- Octopuses have three hearts! Two pump blood to the gills, and one pumps it to the rest of the body.
- Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not. Botanically speaking, bananas meet the criteria of berries, while strawberries do not.
- The heart of a blue whale is so big that a human could swim through its arteries. It weighs about 400 pounds!
- Honey never spoils. Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still edible.
- There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the Earth’s beaches. Astronomers estimate this staggering comparison.
- Sharks existed before trees. Sharks have been around for over 400 million years, while trees appeared about 350 million years ago.
- Sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins. Sloths can slow their heart rate and hold their breath for up to 40 minutes underwater.
- A group of flamingos is called a “flamboyance.” How fitting for such colorful birds!
- Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents. The human olfactory system is incredibly sensitive.
- The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes. It was between Britain and Zanzibar on August 27, 1896.
- The inventor of the Pringles can is buried in one. Fred Baur’s ashes were placed in a Pringles can according to his wishes.
- Water can boil and freeze simultaneously. This occurs at a specific pressure, known as the triple point.
- An octopus’s tentacles can have a mind of their own. Each arm has its own neurons to control movements independently.
- Wombat poop is cube-shaped. This helps prevent it from rolling away and marks their territory.
- A single strand of spider silk is five times stronger than steel of the same diameter. It’s also incredibly lightweight.
- There’s a species of jellyfish that is biologically immortal. The Turritopsis dohrnii can revert to its polyp stage after adulthood.
- Humans share about 60% of their DNA with bananas. This highlights the shared evolutionary origins of life.
- Butterflies can taste with their feet. Their taste sensors are located on their feet, helping them identify suitable plants.
- Scotland has 421 words for “snow.” Some examples include “sneesl” (to begin to rain or snow) and “skelf” (a large snowflake).
- The average cloud weighs about a million pounds. Despite their fluffy appearance, clouds are made of heavy water droplets.
- Cats can’t taste sweetness. They lack the taste receptors for sweet flavors.
- The longest hiccuping spree lasted 68 years. Charles Osborne started hiccuping in 1922 and stopped in 1990.
- Earth’s magnetic field flips every 200,000–300,000 years. This phenomenon is known as a geomagnetic reversal.
- There’s enough DNA in the human body to stretch from the Sun to Pluto and back — 17 times. It’s densely packed in every cell.
- The Eiffel Tower can grow taller in the summer. Heat causes the metal to expand, adding up to 6 inches in height.