129
Cool Facts You May Not Know
1. The shortest war ever fought was between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896 and lasted just 38 minutes.
2. A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance.
3. Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.
4. The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at a whopping 828 meters (2,716 feet) tall.
5. A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time measurement, equaling 1/100th of a second.
6. Venus is the only planet in our solar system that rotates clockwise.
7. The word “set” has more definitions than any other word in the English language.
8. Vikings believed that the color red had a magical property that allowed it to keep evil spirits away.
9. The world’s largest snowflake on record fell in Montana in 1887, measuring 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.
10 Sharks can go into a trance-like state called “tonic immobility” if they are flipped onto their backs.
11. The letter “e” is the most commonly used letter in the English language.
12. Sloths only defecate once a week.
13. The only letter that doesn’t appear on the periodic table is J.
14. There are more possible iterations of a game of chess than there are atoms in the observable universe.
15. A group of porcupines is called a prickle.
16. Honey never spoils.
17. The world’s tallest rollercoaster is the Kingda Ka, located in Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, reaching a height of 139 meters (456 feet).
18. Cows moo with regional accents.
19. The shortest war between two sovereign states was fought between the countries of Anguilla and Katanga, lasting only about 23 minutes.
20. A pair of swans will mate for life.
21. A flamingo can only eat when its head is upside down.
22. There is a species of jellyfish that is effectively immortal.
23. The world’s largest dome can be found in Rome’s Pantheon.
24. Camels’ milk doesn’t curdle.
25. The longest word in the English language is 189,819 letters long.
26. There are more possible iterations of a shuffling deck of playing cards than there are seconds that have passed since the Big Bang.
27. Giraffes have no vocal cords.
28. Owls are the only birds that can see the color blue.
29. The world’s first recorded shopping mall was in ancient Rome.
30. The longest distance a person has ever swim is 225 kilometers (140 miles).
31. The word “snorkel” was originally a Dutch word that meant “nose hose.”
32. The shortest poem in the world is “Fleas” by Ogden Nash, consisting of just two words: “Adam had’em.”
33. The chances of getting struck by lightning are higher than the odds of winning the lottery.
34. The largest living creature on Earth is the blue whale, weighing up to 200 tons.
35. Philadelphia was once the capital city of the United States in the 18th century.
36. A “jiffy” is also a slang term for a brief moment of time.
37. Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Zimmerman.
38. The tallest mountain in the solar system is Olympus Mons, located on Mars.
39. The world’s oldest piece of chewing gum dates back over 9,000 years old.
40. Snails can sleep for up to 3 years.
41. The longest ever recorded flight of a chicken was 13 seconds.
42. Iceland is the only country in the world with no mosquitoes.
43. The world’s largest spiderweb spanned over 60 square meters (645 square feet).
44. Cotton candy was invented by a dentist.
45. The original name of the band Nirvana was Pen Cap Chew.
46. The tallest tree ever recorded was a redwood tree in California that stood over 369 feet tall.
47. The world’s smallest flowering plant is the watermeal, which is smaller than a grain of rice.
48. The Canis Majoris star is the largest known star, with a diameter of over 1,000 times that of the sun.
49. Cowbells are used in Switzerland to scare away avalanches.
50. The word “sandwich” comes from the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who was a notorious gambler and wanted to eat meals without leaving the poker table.
51. Ants never sleep.
52. The Great Wall of China is the longest wall in the world, stretching over 13,000 miles.
53. The largest desert in the world is Antarctica.
54. A newborn kangaroo is the size of a lima bean.
55. The shortest place name is the town of Å in Norway.
56. The average person will spend six months of their lifetime waiting for red lights to turn green.
57. The lion is the only big cat species with a mane.
58. There are more possible iterations of a game of Go, a popular Chinese board game, than there are atoms in the universe.
59. The world’s largest snow maze is over 3 acres and located in Canada.
60. In the game of poker, 52 cards are used to play – one for each week of the year.
61. The oldest living organism in the world is a 9,500-year-old spruce tree called Old Tjikko.
62. The longest place name in the world is Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu (85 letters long), located in New Zealand.
63. A group of jellyfish is called a smack.
64. A person’s fingerprints are unique, and even identical twins have different prints.
65. A group of guinea pigs is called a herd.
66. Antarctica is the only continent on Earth with no reptiles or snakes.
67. The shortest scheduled flight is between Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands, taking only 47 seconds in the air.
68. The driest place on Earth is the Atacama Desert in Chile.
69. A giraffe’s tongue can be up to 18 inches long.
70. The highest point on Earth is not Mount Everest – it’s actually the peak of Chimborazo in Ecuador, due to the Earth’s equatorial bulge.
71. A group of kangaroos is called a mob.
72. The world’s deepest postbox is in Susami Bay in Japan and is located over 10 meters underwater.
73. The world’s smallest mammal is the bumblebee bat, weighing less than a penny.
74. A rainbow can never appear as a full circle – the earth’s horizon blocks the lower half of the circle.
75. A group of cranes is called a “dance.”
76. The world’s largest rodent is the capybara, weighing up to 140 pounds.
77. The world’s oldest known piece of chewing gum is over 9,000 years old.
78. The chemical symbol for sodium is Na.
79. The armadillo is the only known animal that can contract leprosy.
80. The world’s largest salt flat is Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.
81. The eye of an ostrich is bigger than its brain.
82. The world’s largest cave system is the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, USA.
83. Mosquitoes are attracted to the color blue more than any other color.
84. A group of rhinoceroses is called a “crash.”
85. The Empire State Building has its own zip code.
86. The world’s largest sand dunes are in the Sahara desert, with some reaching over 500 feet in height.
87. A group of ferrets is called a “business.”
88. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and last surviving wonder of the ancient world.
89. The temperature on Venus is hot enough to melt lead.
90. A group of whales is called a pod.
91. The word “nerd” was first coined by Dr. Seuss in his book “If I Ran the Zoo.”
92. The human nose can distinguish over one trillion different scents.
93. A group of skunks is called a “surfeit.”
94. The world’s largest waterfall is the Inga Falls on the Congo River, with a flow rate of over 1.7 million cubic feet per second.
95. The world’s smallest bird is the bee hummingbird and weighs less than 2 grams.
96. A group of lions is called a “pride.”
97. A person can die from lack of sleep before they die from starvation.
98. A group of otters is called a “raft.”
99. The shortest war in history was between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896, lasting only 38 minutes.
100. A group of elephants is called a “herd.”
101. The tallest mountain in the solar system is Olympus Mons, located on Mars and standing over 21 kilometers (13 miles) tall.
102. Penguins can jump up to 6 feet in the air.
103. The world’s largest cave system is the Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, USA.
104. The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car.
105. The shortest distance between Russia and the United States is less than 3 miles.
106. The United States is the only country in the world where it is legal to publicly display the flag all year round.
107. The largest waterfall in North America is Niagara Falls, with a flow rate of over 6 million cubic feet per minute.
108. The world’s fastest animal is the peregrine falcon, which can reach speeds of up to 240 miles per hour.
109. A group of foxes is called a “skulk.”
110 Earth is not a perfect sphere, but is actually slightly flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator.
111. The world’s largest river is the Amazon River, with a length of over 4,000 miles.
112. A group of armadillos is called a “roll.”
113. The human brain is more active at night than during the day.
114. The world’s smallest frog is the Monte Iberia Eleuth, which can fit comfortably on a dime.
115. The largest city in the world is Tokyo, Japan, with a population of over 37 million inhabitants.
116. A group of crows is called a “murder.”
117. The world’s heaviest insect is the Goliath beetle, weighing up to 4 ounces.
118. A group of sharks is called a “shiver.”
119. The world’s largest land animal is the African elephant, weighing up to 14,000 pounds.
120. A group of crocodiles is called a “bask.”
121. The world’s smallest snake is the thread snake, which is less than 4 inches long.
122. A group of cats is called a “clowder.”
123. The world’s largest mammal is the Blue Whale.
124. A group of hyenas is called a “cackle.”
125. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.
126. A group of hawks is called a “kettle.”
127. The deepest place on Earth is the Marianas Trench, which reaches depths of over 35,000 feet.
128. A group of owls is called a “parliament.”
129. The world’s largest natural arch is the Landscape Arch in Arches National Park, measuring almost 90 meters long.
These 129 cool facts are just the tip of the iceberg. Every day, we uncover new and interesting things about our world and the universe we live in. From the smallest insect to the largest animal, there is always something we can learn and discover. So, keep exploring and uncovering the wonders of our world!
