Interesting facts you didn't know: March 2012

Thursday, March 29, 2012

365 days in a year

People generally say there are 365 days in a year. By a year, I mean this is the time period it takes the earth to travel around the sun: 365 days. Actually, however, it takes the Earth 365.25 days to make this trip. In other words, for every year we gain one-fourth of a day and every for years we gain an extra day. If nothing was done about this, our calendar would move backwards one full day every four years in relation to our seasons.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

The reason firehouses have circular stairways

The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Biological warfare in year 1346: using black death against enemies

The Mongols were laying siege to the city of Caffa when they began to succumb to the black death. In the ultimate act of spite, the Mongols catapulted diseased corpses into the city, infecting the inhabitants and precipitating the spread of the plague to Europe.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Charlie Brown effect

Why astronauts crave Tabasco sauce. In space, bodily fluids that would normally be drawn downwards instead spread out more uniformly through the body, producing rounder heads and other odd effects.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Worlds smallest monkey

Weighing just 4.2 ounces and only 5.5 to 6.3 inches in length (13 cm), the pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world. They are able to jump more than 16 ft or 5 m!