It takes a photon 170,000 years to travel from the core of the Sun to the surface, but only 8 minutes to travel the rest of the way to Earth.
6
The left ear is more responsive to words of love and emotion whispered into it than the right.
40
A coal power station puts 100 times more radiation into the air than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy.
7
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
Oak trees produce 2,200 acorns in a season, but each acorn only has a 1 in 10,000 chance of becoming an oak tree.
304
Iron weighs more after it rusts.
68
Out of all the senses, smell is most closely linked to memory.
146
The bark of an older redwood tree is fireproof.
65