All facts — Page 21

The octopus changes color in milliseconds.

Chromatophores in the skin expand rapidly.

Chameleons move each eye independently.

This allows observing two different directions simultaneously.

Bats use echolocation to navigate.

They emit high-frequency sounds that bounce off objects.

Elephants have exceptionally good memory.

The large brain allows remembering routes for decades.

Sloths take up to a month to digest a leaf.

Slow metabolism makes digestion very slow.

Sharks lose up to 30,000 teeth in life.

Teeth are in rows and continuously replaced.

Foxes use the magnetic field to hunt.

They align jumps with the magnetic field to calculate distances.

Turtles do not breathe by moving ribs.

The rigid shell prevents rib expansion, they use neck muscles.

Cicadas spend 17 years underground before emerging.

They feed on root sap during this long period.

The octopus has nine brains.

It has a central brain and a mini-brain in each tentacle.

The hyena's laugh is a sound of submission or excitement.

This vocalization indicates stress or competition for food.

Pope Urban VII reigned for only 13 days in 1590.

Elected in September 1590, he died of malaria before he could be crowned.

The coldest recorded temperature on Earth was -89.2 degrees Celsius in Antarctica.

This record was measured at the Vostok Station in 1983, representing extreme conditions where air can cause instant…

The total mass of the Earth's atmosphere is approximately 5 quadrillion tons.

This enormous amount of air exerts significant pressure on the planet's surface, being essential for life and…

The pH of human blood is strictly maintained between 7.35 and 7.45.

Any deviation from this narrow range can lead to severe conditions such as acidosis or alkalosis, so the body uses…

The human body emits as much heat as a 100-watt incandescent bulb.

At rest, the human body produces about 100 watts of thermal power, equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent bulb. This…

Cherry pits contain compounds that release cyanide.

Cherry, plum and apricot pits contain amygdalin, a compound that releases small amounts of cyanide when ingested and…

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world.

Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia, is at an altitude of 3,812 metres and is the highest navigable lake in the…

The warship Vasa sank on its maiden voyage.

The Vasa, a Swedish warship, sank on 10 August 1628, minutes after setting sail, due to instability and a gust of…

In 1919, a molasses wave flooded streets of Boston.

On 15 January 1919, a tank of 8.7 million litres of molasses burst in Boston harbour. The molasses wave reached…

The astronomer Tycho Brahe wore a metal prosthetic nose.

Tycho Brahe lost part of his nose in a duel in 1566 and had a prosthetic nose made of silver and gold. He was one of…

Fireflies produce light without heat, with over 90 percent efficiency.

Fireflies produce light through a chemical reaction called bioluminescence, in which the enzyme luciferase acts on…

The air we breathe is composed of about 78 percent nitrogen.

Atmospheric air is composed of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other gases, such as argon…

The term Wi-Fi does not mean anything.

Wi-Fi was a name invented by a marketing company for a wireless communication standard. In fact, it does not mean…