- That turtles can breathe out of their BUTT!
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Cloacal respiration is what it is actually called, and it only occurs while turtles are hibernating – but still, that’s super strange but cool at the same time. And yes, I learned this fact from Disney’s Frozen 2! (I highly recommend everyone see this movie.)
- Soap is not the key factor in cleaning your hands.
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The way soap works is crazy weird, and I was absolutely mind blown when I learned that soap works by breaking down the water molecules into even smaller pieces. That makes it possible for the water to fit into the small creases of your hands to wash away all of those icky germs. There is also a hydrophobic molecule (that means that it hates water) that attracts oil from your hands that wash away when you rinse your hands. Cool, right?
- Space is said to smell like steak?
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After spending time in space, astronauts would say that the specific smell of steak would hang around in the spaceship decks once there returned. If anyone knows why space smells like my favorite food, please let me know.
- Scotland’s national animal is a unicorn…
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Scotland is said to be the home of the mythological Lock Ness Monster, so to be funny, they picked another mythological creature to be their national animal. I love that!
- There were many bodies found in Benjamin Franklin’s Basement.
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For those who don’t remember, Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, and there is no definite answer as to why there were skeletons and human remains found in his basement many years after his death. The main thought is that it was for anatomy research, and back in his day, you could pay graverobbers to steal bodies of those who had just passed away.
- Gatorade will taste sweet when dehydrated and sour when hydrated!
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After doing some research behind this theory, I learned that, when a person is dehydrated, the brain makes water taste sweeter, so you desire more of it. This is the same concept that is going on with Gatorade! That fact is still equally interesting
- A cloud can weigh more than a million pounds.
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Remember back in the second grade when you learned that clouds held the rain until they were so full it couldn’t hold anymore, causing rain? Well, you may wonder how a cloud’s weight could be calculated. It’s actually pretty cool. You take the water density of the cloud and multiply it times the volume and BAM! You can find out how much a cloud can weigh!
- Cats don’t meow at other cats.
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Adult cats do not meow at other cats. They only meow at humans/other species when they want or need something. An adult cat-to-cat conversation happens differently. However, kittens do meow at their mothers, but that is the only exception.
- Sweden blood donors can be made aware when their blood is used.
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I think that it would be a great feeling to be notified that your contribution was used to help save a life! If we did that in America, I bet a lot more people would donate knowing they are actually helping someone.
- The Queen of England owns all the swans.
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In the medieval days, swans were an item of wealth. A law was passed that any unclaimed swan swimming in any open waters belonged to the Queen.
- Rainbows are actually a circle.
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We’ve only ever seen half of a rainbow because of the horizon, but if you’ve ever seen a rainbow from an airplane or at the top of a skyscraper, you can see that is actually a full circle! The technical name for it is called a sunbow. This fact would make it pretty hard to find the pot of gold at the end of every rainbow