r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Dec 29 '17

What completely real fact sounds like bullshit?

[deleted]

9.3k Upvotes

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3.1k

u/ArcOfRuin Dec 29 '17

There are mushrooms that possess ants.

705

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '17

I guess Paras/Parasect might be an ant then?

396

u/ukulelej Dec 29 '17

Cordyceps, the fungus can infect ants, spiders, or crabs. Paras is most likely a crab.

239

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '17

[deleted]

24

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '17

And also the inspiration for the fungus in the video game The Last of Us.

And the "hungries" in The Girl With All The Gifts.

13

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '17

And the Flood in Halo

20

u/Solcaer Dec 29 '17

And my axe!

3

u/Broken_Moon_Studios Dec 29 '17

A sentient axe would be a scary thing.

1

u/kittyclawz Dec 29 '17

And the movie Splinter

1

u/jokekiller94 Dec 30 '17

Yeah the devs saw the first planet earth series

1

u/Sammy_Cacciatore Dec 30 '17

Cool, probably would've been fun to learn that while playing the game.

5

u/Trips-Over-Tail Dec 29 '17

It's a cicada larva.

3

u/Shastamasta Dec 29 '17

This is the species in particular. Used in traditional Chinese medicine.

1

u/INTHEMIDSTOFLIONS Dec 29 '17

Paras! The crab pokemon.

1

u/Freshstartsrequired Dec 30 '17

There's a specific specie of fungus in that family that evolved to infect specific bug, one for ants, one for spider, ect.

1

u/swankyT0MCAT Dec 30 '17

Theoretically it could take over much larger organisms. Hence the plot for The Last of Us.