Science Fact of the Day 6.27.12
Because of the workings of human language, the number of possible thoughts and sentences is basically infinite. “Say you have …
Category Archives: Science Fact of the Day
Science Fact of the Day 6.26.12
The average adult knows the names for about 10,000 things, most of them distinguished by shape. [From Steven Pinker’s How …
Science Fact of the Day 6.25.12
WD-40 stands for “Water Displacement – 40th Attempt.” It was developed in 1953 by Norm Larsen, founder of the Rocket Chemical …
Science Fact of the Day 6.24.12
Humanity weighs more than 5400 Titanics. Of those 287 million tons, 15 million were the result of people being overweight. …
Science Fact of the Day 6.23.12
The technical term for a hairball is “trichobezoar“. Why would you ever say “hairball” again, knowing the alternative? WARNING: Do …
Science Fact of the Day 6.22.12
Every second of everyday we are bathed in a sea of particles. 100 billion neutrinos pass through your thumbnail every …
Science Fact of the Day 6.21.12
80% of all insects live in jungles.
Science Fact of the Day 6.20.12
How fast does the brain work? Not very fast by computer standards. An action potential (i.e., nerve impulse) lasts about …
Science Fact of the Day 6.19.12
Altricial, meaning “requiring nourishment,” refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around …
Science Fact of the Day 6.18.12
Water jets are a surprisingly efficient method of slicing, and they’re more hygienic than using a blade, which can harbor …
Science Fact of the Day 6.17.12
The Bornean Flat-headed Frog (Barbourula kalimantanensis) is a species of toad in the Bombinatoridae family. It is the second frog …
Science Fact of the Day 6.16.12
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and …
Science Fact of the Day 6.15.12
Frogs vomit by pushing their stomachs out of their mouths and using their forearms to empty the contents. The orange …
Science Fact of the Day 6.14.12
Salt water is 4 times saltier than our blood. By drinking it, your kidneys would need to use up a …
Science Fact of the Day 6.13.12
You would have to drink over 60 liters per day of soda sweetened with aspartame everyday to overwhelm your body’s …
Science Fact of the Day 6.12.12
On average, the human body contains 250 grams of salt, enough to fill between 3 and 4 salt shakers.
Science Fact of the Day 6.11.12
The psychedelic-looking peacock mantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) has a decidedly brutish way of getting a meal: clubbing it. This small …
Science Fact of the Day 6.10.12
Think a trip to the pharmacy is overwhelming? Try this: One million billion billion billion billion billion billion. That’s a …
Science Fact of the Day 6.9.12
A single raindrop can weigh 50 times as much as a mosquito. So how can the insects fly through a …
Science Fact of the Day 6.8.12
The interior of the Earth is separated into three chemically distinct parts: the crust, mantle, and core. At the present …
