Mind Blowing Facts

Wibbles

Woolly Mammoths Were Roaming The Earth When The Pyramids Were Built

Tyrannosaurus Rex And Stegosaurus Lived About 80 Million Years Apart

During The Age Of The Dinosaurs, Volcanoes May Have Been Erupting On The Moon

Humans Have Existed For One-Thousandth As Long As The Dinosaurs Lived

Horseshoe Crabs Are 450 Million Years Old, But Some Algae Have Lived More Than Twice As Long

The Planet Only Started Making Oxygen 2.5 Billion Years Ago

The Earth Experienced More Than 1 Million Years Of Rainfall During The Carnian Pluvial Episode

The Presence Of Hominids On Earth Is Analogous To 2 Minutes Of A 24-Hour Day

The Sahara Has Only Been A Desert For About 6,000 Years

Continents Split Up And Reconnect Every 600 Million Years Or So

12,000 Years Ago, Ancient Humans Hunted 10-Foot-Tall Sloths

Jimm_Scope

Adding to the pyramids one. The Great Pyramids of Giza were more ancient to the Romans than the Romans are to us.

The Great Pyramid was completed around 2560 BCE. Rome took control of Egypt in 30 BCE. Giving a difference of 2,530 years to our 2,053 years time since the Romans took Egypt.

Wibbles

Jimm_Scope said:

Adding to the pyramids one. The Great Pyramids of Giza were more ancient to the Romans than the Romans are to us.

The Great Pyramid was completed around 2560 BCE. Rome took control of Egypt in 30 BCE. Giving a difference of 2,530 years to our 2,053 years time since the Romans took Egypt.

Time is worrying
It keeps on moving forwards at ever increasing rates
A year used to be a long time when I was young 
But now a year shoots past in the blink of an eye 

rebel11

99% of a Panda's diet is bamboo shoots, it has 'zero' nutritional value. Unbelievable. 

Jimm_Scope

While you are true about the make-up of the diet being 99% bamboo leaves and shoots it isn't true that they have zero nutritional value, otherwise they wouldn't survive. The leaves have very little nutritional value but the shoots can be up to 30% protein. There's a reason we eat them in stir fries! 

Now, given the size of the bears they need to eat over 10kg of bamboo shoots a day during bamboo shoot season (April-August) when they put on weight to make it through the August-April period where it's just the leaves.

They are incredibly specialised to survive in bamboo forests, they do it incredibly well. The issue is they've specialised so much into living in bamboo forests they cannot survive without them. And the destruction of the bamboo forests is what made them endangered.

rebel11

I got my info from 

'A panda's daily diet consists almost entirely of the leaves, stems and shoots of various bamboo species. Bamboo contains very little nutritional value.'

https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/giant_panda/panda/what_do_pandas_they_eat

Jimm_Scope

Indeed, the entire plant has very little nutritional value, except for the shoots! And the shoots are only around for half the year, which is why they bulk up over that period. Like how bears that hibernate bulk up for their hibernation.

Grinchy

fascinating stuff folks!

Jimm_Scope

You know how Italian cuisine is famous for it's tomato sauces? On pizza, as bolognese, lasagna, or in lovely salads.

Well, the Tomato did not arrive in Italy until the late 1500s and even then it was as a decorative plant! It's genetically a cousin of the deadly nightshade and the similar appearances made people wary of eating it at first. Using it as a cooking ingredient was not common until 200 years later in the late 1700s.

This was from the Columbian exchange which saw a lot of things cross from New World to Old World and vice versa. Such as the potato too!

THE_DUDE

If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will eventually turn white.

Albus_Scope

The wolverine has claws that reach 4 inches long and can reach speeds of up to 30mph. 

Albus_Scope

THE_DUDE said:

If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will eventually turn white.

Technically true, as goldfish tend to find their food by sight, so would starve if kept in the dark for too long. 

Rosie_Scope

Wombats are the only species in the world known to produce cube-shaped poo. Scientists think the shape comes from the moisture content they need to get out of their food, or it may help them mark their territory without it rolling away.

You're welcome for that one.

Jimm_Scope

Albus_Scope said:

The wolverine has claws that reach 4 inches long and can reach speeds of up to 30mph. 

What if it's on a train or a plane?

C_J

Some fascinating facts being posted on here.

Albus_Scope

Jimm_Scope said:

What if it's on a train or a plane?

Well that would depend on the train or plane and if there's any leaves on the line.

WelshBlue

Surgeons who play video games at least 3 hours a week perform 27% faster and make 37% fewer errors performing laparoscopic surgery.

... zombie survival horror ones might get carried away ... 

rebel11

Scientists believe that there is a planet for each human on Earth, so that's over 6 billion planets, that's quite amazing if that is the case, I can see an Estate Agent selling my planet sometime soon.  

rebel11

WelshBlue said:

Surgeons who play video games at least 3 hours a week perform 27% faster and make 37% fewer errors performing laparoscopic surgery.

... zombie survival horror ones might get carried away ... 

I was watching a horror movie, it had zombies the zombies were climbing steps, we all know zombies would use 'handrails', big fail there, they have their hands infront of them, being totally 
'gormless'. 

Wibbles

rebel11 said:

Scientists believe that there is a planet for each human on Earth, so that's over 6 billion planets, that's quite amazing if that is the case, I can see an Estate Agent selling my planet sometime soon.  

That's just in our own galaxy 
There could be as many galaxys as the number of stars in our galaxy 

rebel11

rebel11 said:

WelshBlue said:

Surgeons who play video games at least 3 hours a week perform 27% faster and make 37% fewer errors performing laparoscopic surgery.

... zombie survival horror ones might get carried away ... 

I was watching a horror movie, it had zombies the zombies were climbing steps, we all know zombies would use 'handrails', big fail there, they have their hands infront of them, being totally 
'gormless'. 

Should read 'wouldn't', not 'would'.