Did you know (revived).

[not_for_sale2024]

I thought I would try a Did You Know thread similar to one a few years ago. Maybe people can share some interesting facts, or trivia.

For example...

Did you know that there are more bacteria cells in the human body than human cells?

"A 'reference man' (one who is 70 kilograms, 20–30 years old and 1.7 metres tall) contains on average about 30 trillion human cells and 39 trillion bacteria, say Ron Milo and Ron Sender at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and Shai Fuchs at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada."

"So to our 30 trillion human cells, we have on average about 39 trillion microbial cells. So by that measure, we’re only about 43% human,” said Rob Knight, director of the University of California San Diego Center for Microbiome Innovation and professor of pediatrics and computer science and engineering."

It certainly does make one wonder what it really is to be human!

[twyngwyn]

If you're not sufficiently scared of giant squids, consider that their eyes are 11 inches across. That makes them the largest known eyes in the animal kingdom.

[not_for_sale2024]

And did you know that an increasing number of scientists are suggesting that the Octopus may not have originated on Earth?

https://mindmatters.ai/2022/01/science-paper-could-octopuses-be-aliens-from-outer-space/ 

[papermoon.lady]

Did you know that there is a knighted penguin?

Nils Olav - Wikipedia

[not_for_sale2024]

Brigadier Sir Nils Olav III[needs Norwegian IPA] is a king penguin who resides in Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland.

I had a dear friend who was a highly respected Scottish Psychiatrist who passed away just a few years ago. He was one of the best and funniest blokes I have known. I wish he was still around so I could draw this to his attention. He would have fallen to the floor laughing.

[imastawka]

The world's smallest reptile is.............................a chameleon

The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body that is only 13.5 mm (0.53 inches) long, making it the smallest of all the roughly 11,500 known species of reptiles, the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich said. Its total length from nose to tail is just under 22 mm (0.87 inch).

The female nano-chameleon is significantly larger, with an overall length of 29 mm, the research institute said, adding that the scientists were unable to find further specimens of the new subspecies “despite great effort”.

Awww, cute.

Scientists have discovered the smallest reptile on earth | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

[not_for_sale2024]

Have you ever wondered why the buttons on women’s clothing are on the left?

Today, women’s fashion is largely designed for younger women. However, during the Renaissance and the Victorian Era, women’s fashion was frequently designed for the rich. Wealthy women were required to wear more complicated clothing, such as petticoats, corsets and bustles. Many had servants to help them put on their clothes, both out of luxury and necessity. Because most servants were right handed, clothiers started sewing the buttons on the left to make it easier for them. Eventually, as clothing became more and more mass-produced, women’s clothes continued to be made with the buttons of the left, and the design became standard.

Benjamin Radford wrote for Live Science in 2010.

[twyngwyn]

Why do clocks use IIII for 4?

When Roman numerals were in use by the Roman Empire, the name of the Romans' supreme deity, Jupiter, was spelled as IVPPITER in Latin. There was a feeling that using the start of Jupiter's name on a clock dial, and it being upside down where it fell, would be disrespectful to the deity, so IIII was introduced instead.

[countessalmirena]

Did you know that shoes with high heels began to be worn during the 15th century, deriving from a Turkish platform shoe style called a chopine? Because of their cost, it was the wealthiest people who wore them, and by the 16th century royals were wearing high heeled shoes of elaborate workmanship to give themselves height and presence. Louis XIV of France made such a fetish of his red-heeled shoes that it was forbidden for anyone other than he and the ladies and gentlemen of his court to sport such shoes.

[papermoon.lady]

Did you know that there is a species of theoretically immortal jellyfish?

Turritopsis dohrnii - Wikipedia