All facts — Page 3

The flight code for the Apollo 11 mission was written by a team led by a woman, Margaret Hamilton.

Margaret Hamilton led the MIT software engineering team responsible for developing the onboard computer programs. Her…

All the electrons circulating on the Internet together weigh approximately the same as a strawberry.

Physicist Russell Seitz calculated that the combined mass of the electrons moving in the global network is around 50…

Humans glow in the dark, but the light is invisible to the human eye.

The human body emits a small amount of visible light due to metabolic reactions that produce free radicals. However…

The human stomach renews its lining every three to four days.

Gastric acids are strong enough to dissolve metal. To prevent the stomach from digesting itself, the cells of the…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests the proteins in your mouth while you eat it.

Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a mixture of enzymes that break down proteins. This is why the tongue can feel…

Peanuts are not nuts, but legumes.

Unlike walnuts or almonds that grow on trees, peanuts develop underground, just like peas or beans. They belong to…

Napoleon Bonaparte was not short, having an average height for his time.

The confusion arose due to the difference between French and English inches of the era. Napoleon measured about one…

Lightning strikes the Earth's surface about one hundred times per second.

This equals approximately eight million electrical discharges per day across the planet. Most of these lightning…

A single teaspoon of soil contains more microorganisms than people on Earth.

Soil is one of the most densely populated ecosystems on the planet. In a small sample, there can be billions of…

The characteristic smell of rain on dry soil has a scientific name called petrichor.

This aroma is mainly produced by a molecule called geosmin, released by soil bacteria called actinobacteria when…

Glass is not a slow-moving liquid, but an amorphous solid.

A popular myth claims that glass flows over centuries, explaining why old windows are thicker at the bottom. In…

Sound cannot travel in the vacuum of space because there are no molecules to vibrate.

Sound is a mechanical wave that requires a material medium, such as air, water, or metal, to propagate. In the vacuum…

The Eiffel Tower can be fifteen centimeters taller during the summer.

This phenomenon is due to the thermal expansion of iron. When the temperature rises, the metal molecules agitate and…

The Sun accounts for ninety-nine point eight six percent of the total mass of the solar system.

The central star of our system is massively dominant. All planets, moons, asteroids, and comets together constitute…

Wombat droppings are cube-shaped.

The wombat intestine has variations in wall elasticity, which molds the feces into cubes. This shape prevents them…

Crows recognize human faces and hold grudges for years.

Studies show that crows remember people who threatened them and can teach this distrust to their offspring. They…

Humans are the only known animals that blush from embarrassment.

Blushing is an involuntary response of the sympathetic nervous system that dilates the blood capillaries in the face…

Ears and nose continue to grow throughout your entire life.

Unlike bones, the cartilage that forms the nose and ears never stops dividing and expanding. Furthermore, with age…

Nutmeg can cause severe hallucinations if consumed in large amounts.

This spice contains myristicin, a compound that, in high doses, affects the central nervous system. Excessive…

Honeydew melons and watermelons belong to the exact same botanical family.

Both belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, which also includes cucumbers, pumpkins, and zucchini. Despite having…

Cashews grow on the bottom of an apple-like false fruit.

The true fruit of the cashew tree is the nut, which develops at the end of the floral receptacle. This receptacle…

Mount Everest grows about four millimeters taller every year.

The continuous collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates pushes the land upwards. Although erosion…

Cleopatra lived closer in time to the Moon landing than to the building of the pyramids.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was built about two thousand five hundred years before Cleopatra was born. Between the…

Woolly mammoths were still alive when the Egyptian pyramids were being built.

While the Egyptians were erecting the great pyramids, a small isolated population of woolly mammoths survived on…