Which among the two do you think has more of a probability of killing us-getting crushed by an asteroid or getting roasted by lightning? It would be surprising to know that we have a more probability of dying by getting crushed by an asteroid double the times compared to getting struck by lightning. According to the “book of general ignorance” written John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, the earth is struck by lightning bolts approximately 17million times a day, which on an average becomes 200 strikes a second. The probability of a fatal electrocution is 1 in10 million, which is the same probability of being bitten by a venomous snake. Ignorance isn’t the bliss that it has been made out to be so here nine scientific so called truths that are actually false.
Till now everyone was of the opinion that depending on their surroundings a chameleon changed their color. But!! Here’s the truth. Chameleons can’t protect themselves against stronger predators that would eat them. They never had that caliber of fighting and protecting themselves. The truth is that the chameleon changes its color based on its emotional state. It is very coincidental that the color of the chameleon is same as the color of its surrounding.
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When someone picks up a chameleon or when it is scared or when it just had a duel with another chameleon, it changes its color. Chameleons have two layers superimposed on each other, one changes its color and the other regulates body temperature. The presence of a female, the wavelength of light falling on its skin and temperature also changes the color. Chameleons skin is made up of special cells known as chromatophores which are divided into different layers and each reflects a different color. When there is a change in the ratio of a skin layer, there is a change in the color.
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We believed that the blue whale was the biggest creature on Earth but we were wrong! Mr. Big whale is surely the biggest mammal but the biggest creature is, in fact, a mushroom. The honey mushroom whose scientific name is Armillaria Ostoyaeor is also called Humongous fungus.
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The honey mushroom growing in Malheur National Forest, Oregon, USA is a record breaker of sorts. Its estimated age is between 2,000-8,000 years (Its accurate age cannot be figured out). It covers 880 hectares (around 2,200 acres). Its Inner layers remain hidden from our naked eye. It even grows underground in the shape of huge white mycelium. The mycelium grows over plants and trees root and absorbs their nutrition and minerals and starts sucking the life energy out of the trees. Occasionally, it grows on surfaces disguised as a small beautiful golden mushroom while hiding the giant in it and under the surface.
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People for a long time have believed the cockroaches cannot be harmed and killed by natural causes unless of course you stomp them or spray them. They have been on Earth longer than humans (Almost 280 million years) and are extremely difficult to get rid of. If they have invaded a household, it becomes a nightmare. In fact, they have tendencies of living headless for quite a bit of time. In 1959 experiments were conducted to show that during a nuclear holocaust cockroaches would be the first insects to die.
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Wharton and Wharton conducted a scientific test in which species of different insects were exposed to different levels of radiations. A conclusion was made that a human being can be exposed to 1000 RAD, while a cockroach can be exposed to 20,000 RAD. A flying yellow was can be exposed to 180,000 RAD. But the real king that can be exposed to 1.5 million RAD is a tiny bacteria called Deionococcus durans, which endures double the exposure value if the bacteria is frozen in state.
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A good source of vitamin A is carrots. When a person is deficit of vitamin! He usually suffers from night blindness, a condition in which the rate of your eye to adapt to darkness decreases gradually. Increasing intake of Vitamin A, present in carotene can cure the deficiency. Carrots do contain a lot of carotene, but blueberries, spinach, apricot and other vegetables consisting of dark-colored leaves contain more carotene.
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Curing Night blindness and fixing you observed on your skin after consuming a lot of carrots but it won’t cure your night vision. During World War 2, John Cunningham, Captain of squadron 604 had impeccable night vision so he fought mostly at night. Thus, he came to be known as the Cat’s eye. The British government spread the rumor that he got this vision because he used to eat a lot of carrots. The truth was that the captain was actually testing a top secret radar, which actually had nothing to do with his night vision and carrot consumption.
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Daniel Kripke published an article in 2004, which stated that adults who sleep 6-7 hours during night tend to live longer than those who sleep 8 hours. His study included 1.1 million participants and it took 6 years to complete it. A greater number of people who slept for more than 4 hours and less than 8 hours stayed alive to the end of the study. Sleeping less than 8 hours is not as harmful as we expected it to be.
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We should also make sure that we are not being sleep deprived. It is sleep deprivation that throws the brain into confusion making it dysfunctional, lack focus, concentration and decisiveness. Sleep deprivation lowers immunity and make you irritable.
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From small we have been taught that out 5 senses were-touch, sight, smell, hearing and taste. Centuries ago these were all mentioned as our senses by Aristotle. But that isn’t so. It has become a common fact that the human body possesses 4 more senses.
Thermoception: perceiving temperature or sensation of change in temperature.
Equilibrioception: physiological senses related to balance or agility powered by cavities in our inner canals which are filled viscous liquids.
Nociception: response to potentially harmful stimuli or pain experienced in joints, tissues, etc.
Proprioception: sensation of realizing our own organs and bones present in our body without physically feeling them.
We use to believe that water is transparent and clear, but the truth is that oceans and seas appear blue because it reflects the color of the sky. The truth be told, water is actually blue in color. If you look through the thick ice of a frozen cold waterfall or a pit of snow, a very light shade of blue is present at the bottom and inner layers.
A vast role is still played by the sky reflecting its color on the ocean water but there is also some light that appears from the bottom of the ocean. Ocean, seas and other large water reservoirs contain some seaweeds or plants that remain at the bottom and have tendencies of scattering and reflecting photons of light in the ocean. Thus we notice watercolors of different shades.
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Oxygen is a gas present in the atmosphere so we think it’s the most common substance in the world but we’re wrong. The most common substance is calcium titanium oxide, a mineral present in calcium titanate also known as perovskite. It makes up almost half of our Earth’s mass. According to the theories of some scientists, the mantle of the earth comprises of mostly perovskite, but it still has to be proved. This substance is a good conductor of electricity as it conducts electricity in normal temperature conditions without providing any resistance. It can also lead to a gateway for the future of Floating trains.
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The so-called common cold has always been regarded as the most common disease but actually, Depression is the most common disease. A prediction was made 10 years ago that depression would become widespread by 2020 but, it has spread at an even faster rate.
People usually go to doctors for even matters like a common cold, but the majority quits treating their mental conditions for as long as possible. We usually think that our sadness should never be revealed to anyone and be kept hidden deep within us but actually, the majority of us are suffering from depression. We feel embarrassed thinking about the fact that we are depressed while others are not.
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Remember what your grandma would tell you that chewing gum if swallowed would stick to the walls of our stomach and stay there for 7 years. But, it was all a myth. The truth is chewing gum is digested just like when we eat a chocolate pastry or partially cooked meat. Our stomachs walls secrete enzymes, gastric juices, etc. to digest everything in our stomach and even gum. The composition of gum doesn’t breakdown so easily, so it enters the large intestine along with other un-digestible products and is excreted.
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