All facts — Page 50
The complete ONAURE library, newest first. Every fact has an explanation and a source you can check.
2056 facts
The Kuiper Belt is a region of the solar system beyond Neptune.
The Kuiper Belt is a ring of icy bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune, between 30 and 50 astronomical units. It…
HTML was invented by Bill Gates.
HTML was invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1991, together with the World Wide Web. Bill Gates is the co-founder…
The adrenal glands are larger than the kidneys.
The adrenal glands are small endocrine glands located on top of each kidney. Each weighs about 5 grams, much smaller…
Tea contains theanine, an amino acid that promotes relaxation.
Tea, especially green tea, contains theanine, an amino acid that crosses the blood-brain barrier and promotes a state…
The Aztec Sun Stone is not a calendar.
The Aztec Sun Stone, often called the Aztec calendar, is actually a ceremonial monument representing Aztec cosmology…
Buckyballs are carbon molecules shaped like a ball.
Buckyballs, or fullerenes, are carbon molecules with 60 atoms arranged in a hollow sphere, similar to a football…
The salmon returns to the river where it was born using its sense of smell.
The salmon memorises the unique smell of the water of the river where it was born. Years later, when it returns from…
The axolotl loses its external gills when it becomes an adult.
The axolotl keeps its external gills throughout its life, a phenomenon called neoteny. Unlike other amphibians, it…
The sand temperature determines the sex of turtle hatchlings.
In many species of sea turtles, the sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of the nest sand…
The three-banded armadillo rolls into a perfect ball to defend itself.
The three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus) is the only armadillo that rolls into a perfect ball, completely…
The nest temperature determines the sex of crocodiles.
As with turtles, the sex of crocodiles is determined by the nest temperature. In crocodiles, lower temperatures…
The human body can withstand the same temperature in icy water as in icy air.
The human body loses heat much faster in water than in air. Water conducts heat about 25 times better than air, which…
The left ventricle of the heart is the strongest chamber.
The left ventricle of the human heart has a muscular wall about three times thicker than the right ventricle. This is…
Tooth enamel regenerates naturally.
Tooth enamel does not regenerate. Once worn down or damaged, it does not grow back, unlike bones. That is why dental…
The liver filters about 1.4 litres of blood per minute.
The human liver is one of the most active organs in the body. Every minute, it filters about 1.4 litres of blood…
Decaffeinated coffee does not stimulate acid production in the stomach.
Coffee, even decaffeinated, stimulates acid production in the stomach. Studies show that other substances in coffee…
The acidity of olive oil is measured in oleic acid.
The acidity of olive oil is expressed as a percentage of free oleic acid. Extra virgin olive oil has an acidity of…
The tomato is a vegetable from a botanical point of view.
The tomato is botanically a fruit, because it develops from the ovary of the flower and contains seeds. Culinarily…
Blueberries owe their colour to a pigment called anthocyanin.
Blueberries contain anthocyanins, water-soluble pigments that give the fruit its blue-purple colour. These substances…
The Atacama Desert is the driest in the world.
The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest non-polar desert in the world. Some weather stations in the region have…
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago located in the Arctic Ocean, between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Its main…
Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba where he was exiled.
Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba in 1814, after his abdication. In February 1815, he escaped from the island…
Machu Picchu was abandoned by the Incas.
Machu Picchu was built around 1450 and abandoned about 100 years later, during the fall of the Inca Empire. The city…
The Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish is immortal.
The Turritopsis dohrnii, a jellyfish a few millimetres long, can reverse its life cycle to the polyp stage when under…