Why are all animals becoming crabs? Well, all animals are not becoming crabs, but crabs have evolved separately five times, so there must be something about the crab form that is very advantageous. We don’t see that many of them, but there are more than 7,000 species of crab. They vary hugely in habitat and […]
#1215 Why are all animals becoming crabs? Read More »
Why are some materials brittle? Materials such as glass and ceramics are brittle because their atoms are held together by strong bonds that cannot slide past each other. If you have ever dropped a jar of something on a hard floor, you will know that glass is very brittle and shatters when impacted. Or, if
#1214 Why are some materials brittle? Read More »
When was the first world map made? The first world map was made in the 6th century BC, but it was very limited. The first map that is close to a modern map, i.e. having all of the continents on it, was probably made in the late 19th century. The problem with maps is that
#1213 When was the first world map made? Read More »
Why can some people tolerate spicy food better than other people? The people who are more able to tolerate spicy food either have fewer taste receptors because of genetics or have desensitized the taste receptors that they do have. We find food that has capsaicin in it spicy. These are foods such as chili peppers
#1212 Why can some people tolerate spicy food better than other people? Read More »
Did pirates really bury treasure? Not really. There is only one known instance and even that is debatable. The idea of buried treasure and a map with an X on it was popularized by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book “Treasure Island”. When we think of pirates, we think of swashbuckling rouges with an eye
#1211 Did pirates really bury treasure? Read More »
Do fish sleep? All fish sleep, but they have different ways of doing it. Almost all complex organisms, with a few exceptions, need to sleep, although they all have different sleep requirements and methods. Ants microsleep for a few minutes at a time, many times a day, while dolphins put one side of their brain
#1210 Do fish sleep? Read More »
How far can an iceberg float? It depends on their original size, the season, and their location, but some icebergs can float for thousands of kilometers. Not every piece of floating ice is an iceberg. An iceberg has to be 15m long at least to be considered an iceberg. They are formed when ice breaks
#1209 How far can an iceberg float? Read More »
How does a flare gun work? They trigger an explosive which shoots the flare high into the sky, where it explodes. There are several different kinds of flares and flare guns are only one type. Let’s look at the others first. The simplest kind of flares are basic smoke flares. These are flares you can
#1208 How does a flare gun work? Read More »
What is scurvy? Scurvy is a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. It can be fatal is not treated, although that is rare. The majority of us easily get enough vitamin C these days and we don’t even really need to think about it. We get it from fresh fruit and vegetables, or
#1207 What is scurvy? Read More »
Why is the presidential inauguration on January 20th? Inauguration day is on January 20th because the 20th Amendment to the Constitution changed it in 1933. The new president of the United States of America is sworn in on January 20th. There is a big spectacle, which is attended by thousands of people. The president swears
#1206 Why is the presidential inauguration on January 20th? Read More »
