Sunday 6 May 2012

10 Things you didn't know 5 minutes ago! (Part 9)

10. We are running out of helium

You may be thinking 'what on earth do we need helium for?'..

Helium is used in most technologies, from cooling down super magnets to producing LCD screens to keeping kids happy at fairs.



9. The universe is beige

Back in 2001, astronomers confirmed the universe as a kind of white brown.

Astronomers posted an article on it and asked for suggestions as what to call it, many people submitted ideas and 'Cosmic Latte' was chosen.

8. Nearly all commercial banana trees are clones

A perfect example of selective breeding, we all want the longest, curviest, tastiest bananas of them all (no pun intended).

But if a deadly virus emerges, it's sure to wipe out our favorite fruit.







7. You might be able to tell how aggressive someone is by the length of their finger


Finger length is linked to testosterone exposure in the womb.

The shorter the index finger is compared to the ring finger, the more rowdy the person may be.

6. Giant squids are cannibals during sex


Giant squids are known for their (obviously) giant size.

They can grow up to 25m in length, have eyes the size of your head and boasts a 1.5m penis.

But however they have a brain weighing 15g..

Giant squids have been found to have tentacles from their own species in the gut, suggesting cannibilsm.

This is because males must command their endowment with a tiny brain, and while plunging it into the females arms, they often miss and hit the beak. (ouch)

5. We blink 25 times a minute

Now I've said that, you're going to concentrate on how much you're blinking and it's going to annoy you.







4.  Spider silk varieties

There is not just one type of spider silk, there are thousands. Each species of spider has about 7 different varieties, each made by their own secret recipe of proteins.






Darwin's own


3. Spider silk strength

The strength of spider silk is comparable to high quality steel at the same thickness.

However the silk can suffer a lot more strain, able to stretch nearly 50% more than the original length. 

The strongest spider silk is 10x more durable than kevlar, and is produced by the Darwin's Bark spider.



2. Decaying meat smells worse than decaying vegetables

This is because back in prehistoric times we didn't know what was good, what was bad.

What smells disgusting to us is heaven to flies.

This is because decaying meat is more dangerous than vegetables and so our bodies have adapted to stay away

The way it does that is do make the smell absolutely reek.

1. It takes 2 and a half months for sperm to mature


Sentinels from the matrix!
Each sperm cell takes 2 and a half months to be ready for the big journey! (the long 175 millimetres).

Where do they stay you ask? There's a sperm nursery at the top of the testis called the epididymis where they are stored until they grow up.

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