A Dundonian just asked Reddit to share the weirdest Dundee facts outsiders wouldn’t believe - and the responses are brilliant

Picture: Steven Neish

Dundee is a city full of surprises, but some of its quirks leave even the locals scratching their heads — or laughing along.

Recently, a Dundonian took to Reddit to ask others what strange or unbelievable facts about the city they’d share with outsiders.

The results?

A hilarious, chaotic, and oddly informative thread that only Dundee could deliver.

One user kicked things off with a bold claim: apparently, Dundee has more penguins than people — thanks to the army of penguin statues dotted across the city.

With a population of around 147,720, it’s certainly a lot of penguins to account for, but considering the city’s love of public art, it’s not entirely implausible.

Another chimed in to ask where all these penguins actually are, while someone else diverted the discussion entirely by pointing out that Oor Wullie statues have somehow become a kind of local status symbol — the new must-have for the well-off Dundonian, apparently.

The thread took a creative turn when one contributor revealed that the dome of Mills Observatory is made from paper mache — a quirky architectural detail that amazed others in the discussion. “Google it,” they encouraged, adding that only one other such observatory exists in the UK.

One user brought up Bruin, the polar bear, that escaped in 1878 and ran riot in the city centre before being safely recaptured. The polar bear sculpture on the High Street commemorates the event.

Then came the football trivia. According to one commenter, Arbroath’s 36–0 win and Dundee Harp’s 35–0 win in 1885 — the two highest ever scores in competitive football — both happened on the same day, just 15 miles apart. Talk about a day for the record books.

Architecture fans added that Dundee boasts both a Frank Gehry-designed building and an Anthony Gormley sculpture in the grounds of the hospital — a pairing that wouldn’t look out of place in a major world capital.

Meanwhile, another Redditor pointed out Dundee’s sunny reputation — officially the sunniest city in Scotland — while someone else took a swipe at the V&A Dundee, calling it “the biggest café on the east coast” with “a wee museum on top.”

Others shared that The Sunday Post once had the highest readership-to-population ratio in the world, while another claimed Dundee United has the best record against Barcelona in European football — never having lost a match to the Spanish giants.

As for linguistic oddities, one of the more surprising contributions came from a user who claimed that “Dundee United” is used as an insult in Nigeria, thanks to some historic football behaviour during tours.

Then came this gem: A.I. in Dundee isn’t about artificial intelligence — it’s better known locally as “eh eh.” You had to be there.

The post is a reminder of just how unique, and proudly odd, Dundee can be — a city with polar bear stories, jute baron wealth, mysterious football records, and more penguins (statues) than you’d think possible.

So next time someone questions whether Dundee is interesting, just tell them about the paper mache observatory dome and watch their reaction.