Editorial Board - 501 Astonishing Facts

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ISBN 978-935-05720-6-1
Edition: April 2011

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The Copyright of this book, as well as all matter contained herein (including illustrations) rests with the Publishers. No person shall copy the name of the book, its title design, matter and illustrations in any form and in any language, totally or partially or in any distorted form. Anybody doing so shall face legal action and will be responsible for damages.

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In our daily life, we see or hear from others about many fascinating things. Sometimes, they appeartotally unbelievable. This bookpresents 501 such Astonishing Facts.

The book has been presented in ten chapters. These highlight the most peculiar aspects of the earth, universe, human body, animals, birds, plants, people, places, science, technology and many others. The book also shows some additional items. Most of the facts have been illustrated fairly well. The book has been written in a popular easy appealing language for the common readers, especially children. I hope it will be appreciated by all readers.

Sanjeev Garg

Booming Sound Loud booming sounds are produced in deserts when sand slips down the steep faces of the dunes. How Cold The average temperature at South Pole is -50C. In 1983, Russian Vostok Station, east of the South Pole recorded the lowest temperature of-89.2C. Magnetic Poles The North Magnetic Pole is about 1600 km from the true North Pole, while the South Magnetic Pole is about 2570 km from the South Pole (Fig. Geyser Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone, USA regularly shoots thousands of gallons of streaming water high into the air between 37 and 46 m. Wind Speed On Antarctica, the speed of the wind sometimes goes beyond 300 km/hr. Loudest Volcanic Explosion During the last 3,000 years, the greatest single Volcanic explosion was of Krakatoa (Indonesia) on August 27,1883. Loudest Volcanic Explosion During the last 3,000 years, the greatest single Volcanic explosion was of Krakatoa (Indonesia) on August 27,1883.

It was equivalent to 1,500 mgatonnes of TNT, making it 25 times more powerful than the biggest ever nuclear explosion. Its sound of explosion was heard somewhere in Australia at a remote distance of 4700 km. Life on Earth Life on Earth began about 3,500 million years ago, just after 1,100 million years of its origin. River Nile Among the 50 big rivers of the world, Nile is 6,650 km long and Amazon 6,450 km long. Desert Without Rain Atacama desert of Chile never had any rainfall for about 400 years until 1971. International Date-line A traveller crossing the International date-line can actually leave the same day of a week twice (Fig. 1.3). Sailing Around the Earth It is possible to sail all the way around the Earth on latitude 60 south. Rock of Ages The oldest known rocks, found in Western Australia are about 3,200 million years old about 3 00 million years younger than the planet itself. Lowest Hill The lowest hill of 15 ft height is shown on the official map of Syria. Lowest Hill The lowest hill of 15 ft height is shown on the official map of Syria.

Its name is Bukit Thompson. Water Cycle Water which has been evaporated today from the oceans will reach back after a period of 1,000 years (Fig. 1.4). Ice Thickness The greatest ice thickness in Antarctic region has been measured to be 4,776 metres i.e., about 3 miles. Oceans We see land everywhere on the Earth, but it is a planet whose 71 per cent land mass is covered with water (Fig. Tides The greatest tides occur in the bay of Fundy. Iceberg In 1956, an iceberg from Antarctica came on record-335 km long and 97 km wide much larger than the size of Delhi (Fig. 1.6). Underground Lake Most of the lakes are on the land, but there is one under the ground. Underground Lake Most of the lakes are on the land, but there is one under the ground.

Its name is Lost Sea. It is in the USA and was discovered in 1905. Sand Dunes Sand Dunes in Sahara Desert can attain heights of 1,400 ft. equivalent to many mountains of Earth. Natural Bridge Man has made beautiful and long bridges all over the world, but Nature has made bridges of its own. Antarctic Ice Melt If the ice of Antarctic continent melts, the level of water in the oceans will become so high that the whole world will become flooded. Sahara Sahara desert occupies about 1/8 area of the land. Sahara Sahara desert occupies about 1/8 area of the land.

It is about 9 million square kilometres. Sea Level Due to the global warming effect, the level of water in the Caspian Sea has started rising. This is a warning to human race that any day, the continents may become over-flooded.

Giant Star Antares star is about 420 million kilometres in diameter, which is 300 times the width of the sun. Black Hole The gravitational field inside a black hole is so strong that it can swallow anything in the universe, even a passing star and its light.

If a book weighing 1 kg is brought to within 6 m of a black hole, it would weigh a million million tonnes. Lunar Scars The surface of the moon is pitted with craters of all sizes up to 250 km in diameter. These have been created by meteorites smashing into the surface long ago (Fig. 2.2). Thunderstorms At any given moment, there are about 1,800 thunderstorms raging around the world, generating between them about 6,000 flashes of lightning every minute (Fig. Largest Volcano The largest volcano in the solar system is on Mars Olympus Moons, 600 km wide and 24,000 m high, is nearly three times higher than Mt. Everest. Suns Revolutions So far, sun has orbited the Galaxy 20 times, because it takes 220 million years to orbit the centre of the Galaxy. Power Houses Quassars are stupendous power houses. Power Houses Quassars are stupendous power houses.