1323 facts
Dinosaur eggs turn into solid rock over millions of years, making it impossible to remove fragile bones by hand. Powerful industrial CT scanners use X-rays to peer through dense mi...
Archaeologists use medical CT scans to study fragile mummies without causing physical damage. These digital X-rays reveal skeletal structures, internal organs, and even the content...
Standard X-rays cannot see soft blood vessels. By injecting contrast dyes containing dense elements like iodine, doctors make vessels absorb more radiation. This makes them appear...
Doctors use the Hounsfield Scale to identify body tissues based on density. On this scale, air is set at -1,000 while dense materials like bone or metal exceed +1,000. These precis...
Standard X-rays produce flat 2D images where organs can overlap and hide issues. A CT scan solves this by rotating an X-ray beam around your body to capture images from every angle...
EMI, the record label for The Beatles, used the massive profits from the band's 1960s success to fund independent research. This investment allowed engineer Godfrey Hounsfield to d...
Humans can detect geosmin, the chemical that creates the 'earthy' smell of rain, at just 5 parts per trillion. This makes our sense of smell for this specific compound 200,000 time...
Standing up to 10 feet tall, the Titan Arum is one of the world's largest and smelliest flowers. It heats itself to nearly 100°F to spread its foul odor through the dense rainfores...
These tiny arachnids, called Demodex mites, live in human hair follicles and oil glands. Measuring just 0.3 millimeters, they feed on dead skin cells and oils. Most adults carry th...
Early dental fillings used a mix of different metals that acted like a tiny battery. This chemical reaction produced hydrogen gas that built up extreme pressure inside the tooth. I...
The Ophiocordyceps fungus takes over an ant's body by surrounding its muscle fibers. It forces the ant to climb a plant and bite down on a leaf in a 'death grip.' After the ant die...
The wasp delivers a venomous sting directly into the cockroach's brain to disable its escape reflex. While the cockroach can still move, it loses the will to flee. The wasp then le...
As the Moon moves further away, it will eventually appear too small to fully cover the Sun. In about 600 million years, total solar eclipses will no longer be possible. We currentl...
These silent waves vibrate below 20 Hz. While humans cannot hear them, we often feel them as physical pressure or a sense of unease. Elephants and whales use infrasound to communic...
Top athletes can smash a shuttlecock at speeds over 400 km/h (248 mph). While they start with incredible velocity, their feathered design creates high drag, causing them to slow do...
Beginning a meal with 'guk' or 'tang' (warm broth) triggers the release of digestive enzymes and gastric juices. This process acts like a warm-up for your stomach, making it easier...
This stunning color is created when glaciers grind mountain rock into a fine powder. These tiny particles stay suspended in the water instead of sinking. When sunlight hits them, i...
Despite covering less than 0.1% of the ocean surface, fjords bury 11% of all marine carbon. Their deep, low-oxygen waters prevent organic matter from decomposing, locking it away f...
Because freshwater is less dense than saltwater, it sits on the surface. The steep walls of the fjord block the wind, preventing waves from mixing the two layers.
Unlike tropical corals, cold-water species like Lophelia pertusa don't need the sun. They survive in dark, icy waters by catching tiny organisms swept in by deep-sea currents. Norw...
This ridge, known as a sill, is made of glacial debris. It limits water exchange and creates a protected environment. Norway's Sognefjord, for instance, is 1,308 meters deep, yet i...
During the last Ice Age, massive glaciers crushed the Earth's crust into the mantle. Now that the ice has melted, the land is lifting back up through a process called isostatic reb...
These sharks lay leathery, corkscrew-shaped eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The mother wedges the eggs into rocky crevices to protect them from predators and strong cur...
Sharks use two main breathing methods. 'Ram ventilation' requires species like the Great White to swim with their mouths open to push water over their gills. If they stop moving, t...
A thresher shark's tail is often as long as its entire body. During a hunt, the shark whips its tail over its head like a medieval flail. This strike is so fast it creates pressure...
Sharks were once thought to be colorblind, but many possess cone cells that detect specific colors. Since water absorbs red and yellow light quickly, their vision is tuned to shade...
Unlike bony fish that use gas-filled bladders, sharks rely on livers packed with squalene oil. This low-density oil makes them lighter than water, preventing them from sinking whil...
With a torpedo-shaped body and a powerful tail, this shark can outswim many boats and leap 20 feet out of the water. Its specialized skin and unique circulatory system allow it to...
Shark teeth are made of fluoroapatite, a mineral similar to the fluoride in toothpaste. This built-in defense makes their teeth incredibly resistant to acid and bacteria. While hum...
Megalodon was the largest shark in history, dwarfing the modern Great White. Its massive jaws could swallow two adults side-by-side, and its teeth reached over 7 inches in length....
It uses bioluminescence to become invisible. By emitting light from its belly, the shark matches the faint sunlight from above, erasing its silhouette to hide from predators and pr...
Sharks first appeared 450 million years ago. This is 100 million years before the first trees and long before the North Star ever formed. Having survived five mass extinctions, the...
Their hammer-shaped head, called a cephalofoil, places their eyes on opposite ends of a wide bar. This unique anatomy provides a panoramic view of their entire surroundings. While...
Sharks belong to a group of fish called elasmobranchs, which have skeletons made of tough, flexible cartilage. This material is much lighter and more elastic than bone. It saves en...
Found in coral reefs, this shark often gets trapped in shallow pools during low tide. To escape, it uses its muscular fins to crawl over rocks and sand to reach the ocean. It can e...
During the Great Migration, wildebeest are pushed forward by an intense biological drive and pressure from the massive herd. This momentum is so strong that they may jump blindly i...
For almost 300 years, the Greek-descended Ptolemaic rulers spoke only Koine Greek and refused to learn the local tongue. Cleopatra broke this tradition to connect with her people a...
Opening in 1759, the British Museum broke tradition by granting free admission to everyone regardless of social status. Previously, major art and history collections were private a...
This exhibit uses a spinning cylinder to trick your brain into feeling motion while you stand still. Your eyes see the room rotating, but your inner ear detects no movement. This s...
This massive number comes from the mathematical formula for combinations. If you dealt one unique hand every second, it would take over 30 days to see every possible combination.
When oxygen levels drop, a tortoise's heart transforms from a spade shape to a rounded box shape. This physical shift helps the heart pump blood more efficiently to the brain and v...
When particles become entangled, they share a single state. Measuring one immediately determines the state of the other, even if they are light-years apart. Albert Einstein called...
Christian law forbade eating meat on Fridays and during Lent, making fish an essential protein. Monasteries and noble estates created 'stews' or managed fisheries to breed freshwat...
Crossbows used mechanical tension to fire bolts with enough force to penetrate expensive armor. Unlike longbows, which required years of elite training, a crossbow could be mastere...
Religious and cultural taboos often prohibited the study of human corpses. Instead of direct observation, doctors relied on the works of the Greek physician Galen. However, Galen's...
While rats carried the disease, medieval urban life fueled the pandemic. Narrow streets, open sewage, and poor hygiene allowed the bacteria to jump quickly between people. Recent s...
Medieval diets were rich in fiber and nutrients from whole grains, beans, and wild plants. Unlike later urban populations who relied on processed flour and sugar, medieval communit...
These primitive toilets consisted of a stone seat with an opening that led outside the castle walls. Waste fell into the surrounding moat or a cesspit to keep the living areas clea...
While armor prevented immediate death, it could not stop bacteria. Without knowledge of germs or antibiotics, even a minor scratch from a dirty blade often led to fatal sepsis or g...
Located in the Khasi Hills, Cherrapunji recorded 22,987 millimeters of rain between 1860 and 1861. This remains the highest annual rainfall ever documented. The record is due to or...