This might not seem so strange at first, but believe us when we say it gets stranger the more you think about it. 

You see, magnets always have two poles ─ north and south pole ─ no matter what. It doesn’t matter what shape the magnet comes in or how many sides, edges, or faces it has. If it is a magnet, it would always have two poles. 

As if that wasn’t strange enough, magnets would always revert to having two poles, no matter how you try to separate those two poles. Even if you split a bar magnet down the middle, you’d just end up creating two magnets with each having two poles instead of two magnets with different poles. As far as the world knows, there has never EVER been a monopole magnet. There probably never will!

2. We Did Not Invent Them!

Mosts time, when people think about magnets, they see a brilliant or/and interesting scientific invention. Well, that in itself is yet another strange thing about magnets ─ we did not invent them!

While there are indeed many man-made magnets that were created from magnetic materials like iron, cobalt, nickel, and steel, magnets have existed long before humans even knew how to extract much less process these metals. Lodestone, for example, is one such natural magnet that has existed since… well, the beginning of time!

3. They Have Been Used for Some REALLY Weird Stuff

Alright, here is a very good one. When you think of the uses of magnets, what comes to mind? Sticking pictures to the fridge? Holding screws and nails? As important components in mechanical devices? Stuff like that, right? Well, while magnets have and are being used for all that, they have been used for some more… interesting stuff!

For example, some farmers actually feed their cows little magnets! They do that to ensure that whatever nails or wires the cows might accidentally eat would get attracted to the magnets instead of injuring the cow’s stomach. And while this is actually ingenious, it doesn’t make it any less weird.

4. They Don’t Just Attract Metals

Now, you might be thinking, but attracting metals is EXACTLY what magnets are supposed to do. Well, while that is partially true (magnets actually don’t attract all metals, only some), magnetism is more interesting than that.

Here's the thing. Magnets can attract even things that are not made of magnetic metals provided these things contain enough of these magnetic metals in them somewhere. Now, this might not seem like much on the surface, but it actually is. You'd be surprised just how many things contain magnetic metals in them. Just try bringing a magnet close to some brands of cereal, and you'd know exactly what we mean!

5. They Also Come in Really REALLY Large Sizes

Alright, here’s another very interesting one. 

When you think of magnets, what comes to mind? The small magnets in your household appliances? The giant magnets used to lift cars? The little magnets used to stick pictures and lists to the fridge? Well, while all these are indeed magnets, there are other types of magnets out there that look nothing like them!

Basically, a magnet is anything that produces its own magnetic field. With this definition, even PLANETS and STARS are magnets! In fact, the most powerful magnets in the universe are stars called magnetstars. Imagine just how powerful such magnets would be!

6. You Can Beat Magnetism Out of Them!

Yes, you read that right. You can actually BEAT the magnetism out of your magnet! Continuously hammering any magnet, no matter how strong it is, would make the magnet lose its magnetic properties. The more you hammer the magnet, the more the magnetic properties it loses. In fact, if the magnet takes enough of a beating, it can lose its magnetism altogether!

Hammering magnets isn’t the only way to cause them to lose their magnetism, however. Heating magnets pretty much accomplishes the same thing ─ you make the magnet no longer magnetic.