Can you name the longest mountain range on Earth? How about the shape of the Earth? It’s a sphere right? The answers to some of these questions might surprise you. Here are 25 Crazy Facts About Planet Earth That Will Boggle Your Mind.
25
Earth isn't round. Centrifugal force pushes outwards at Earth's equator giving it a slight wasteline.
24
Standing on that equator you would be spinning around Earth's center at 1000 miles per hour. At the poles, however, you would be standing still (and turning in a circle)
23
You would still be hurling through space at 67000 miles per hour though.
22
The rocks you are standing on get recycled. Volcanoes spit them out as magma, they dry, harden, and after a very long time either get sucked down again by plate tectonics or get pushed towards Earth's core by a fresh layer of rocks above.
21
Speaking of magma, the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth's surface was 136 degrees F or 57.8 degrees C in El Azizia, Libya recorded in 1922.
20
The coldest spot was Antarctica's vostok station that recorded a bonechilling minus 128.6 degrees fahrenheit (minus 89.2 degrees C)
19
On that note, Antarctica contains about 70 percent of Earth's fresh water and 90 percent of its ice.
18
Gravity is not distributed equally. Yes, you read that right. Places like Hudson Bay in Canada actually have less gravity than other regions of the globe. This is due to the fact that there is less land mass in that part of the planet thanks both to retreating glaciers on the surface and swirling magma deep in the core.
17
Earth's magnetic north pole is moving northward at a rate of 10 miles per year
16
Eventually, our magnetic poles will switch.
15
Scientists believe Earth may have had two moons at one point in time.
14
Some scientists claim we still have two moons…in a manner of speaking. Every now and then an asteroid will get sucked into Earth's orbit and stick around for up to 9 months.
13
Although earthquakes are no fun, they are not the only quakes that affect the earth. Moon quakes can actually make a difference in the tides.
12
As cool as moon rocks are, on Earth rocks can walk. Or at least slide. In Death Valley rocks weighing hundreds of pounds slide across the desert floor leaving trails in their wake. Scientists believe wind and ice are the culprits.
11
The longest mountain range on Earth is actually underwater. It is called the mid ocean ridge system. It stretches for 80,000 km all around the world and is nearly 20 times longer than the longest range on the surface, the Andes Mountains. Not only that, the whole thing is completely volcanic.
10
On the topic of volcanos, the most active erupter on Earth is actually the Stromboli Volcano in southern Italy. For the past 2,000 years it has been erupting almost continously which has earned it the nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.
9
Volcanos aren't the only things that explode gas and magma. Lakes do that too. In Africa, on the borders of Cameroon, Rwanda, and the Democractic Republic of the Congo there are several lakes that sit above volcanic earth which results in large pockets of dangerous gas being trapped beneath them. If they were to explode they would asphyxiate any passersby.
8
70 percent of the planet is covered in ocean but humans have only explored 5 percent of it.
7
That's strange considering the fact that the ocean holds nearly 20 million tons of gold and Earth holds more than its share of greed. Granted, most of the gold is diluted. Each liter of seawater contains about 13 billionths of a gram. There is enough undissolved gold on the sea floor though to put 9 pounds in every pocket on Earth.
6
The deepest spot on Earth is the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. It is nearly 11 km below the surface of the ocean (~7 miles) and only 3 people have ever ventured there
5
Constructed from millions of tiny polyps, coral reefs are the largest living structures on Earth, some even visible from space.
4
They also contain the highest density of life on the planet, even more than rainforests.
3
If gold dust in your ocean water isn't cool enough for you then consider this, everyday about 100 tons of interplanetary material fall down onto Earth's surface primarily from the ice of comets as it vaporizes near the sun.
2
Just to leave you with some parting food for thought, the pacific basin contains half of the free water on Earth and could hold all of the world's continents.
1
And one more thing. The largest single living thing (apart from reefs constructed of multiople polyps) was a mushroom fungus in Oregon that grew to 2,200 acres.
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
The Chronicles of Naija Moms
Please don’t share this link with your mum before she nails you with their favourite adage “show me your friend and i’ll……”
For those of you who grew up in Nigeria with your mums, I’ll say you’re lucky because you, only you, will understand this article. For those who lost their mums at a very early age, I’ll seize this opportunity to offer my condolence, it is never an easy thing.
That being said, let us examine this ‘specimen’ very carefully.
WHAT ARE NIGERIAN MUMS?
Answer: Special!
The thing is, Nigerian mums are a very rare specie of humans. Wonderful people. Special case study.
They are not all the same but I tell you, they have common traits, sometimes you think they plan it because how else is it that when you were growing up, you go to your friend’s house and hear his mum shouting about the same exact things your mum shouts about, in the same exact way, and when you adjust your eye to watch the tv as if you never heard anything, his mum turns to you,
“Don’t you advise your friend? John is a very lazy boy”
She turns to your friend and says,
“John! Look at your friend, how quiet he is. See your life!”.
Next week, your friend is in your house and your mum is screaming,
“Emeka! Look at John! Does he have two heads?…..”
PLEASE, did they plan it?
THE NIGERIAN MUM’S MOST VALUED TOOL?
Answer: Something long and painful.
Before I continue this exposé, I’d like to point out that there is a tool employed by these women that makes their job easier. A companion, often seen under beds and under the chairs in sitting rooms of unsuspecting kids. The Whip! Yikes!
Those days, there was no house without this ‘commodity’. In the past, it could be in the form of a small stick or the stalk of a tree in your compound plucked during emergency times. Later, as we grew up, they started making them in commercial quantity! You go to the shop of any Mallam or even ‘provision’ stores and you see it piled in one corner, bound together by one rubber band (Infact this made me seriously hate one Mallam Aminu those days- a true friend to many mothers back then)
The thing is, this whip can land on your back for any to no reason at all;
“Have you done your assignment? I say, have you done your assignment?” *whip whip*
“So two times eight is eighteen ehhh……” *whip whip*
“Joy, so you are now following bad gangs” *whip whip*
“Abu, who told you to go and pluck those mangoes?
*hand whip*
This *whip whip* is almost always the aftermath of any conversation that starts like this,
(Act 1; Scene 1)
MUM: You are here watching tv, have you finished your food?
CHILD: Mummy, I don’t like eba, I want to drink tea and bread/cake
MUM: This night? (getting really angry and rising up)
CHILD: Mummy, I don’t like this food!
(Act 1; Scene 2)
You don’t need to be Shakespeare to know what happens next!!
Or when your mum sees you and your elder brother fighting and says “Wait for me!” while she hurriedly makes her way into her room……..hmmmmmm.
NIGERIAN MUMS AND PUBLIC PLACES
We all know that Nigerian mums cannot differentiate between public places and indoors when it comes to disciplining the kids.
They seldom care if the neighbours hear the loud strokes of cane metted out on the poor child.
This explains why when you’re in church and refuse to open your mouth to sing with the choir or if you attend these ‘fire’ churches; you don’t stamp your foot, close your eyes and speak out your prayer points loudly or you find yourself nodding off while kneeling down in a night vigil. What do you hear next on your back? A loud rasp that startles you back to the real world!
Some call it ‘abara’, some call it ‘reality check’ while others call it ‘hard reset’….What ever name you choose to call it, this tumultuous blow to your back can spoil your career on the streets or in school because, eww! Your street girls were also in church that day! Or Tola, that girl from your class attends your church too and everyone will hear about it before you enter class tomorrow… Oh Lord!
For those of you who grew up in Nigeria with your mums, I’ll say you’re lucky because you, only you, will understand this article. For those who lost their mums at a very early age, I’ll seize this opportunity to offer my condolence, it is never an easy thing.
That being said, let us examine this ‘specimen’ very carefully.
WHAT ARE NIGERIAN MUMS?
Answer: Special!
The thing is, Nigerian mums are a very rare specie of humans. Wonderful people. Special case study.
They are not all the same but I tell you, they have common traits, sometimes you think they plan it because how else is it that when you were growing up, you go to your friend’s house and hear his mum shouting about the same exact things your mum shouts about, in the same exact way, and when you adjust your eye to watch the tv as if you never heard anything, his mum turns to you,
“Don’t you advise your friend? John is a very lazy boy”
She turns to your friend and says,
“John! Look at your friend, how quiet he is. See your life!”.
Next week, your friend is in your house and your mum is screaming,
“Emeka! Look at John! Does he have two heads?…..”
PLEASE, did they plan it?
THE NIGERIAN MUM’S MOST VALUED TOOL?
Answer: Something long and painful.
Before I continue this exposé, I’d like to point out that there is a tool employed by these women that makes their job easier. A companion, often seen under beds and under the chairs in sitting rooms of unsuspecting kids. The Whip! Yikes!
Those days, there was no house without this ‘commodity’. In the past, it could be in the form of a small stick or the stalk of a tree in your compound plucked during emergency times. Later, as we grew up, they started making them in commercial quantity! You go to the shop of any Mallam or even ‘provision’ stores and you see it piled in one corner, bound together by one rubber band (Infact this made me seriously hate one Mallam Aminu those days- a true friend to many mothers back then)
The thing is, this whip can land on your back for any to no reason at all;
“Have you done your assignment? I say, have you done your assignment?” *whip whip*
“So two times eight is eighteen ehhh……” *whip whip*
“Joy, so you are now following bad gangs” *whip whip*
“Abu, who told you to go and pluck those mangoes?
*hand whip*
This *whip whip* is almost always the aftermath of any conversation that starts like this,
(Act 1; Scene 1)
MUM: You are here watching tv, have you finished your food?
CHILD: Mummy, I don’t like eba, I want to drink tea and bread/cake
MUM: This night? (getting really angry and rising up)
CHILD: Mummy, I don’t like this food!
(Act 1; Scene 2)
You don’t need to be Shakespeare to know what happens next!!
Or when your mum sees you and your elder brother fighting and says “Wait for me!” while she hurriedly makes her way into her room……..hmmmmmm.
NIGERIAN MUMS AND PUBLIC PLACES
We all know that Nigerian mums cannot differentiate between public places and indoors when it comes to disciplining the kids.
They seldom care if the neighbours hear the loud strokes of cane metted out on the poor child.
This explains why when you’re in church and refuse to open your mouth to sing with the choir or if you attend these ‘fire’ churches; you don’t stamp your foot, close your eyes and speak out your prayer points loudly or you find yourself nodding off while kneeling down in a night vigil. What do you hear next on your back? A loud rasp that startles you back to the real world!
Some call it ‘abara’, some call it ‘reality check’ while others call it ‘hard reset’….What ever name you choose to call it, this tumultuous blow to your back can spoil your career on the streets or in school because, eww! Your street girls were also in church that day! Or Tola, that girl from your class attends your church too and everyone will hear about it before you enter class tomorrow… Oh Lord!
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Strange Facts About Music
1. John Cage an American composer, composed a musical work in 1952 titled “4’33″ and this musical work consisted of only four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence.
2. The longest rendering of a national anthem was performed by a German military band on February 9, 1909 at Rathenal Railway Station in Brandenburg, Germany.
King Edward VII was inside the train struggling to wear his German Field-Marshall uniform, so the band had to play the British National Anthem “God Save the King” 17 consecutive times.
3. The Japanese national anthem is the shortest national anthem in the world, it has only four lines. Greece has the longest national anthem in the world, it has 158 verses.
4. The harmonica is the world’s best-selling musical instrument.
5. The longest hymn in the world is “Hora Novissima Tempora Pessima Sunt;Vigilemus” by Bernard of Cluny, it is 2,966 lines long.
6. Music can help reduce chronic pain by more than 20% and can alleviate depression by up to 25%.
7. Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.
8. Flowers can grow faster by listening to music.
9. Pop music is the shortened form of popular music. The term was coined in 1926.
10. Music is used in waiting rooms and when you are put on hold because it gives the illusion that less time has passed by.
11. Monaco’s national orchestra is bigger than it’s national army.
12. You can learn a lot a out somebody by listening to a song that means a lot to them.
13. Cows give more milk when listening to music.
14. Memories triggered by music cause some of the strongest emotional response and can be very intense.
15. Listening to music can help you run faster and help get a better workout in the gym. It can help increase endurance by as much as 15%.
16. Music is as addictive to the brain as s*x and drugs.
17. In 1978, Sweden’s most profitable export was the band ABBA. Car maker Volvo was number two.
2. The longest rendering of a national anthem was performed by a German military band on February 9, 1909 at Rathenal Railway Station in Brandenburg, Germany.
King Edward VII was inside the train struggling to wear his German Field-Marshall uniform, so the band had to play the British National Anthem “God Save the King” 17 consecutive times.
3. The Japanese national anthem is the shortest national anthem in the world, it has only four lines. Greece has the longest national anthem in the world, it has 158 verses.
4. The harmonica is the world’s best-selling musical instrument.
5. The longest hymn in the world is “Hora Novissima Tempora Pessima Sunt;Vigilemus” by Bernard of Cluny, it is 2,966 lines long.
6. Music can help reduce chronic pain by more than 20% and can alleviate depression by up to 25%.
7. Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.
8. Flowers can grow faster by listening to music.
9. Pop music is the shortened form of popular music. The term was coined in 1926.
10. Music is used in waiting rooms and when you are put on hold because it gives the illusion that less time has passed by.
11. Monaco’s national orchestra is bigger than it’s national army.
12. You can learn a lot a out somebody by listening to a song that means a lot to them.
13. Cows give more milk when listening to music.
14. Memories triggered by music cause some of the strongest emotional response and can be very intense.
15. Listening to music can help you run faster and help get a better workout in the gym. It can help increase endurance by as much as 15%.
16. Music is as addictive to the brain as s*x and drugs.
17. In 1978, Sweden’s most profitable export was the band ABBA. Car maker Volvo was number two.
Friday, 28 March 2014
30 Proven Facts About Girls (MUST READ)
1. Girls don't always know what they want.
2. Say something sweet, she likes it.
3. Girls always think that they could look better, so guys should inform them of their beauty.
4. Never compare her to other women.
5. Girls try to hint on what they want from guys, they don't like to say it.
6. If a girl wants to meet a guy's family, let them. It means they care.
7. When a girl ditches her friends to hang out with a guy, its a big deal!
8. Girls don't like to talk about their exes.
9. If you call a girl "hot" it doesn't mean anything.
10. When a girl doesn't feeel good she doesn't talk much.
11. If a girl is mad at her boyfriend, she doesn't want to say anything about it, she just wishes he'd know.
12. When a guy still loves a girl at her worst look, it lets her think that he is sincere about her.
13. Girls like surprises & gifts especially during special occasions.
14. Girls love to cuddle!
15. If a girl would be a guy's girlfriend, she really likes him.
16. Girls ask you for the truth when they know it.
17. Girls love it when guys ask advice from them.
18. Girls love money!
19. Girls love bad ass dudes.
20. If a girl likes a certain item her boyfriend wears, he should wear it more.
21. When girls write guys notes, guys should keep them.
22. If a guy remembers something important to a girl that she said and he brings it up later, it makes them feel special.
23. Girls love pet names.
24. Girls want guys to prove that they are different.
25. Girls don't expect you to read their minds, they expect you to ask them.
26. Sometimes, girls test guys to see how they will react.
27. Girls like guys who can protect them.
28. If a girl really wants to be with a guy, she will make sure it happens.
29. If a girl is still in love with someone else, they won't say anything bad about them.
30. Girls love to be spoiled.
Catch the next episode of facts on girls next week.
2. Say something sweet, she likes it.
3. Girls always think that they could look better, so guys should inform them of their beauty.
4. Never compare her to other women.
5. Girls try to hint on what they want from guys, they don't like to say it.
6. If a girl wants to meet a guy's family, let them. It means they care.
7. When a girl ditches her friends to hang out with a guy, its a big deal!
8. Girls don't like to talk about their exes.
9. If you call a girl "hot" it doesn't mean anything.
10. When a girl doesn't feeel good she doesn't talk much.
11. If a girl is mad at her boyfriend, she doesn't want to say anything about it, she just wishes he'd know.
12. When a guy still loves a girl at her worst look, it lets her think that he is sincere about her.
13. Girls like surprises & gifts especially during special occasions.
14. Girls love to cuddle!
15. If a girl would be a guy's girlfriend, she really likes him.
16. Girls ask you for the truth when they know it.
17. Girls love it when guys ask advice from them.
18. Girls love money!
19. Girls love bad ass dudes.
20. If a girl likes a certain item her boyfriend wears, he should wear it more.
21. When girls write guys notes, guys should keep them.
22. If a guy remembers something important to a girl that she said and he brings it up later, it makes them feel special.
23. Girls love pet names.
24. Girls want guys to prove that they are different.
25. Girls don't expect you to read their minds, they expect you to ask them.
26. Sometimes, girls test guys to see how they will react.
27. Girls like guys who can protect them.
28. If a girl really wants to be with a guy, she will make sure it happens.
29. If a girl is still in love with someone else, they won't say anything bad about them.
30. Girls love to be spoiled.
Catch the next episode of facts on girls next week.
13 Unusual Facts You Didn't Know About The Human Body
Tongue print:
Don't stick out your tongue if you want to hide identity. Similar to fingerprints, everyone also has a unique tongue print.Shedding:
Your pet isn't the only one in the house with a shedding problem. Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour. That works out to about 1.5 pounds each year, so the average person would lose around 105 pounds of skin by age 70.
Bone count:
An adult has fewer bones than a baby. We start off life with 350 bones, but because bones fuse together during growth we end up with only 206 as adults.
New stomach:
Did you know that you get a new stomach lining every three to four days? If you didn't, the strong acids your stomach uses to digest food would also digest your stomach.
Scent remembering:
Your nose is not as sensitive as a dog's but it can remember 50,000 different scents.
Long intestines:
The small intestine is about 4 times as long as the average adult is tall. If it weren't looped back and forth upon itself, its length of 18-23ft wouldn't fit into the abdominal cavity making things rather messy.
Bacteria:
Every square inch of skin on our body has about 32 million bacteria on it, but unfortunately, the vast majority are harmless.
Source of body odour:
The source of smelly feet, like smelly armpit is sweat and people sweat bucket from their feet. A pair of feet have 500,000 sweat glands and can produce more than a pint of sweat per day.
Sneeze spread:
The air from a human sneeze can travel at a speed of 100 miles per hour or more__another good reason to cover your nose and mouth while sneezing and to duck when you hear one coming your way.
Blood distance:
Blood has a long way to travel:laid end to end, there are about 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the human body and the hard working heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood through these vessels everyday.
Saliva quantity:
You may not want to swim in your spit but if you saved it all up, you could. In a lifetime, the average person produces about 25,000 quarts of saliva, enough to fill two swimming pools!
Nail growth:
If you're clipping your fingernails more often than your toenails, that's only natural. The nails that get the most exposure and are used most frequently grows the fastest. Fingernails grow fastest on the hand that you write with and on the longest fingers. On average, nails grow about one tenth of an inch each month.
Head weight:
The human head is one quarter of our total length at birth but only one eighth of our total length by the time we reach adulthood.
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