The weight of a carat (200 milligrams), standard unit of measurement for gemstones, is based on the weight of the carob seed.
51
Marie Curie, the Nobel prize winning scientist who discovered radium, died of radiation poisoning.
57
Only 12,000 years ago there was a species closely related to modern humans called Homo floresiensis that had been living on an Indonesian Island. They used fire and rather advanced tools, yet were only about 3 feet tall and weighed around 25kg.
15
Every day, plants convert sunlight into energy equivalent to six times the entire power consumption of human civilization.
9
Sound travels about 4 times faster in water than in air.
408
Columbia University has developed an artificial tree that passively soaks up carbon dioxide from the air using "leaves" that are 1,000 times more efficient than true leaves that use photosynthesis.
15
The bark of an older redwood tree is fireproof.
65
According to scientists, the color of the cup that we're drinking from can alter our perception of the actual taste of the drink.
12