All facts — Page 25

The game Pong was not the first video game in history.

Although it popularised the industry in nineteen seventy-two, games like "Tennis for Two" from nineteen fifty-eight…

Sloths cultivate algae in their fur for camouflage and nutrients.

The green algae help hide sloths in the tree canopy, and when they groom themselves, they ingest this algae which…

Certain lizards can squirt blood from their eyes to deter predators.

When threatened by canines like coyotes or foxes, horned lizards increase blood pressure in their head and rupture…

Pigeons can distinguish between paintings by Monet and Picasso.

After training with food rewards, these birds demonstrate an advanced visual ability to categorise artistic styles…

Male cats tend to use their left paw as dominant, while females prefer the right.

Researchers found that paw laterality in cats is strongly linked to the animal's sex, likely due to the influence of…

Axolotls can regenerate parts of their own brain and heart.

Unlike most vertebrates, these Mexican amphibians can rebuild complex brain and heart tissue without scarring…

The human skeleton completely replaces itself every ten years.

Through a continuous process called bone remodelling, special cells break down old bone tissue and build new bone…

A person produces enough saliva in a lifetime to fill two swimming pools.

Salivary glands produce about one to two litres of saliva per day, which, accumulated over an average lifetime…

The type of earwax in humans is determined by a single gene.

A mutation in the ABCC11 gene determines whether the wax will be wet and sticky or dry and flaky, with the dry…

The storage capacity of the human brain is equivalent to two point five petabytes.

Estimates based on the number of synapses suggest the brain could store the equivalent of three million hours of…

Tooth enamel is the hardest substance produced by the human body.

Composed mostly of minerals like hydroxyapatite, enamel is harder than bone and serves to protect teeth from the…

Humans shed about eighteen kilograms of skin over their lifetime.

The outer layer of skin constantly renews itself, shedding thousands of dust particles per minute. Over an average…

Nutella was invented to stretch cocoa rations during the Second World War.

Due to cocoa shortages in Italy, baker Pietro Ferrero mixed abundant regional hazelnuts with a small amount of cocoa…

The stickers on fruit are made of edible paper and food-grade glue.

Food safety agencies require these small labels to be safe for accidental consumption, although they should be…

All the colours of Froot Loops cereal taste exactly the same.

Despite the different colours suggesting distinct fruit flavours, the manufacturer confirmed that all the cereal…

Popsicles were invented by an eleven-year-old boy.

In nineteen oh five, Frank Epperson accidentally left a mixture of soda powder and water with a wooden stick on the…

Natural vanilla extract comes from the pods of a specific type of orchid.

The Vanilla planifolia orchid produces pods that, after a long curing and fermentation process, release the complex…

France's longest land border is with Brazil.

Due to the overseas department of French Guiana, France shares a seven hundred and thirty kilometre border with…

Saudi Arabia imports sand and camels from Australia.

Despite having vast deserts, local sand is too smooth and rounded by wind to be used in concrete, and Australian…

The Atlantic Ocean is growing wider every year.

The drifting apart of tectonic plates at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge continuously creates new oceanic crust, pushing the…

The country of Nauru has no official capital.

This small island in Micronesia never formally designated a capital, although the district of Yaren serves as the…

There is a volcano in Antarctica that maintains a bubbling lava lake.

Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano in the world and manages to maintain a rare liquid lava lake in its…

Ancient Egyptians shaved their eyebrows to mourn the death of their cats.

Cats were considered sacred animals and family members. According to historian Herodotus, owners shaved their…

The Great Pyramid of Giza was originally covered in smooth, white limestone.

These casing stones reflected sunlight so intensely that the pyramid shone like a white star, but most were removed…