50 Mind Blowing Facts About The Universe

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1. Antarctica is the driest place in the world.

Ever wondered about that continent down south? You may think since it's practically all ice, it must melt into water. However, it's actually quite the opposite. The ice there doesn't melt due to the freezing temperatures. Also, it hasn't rained there in more than 2 million years, making it the driest place in the world.

 Penguins enjoying the freezing temperatures of Antarctica.

2. There's an island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island.

If you've just read that sentence and are very confused, don't worry. I was too when I first read it.

  Traveling to the Philippines, we will find Vulcan Point which is an island on Main Crater Lake. Main Crater Lake is located on Volcano Island. Volcano Island is located on Lake Taal. Lake Taal is located on the island of Luzon. 

In other words, we have an island within a lake on an island within a lake on an island. 

Taal Volcano on Lake Taal. Look closely, and you will also see the island of Luzon.

3. Iceland is growing 5 centimeters per year.

As the North American and European tectonic plates (where Iceland is located) are growing wider apart, the country of Iceland is also growing wider apart.

Mt. Hvannadalshnúkur, The Tallest Peak In The Country

4. Los Angeles, CA is located farther east than Reno, NV.

We all get it. The United States has really weird geography. But if you look at a map closely, you'll see that the southern part of California (where Los Angeles is located) is actually farther east than central west Nevada (where Reno is located).

But you might find it weird because California is west of Nevada. But in a way, California is also east of it.

Here is a map of the US. Take a close look to the southern parts of California and central west parts of Nevada. Then you'll see that in a way, Nevada is west of California.

5. The country of Australia is wider than the moon. 

I know right?!?! Mind blowing! How is a country wider than the moon?? Well, let's thank Australia's coastlines for that. They ended up at the perfect places, therefore resulting it being wider than the Earth's moon.

Let's take a look on the right ->

Australia (Has A Diamter Of About 2485 miles, 4000 kilometers)
Earth's Moon (Has A Diameter Of 2112 miles, 3400 kilometers)

6. A good morning is a good night in parts of Russia.

Russia, the biggest country in the world, has 11 time zones. So if you put it into that perspective, it pretty much makes sense. For example, if we take the westernmost point in Russia (Narmeln/Polski in the Kaliningrad Oblast) and the easternmost point in Russia (Big Diomede approximately 49 kilometers/30 miles), we will see that the distance is around 6588 kilometers or 4093 miles. In other words, when it's 10 am in Narmeln/Polski, it is 8 pm in Big Diomede. Or in another perspective, if it's 8 pm in Narmeln/Polski, it is 6 am in Big Diomede.

Narmeln/Polski
Big Diomede

7. The Sargasso Sea has no coasts.

Located in the Atlantic Ocean, the Sargasso Sea is the only sea in the world to not have any coasts. In other words, it's a sea fully surrounded by an ocean. So I really don't know what the point of the Sargasso Sea even is..

The part where the image is in dark green is the area where the Sargasso Sea is located.

8. Mt. Augustus is not a mountain, but instead a rock with a world record.

Mt. Augustus, which is located in the Australian Outback of the Northern Territory, has to be a mountain, right? Since it has mountain in the name? Well...wrong. Despite its name, Mt. Augustus is a really big rock, not a mountain. In fact, such a big rock that it's been entitled "The World's Largest Rock." It's more than twice the size of Uluru, aka Ayers Rock, also located in Northern Territory.

Mt. Augustus 

9. Africa has land on all four hemispheres.

Africa, and the only continent to do so, has land in all 4-North, South, East, and West. Why is that so surprising? It's because the entire continent covers a mind blowing 11.73 million miles.

Africa

10. Los Angeles and San Francisco Will Be Neighboring Cities

The San Andreas fault consumes almost 2 inches of land every year. That means if humans are still alive in 15 million years, the two cities can actually be neighbors.

Los Angeles
San Francisco

11. Kentucky has more caves than any other place on Earth.

If you love the dark, you'll love Kentucky! With over 130 caves, Kentucky has more caves than any state in the US and any country!

Kentucky's Mammoth Cave

12. Scotland's national animal is the unicorn.

You may think I'm lying, but I'm not.

The unicorn is Scotland's national animal due to it's white horse-like body and spiraling horn. Because of this, the unicorn resembles a symbol of purity, innocence, and power in mythology.

Scotland Coat of Arms

13. The Earth is racing through space at 66,000 mph. 

Even though we are very small to feel it, the Earth is hurtling through space at a mega 66,000 square miles. And how do I know that??

If you didn't say the internet, you're not right, but yes, it's the internet, lmao.

 But if you ask why the Earth spins, that's a great question. This is due to the way the planet was formed. When the solar system formed, a huge cloud of gas started to collapse in its own gravity. Since then, Earth has been spinning.

For all the people who don't know, here is what the planet looks like -->

Earth

14. Traffic Lights

You may be asking how and why. How are traffic lights special? Why are traffic lights special?

Well, let's start out like this:

Are you ever caught in traffic jams because of these traffic lights? Well don't worry, everyone is! And because of the traffic, an average person spends an average of about 6 months stuck at traffic lights in their lifetime!!

These devices are also known as stoplights or just the lights in America.

15. Sunsets on Mars

Are you sick of sunsets on Earth since they always look the same? Orange, yellow, and red?

In that case, you should travel to Mars! Why you may ask?

If you said to see the martians and the red soil, you're wrong. It's because Mars has blue sunsets!

 The Blue Sunset of Mars

16. A year on Venus is shorter than a day there.

Venus spins very slowly in the opposite direction of Earth - 243 days on Earth for a full rotation around the sun. But only 225 days needs to be taken since the sun is so close to it. Therefore, a year on Venus is shorter than a day.

And here it is, being named our twin planet.

Venus

17. Our Sun Makes Up 99.8% of the Solar System's mass.

Take another look at that star. We've all been told it's massive, right? But have we ever thought how massive? It's so massive that it makes up a 99.8% of our entire solar system. The other planets, meteors/ites, and etc appear like a speck of dust.

The Actual Solar System 

18. Our tongue is our strongest muscle.

You may be really confused, but it's time to get your scientific nerdy cap on, The reason the tongue's the strongest muscle it due to the combination of elasticity and forcefulness that gives us the ability to speak, eat, and etc. Not only that, but it pulls against the force of gravity to keep our body upright.

So you might wanna thank this muscle ^^

Disclaimer: The next 7 facts will not have images because they're just facts without images.

19. 11,111,111*11,111,111=12,345,678,987,654,321

If you ever wanna impress someone with your math skills, this equation is for you. If you ask someone to solve the above, they'll most probably be amazed that it equals that number!!

20. It is impossible to lick with your elbow.

Ok, I know the 99.9999% of people who're reading this will try to lick their elbow. But before you try to, let me say one word. Stop. No matter how much you try to stretch your tongue (if that is possible in the first place) or your arm, the only reason you can't do this is because your upper arm will always be too long. Not only that, but the posture the arm you're trying to lick will be left in will eventually make it hurt.

21. Chocolate can kill dogs.

That one food all humans love is actually toxic to man's best friend. Why? This is because chocolate contains theobromine. If you've never heard of this before, don't worry, you aren't the only one. Theobromine is a bitter alkaloid of the cacao plant. I don't wanna get all sciency here, but an alkaloid is a member of a large group of chemicals that are made by plants and have nitrogen in them. However, the reason theobromine can kill dogs is because it affects their hearts and nervous systems.

22. The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" contains every letter in the English alphabet and language.

Props to this sentence, as its one of the only sentences in the English language containing every English alphabet. So if for some reason you're in a competition that's making sentences with every letter of the English alphabet, you now know which sentence to use.

23. Pigs can't look up at the sky.

Even though pigs can raise their heads a very tiny bit, they can't look straight up to the sky due to the anatomy of their neck muscles and their spine. These two muscles limit the movement of their head ultimately restricting them to look totally upwards.

24. A snail can sleep for 3 years.

Snails need a lot of moisture to survive; so if the weather is not sufficient, they can just hide for as much as 3 years aka hibernating.

25. Every 'c' in the phrase Pacific Ocean is pronounced differently.

Have you ever tried to say Pacific Ocean before? Well I'm sure you've had. But is there one thing you noticed? That's that every 'c' in Pacific Ocean is pronounced differently. For example, the 1st 'c' is pronounced like an s, the 2nd 'c' is pronounced like a k, while the 3rd 'c' is pronounced like a sh sound.

Okay...picture time!!

26. You can hear a blue whale's heartbeat from two miles away.

The blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, weighing up to 150 tons and measuring up to 90 feet. Likewise, an animal with such a big mass will have an equally big heat. Weighing almost the same size of a small vehicle, the animal's heart weighs roughly 1300 pounds. For blood to move through its colossal body and arteries, the heart beats so powerfully, you can hear it from two miles away!

The Blue Whale

27. There's a squirrel-only bridge in the Netherlands

Cars aren't the only thing running on the N44 freeway in the Netherlands. There's also squirrels! Since rodents like these need to cross the freeway, the Dutch government built a bridge costing 120,000 euros.

The Bridge Construction

28. There's Only One Letter That Doesn't Appear in Any U.S. State

Ahaha, well done to the United States for having every letter in any state name. Wait wait wait! Is every letter actually used in any US state name?? Well let's see...there's a z in Arizona, a j in New Jersey, even two x's (NM and TX). So it must be true! Actually, its not!

If anybody knows the answer, post them in the comments. I don't wanna give the answer away.

Which letter could it be??

29. There's a Such Thing As a Beefalo.

A beefalo is a hybrid between a cow and a bison. The name just sounds so funny!!!

The Beefalo

30. There's a Toilet Museum

Let's travel to the capital of India, New Delhi. There are tons of museums with ancient things, souvenirs, the display of toilets, artifacts..

Holup!! Toilets???

Yes, toilets!

In the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in New Delhi, there is a feature of rare collection that is detailed with historic evolution of toilets all the way from 2500 BC!

31. 3 US Presidents Have Won Grammys

The first president to win a grammy was (not Trump if that's what you're thinking) President Jimmy Carter. He won three grammys in the Best Spoken Word Category.

The second president to win a grammy was President Bill Clinton for the same category, and also for the same category with children.

Finally, the third president to win a grammy was President Barack Obama. He won the Best Spoken Word Album for The Audacity of Hope.

Jimmy Carter
Bill Clinton
Barack Obama

32. There Are Black Apples

We tend to think that apples are only red. But if you travel to the Tiber region of China, you'll find black apples! These apples are called Black Diamond Apples and come from the family of Hua Niu apples.

However, if you aren't planning to visit China anytime soon, you can also find them in the US! They're called the Arkansas Black.

33. Folding A Piece of Paper 42 Times Will Make It Thick Enough To Reach The Moon

You heard that right! If you fold a piece of paper in half, it doubles the thickness. Fold it in half again, it doubles the thickness again. So if you keep doing that 42 times, it will be thick enough to reach the moon since the paper is 42 times as thick. Because of this, it would only take 23 folds for a .1 millimeter piece of paper to be 1 km thick, and 30 folds to be thick enough to reach outer space.

If only you could break the world record of 12...

34. Oxford University is Older Than The Aztecs

The Aztec civilization of Central Mexico was made in the year of 1325. On the contrary, Oxford University located in Oxford has ben a learning hub since the year of 1096. I know right! So cool!

Part of Oxford University
Aztec Civilization (Chichen Itza)

35. Humans Are The Only Animals Whose Brain Shrinks

Can't finish that science project? Don't worry, you aren't alone. Humans are the only animals whose brain can actually shrink. This is due to the fact that our brains can suffer from cognitive dysfunction like Alzheimer's or dementia. You may think why is it only our brain that shrinks? Tests have been done on other animals, and turns out, it's due to our brains anatomy...like it's not good enough.

What's going on up there?? ^^

36. Termites Are The Longest Living Insects

You're enjoying the beautiful day, but then you see a swarm of termites. Your first intention is kill them. But before you do, let me just warn you that you'll be also killing their lifespan. The lifespan that is longer than any other insect out there. Before I get all sciency, just don't kill them. Time to get sciency. The reason termites can live the longest is due to low intrinsic mortality. They're the insect that experience the least of this, resulting in their long lifespan which is 50-100 years. This is compared to the may fly's lifespan of 5 minutes-2 days.

Termites
May fly 

37. Dogs Can Smell Cancer

They don't call these companions a man's best friend for nothing. Research finds that dogs are able to pick up on a specific scent that humans can't. So if your dog starts behaving weird when he/she is with you, you might wanna go to a physician.

And if you wanna repay your dog's kindness, check out the comments, there'll be something posted there for this part.

They'll probably look sad in front of you.

38. The biggest Tire Producer in The World is LEGO.

Even though those tires are so teeny, the toy company makes a mind blowing 306 million toy tires per year, so the fact still stands.

LEGOS 

39. A Single Sneeze Can Travel 100 mph and Shoot Out 100,000 Germs

People tell you to cover your sneeze. But why? While the simple answer is obvious-to avoid germs-there's also another more unthought (idk if that's a word) of reason. That is if you just do a single sneeze, it would have enough power to travel 100 miles per hour and also shout out 100,000 germs. Not so preferable or delectable for the people by you. So cover those sneezes!!

Cover those sneezes! If you wanna make a dab out if it if you haven't stocked up on toilet paper...that's fine...but let me warn you: dabs were so 5 hours ago.

40. The Ethiopian Calendar is 7-8 Years Behind The Current

You may be confused. However, as you're reading this, the entire population of Ethiopia would technically be lived in either the year of 2013 or 2014.

Most countries use the Gregorian Calendar. However, Ethiopia is one of few that uses the Julian Calendar. This system calculates the birth year of Jesus differently. Therefore, the Julian Calendar is 7-8 years behind the Gregorian Calendar.

Gregorian Calendar of 1582. 
Julian Calendar

41. There's A Mouse That Doesn't Need To Drink Water

Called the Kangaroo Mouse, these rodents live in the Nevada Desert. Since it's always dry there, these animals quickly adapted and learned to get all the hydration they need from the seeds they consume.

Kangaroo Mouse

42. There's a Bike 135 Feet Long

Ever ridden a tandem bike? If yes, you may know it's tricky to get it moving! However, a group called Santos and the University of South Australia decided to make matters much more complicated. They crafted a bike 135 feet long and 10 1/2 inches, making it the longest bike in the world! Just think how hard it would be to get that thing running...

When you think you can ride a normal bike...

43. A Million Seconds Is 12 Days While a Billion Seconds Is 32 Years

I know, right!?!?! You want your package delivered so quickly, and tons of people go through that experience. But if your phone says it will be delivered in 1,000,000 seconds, that means you're lucky! That accounts for about 12 days. However, if your phone says the package will be delivered in 1,000,000,000 seconds, that means you have some waiting to do. 1,000,000,000 seconds is about 32 years.

Such a difference between a million and a billion.

Time can move really slowly at times...and that time is right now...I really wanna get to end of this blog

44. There's A Spam Museum 

If someone on your group chat keeps spamming some things you don't care about, you might wanna look. They might be spamming about spam.

How do you do that? Great question.

Spam doesn't just mean repeating some meaningless stuff no one cares about (that's why it's called spamming). Spam is also a type of food. It's a Hawaiian treat, but actually has a museum. As mind blowing asthat is, I don't know why they'd do that.

This is what the food (not the action) looks like ^^

45. Pound Cake is Called Pound Cake For A Reason

Have you ever had pound cake? I'm sure you have. But have you ever wondered why pound cake is called pound cake? I was so curious, and then ended up googling it. The reason pound cake is called pound cake is because there was exactly 1 pound of each ingredient in the original recipe.

For people who have no idea what I'm talking about, this is pound cake ^^

46. Humans Can Distinguish As Many As 1 Trillion Smells

Your nose isn't good for just smelling 1 or 2 or maybe even 5 or 10 scents. It can pick up as many as 1 trillion! That's twelve 0's.

But the reason why our nose is powerful is due to the way we inhale air that contains odor molecules. These then bind to receptors in our nose, and relaying these messages to our brains.

Might wanna thank that nose too...sorry about that cringe nose...lmao

47. Adults Have Fewer Bones Than Babies

You might be confused yet again. Adults are like a million times the size of a baby. Yet how do they have less bones than an adult?

You may not have known, but as people grow, bones can basically collaborate to fuse into one bone.

In a way, this (^^) is....
...older than this (^^)

48. Birds Are Dinosaurs

Ok, you're confused again. Don't worry. It happens to all of us. But how exactly are birds dinosaurs when dinosaurs went extinct a long time ago?

You're on fire with these questions.

If you don't mind me getting all sciency again:

The exact reason is actually that the present scientific consensus is that birds are a group of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs that originated during the Mesozoic Era. A close relationship between dinosaurs was first observed in the nineteenth century after the discovery of primitive birds by Archaeopteryx (I could never pronounce that name) in Germany.

Birds, all types....

49. A Parking Spot In Hong Kong Sold For Almost $1,000,000 

If you might think parking in your area is expensive, you may not wanna visit Hong Kong. A 135 foot parking spot built in front of the 5th tallest building, The Center, sold for $969,000. This was the fourth lucrative transaction for Johnny Cheung, who made six figures off of his three parking spaces.

In fact. James Mak said "There aren't many car park lots … for sale, so prices have always been kept high."

50. Bananas Are Walmart's Best-Selling Item

A totally bananas fact! But why are bananas the best-selling item? A Walmart spokesperson once explained to Business Insider that bananas are an easy, healthy food to pack and eat, and are also really affordable!

Who knows bananas could be so valuable..??

Conclusion: If there are any things you learned from this blog, let me know! I hope you enjoyed this blog! I will include the link for fact 37 in the comments. Also, let me know the answer to Number 28 in the comments. Thanks for reading! :)

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Level 55
Jun 22, 2021
Fact 28: What is the only letter that doesn't appear in any U.S. state? Do you know?

Fact 37: If you wanna repay your dog's kindness because they helped you figure out you had cancer, check this out!

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Level 73
Jun 23, 2021
Its Q for Fact 28 btw for anyone who is curious
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Level 39
Jun 23, 2021
Very great blog Beckette! Lol the fun thing is I sang the Fifty Nifty United States to find the answer of 28th fact lol. (Q) But my favorite one is 38! Again, great blog!
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Level 43
Jun 23, 2021
These facts are really nice! I knew few of them! I have just a thing: at Grammy’s fact, there is a picture of Trump, while who won is Obama. Or is the opposite?
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Level 39
Jun 23, 2021
Yes, I noticed it too.
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Level 52
Jun 23, 2021
I don't believe 22 is the only sentence containing every letter. You could make it into "A quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog", but I'm sure you could craft a lengthy sentence containing every letter even without the prior sentence as a basis.

The only letter not in a US state is Q, and I know that not from reading the comments but just from ... real life.

And don't associate pterodactyls with birds or dinosaurs. Pterodactyls were reptiles but not dinosaurs, as they were only close relatives of dinos, and are similar to birds in how they act, but biologically are not birds.

Great blog anyway, it was a really fun read!

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Level 55
Jun 23, 2021
Thanks to everyone!! Sorry MG, that's been fixed! It was supposed to be Obama, my apologies.

Hmm, sorry I didn't come across that ZooTuber, but I'll change the wording. Thanks though!!!

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Level 19
Jun 23, 2021
OMG that’s amazing! I only knew a few of those facts. That must have involved a lot of research. Well done!
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Level 54
Jun 23, 2021
Wow, great blog! These facts are very interesting!
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Level 74
Jun 23, 2021
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I can lick my elbow. I have been able to for at least ten years now.
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Level 71
Jun 23, 2021
lol I can't but I can go very close to my elbow
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Level 55
Jun 23, 2021
how do i know you aren't lying
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Level 74
Jun 23, 2021
You'll have to take my word on it I guess. Or I could rejoin the Jetpunk discord and send a photo lol
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Level 65
Jun 24, 2021
You’re probably licking the side closest to you. Beckette means it as the top part.
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Level 74
Jun 27, 2021
No, I can lick the absolute tip.
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Level 78
Jun 23, 2021
Love Spam especially fried like bacon. I'm in the UK too sadly not Hawaii.

Great Blog btw!

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Level 55
Jun 23, 2021
ooo great to see you here !! Thanks btw!!!!
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Level 42
Jun 23, 2021
Great Blog! Btw if you meant in the Apples Fact Tibet region in China it is written Tiber
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Level 14
Jun 24, 2021
Awesome! 33 is my favorite.
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Level 14
Jun 24, 2021
Also, I dare everybody who sees this comment to guess who I am.

Hint 1: I'm not a new user, i've been here since May 2020

Hint 2: I got banned once

Hint 3: I changed my username

Oh, and don't look at my profile, the answer is in there...

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Level 54
Jun 24, 2021
i saw
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Level 54
Jun 24, 2021
Same.
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Level 55
Jun 25, 2021
@BattleofHogwarts

thanks, but didn't you get banned..????

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Level 54
Jun 24, 2021
Amazing! Australia is also bigger then Pluto!!!!!!!!!!!
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Level 40
Jun 25, 2021
Why am I such a nerd to know more than a third of this-

Earth's demon sister is weird lol

Another fact cuz I'm bored, the Andromeda Galaxy is more than twice as large as the Milky Way. We're destined to collide with that thing-

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Level 23
Jun 25, 2021
ikr-