor others.’
-KhaleesiXev

8.

‘The Yellowstone supervolcano, which erupts every 600,000 – 800,000 years and causes global mass extinctions every time, last erupted 640,000 years ago.’
-RustyImpactWrench

9.

‘Just 8 men control more wealth than the poorest 4 billion people on earth.’
-Zapichigo