20th May 2016
Lightning bolts are electric discharges that originate in the clouds during a storm and travel to the earth’s surface. About 100 lightning bolts strike the earth every second. One bolt can contain up to one billion volts of electricity.
19th May 2016
The deadly Ebola virus was first reported in Zaire in 1978. It spreads through the blood and causes haemorrhage in all organs. Internal bleeding results in shock and death. There are no drugs or vaccines against this disease. Fatality rates of the Ebola virus disease have varied from 20 to 90 per cent in the past.
19th May 2016
Only 3 per cent of earth’s water is fresh, the rest 97 per cent is salt water. Of that 3 per cent, over 2 per cent is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. It means less than 1 per cent fresh water is found in lakes, rivers and underground. Water, indeed is a scarce resource.
19th May 2016
The earth is divided into three layers: the upper crust, the middle mantle and the innermost core. The upper crust is made of solid plates, called tectonic plates. Some plates are under the ocean too. The mantle is semi solid and the tectonic plates slide over the mantle, causing an earthquake. Every year over one million earthquakes shake the earth.
18th May 2016
The number 17 can be written in Roman as XVII. When these numerals are rearranged, it reads VIXI, which means in Latin ‘I have lived’, meaning ‘my life is over’. The number 17 is therefore considered unlucky in Italy.
18th May 2016
Butterflies range in size from just over half an inch up to almost 12 inches. The size of the butterfly depends on the wingspan and the body. The butterfly with the biggest wingspan is the Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, which has a wingspan up to 1 foot (30 cm) wide.
