Category: Science

Posted on

These Facts Are Totally True, but Very Hard to Believe

What we’ve got here are 14 facts that are going to send you straight to Google so you can verify if they are BS or not.

And when you find out we were playing it straight, well, your mind just might be a little bit blown.

14. Time is a strange thing.

As mentioned [here] (http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1rsyio/whats_your_favorite_fun_fact/cdqjw5t), Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr. and Barbara Walters were born in the same year.

13. We’d never know what hit us.

Gravity propagates at the speed of light. So if the sun were to suddenly disappear, we would continue orbiting for 8 minutes.

12. Everything’s bigger in Texas.

There are more tigers in Texas than there are in the wild.

11. Just keep that in mind, folks.

Shrimp is called an abomination four times more than homosexuality in the Bible

10. I don’t….know?

And every time you shuffle a deck of cards, it’s likely that the particular ordering of cards has never been arranged before.

9. Harsh.

The current United States flag was designed by then 17 years old Robert G. Heft, as part of a school project. He received a grade of B-

8. Unsurprising, really.

Fortune cookies were invented in America and are seen in China as an american symbol.

7. I feel like this has happened to me more than once.

If there’re 23 people in a room, there’s a 50% chance two of them share a birthday. edit: google “birthday paradox” for more information.

6. It just SEEMS wrong, but it’s not.

Humanity is less violent now than it has ever been, which is a steady trend through history.

5. Those long-suffering Cubbies (no more!)

The last time the Cubs won a World Series: Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and New Mexico were not yet states The Ottoman Empire still existed The Titanic had not been built yet Prohibition had not occurred yet The NBA, NHL, and NFL did not exist yet Radio and Television did not exist…

4. He has more subscribers than there are people in his home country.

A swedish guy who screams at video games is the most popular Youtuber in the world.

Edit: For the people who are apparently too lazy to read the child comments, I’m talking about Pewdiepie.

3. Spoiler alert: it’s kind of impossible.

There are three hundred billion stars in the Milky Way.

There are AT LEAST one hundred billion galaxies in the KNOWN universe. Using 300bn as an average for the number of stars per galaxies, that makes 3e22 stars in the observed universe.

That’s 30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars. Try to wrap your head around how unimaginably big that is.

2. The mental images…

Blue whales don’t have enough blood in their body to get an erection, they would pass out from lack of blood in the brain, to compensate female blue whale vaginas are the size of an average living room

1. Everyone who ever ruled Europe was cousins.

King Edward V, Tsar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilheim II (the monarchs of England, Russia and Germany during the first world war) were cousins. Edward was first cousins with the other two, who were second cousins with each other.

I Googled so hard, y’all, and now I kind of don’t know what to do with myself!

Do you keep any of these on your hip for parties? Share them with us in the comments!

The post These Facts Are Totally True, but Very Hard to Believe appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

This is Officially the Hottest Place on Earth

The past ten years were the hottest in recorded history, and it has seen record-breaking average yearly temperatures and single-day temperatures in places across the globe. This is largely due to global climate change, and it’s a dangerous trend.

However…

According to the World Meteorological Organization, the hottest temperature ever recorded was a sweltering 134 degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California, way back in July 10, 1913.

Up until 2012, the record on file – 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit – occurred in El Azizia, Libya, and was recorded in 1922. But it was disqualified 90 years later because, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the temperature could have been off by up to seven degrees due to the type of surface on which the measurement was taken.

Dallol, Ethiopia, is considered the hottest regularly inhabited place.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Back to Death Valley. Air temperatures there typically reach 120 degrees due to its geographic location and boiling desert environment. The area receives less than three inches of average annual rainfall, and the sun beats down on the ground – 190 feet below sea level and enclosed by mountains.

So, in Death Valley, hot air rises and gets trapped by the surrounding mountain ranges. Then it cools and falls back into the valley. As it falls, where it’s heated again by then sun and the high air pressure down on the valley floor. That’s how the area holds the record for highest recorded air temperature.

Death Valley, though, is not the only hot spot around.

Photo Credit: Billy Hathorn

In Yellowstone National Park, the geothermal pools often reach 250 degrees Fahrenheit and above. According to National Geographic, vents on the ocean floor release liquids at 750 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. The Earth’s core is estimated to have a temperature of a super scorching 11,000-degrees. In our solar system, scientists say the hottest place is the sun’s core which is about 15 million Kelvin, or roughly 26 million degrees Fahrenheit.

If you’re looking for the hottest location in the universe, that seems to be, surprisingly, just outside of Geneva, Switzerland. At the Large Hadron Collider, scientists and engineers smash atoms in their experiments.

Photo Credit: Flickr

According to Inside Science News Service, the temperature inside the equipment reaches an incredible 7.2 trillion degrees Fahrenheit (if just for short bursts).

That’s a valid excuse for sweating.

The post This is Officially the Hottest Place on Earth appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

The Chainsaw Was Originally Invented to Assist with Difficult Childbirths

If you thought that c-sections were awful and take weeks to recover from, well…you’re right.

But you should also count yourself lucky. In the (not as far back as you’d think) past, your doctor or midwife might have whipped out a chainsaw if an emergency arose during labor.

Basically, the chainsaw is so good at cutting through wood and stuff because it was originally designed to be able to easily slice through flesh and bone.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Chainsaws were invented by two Scottish surgeons, John Aitken and James Jeffray, who were looking for a “more humane” way to widen the birth canal when a baby was breach or became otherwise lodged in the birth canal.

Yeah. Instead of cutting open your abdomen to remove a dangerously stuck infant (like a modern C-section), they used to just stick a knife into your pelvis and start “widening” it so the baby could slip free.

Image Credit: Pixabay

And, as if giving birth wasn’t terrifying and painful enough already, the chainsaw was invented in the 18th century – prior to the development of a little thing called anesthesia.

The chainsaw was supposed to be a faster, less painful (somehow) option for a procedure called a symphysiotomy.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Neither the procedure nor the chainsaw is today used in hospitals – in maternity wards or elsewhere – but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen on an upcoming season of American Horror Story.

Because just thinking about it makes me want to scream.

The post The Chainsaw Was Originally Invented to Assist with Difficult Childbirths appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

It’s Not Too Late to Get Your Flu Shot, so Go Do It!

Flu season is here – and as the proud owner of two tiny little disease vectors (otherwise known as my beautiful children), I can tell you that getting sick is way easier than you might think.

Sure, you can wash your hands, try not to touch your face, and carry hand sanitizer everywhere you go, but following every single protocol didn’t save Kate Winslet in Contagion. Chances are, they’ll eventually let you down, too.

If you didn’t get the flu shot back in the early fall when it was recommended – because you decided to tough it out, or didn’t have time, or whatever – you might be thinking it’s too late to get one now.

Image Credit: Pixabay

You would be wrong, according to Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“It’s late – but not too late.”

The vaccine does take a few weeks to build up its protection in your body, and flu season peters out around the end of February, so although you’re not too late yet, you might not want to wait any longer.

The flu can be passed around any time of year, but in the States, it is most likely to be diagnosed between October and February. That said, flu cases have been known to regularly appear as late as May.

Image Credit: U.S. Navy

You can actually get a flu shot year round, though Dr. Robert Glatter, an E.R. physician with Lennox Hill Hospital, admits there are optimal dates to try to get it done.

“You can vaccinate any time of year, but ideally, it happens in the fall.”

If you’re high risk for some reason, Dr. Joseph McBride says that it might still be a good idea to get the flu shot, even when the season begins to wane in February or March.

Another thing – you should get the flu shot even if you’ve already had the flu, doctors say. There are two reasons: first, Americans often think they have the flu but never go to a doctor and turn out to have been battling a different virus. Second, there is more than one strain of flu circulating this year, says McBride.

Image Credit: U.S. Navy

“We’ve picked up information in our surveillance system that an occasional poor soul has had one kind, recovered and then gotten another one. That’s not common, but when you have two sequential dominant strains it’s going to be more common than it has been in the past.”

Although you can technically get a flu shot any time of year, the vaccines are updated for what physicians and disease experts are expecting to see each season, so if you got one over the summer, it might not be for the strain that’s expected to dominate the following winter.

The optimal time to get a shot is late September into October. A shot received in that window should give anyone with a good immune system and no secondary complications protection until late winter/early spring.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If you’re older, younger, pregnant, or have other complicating factors, Dr. Schaffner says definitely wait a bit into the fall, because there’s some debate on how long the shot’s protections last for those kinds of people.

“I would not recommend getting a flu vaccine in August. It’s a once a year type thing, which makes it a good reason to wait until September or early October to get vaccinated.”

So there you have it, folks! Getting a flu shot reduces your chance of being completely miserable (if you’re healthy) or losing your life (if you’re in one of those other groups) by around 60%, so make sure you clear some time in your busy schedule to get one on board – if not this month or next, then definitely next fall.

Your body (and everyone who has to be around you) will thank you.

The post It’s Not Too Late to Get Your Flu Shot, so Go Do It! appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

The Magnetic North Pole of Earth Is Moving Toward Russia

Our north pole has been traveling east from the Canadian Arctic to Russia. At a fast pace too, which is causing some concern on how the move will affect navigation and GPS systems.

Lately, the pace at which the pole is moving has been measured at 25 miles a year, or 40 kilometers. In years past, however, the slide was 34 miles per year, or 55 kilometers.

What’s causing a move like this?

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Historically, the Earth’s magnetic poles have been known to stray – and even flip from one end of the earth to the other. The poles are there due to Earth’s molten core which moves around as the Earth spins.

Convection currents of molten metal cause huge, moving electric currents, which themselves form a magnetic field around the Earth. This field protects us all from the radiation in solar winds and charged particles coming from the sun.

At this time, the North and South Poles match the magnetic poles, but that hasn’t always been the case. In the Earth’s history, the poles have flipped several times, bringing the magnetic South Pole to the true North Pole and magnetic North Pole to the true south – and then switched back. Scientists have been able to tell not only that this has happened, but also when this has happened by examining rocks that, when they were molten, marked the location of magnetic north.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Recently, the National Centers for Environmental Information and the British Geological Survey updated the 2020 World Magnetic Model (WMM) with information on how the magnetic north pole has changed and how to anticipate where it’s headed in 5 years. Officially, the North Pole has now crossed the prime meridian.

The WMM is essential for world navigation. The military, geolocation apps and other navigation systems all rely on the model for the official location of the magnetic north pole.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

What about another pole reversal? Well, that’s difficult to predict. According to geological record, the range in time between magnetic field reversals is huge–between 100,000 years to every 50 million years. With that kind of range and the fact that activity in the Earth’s core is hard to measure, the only thing researchers can tell us is that the magnetic north pole is weakening by 10 to 15 percent.

But wouldn’t a pole reversal be weird?

The post The Magnetic North Pole of Earth Is Moving Toward Russia appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Learn About the Important Hidden Benefits of Regular Exercise

I am in no way, shape, or form a model of physical fitness, but I will say that I try to go to the gym most days just so I can get my heart rate up and those endorphins flooding my brain. If I do, I just feel better about everything – I get more work done, I’m in a way better mood, and I sleep better, too.

It turns out there are a lot of hidden benefits to exercising regularly, as health psychologist and author Kelly McGonigal expounds upon in her new book: The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage. McGonigal argues that there are a lot of great things that come out of exercising besides trying to look better and losing weight – those things can be important goals, of course, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

Exercise

Regular exercise can literally give us hope and a sense of purpose. It makes us happier and gives us greater overall satisfaction in life. And this applies to all kinds of exercise: jogging, swimming, yoga, biking, lifting weights, whatever.

McGonigal says, “These benefits are seen throughout the life span. They apply to every socioeconomic strata and appear to be culturally universal.”

65

Here are some of the specifics that McGonigal talks about:

1. Exercise gives us a natural high when our brains release the neurotransmitters dopamine and endocannabinoids. This high can feel similar to the effects of smoking marijuana.

2. The endorphins that flow during exercise help us feel bonded to other people, whether you’re running with someone or doing a group exercise class. You can be a more social version of yourself.

3. Regular exercise can help you fight depression. McGonigal says, “It actually alters what’s happening in your brain in a way that looks really similar to meditation. People report feeling connected to all of life … and they feel more hopeful about life itself.”

4. A big brain boost is in order when you start moving. “If you are willing to move, your muscles will give you hope. Your brain will orchestrate pleasure. And your entire physiology will adjust to help you find the energy, purpose and courage you need to keep going.”

48

It’s a new year, so get out there and get yourself in shape! Or at least get moving a little.

Your body and your mind will thank you for it.

The post Learn About the Important Hidden Benefits of Regular Exercise appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

An Incredible Photo Shows a 65-Foot Hawaiian Lava Dome

This is really something else…

The Mauna Ulu eruption of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii lasted from 1969 to 1974 – a total of 1,774 days. Back then, it was Kilauea’s longest recorded eruption, producing approximately 460 million cubic yards of lava over those 5 years. It was truly a rare natural phenomenon.

Recently, the US Geological Survey posted this photograph from 1969, taken by photographer J.B. Judd. The image was of a rare dome fountain of lava measuring approximately 65 feet high. It was one of 12 dome fountains occurring the first year of the eruption. The flow of lava was so heavy, it reached 7.5 miles out into the ocean.

This particular fountain began on October 10, 1969 and lasted until October 13, and it may have reached the enormous height of ~245 feet. What made this phenomenon so special, aside from its massive size, was its orb shape. Typically, lava fountains look like geysers, spraying molten stone up into the air.

In the tweeted photo, the dome looks like it’s occurring on water. It is, in fact, on the land. The dark grey matter in the foreground that looks like waves are actually flows of lava.

Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Society

Fountains are caused when gas bubbles in molten rock near(ish) to the surface trigger an eruption of lava from a lava lake, fissure or vent. A rapid expansion occurs, which eventually explodes outward in a fountaining event.

Photo Credit: U.S. Geological Society

The Mauna Ulu eruption, though it lasted five years, isn’t even close to the longest running volcanic eruption. That title now goes to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, which has been erupting continuously since 1983.

But the images above of Kilauea are an impressive reminder of the destructive power of active  volcanos – and Hawaii’s got a whole bunch of them.

The post An Incredible Photo Shows a 65-Foot Hawaiian Lava Dome appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Nearly 200 People Have Been Arrested in Connection With the Devastating Brushfires in Australia

Australia’s bushfires have had an awful effect on the country’s landscape, residents, and the economy. Though a certain number of fires is normal, it turns out people have been making it a lot worse – and not just by contributing to climate change.

Authorities now reveal that nearly 200 people have been arrested for of bushfire-related misdeeds since November 2019.

Arrests have been made in the states of Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

A total of 183 people have been arrested in relation to 205 offenses according to the latest data. Police in the Australian state of Queensland have found that 103 bushfires were set on purpose. 98 people have been detained in connection to these, and 67 of the perpetrators are underage.

In New South Wales, 53 people will deal with legal consequences because they reportedly ignored the total-fire bans in place. 24 people have been charged for setting bushfires on purpose.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The Sydney Morning Herald also reports that 47 people allegedly discarded matches or lit cigarettes improperly, and they are facing charges as a result.

These fires are no joke. Thus far, they have scorched an area of land double the size of Maryland, or roughly 13 million acres.

Because fire in Australia is such a problem, persons caught lighting tobacco or related products near hay, corn, standing crop, or grain can be fined up to $5,500. Lighting a fire during the implementation of a total fire ban, on the other hand, could result in a fine of $5,500 or 12 months in prison.

Those who are formally charged with starting a bushfire could face jail time of up to 25 years.

In the meantime, it’s important to note that although humans may have started some – not all – of the bushfires that have torn through the Aussie countryside, climate change is widely believed to have significantly exacerbated their destructive power. The areas of Australia most affected have had years of drought, and the world is coming off the hottest decade ever recorded, both of which have combined to crisp Australian vegetation into the perfect kindling.

Though some in Australia have been blaming the fires on arson for political purposes – primarily to deny culpability for or the existence of climate change – these fires would not have been so destructive without the warming and drying effects of climate change, and if the world does not step back from the brink, it is possible that this fire season could become the new Australian normal.

The post Nearly 200 People Have Been Arrested in Connection With the Devastating Brushfires in Australia appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Good News: Owning a Cat Is Good for Your Health

This is great news for anyone who’s ever been pegged as a “crazy cat lady”: being a cat lady is actually good for your health. Science says so.

Owning a cat can help reduce stress, and it’s good for your heart, too.

One study in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology found that cat ownership can be beneficial to heart health in multiple ways. Cat owners in the study showed a lower risk of death by heart attack and all cardiovascular diseases, including stroke.

Also, petting your cat is a known stress reliever. Cuddling with your cat releases oxytocin, the “cuddle chemical,” which in turn reduces stress, according to NBC News.

Another study found that cat lovers are more open-minded, smarter and more sensitive than dog lovers.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

So why the assumption that cats aren’t good for your health?

Well, there’s an age-old myth holds that cats can literally drive you crazy. This stems, in part, from the fact that cat feces can sometimes contain Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can cause toxoplasmosis. It’s an infection that actually can lead to psychosis (contaminated water and undercooked meat can also cause toxoplasmosis).

Not all cats carry the parasite though, and even if you get infected, you’ll likely be fine. A recent study in Psychological Medicine found no relationship between cat ownership and psychosis later in life.

“The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 60 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite through all means, including cats,” David Haworth, doctor of veterinary medicine, Ph.D., and president of PetSmart Charities told NBC News. “But very few people show symptoms because a healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

So there you have it, cat people. Cats don’t drive you crazy; on the contrary, they’re good for you.

The post Good News: Owning a Cat Is Good for Your Health appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

The Giant Chinese Paddlefish Is the First Animal to Be Officially Declared Extinct This Decade

This definitely isn’t something an animal would hope for – and it’s a headline I’m sure we all wish would have been delayed at least a little bit later into the new decade – but scientists have now declared the giant Chinese paddlefish to officially be extinct.

The freshwater fish, one of the world’s largest, was last seen in 2003, and it is thought to have effectively ceased to exist between 2005 and 2010. But while it’s been gone for a while, it also takes a while to verify 100% that a species has totally disappeared.

“Based on 210 sightings of Chinese paddlefish during the period 1981-2003, we estimated that the timing of extinction to be by 2005, no later than 2010.”

The fish lived primarily in the Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia, where it had swum for millions of years. But dams, overfishing, river ports, and pollution drove it pas the brink. Those same factors have contributed to the extinction of at least three large endemic species, say the authors of a study published in Science of the Total Environment.

“The mega river ecosystem of the Yangtze River was one home to diverse aquatic megafauna but is increasingly affected by various anthropogenic stressors that have result in continuous loss of biodiversity.”

The fish’s lineage stretched back 75 million years, and it was first declared critically endangered by the IUCN in 1996. Though its rarity and struggle earned it the nickname “panda of the Yangtze River,” it wasn’t so simple to bring back from the brink as the panda was. In the end, nothing could save the fish from disappearing.

The paper also noted that the fish had been “functionally extinct,” meaning not enough breeding pairs existed to ensure survival, since way back in 1993, and the last live sighting was in 2003.

The final piece of image evidence of life was captured in 2009.

“We respect the evaluation model and experts from the IUCN,” said co-author Wei Qiwei, “although we accept this result with a heavy heart.”

Many more of the 4,000 species that call the river home are also in trouble, from the finless porpoise to the Chinese sturgeon. Though Beijing has announced a 10-year commercial fishing ban on the Yangtze, experts fear it will be too little too late. Two huge, recently constructed dams may have put the final nails in the endangered species’ coffins already.

“The fishing ban is a key measure to effectively curb the decline of the river’s ecosystem and any further drop in biodiversity,” claimed Yu Zhenkang, vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs.

That may be true, but if the river is dammed all up and down its length, which it is, then these animals won’t have the space they need to survive, fishing or no.

And as with promises from any government these days, when it comes to the environment, I expect it will be the scientists who are, sadly, correct.

The post The Giant Chinese Paddlefish Is the First Animal to Be Officially Declared Extinct This Decade appeared first on UberFacts.