All facts — Page 9

Approximately one million Earths can fit inside the volume of the Sun.

The Sun is a star of massive dimensions. Its radius is about one hundred and nine times larger than that of the…

Cows develop best friends and get stressed when separated from them.

Animal behavior studies have shown that cows form strong social bonds with specific individuals in the herd. When…

The human nose and ears appear to grow throughout life due to gravity and collagen breakdown.

The nose and ears do not actually grow after puberty. The appearance of increased size is due to collagen degradation…

Chocolate was used as currency by the Aztec and Maya civilizations.

Cacao seeds were so valuable in these Mesoamerican cultures that they were used as money to buy goods and services. A…

Wombat feces have the shape of a perfect cube.

Wombats are the only known animals to produce cubic feces. This happens because the walls of their large intestine…

The jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii can reverse its life cycle and become biologically immortal.

When facing physical stress or aging, this jellyfish can transform its adult cells back into the polyp stage, its…

The human stomach produces a new lining every three to four days.

The gastric acid in the stomach is strong enough to dissolve metal. To prevent the organ from digesting itself, the…

Babies are born without kneecaps, which are made of cartilage and ossify later.

At birth, babies have cartilage in the knee area instead of true bone. This cartilage begins to ossify and turn into…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that digests proteins and makes the mouth tingle.

Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that breaks down proteins. When we eat fresh pineapple, this enzyme begins to…

Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as a medicine for diarrhea.

In 1834, a physician named John Cook Bennett declared that tomatoes could cure diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundice…

The first computer programmer in history was a woman in the 19th century.

Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine, Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, in…

Fungi are evolutionarily closer to animals than to plants.

Genetic analyses show that fungi and animals share a more recent common ancestor than either does with plants. Both…

Sound cannot travel through the vacuum of space.

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

The footprints left on the Moon by astronauts may remain there for millions of years.

The Moon has no atmosphere, wind, or liquid water, so there are no natural erosion processes to erase the marks…

The first computer bug in history was a real moth trapped in a computer in 1947.

Programmer Grace Hopper and her team found a moth trapped in a relay of the Harvard Mark II computer. They taped the…

Wombat feces have a perfect cubic shape.

The wombat intestine has variable elasticity, which molds the feces into cubes. This shape prevents the feces from…

Babies are born without true bony kneecaps.

At birth, the knee area is composed entirely of cartilage. This flexible structure aids in childbirth and protects…

The kiwi fruit is native to China, not New Zealand.

Although New Zealand popularized the fruit and gave it its name, the plant originates from the Yangtze River valley…

Nutmeg is highly toxic if consumed in large quantities.

Nutmeg contains myristicin, a compound that in high doses can cause hallucinations, nausea, tachycardia, and…

Pineapple contains an enzyme that literally digests you while you eat it.

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

The Amazon River has no bridges crossing its main stem.

Despite being the second longest river in the world, the Amazon basin is predominantly composed of dense forest and…

At Point Nemo, the closest humans are often on the space station.

Point Nemo is the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, the location in the ocean farthest from any landmass. It is so…

Napoleon Bonaparte was once attacked by a horde of rabbits.

During a treaty celebration in eighteen hundred and seven, Napoleon organized a rabbit hunt. The rabbits, instead of…

The Australian military lost the Great Emu War in nineteen thirty two.

The Australian military was mobilized to control the emu population devastating crops in Western Australia. Despite…