15 Jaw-Dropping Facts You Never Knew Existed. Get ready to have your mind blown! From the astonishing to the unbelievable, the world is full of secrets waiting to be uncovered. From the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe, human history, and the intricacies of our own bodies, there’s still so much to discover. In this captivating exploration, we’ll delve into 15 jaw-dropping facts that will challenge your assumptions, spark curiosity, and leave you wondering at the sheer awe-inspiring complexity of existence. Prepare to be amazed, surprised, and maybe even a little bewildered – as we reveal the incredible facts that will change how you see the world forever.
Jaw-dropping facts
1. The Ethiopian calendar is seven years behind the rest of the world.
Facts state that things are done differently in Ethiopia, unlike the rest of the world. While most countries follow the Gregorian calendar, the African nation uses its own. Because of this, Ethiopia is actually around the rest of the world.
2. There are computers for the Amish, which have no internet, videos, or music.
The Amish are more willing to adopt new technology if they can justify it for business reasons and as long as they can keep it out of their home. Also, the key selling point of the computers used by the Amish is all the things the computer doesn’t have any ability to connect to the internet or play any videos or music. The only thing the computers can be used for is business.
3. Clams have feet.
That’s right. Clams have muscular “foot”, controlled by two muscles, the anterior and posterior foot muscles. Clams control their movement using their foot as well as burrow into the sand to submerge themselves safely out of harm’s way. So, while it might look like clams have a big tongue that sometimes protrudes from their shell, what you’re actually seeing is afoot.
4. If all of the water on Earth fell as rain at once, the entire planet would get 1 inch of precipitation.
About 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water and the oceans are about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water. Water also exists in the air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes, icecaps, and glaciers. However, if all of what happened evaporates and then comes falling back to Earth, the entire planet would get 1 inch of rain.
More fascinating facts
5. Stars don’t really twinkle.
We grew up learning “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”, which leads us to believe that the massive celestial bodies we see at night are sparkling. This is in fact incorrect or merely a “space mirage” since stars emit steady and constant light. The reason we observe them as flashing is due to the interface caused by Earth’s atmosphere, making them as flashing is due to the interface caused by Earth’s atmosphere, making them, in turn, appear as they are twinkling.
6. There’s a Starbucks specifically operating for CIA agents and its location is top-secret.
Like everyone else, CIA agents also need their daily dose of caffeine. According to The Washington Post, it’s listed as Store Number 1 on receipts and is the world’s top-secret Starbucks since its location is unknown. The coffee shop rigorously screens its barista candidates through extensive interviews and thorough background checks. The baristas who are employed there have to go through extensive and rigorous interviews and background checks. The Washington Post also notes that for the baristas to go out for breaks, they have to be escorted by agency “minders”. Also, the names of CIA agents are not written on cups unlike everywhere else.
7. The process of creating a single jelly bean takes up to two weeks.
According to Jelly Belly, one of the biggest manufacturers of jelly beans, it can take anywhere between 7 to 14 days to create a single jelly bean. Think about that next time you decide to toss the flavor you don’t like.
8. Spending just a few months in Antarctica can shrink your brain.
Traveling to the Arctic is a dream for millions around the world. And only a handful of scientists and explorers fulfill this dream every year. If you ever do get a chance, make sure to socialize and find some stimulating ways to keep yourself busy. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in Dec. 2019 explains that eight polar expeditions had their brain imaging taken before and after 14 months of isolation. The results showed that the “volume of the hippocampal dentate gyrus was lower than that in controls”. Researchers believe that the changes in the brain they observed are the results of environmental monotony and prolonged isolation.
9. A giant octopus is capable of squeezing itself through a hole.
Octopuses are extremely intelligent creatures and have an amazing ability to squeeze through tiny crevices, cracks, and holes. Raymond Deckel from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Studies captured a video. Investigating how small a hole sea creature can fit through. And the time it takes them to squeeze through various hole sizes.
It turns out, octopuses have no bones or outer shells. Their high intelligence also plays a major role in laboratory experiments. Scientists were able to train them to distinguish between different shapes and patterns.
10. Saudi Arabia buys camels and sand from Australia.
It might come as a surprise to learn that Saudi Arabia, the vast desert land, imports camels and sand from another country. This is because camels are also part of the diet in the country. Saudi Arabia actively imports Australian camels for meat production, leveraging their superior genetics and disease-free status. Australia exports its prized camels to Saudi Arabia, capitalizing on their genetic diversity and good health. Additionally, Australia taps into the unique properties of its garnet sand, exporting it to Saudi Arabia for ideal sandblasting applications. Saudi Arabia, in turn, utilizes Australia’s coarser-grained sand for construction projects, finding it superior to its own desert sand. This technique allows maintenance teams to pressure-clean building surfaces effectively.
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11`. If sound waves could travel through space, the sun burning would be as loud as 10,000 Earths covered in police sirens.
It’s a good thing we can’t hear space activity from Earth. According to heliophysicist Craig DeForest, of the Southwest Research Institute’s Department of Space Studies, the sun would be deafening. While the sun appears smooth and calm from Earth, it is actually a maelstrom of superheated plasma. There are about a million convection cells of superheated gas rising and falling constantly across its surface at any given time. And each is about the size of Texas.
12. Aluminum was once more valuable than gold.
Aluminum is literally one of the most common elements on Earth. There, however, was a period when the metal cost more than gold. Although aluminum makes up about 8% of the Earth’s crust, it has never been known to occur in its metallic form anywhere on Earth. Instead, it appears as a chemical compound across the globe. So, during the 1800’s, when a scientist figured out how to get some flakes, people loved the color and shine of this new metal; causing it to become more expensive than gold.
13. Sloths can hold their breath longer than dolphins.
Both sloths and dolphins have the amazing ability to hold their breaths for long periods. They do this by slowing down their digestion and heart rate. Dolphins are capable of using this technique to hold their breaths for as long as 10 minutes underwater Whereas sloths can hold their breath for over 20 minutes – some have even reported up to 40.
14. Shearing triggers aggressive behavior among sheep, causing them to fight with each other.
The sheep is an incredible animal capable of recognizing up to 50 other sheep faces for as long as two years. However, without fur, reunited naked mole rats fail to recognize each other, leading them to fight and re-establish dominance for several days.
15. The heaviest organism in the world is an aspen grove.
The largest organism in the world, Pando, Latin for I spread, is 1,000 years old. And it is a massive grove of quaking aspens. More so, according to Forbes, “aspens have the unique ability to produce genetically identical offspring through offshoots from their root system. This is exactly what happened in Richfield, Utah, where a grove of 47,000 aspens all originate from a single male parent aspen, sharing an identical genetic makeup”. In total, the grove of aspens covers 106 acres.
