Termites are being researched as a possible renewable energy source as they can produce up to 2 litres of hydrogen from ingesting a single sheet of paper, making them one of the planet’s most efficient bioreactors.
24
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
A coal power station puts 100 times more radiation into the air than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy.
7
The bark of an older redwood tree is fireproof.
65
If you are locked in a completely sealed room, you will die of carbon dioxide poisoning first before you will die of oxygen deprivation.
117
Marie Curie, the Nobel prize winning scientist who discovered radium, died of radiation poisoning.
57
Forensic scientists can determine a person's sex, age, and race by examining a single strand of hair.
101
The Earth's atmosphere weighs about 5.5 quadrillion tons.
108