65 Fun Facts for Kids

young boy wearing yellow turtleneck with lightbulb above his head and question marks and exclamation point
Give your brain a workout and have some fun with these 65 cool facts! Use this list for trivia on family game night or play a round on your next car trip and keep the whole crew entertained. Divide into teams or pick a favorite category to get started. Put on your thinking cap and enjoy! 

Colors

  1. The colors of a rainbow always appear in the same order.
  2. Blue, red, and yellow are primary colors — these colors plus white and black blend to make all other colors.
  3. Red is the first color a baby can see.
  4. White is the most popular car color.
  5. Brown eyes are the most prevalent in the human population.

Marine Animals

  1. A blue whale’s tongue is heavier than an elephant.
  2. A crab’s taste buds are on their feet.
  3. Octopi have three hearts.
  4. The American lobster can live to be 20 years old.
  5. No two spot patterns on a whale shark are the same — they are as unique as fingerprints.

United States

  1. The United States has the fourth-longest water system in the world.
  2. Alaska is the state with the longest coastline.
  3. The tallest monument in the United States is the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
  4. Kansas City, Missouri, has more fountains than any other city in the world besides Rome.
  5. Tennessee and Missouri each share borders with eight states.

The Human Body

  1. AB negative is the rarest blood type.
  2. On average, the human heart beats 100,000 times a day.
  3. The strongest muscle in the body is the jaw.
  4. Fingernails grow faster than toenails.
  5. The average tongue is about three inches long.

Fruits and Vegetables

  1. Strawberries and raspberries wear their seeds on the outside. 
  2. Potatoes were the first vegetable to be grown in space. 
  3. Bananas are technically herbs. 
  4. Tomatoes are the most eaten fruit in the world. 
  5. Apples are in the rose family.

Dinosaurs

  1. Dinosaur fossils have been found on all seven continents. 
  2. The dinosaur with the longest name is Micropachycephalosaurus.
  3. A Nigersaurus has an unusual skull containing as many as 500 slender teeth.
  4. Presently, over 700 dinosaurs have been identified and named, however, scientists believe there are many more to be discovered. 
  5. Snakes, crocodiles and bees were just a few of the animals who lived alongside dinosaurs.

U.S. Monuments and Memorials

  1. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are the four presidents on Mount Rushmore. 
  2. Both the width and the height of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are 630 feet.
  3. The Washington Monument is the tallest unreinforced stone masonry structure in the world.
  4. President Theodore Roosevelt is responsible for giving The White House its name.
  5. Elvis Presley was one of the largest private donors to the Pearl Harbor memorial.

Sports

  1. The longest tennis match lasted 11 hours and five minutes at Wimbledon in 2010.
  2. Women first competed in the Olympic Games in 1900 in Paris.
  3. Wrestling was the world’s first sport.
  4. Golf is the only sport to be played on the moon.
  5. The FIFA World Cup (soccer) is one of the most viewed sporting events on television.

Weather

  1. The Empire State Building gets struck by lightning an average of 25 times a year.
  2. In 1899, it was so cold that the Mississippi River froze.
  3. Clouds can travel at more than 100 mph with the jet stream.
  4. Hurricanes north of the Earth's equator spin counterclockwise.
  5. Hurricanes south of the Earth's equator spin clockwise.

U.S. Presidents

  1. Abraham Lincoln stood at 6 feet 4 inches making him one of the tallest U.S. presidents.
  2. Bill Clinton has two Grammy Awards.
  3. Three of the nation's five founding fathers — John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe — died on July 4th (Adams and Jefferson in 1826 and Monroe in 1831).
  4. The shortest-serving president was William Henry Harrison, who was the ninth president of the United States for 31 days in 1841.
  5. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the only American president to have served more than two terms.

Disney

  1. Tiger roars were used for The Lion King as lions weren’t loud enough.
  2. Walt Disney World resort is about the same size as San Francisco.
  3. Mickey Mouse was the first animated character to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  4. Pocahontas is the only Disney princess with a tattoo.
  5. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was the first animated film in history to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Food

  1. Ears of corn generally have an even number of rows.
  2. Although Froot Loops cereal signature “O’s” come in many colors, they're all the same flavor.
  3. Applesauce was the first food eaten in space.
  4. The Caesar salad was born in Tijuana, Mexico.
  5. One out of every four hazelnuts on the planet makes its way into a jar of Nutella.

Guinness World Records

  1. The “Guinness Book of World Records” was first published in 1955.
  2. The Simpsons is the longest-running animated television show (based on episodes).
  3. The world’s largest wedding cake weighed 15,032 pounds.
  4. Ashrita Furman is the person with the most Guinness World Records titles.
  5. The largest gathering of people dressed as Superman was 867, achieved by a group in the U.K.
Whenever you need a few minutes of fun, wow your growing geniuses with these facts. Encourage kids to discover surprising facts on their own and share them with you!

Courtney McLaughlin is a freelance writer in Charlotte, N.C. She gratefully shares her life, home and heart with her daughter and their dog.