You probably wouldn't associate Canada with having any deserts, since the country is typically attributed with winters that are long and harsh. However, that's not entirely true if you visit the southern region of Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada, known as the Okanagan Desert. In this area, summer temperatures regularly exceed 38˚C (100 °F), and portions of the area receive roughly 250 to 300 mm (10 to 12 inches) of rain per year – compare that to Vancouver, which receives approximately 1120 mm (43 inches) of rain per year.

While some areas in British Columbia experience hotter summer temperatures and are at least as arid, the South Okanagan area is home to several species of plants and animals that are not found elsewhere in Canada. For e [ ... ]

The Falkland Islands is an archipelago (meaning a cluster of smaller islands) in the South Atlantic Ocean, 300 miles (483 kilometres) east of Argentina.


The 700+ islands have a combined area of 4,700 square miles (12,000 square kilometers), with a population of approximately 4,500 people. The Islands economy is largely based on sheep farming, with an emphasis on high-quality wool exports. The current sheep population scattered throughout the land exceeds 500,000, which equates to roughly 111 sheep per person; per capita, that's 106 sheep per square mile (41.6 per square kilometer). Since the Islands are located north of Antarctica, sheep farming had to have been introduced at some point in history. Early settlers who were of British origin [ ... ]

1. Each year in the United States, there are approximately six million pregnancies. This means that at any one time, about 4% of women in the United States are pregnant.

2. About 3% of all pregnant women will give birth to twins, which is an increase in rate of nearly 60% since the early 1980s.

3. Approximately 500,000 babies are born each year in the United States to teenage mothers.

4. The largest baby ever born weighed more than 23 pounds but died just 11 hours after his birth in 1879. The largest surviving baby was born in October 2009 in Sumatra, Indonesia, and weighed an astounding 19.2 pounds at birth.

5. Approximately one in three babies in the United States is now delivered by cesarean section. The number of cesarean sections in the Un [ ... ]

1)  Roman Numeral IV

Although the Roman numeral for the number 4 has always been taught to have been "IV," according to historians, the ancient Romans probably used "IIII" most of the time. This is partially backed up by the fact that early grandfather clocks displayed IIII for the number 4 instead of IV. Early clockmakers apparently thought that the IIII balanced out the VIII (used for the number 8) on the clock face and that it just looked better.

2)  Base 60

The Babylonians wrote numbers in a system that used 60 as the base value rather than the number 10. They did not have a symbol for "zero."

3)  Fraction Bar

The Romans did not use numerals to indicate fractions but instead used words to indicate parts of a whole. It wasn't until later in h [ ... ]

Want to better your vocabulary? Try pronouncing these words on your own, then attempt to use at least one in your next conversation!

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilic ovolcanoconiosis – 45 letters

• A lung disease caused by breathing in volcanic dust.

Supercalifragilisticexpialido cious – 34 letters

• Meaning "wonderful", from song of this title in the movie Mary Poppins. 

Floccinaucinihilipilification – 29 letters

• Meaning "the action or habit of estimating as worthless".

Trinitrophenylmethylnitramine – 29 letters

• A chemical compound used as a detonator in shells.

Antidisestablishmentarianism – 28 letters

• Meaning "opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England".

Electroencephalographically – 27 letters

• Relating to brain waves.

Microspectrophotometr [ ... ]

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is a species of terrestrial hermit crabs that's known for the largest land-living arthropod in the world, weighing up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific Ocean, mirroring the distribution of the coconut palm. Like other hermit crabs, juvenile coconut crabs use empty gastropod shells for protection, but the adults develop a tough exoskeleton on their abdomen and stop carrying a shell.

Coconut crabs have evolved organs known as branchiostegal lungs, which are used instead of the vestigial gills for breathing. They cannot swim, and will drown if immersed in water for long. They have also developed an acute sense of smell, which has evolved convergently with [ ... ]

The poison dart frog is the common name given to the most poisonous animals on Earth.

Native to Central and South America, these species of frogs (family: Dendrobatidae) produce several lethal toxins that are capable of killing a human or other large animal with just 2 micrograms (μg). In other words, one drop of their venom could be powerful enough to kill 8000 people.

The most toxic of poison dart frog species is Phyllobates terribilis. Unlike snakes, dart frogs do not synthesize their poisons, but sequester the chemicals they consume from arthropod prey, such as ants, centipedes and mites. This is why in captivity, they produce far less poison than wild frogs due to their change in diet. What makes these frogs immune to their own poison i [ ... ]

Melothria scabra is a species of cucurbitaceous vine grown for its edible fruit, known as cucamelon. Cucamelons are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers, they are notable for their sour aftertaste that comes from the skin.

The M. scabra plant is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is called sandíita (little watermelon). It is believed to have been a domesticated crop before western contact began.

If you happen to get your hands on these tiny melons, apparently they are terrific in stir-fries; they can be pickled just like French gherkins, eaten raw in salads or put up like Polish dill pickles. They also can be chopped and added to salsas for extra texture and flavor. [ ... ]