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Nine longest words in the English language
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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 lettersMicrospectrophotometr ...
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9333 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Imperial and metric system facts lost in history
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There are two measurement systems used in the world today: the imperial system (also known as the English system) and the metric system. The imperial system was developed in England hundreds of years ago and was brought to the the United States by the colonists. The metric system is the accepted measurement system used in most countries of the world. It is a system based on multiples of 10. The metric system was developed in France around 1790 and has been revised several times. Its official name today is the International System of Units or SI Units for short. Both systems have come a long way since their conception. Here are some noteworthy facts about both, which may have been "lost" in history, but are still worth mentioning today. Base u ...
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1373 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Eyeless fish
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The Mexican tetra ( Astyanax mexicanus) is a blind, freshwater cave fish native to central and eastern parts of Mexico. Growing to a maximum total length of 12 cm (4.7 in), this species is notable for having no eyes or pigment; it has a pinkish-white color to its body (resembling an albino). The Mexican tetra spends most of its time in midlevel water above the rocky and sandy bottoms of pools and backwaters of creeks and rivers of its native environment. Coming from a subtropical climate, it prefers water with 6.5–8 pH and a temperature range of 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F). In the winter, some populations migrates to warmer waters. Its natural diet consists of crustaceans, insects, and annelids. Given their peaceful nature, this species is popu ...
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2427 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Top 5 Interesting Math Facts You Never Knew
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1) Roman Numeral IVAlthough 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 60The 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 BarThe 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 ...
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1288 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Ten Interesting Facts on Pregnancy
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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 ...
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1016 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Where is our third eyelid?
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Some mammals, such as camels, polar bears, and seals, have full nictitating membranes. That is the transparent or translucent third eyelid that can be drawn across the eye for protection and to moisten it while maintaining visibility. In humans, the plica semilunaris (also known as the semilunar fold) and its associated muscles are thought to be homologous to the nictitating membranes seen in other animals. In most primate species, a plica semilunaris is present, but a fully developed nictitating membranes still exists in lemurs and lorisiform primates. Unlike the upper and lower eyelids, the nictitating membrane moves horizontally across the eyeball (shown below). In some diving animals, such as beavers and manatees, it moves across the e ...
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2654 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Canada's only desert
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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 ...
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20267 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
How much of our lifetime do we spend peeing?
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Regardless of your size, men and women, big or small, all pee at the same average rate — between 1/3 and ½ ounces per second (10 ml to 15 ml per second). Since the mean urine quantity ranges between 1 to 2 quarts a day (1.4 L, on average), we are condemned to spend one to two full minutes peeing daily. The average lifespan in the United States today is 27,375 days. If we multiplying 27,375 days by 2 minutes per day peeing, that's 54,750 minutes, or 912.5 hours of your lifetime urinating. That also translates into roughly 38 days of your lifetime ...
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1412 |
bio_man |
4 years ago |
The story behind ballpoint pen caps
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Ever wondered why traditional ballpoint pens are capped with a vent? If you search online, you'll find several theories as to why, from the outrageous being that it prevents suffocation if a child were to inhale it, to the possibility that the company made it purposefully to dry out the ink and make the user buy a new pen. Others have even suggested a greater science behind it, saying that the hole either creates the same level of air pressure inside and outside of the pen, allowing the ink to flow into the point, or to make it easier to remove the cap. It turns out that one of these claims is actually true, can you guess which one?According to the website of the ballpoint pen inventor, BIC writes that "all our BIC caps comply with internati ...
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8804 |
bio_man |
4 years ago |
Developing immunity to the common cold
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Summer is officially over, and fall has arrived. With this season comes runny noses and doctor visits. Save yourself the time and money, because it's either the common cold or the flu, both of which have no cure other than to rest and endure the discomfort. Luckily, you can be immunized for the flu, but not the cold. In fact, many people battle the cold several times a year, rather than developing a natural immunity towards it, why is that? The primary reason that immunity generally does not develop against the common cold is that there is not a single cause of the disease. Over 200 serotypes of viruses, including enteroviruses (previously called rhinoviruses), coronaviruses, and adenoviruses, can cause the symptoms of the common cold. Ther ...
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22629 |
bio_man |
4 years ago |
Most intelligent bird species
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Birds are very clever animals. They exhibit a wide range of smart behaviors, including good memories, extensive communication, planning for the future, and remembering the past. Some birds can solve problems, and others are capable of adapting to new environments and conditions. Experts often think of intelligence in terms of creative abilities used to solve problems. Some scientists believe that tool-using birds show such abilities. The woodpecker finch (first from left) of the Galapagos Islands, for example, has learned to use a cactus spine or small twig as a probe to remove carpenter bee larvae from their tunnels. The Egyptian vulture (second from left) uses rocks to break open ostrich eggs. Gulls learn to drop clams and turtles onto roc ...
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18292 |
bio_man |
3 years ago |
Teeth that never stop growing
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Rodents are mammals characterized by a pair of broad, sharp-edged, chisel-like incisor teeth that are firmly inserted in both jaws and are used in gnawing vegetation. The front surface of each incisor tooth is composed of enamel, and the hind surface is of soft dentine wears away during the process of gnawing so that the teeth are constantly kept sharp. Shown above is a beaver sporting bright orange teeth; the reason they are orange is because of an unusually high concentration of iron in the enamel. Unlike human teeth, the incisors of rodents don't have roots, and they never stop growing! To keep these teeth from growing into their brains, rodents grind their teeth against each other. This friction is similar to using a grindstone to sharp ...
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11392 |
bio_man |
2 years ago |
Fastest mammal in the sea
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Dall’s Porpoise are among the fastest swimmers of all cetaceans, which includes dolphins and whales. This porpoise swims at such high speeds – up to 56 km/h (35 mph) – that observers often see only the cone-shaped water spray kicked up by its head, rather than the porpoise itself. The Dall’s porpoise often playfully rides the waves rolling off the bows and sterns of boats. As it plays, it sometimes zigzags over the waves so vigorously that it unwittingly escapes the aim of harpooners poised on deck. Due to its athletic habits, this porpoise must eat a great deal of food – up to 15 kg (33 lb) a day. It feeds on small fish and various cephalopods, including squid, primarily at night. ...
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4363 |
bio_man |
2 years ago |
You've only ever seen one side of the moon
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Did you know that the Moon's rotation is locked to its orbit around Earth by a bulge of material under the Moon's surface? This material is denser than the rest of the Moon's surface material, and Earth's gravity pulls on it especially strongly. The side of the Moon containing the bulge always faces Earth. We call it the near side and we call the other side, which we never see from Earth, the far side. People often mistakenly use the term "dark side" when referring to the far side of the Moon, forgetting that the far side is fully illuminated by the Sun whenever we see a new moon from Earth. If we were to look from high above the Earth-Moon system, we would see the Moon rotate once per month with respect to the stars. This is its sidereal ro ...
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14020 |
bio_man |
2 years ago |
Myths about your sense of smell
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Human smell has often been characterized as being deficient when compared to the smell abilities of some lower organisms. Summarized below are four myths about human smell that have been contradicted by research. Myth 1: Human smell is less sensitive than that of other animals.Research indicates that the individual smell receptor cells in humans will respond to a single odorant molecule. The difference in overall sensitivity appears to be due to the fact that some lower organisms, such as dogs, have more smell receptors. Myth 2: Humans have a relatively poor ability to detect changes in smell intensity.Although earlier research indicated that the difference threshold for smell was the largest of all the senses, more recent research, carefully ...
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14653 |
bio_man |
2 years ago |
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