Maybe You Should Drive…

Although fuel consumption varies not only by type of aircraft but by factors like speed, headwinds, and cargo weight, a 747 jet uses about 1 gallon of fuel every SECOND.  However, the plane can carry so many people that really it’s as if it’s getting 100 miles per gallon for every person.  Of course, you can fit more than one person in a car, too, so how are you supposed to figure out if it makes more sense to drive or fly?

For a detailed explanation, check out howstuffworks and the links it suggests.

Yeah, Showers Won’t Help Much…

The average square centimeter of your skin is home to about 50,000,000 bacteria.  I know, I know…ew.  Fortunately, most of them can’t hurt us.  Want to know what’s even more gross?  Other microorganisms, like mites and lice, make their homes on our bodies as well.  Our bodies are like mini-Earths, with different habitats that house different creatures.  Which areas of our bodies do you think house the most bacteria?

Not the Beatles, the Beetles

Beetles make up about 40% of known insects, with approximately 400,000 species.  Some scientists estimate that the known species may be as small as 5% of all actual existing species.  New ones are being discovered all the time!  Beetles are so diverse that there are kinds that eat carrion, fungus, plants, flowers, fruits, etc.  You can find them all over the world in just about every habitat.

60,000 Miles of Vessels

60,000 miles?  That’s a lot of blood vessels!  Of course, the exact length would vary according to the size of the person.  Think about how far our blood must travel through these blood vessels, day after day!  Your body has three types of blood vessels:

Arteries–carry blood away from the heart

Veins–Carry blood to the heart

Capillaries–exchange water and chemicals between blood and tissues

What Time Is It?

Louis Cartier invented the first men’s wristwatch in 1904.  An earlier version of a wristwatch had been created for women, but they were not used in mainstream society.  Cartier’s wristwatch came about because of a pilot friend who needed an easy way to keep time while in flight, since you can’t keep your hands on the controls while you are fishing a watch out of your pocket!  The wristwatch gained popularity after WWI when returned soldiers wore them out and about.  The first digital wristwatch went on sale in late 1969, created by the Seiko company.

Energy Consumers

Yes, the U.S. uses about 1/4 of the world’s power, which is kind of sad, considering we have less than 5% of the world’s population.  No wonder we need to explore renewable energy sources!  Most people get the majority of their energy from oil, and we are using it much faster than the Earth is producing it.  What do you think would be the best alternative?  Solar power?  Hydro? Wind?  Biofuel?  Leave us a comment and tell us what you think!

A Cricket Thermometer

How can a mating ritual tell you the temperature?  Ask a cricket!

The timing of cricket chirps can tell you the outside temperature, and they are fairly accurate until it’s below around 55 degrees (crickets aren’t really active when it’s that cold).

For the temperature in Fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and add 40.  For Celsius, count the number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by three, then add four. Male crickets are the ones chirping, as they are trying to lure females.  Crickets chirp faster the warmer it is, but there’s no word on whether the ladies care what temperature it is!

Driving On the Moon? Not So Fast or Furious

Yes, the land speed record on the Moon is a whopping 10.56 mph.  The three Lunar Roving Vehicles (LVH), which were built by Boeing, were sent up with the Apollo missions.

Because no one was exactly sure how well the LVRs would hold up, NASA limited the range they were allowed to be driven in order to stay within astronauts’ walking distance back to the shuttle.

The LVRs are still on the Moon.  I guess they couldn’t exactly call AAA for a tow truck!

Now That’s a Big Bang

How hot can you get?

At the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in the Brookhaven National Laboratory, pretty darn hot.

The temperature, recorded at 4 billion K, was made as physicists smashed gold ions together while trying to replicate conditions resembling the Big Bang. They succeeded in creating the quark-gluon plasma that was present in the first microseconds of the universe.

A Seed for the Ages

As if it’s not enough for the Indian lotus to symbolize divine beauty, this plant has some even more impressive qualities.

Scientists have managed to germinate 1300-year-old seeds of this plant that were found in China.  The plant itself can live for a thousand years.  Somehow, this flower is able to regulate its temperature to thrive during cold spells and attract helpful insects.  Its flowers, seeds, roots, and leaves are edible.  The Indian lotus can also be found in warm parts of Asia and in Australia.  No wonder it has been revered in many cultures through the ages.