Lightning is about five times hotter than the surface of the Sun
A lightning channel can reach around 30,000 degrees Celsius. The surface of the Sun is about 5,500 degrees Celsius.
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Oxford University is older than the Aztec Empire
Teaching at Oxford is recorded as early as 1096, while the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan was founded in 1325.
Read the full fact →Sharks are older than trees
The earliest shark-like fish appeared more than 400 million years ago. The first trees appeared roughly 350 to 385 million years ago.
Read the full fact →Antarctica is the largest desert on Earth
A desert is defined by how little precipitation it gets, not by heat. Antarctica, especially its interior, receives very little rain or snow.
Read the full fact →The Eiffel Tower grows taller in summer
Iron expands when it heats up, so on very hot days the tower can gain around 15 centimetres in height.
Read the full fact →Wombats produce cube-shaped droppings
Researchers have linked this to differences in the stretchiness of the wombat's intestines, which shape the droppings into cubes as they dry.
Read the full fact →Sunlight takes about eight minutes to reach Earth
Light travels roughly 150 million kilometres from the Sun to Earth in about 8 minutes and 20 seconds.
Read the full fact →Babies are born with more bones than adults
A newborn has roughly 270 to 300 bones, while adults have 206. Many of a baby's bones, including parts of the skull and spine, fuse together…
Read the full fact →Bananas are berries, but strawberries are not
Botanically, a berry grows from a single flower with one ovary and has seeds inside the flesh. Bananas fit that definition. Strawberries are aggregate accessory fruits,…
Read the full fact →A day on Venus is longer than its year
Venus takes about 243 Earth days to spin once on its axis, but only about 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun.
Read the full fact →Octopuses have three hearts
Two hearts pump blood through the gills and one pumps it around the rest of the body. Their blood is blue because it carries oxygen with…
Read the full fact →Honey can last for thousands of years
Honey is low in water and naturally acidic, and bees add an enzyme that produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Together these make it very hard…
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