General Archives - Page 17 of 32 - I Learned This Today

#838 Why is there such a difference between Haiti and the Dominican Republic?

January 20, 2024

Why is there such a difference between Haiti and the Dominican Republic? There are several reasons. Some of them are the climate, their history, their languages, their population densities, and their governments. Haiti and the Dominican Republic are both on the island of Hispaniola, which is an island between Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba. It […]

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#837 When did daylight savings time start?

January 19, 2024 / 1 Comment

When did daylight savings time start? It started in Canada in 1908. Daylight savings time is the practice of putting the clocks forward by one hour in the summer and back in the winter. The reason for this is to give people more sunlight throughout the year as the length of the day changes with

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#835 Are any plastics biodegradable?

January 17, 2024

Are any plastics biodegradable? Some are, but most aren’t. It depends on what they are made from and how they are made. Most natural materials biodegrade once they are dead. Inside the cells of the dead material are polymers, which are chains of small molecules strung together. Bacteria and other organisms break down the cell

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#834 What is peat?

January 16, 2024

What is peat? Peat is a layer of partly decomposed organic matter on the surface of a soil. It has a high water content and a low oxygen content. Accumulations of peat are called peatlands and they are found in 180 countries worldwide, in different quantities. The highest concentrations are in northern Europe, northern

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#833 What is your risk of dying every year?

January 15, 2024

What is your risk of dying every year? It depends on your gender, age, race, where you live, and so many other factors, but it is possible to make a rough estimate of your chances of dying at every age. A person’s statistical risk of dying at every age is useful knowledge for governments, the

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#832 Otto Lilienthal – the first successful aviator

January 14, 2024

When we think about important figures in the history of aviation, Orville and Wilbur Wright obviously spring to mind. However, they probably wouldn’t have been able to fly without the work of Otto Lilienthal, a German aviator, who was known as the flying man. Lilienthal wasn’t the first person to build heavier than air flying

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#831 Why are tennis scores so peculiar?

January 13, 2024

Why are tennis scores so peculiar? Nobody seems to know the answer, although there are several theories. Tennis has a very illogical scoring system. Both players start on zero, which is called love. From there, the points go to 15, then 30, then 40. If a player on 40 scores one more point, they win

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#828 What game has the best odds in a casino?

January 10, 2024

What game has the best odds in a casino? Blackjack has a 49% chance of winning, which is the best odds you will find in a casino. There are a lot of casinos in the world, although they are illegal in some countries, such as China. China gets around the law by allowing them on

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#827 How does the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral support itself?

January 9, 2024

How does the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral support itself? The dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in London looks like one massive dome, but it is actually two domes with a cone of bricks between them to give it strength and structural support. St Paul’s Cathedral is one of the main landmarks in London. It

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#824 How do noise cancelling headphones work?

January 6, 2024

How do noise cancelling headphones work? They play the sound from around you, but reversed, which cancels out the noise. Sound is a pressure wave that is created by an energy source that makes the molecules of the medium it is travelling through vibrate. Sound can travel through any medium and it travels through some

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