Sharks Older Than Trees: 10 Surprising Wild Facts That Reset Your Reality

Sharks are older than trees, and the U.S. nuclear launch system used floppy disks until just a few years ago. The internet is a goldmine for trivia that sounds too strange to be true, but history and science often prove that reality is weirder than fiction. Let's dive into the facts that challenge our perception of time and space.

Time is a Social Construct

History isn't as distant as you'd think. John Tyler, the 10th U.S. president born in 1790, had a grandson who lived until May 2025. This wasn't a clerical error; Tyler had his 13th child at age 63, and that son, Lyon, had children in his 70s. This single family tree bridges the gap between the American Revolution and the AI era.

The timeline of human institutions also offers surprises. Oxford University started teaching in 1096, making it over 200 years older than the Aztec civilization, which was founded in 1325. Furthermore, October 31, 2000, marks the last day every human being was together on Earth. Since the first crew boarded the ISS the following day, we've had a continuous human presence in space for over 25 years.

The Hidden Physics of Everyday Life

Nature has its own set of rules. Sharks have existed for over 400 million years, predating trees which appeared 350 million years ago. They are even older than the North Star. Despite their fearsome reputation, you're statistically much more likely to die falling off a ladder—which kills about 150 people annually—than being bitten by a shark, which averages only one fatality per year.

Even your kitchen snacks aren't as simple as they seem. Bananas are naturally radioactive due to potassium-40. Similarly, the U.S. Capitol Building is so radioactive because of its granite walls that it could never be licensed as a nuclear power site. In the world of tech, the Strategic Automated Command and Control System only retired its 8-inch floppy disks in June 2019, proving that sometimes, unhackable 'old' tech is the best security.