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Showing posts from March, 2017

75+ Interesting Facts About Mammals

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Distinguishing features  in mammals are body hairs, mammary glands, and the neocortex (part of the brain with higher intelligence functions). Only around  5% of mammals  are monogamous. Comparatively, this sexual behavior is present in nearly 90% of species of  birds . ( Source ) Suicidal reproduction, semelparity, is prevalent in  plants , fish, insects, and reptiles. But there are only four mammal species that mate themselves to death  to survive their genes. All these four species belong to insect-eating marsupials. ( Source ) Some mammals have the best night vision among animals . These include large-eyed mammals (raccoons, tarsiers, opossums, and night monkeys), red foxes, snow leopards, etc. ( Source ) Reindeers, bats, and a few rodents are the only mammals that can  see ultraviolet (UV) light . ( Source ) Monotremes and dolphins  are the only mammals with a sense of  electroreception . They use electric fields generated by the muscular contractions of their prey to locate t

60+ Interesting Facts About Insects

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So far, more than  900,000 species  of insects have been discovered. According to estimates, the total number of insect species could be between 2 million and 30 million. ( Source ) According to estimates, there are around ten   quintillion  insects on  earth . It means there are 1 billion insects for every human being. ( Source ) The  oldest insect ever found  is 410 million years old. The fossil of this extinct insect was discovered in Scotland, UK. The second oldest known insect is 379 million years old. ( Source ) Most insects have a  compound eye   structure  with a wide view angle in all directions. Only some parasitic insects lack these eyes. Insects are devoid of lungs. Their  respiratory system  contains trachea (tiny tubes) that perform the function of the lungs. The oxygen enters their tissues through minute openings in their body. ( Source ) Coleoptera is the largest insect order , which contains more than 40% of insect species. There are more than 360,000 species of be

55 Interesting Facts About Australia

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Australia is the 6 th largest country  in the world. It  is also the largest country  in Oceania and Southern Hemisphere. Melbourne and Sydney are the 2 nd  and 3 rd   most livable cities . Adelaide is the 3 rd  Australian city on the list of the world’s top 10 most livable cities. ( Source ) Australia has the  cleanest air  in the world. The outdoor and indoor air quality in Australia is the world’s best. ( Source ) Daintree Rainforest in Australia is the  oldest known  forest   in the world. It is 100-180 million years old. It is also the largest rainforest on the Australian continent, spreading over an area of 460 square miles. ( Source ) Scientists have found the earliest signs of  life on earth  in ancient rocks of Western Australia. These microbes were discovered from 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites. ( Source ) Australians spend (and also lose) the most  money in gambling  around the globe. An average Australian adult lost $990 in 2016, 49% more than the next-biggest l

60+ Interesting Facts About South Africa

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South Africa, the southernmost country in Africa, has the highest number of White (European) and Colored (interracial) people in the African continent. South Africa is infamous for its adoption of  apartheid  (racial discrimination). This system continued from the 1960s until the beginning of the 1990s. More than  1800 white farmers  lost their lives due to homicide in South Africa between 1998 and 2016. ( Source ) South Africa has the world’s largest gap between rich and poor. This extreme income inequality is mainly due to the apartheid policy adopted between 1948 and 1994. ( Source ) South Africa was the only African country with  nuclear weapons . However, it later dismantled the nuclear program after signing NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) in 1989. ( Source ) South Africa has the 2nd highest  unemployment rate  in Africa  after Nigeria. The 32.9% unemployment rate is also the highest among G20 countries. ( Source ) After Bolivia and India , South Africa has the highest number