It's never easy to prove otherwise, and it's hard to pay attention to things you never notice. That's the point. But there's a whole secret world around us that operates because we don't know it's operating. Things that happen in the background, under cover of darkness, or far beyond our perception because either it doesn't matter or people don't want us to know. Not sure what any of this means? Let's take a look.
10. Disney's trash bins are emptied through tunnels.
If you've ever been to a Disney theme park, you've probably enjoyed your share of rides, stood in too many lines, and hung out with the most hilarious, over-the-top, costumed people in the world. There's a lot going on. But what isn't is garbage.
Despite over 57,000 people visiting the Magic Kingdom every day, no one has ever been seen emptying the park's numerous trash bins. This is thanks to the park's advanced underground trash collection system. Every 15 minutes, pipes beneath the trash bins open and suck up everything that needs to be recycled and disposed of, out of sight.
Pipes pull waste at 60 miles per hour and send it on its way to a compactor located behind Splash Mountain. The same corridors used for transporting waste are used by employees, so you'll never see anyone running from one part of the park to another without a suit.
9. You won't see foreign-made pickup trucks thanks to the chicken tax.
Here's something you probably don't think about often when you're out and about. How often do you see foreign-made light-duty trucks on the road? The answer is no, thanks to the so-called chicken tax. This tax has been in place for 50 years and ensures that foreign-made light trucks and small SUVs don't hit US roads, giving the Big Three American automakers a significant advantage in this segment of the industry.
The so-called "chicken tax" is a hefty 25 percent tariff on foreign-made trucks. Most foreign-made cars are subject to a tariff of 2.51 TP3T, making them more reasonable to import. It dates back to the 1960s. European countries imposed a tax on American chicken, and in response, America imposed a tax on trucks. The goal was to hurt European automakers like Volkswagen.
For companies like Ford and Chevy, this tax provided a huge advantage for decades. The Ford F-150 was literally the best-selling truck for 46 years straight. It's hard to deny that this is partly due to limited competition.
8. Flying squirrels are the most common squirrel in Ohio.
Squirrels are an integral part of life for many people in the United States and Canada. Several species roam freely in cities and parks, and they are typically gray and black, with a few red and white varieties here and there. Surprisingly, the most common squirrel found in Ohio is none of these; it's the southern flying squirrel. They're unseen because they're nocturnal.
For most people, flying squirrels are something of a novelty. People keep them as exotic and bizarre pets, but in the wild, they seem like something that should live somewhere else, somewhere else in the world. It turns out that if you want to find them, you just need to wander through the woods of Ohio after dark.
7. You won't see ties in Iran.
In many parts of the world, how you dress is dictated by culture. Some items of clothing are more traditional than others in certain parts of the world. In parts of Africa, you might see someone wearing a kanza. In Mexico, you might find a charro suit. And in Japan, you might see people in traditional kimonos. But other fashionable items have spread throughout the world and have been readily adopted everywhere. There's probably no country on earth where you won't find, for example, blue jeans or sneakers. But what about ties?
In many cultures, wearing a tie around the neck has become part of men's formal fashion. Men wore suits in government and business in many parts of the world. And while you'll find Iranian men in formal attire, including suits, you'll almost never see an Iranian man in Iran wearing a tie.
In 1979, during the Islamic Revolution, the tie became a fashion casualty of the transition. Considered a symbol of Western culture and ideals, ties were completely banned. They were not even allowed to be sold in the country.
6. You almost never see macadamia nuts in the shell.
Sometimes you feel like a nut, right? Peanuts, cashews, almonds—they're all delicious. And macadamia nuts are among the most prized, though they can be a bit pricey. What you're unlikely to see in the store if you go looking for them are shelled macadamia nuts, although most others are sold that way. It's also for your own good, as you'll have a hell of a time eating those macadamias.
Macadamia nuts are among the most difficult nuts in the world to crack. Even companies that sell them should offer advice on their websites on how to crack them if you're determined to give it a try. The problem is that they require 300 pounds of pressure per square inch to break. That's roughly twice the force of a human bite. Cracking them often requires a hammer and a little patience.
5. Most hotels never provide toothpaste to guests.
If you travel frequently, you probably have an idea of what you expect from any hotel you stay at. Maybe you know which chains have the best breakfast buffets or the cleanest rooms. And there are a few things you expect anywhere, like clean towels and a tiny soap in the bathroom. Every hotel has those, right? But there's one thing hotel bathrooms almost never provide: toothpaste.
You may never have thought about it, but it seems odd considering soap, shampoo, and conditioner are always standard. Why not toothpaste? There are actually a ton of reasons.
Let's start with the fact that many people don't ask for it, so hotels aren't interested in providing it. But hotels also don't want to provide it. Toothpaste is classified as a medicine for regulatory purposes, meaning many over-the-counter products are classified as such, making it more expensive to purchase even in bulk.
Finally, toothpaste isn't worth it. To achieve the highest rating a hotel can achieve, whether five diamonds or stars, or anything else, toothpaste isn't a requirement. If a hotel can get a top rating without providing toothpaste, they have little incentive to provide it.
4. The Simpsons' house has a rarely seen fun room.
This is one of the most unusual entries on the list, and it plays fast and loose with physics only to the extent that there are no physics involved, because it's all made up. There's a room in the Simpsons house you almost never see. It's the Noise Room, not the kitchen.
Obviously, no one expects a cartoon, least of all «The Simpsons» , will depict the world with any realism or accuracy. But there is at least a thread of semi-consistency in Springfield. The Simpsons live at 742 Evergreen Terrace. Ned Flanders is their neighbor. They have a dog and a cat. These things change slightly from time to time, but tend to return to the status quo by the time a new episode airs.
However, the noisy room is a strange exception to reality. The Simpsons . It wasn't a one-off spectacle that never needed to be repeated, because it actually kept coming back. They used it in eight episodes out of the more than 740 existing ones. It simply popped up on the rare occasions when it was needed, and then disappeared again when it wasn't.
3. You almost never see baby pigeons.
In some cities around the world, pigeons are a serious nuisance. At one point, pigeons were blamed for causing approximately $1.1 billion in damage annually in the US, largely due to their droppings. It's estimated that New York City alone is home to four million of the birds, and they seem to be present in virtually every major city. So, when was the last time you saw a baby pigeon? Have you ever seen one?
This is almost a trick question, but since people in cities are so used to seeing pigeons, it might give you pause for a moment. To be fair, you almost never see the chicks, because they stay in their nests. It's just that pigeons are so common in human space that it seems even more unusual that we never see the young.
Baby pigeons do live where you'd expect—in pigeon nests. But nests are usually hidden away for obvious reasons. And when the pigeons are able to leave the nest and fly, the young birds look almost identical to the adults, so we'll never be able to tell them apart.
2. You almost never see a mosquito at Disney World.
We already know you won't see trash pickup at Disneyland, but that's not the only thing conspicuously absent from the Florida theme park. Also noticeable is the absence of mosquitoes, which is quite unusual for this area.
In fact, Florida is home to 80 different species of mosquitoes, so escaping them is usually difficult. But Disney World isn't called the Magic Kingdom for nothing. Their mosquito defense system is surprisingly comprehensive, including surveillance, an insect repellent in the form of liquid garlic (so it's non-toxic), natural predators in the form of bats, and carbon dioxide traps so they can gas the little baddies and then study them to ensure they're as effective as possible. And that's just the beginning.
The park has as little standing water as possible to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. The park is filled with drainage ditches to prevent standing water from flowing into populated areas and to keep the water moving. All water moves either because it drains somewhere or is circulated by a fountain. Even the buildings are designed to prevent water from accumulating.
1. Most elevators do not have a 13th floor button.
If for no other reason than Friday the 13th, both in movies and on the day itself, most of us know that the number 13 is considered unlucky. The origin of this superstition is almost irrelevant; it's so ingrained. In fact, it's taken so seriously that you're unlikely to ever see a 13th floor in a building, even one with more than 13 floors.
Obviously, in a 20-story building there's a 13th floor; we can't change the basic math. But we can change the buttons on the elevators, and that's what most of them do. Otis Elevators, one of the largest elevator manufacturers in the United States, stated that about 851 TP3T elevators don't have a 13th. They typically go from 12 to 14. You'll even see this in stairwells when you walk up a sign indicating the 14th floor, just after the 12th.,
Skipping 13 is more common in hotels and apartment buildings. This is due to superstition, or rather, the fear of management that residents will be superstitious and unwilling to pay for living on the 13th floor.