Fact-based Weird Facts
The Shrimp Whose Punch Boils the Water
The mantis shrimp swings its club so fast that the water in front of it boils into bubbles, and their collapse adds extra damage and tiny flashes of light.
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Fact-based Cosmic Questions
Why Does an Empty House Sound Different?
Without carpets, curtains and sofas to soak it up, sound bounces off bare walls and floors for longer, and you can hear the difference the moment you walk in.
Fact-based Weird Facts
A Jiffy Is a Real Unit of Time
The word you use for hurry up is also a genuine technical term, and depending on who is using it, a jiffy lasts anything from a fiftieth of a second to a few trillionths of one.
Fact-based Weird Facts
Crush a Wintergreen Mint in the Dark and It Sparks
Bite a hard wintergreen sweet in a pitch-dark room and your mouth will flash blue — a real, repeatable phenomenon with a properly serious name.
Fact-based Weird Facts
The Eiffel Tower Is Taller in Summer
Iron expands when it warms, so the tower grows by 12 to 15 centimetres between a cold winter day and a hot summer one, and its top leans away from the sun while it does it.
Fact-based Cosmic Questions
Why the Universe Keeps the Lights Low
If the cosmos is packed with billions of glittering stars, why does the night sky opt for a cozy, pitch-black blanket instead of a blinding neon glow?