Mind Blowing Facts

rebel11

Wibbles said:

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 

Yep and we've got 'idiots' starting wars, conflict for land on planet Earth, that is 'total madness'. 

Albus_Scope

The humble tardigrade (aka water bears or moss piglets) can enter a state of suspended animation called a 'Tun State' in which they can survive in vacuums for up to 8 days and deal with temps down to -272c! 

Wibbles

Albus_Scope said:

The humble tardigrade (aka water bears or moss piglets) can enter a state of suspended animation called a 'Tun State' in which they can survive in vacuums for up to 8 days and deal with temps down to -272c! 

That's pretty damned chilly 
Colder than my student flat in the 80's

THE_DUDE

Eggs came before the chicken. 

Jimm_Scope

Speaking of eggs, there are 5 mammals that lay eggs. They all belong to a single genetic Order Monotremata and so are known as "Monotremes".

They are the platypus and 4 species of Echidna's, all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. Though remains have been found in South America, when Australia and South America were connected via Antarctica (it's very hard to dig into permafrost so nobody has really bothered digging in Antarctica to find out if there are platypus fossils there).

rebel11

This is pretty amazing, hot off the press, they've found 'timber', that's 500,000 million years old. So early man was building structures well before historians thought.

I think they used an early timber preservative - 

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66846772

Wibbles

Jimm_Scope said:

Speaking of eggs, there are 5 mammals that lay eggs. They all belong to a single genetic Order Monotremata and so are known as "Monotremes".

They are the platypus and 4 species of Echidna's, all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. Though remains have been found in South America, when Australia and South America were connected via Antarctica (it's very hard to dig into permafrost so nobody has really bothered digging in Antarctica to find out if there are platypus fossils there).

The platypus fossils are hidden under the pyramids !

https://www.wionews.com/science/mystery-pyramid-appears-in-satellite-images-of-antarctica-sparks-conspiracy-theories-620794

Wibbles

Calculations suggest that 136 billion sheets of A4 paper would be needed to print out the entire contents of the world wide web. 

If the printouts were piled up, the stack would be taller than Earth.

chiarieds

Fossil evidence shows that penguins evolved before the dinosaurs died out, and there are remains of giant, people-sized, prehistoric penguins.

WelshBlue

rebel11 said:

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'. 

Some zombies just get others a bad name tch

When I take my pain meds ... no way can I get downstairs without the handrail 

Great facts here.  The wonder of the natural world.

The Eiffel Tower shrinks up to 6 inches in the Summer

Albus_Scope

Pachydyptes ponderosus! just over 300lbs I believe? 

I remember reading about the giant penguins before they put out any pictures.  it gave me some terrifying mental images. 

Wibbles

Albus_Scope said:

Pachydyptes ponderosus! just over 300lbs I believe? 

I remember reading about the giant penguins before they put out any pictures.  it gave me some terrifying mental images. 

I saw penguins at the sea life centre - they stank of fish but the thought of human sized penguins waddling around ...... no no no

Albus_Scope

Wibbles said:

I saw penguins at the sea life centre - they stank of fish but the thought of human sized penguins waddling around ...... no no no

Hah, I saw the little one in the wetsuit, he was a sweetie!

I volunteered backstage at the local Blue Reef Aquariums (ex Sealife Centre)  and it was the otters you really had to watch out for.  I really dislike otters now and have scars to back up my feelings. 

Rosie_Scope

@Albus_Scope obviously I trust your experiences, but I have the unfortunate trait of needing to make friends with every animal I meet, so if my paths cross with an otter I will be shaking their tiny little hands whatever the consequences.

Anyway, back to mind blowing facts. One study in the US found that some plants know who their siblings are. They will be less competitive with them when grown in the same pot compared to when they are grown with plants they aren't related to.

Albus_Scope

@rosie_scope Oh I'm exactly the same, it takes a tonne to make me go off an animal and I try to treat them all as individuals.   But many biologist friends say I'm not alone with my dislike of otters. 

I will still try to hug one though. 

rebel11

The only reason we have surnames is because taxes could be collected. 

THE_DUDE

Like the human fingerprint, each tiger's stripe pattern is one of a kind. Individual tigers are identified by their unique stripes.

Sandy_123

Coffee beans were discovered by goats in Ethiopia, they ate the beans and the shepherd realised how energetic they were and tried it themselves, by boiling the beans and drinking the liquid. 

Wibbles

Sandy_123 said:

Coffee beans were discovered by goats in Ethiopia, they ate the beans and the shepherd realised how energetic they were and tried it themselves, by boiling the beans and drinking the liquid. 

That's interesting 

Wibbles

rebel11 said:

The only reason we have surnames is because taxes could be collected. 

So what was Jesus's surname?