Did you know that the Statue of Liberty wasn’t always green? It’s made of copper, just like a penny, and turned green over time due to a process called oxidation. Speaking of surprising transformations, a single glass of water contains more atoms than there are glasses of water in all the oceans on Earth!
Some mountain ranges, like the Sierra Nevadas in California, have pink snow that smells and tastes like watermelons. But remember, stay away from yellow snow! An ear of corn always has an even number of rows, usually 16, with about 800 kernels on average. And yes, you can actually smell rain! It has a unique scent made up of plant oils, bacteria, and ozone.
Did you know that Salvador Dali designed the Chupa Chups logo in 1969? He insisted it be placed on top of the wrapper so everyone could see it. In the Southern Hemisphere, the aurora borealis is called aurora australis, and the best time to see it is during winter.
Victorians used to say “prunes” instead of “cheese” when taking pictures to look more serious. The Sargasso Sea, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, has no shores and is bordered by four ocean currents. When you sneeze, air rushes out of your nose at 100 miles per hour!
In the 1800s, ketchup was sold as a medicine in pill form in the U.S. The world’s longest musical piece, “As Slow As Possible,” is being performed in Germany and will last 639 years! And did you know that jousting is the official sport of Maryland?
A blue whale’s heart is as big as a small car, and you can hear it beat from two miles away. Dolphins have unique vocal whistles to call each other by name. Cleopatra lived closer in time to the first moon landing than to the construction of the Great Pyramid.
If your brain were a computer, it would perform 38,000 trillion operations per second. Even the most powerful supercomputer in the world has only 0.002% of that capacity. The expiration date on a water bottle is for the bottle, not the water, as plastic can leach over time.
The most successful pirate of all time was a woman named Ching Shih, who commanded 80,000 men. The African continent is the only one that sits in all four hemispheres. Roadway lines were invented thanks to leaky milk wagons, inspiring Edward Hines to create them in 1911.
Mount Everest isn’t the tallest mountain in the world; that title goes to Mauna Kea in Hawaii, most of which is underwater. There’s a city called Boring in Oregon with a sister city called Dull in Scotland. The world’s largest pyramid isn’t in Egypt but in Puebla, Mexico.
Did you know that Doritos can be used as kindling because they are easily flammable? IKEA stands for the founder’s name, his farm, and his hometown. The world’s largest snowflake was the size of a frisbee and fell in Montana in 1887.
Roosters have built-in earplugs to protect them from their own crowing. Croissants, often seen as a French symbol, were actually invented in Vienna, Austria. The world’s largest pyramid isn’t in Egypt but in Puebla, Mexico.
There are more cell phones than humans on the planet. The average human checks their phone every six minutes, totaling 150 times a day. The African continent is the only one that sits in all four hemispheres.
Fruit stickers are edible because they use a special safe glue, but you should still wash the fruit before eating. The smallest inhabited island is in New York State and is called Just Enough Room, with space for just a tree and a house. And if baby owls are called owlets, what are baby toils called? Well, not toilets!
Explore the concept of oxidation by conducting a simple experiment. Gather some pennies and a few household items like vinegar and salt. Soak the pennies in the solution and observe how they change over time. Discuss how this relates to the Statue of Liberty’s transformation.
Calculate the number of atoms in a glass of water. Use the formula for the number of molecules in a mole and Avogadro’s number to estimate how many atoms are in a single glass. This will help you understand the vastness of atomic structures.
Inspired by Salvador Dali’s design of the Chupa Chups logo, create your own logo for a product of your choice. Consider the placement and visibility of your design, and present your logo to the class, explaining your creative process.
Participate in a fun trivia game focusing on quirky geographical facts. Prepare questions about unique places like the Sargasso Sea, Boring in Oregon, and Mauna Kea. Test your classmates’ knowledge and learn fascinating facts about the world.
Engage in a discussion about the surprising statistics of everyday life, such as the number of cell phones compared to humans. Reflect on how technology impacts daily routines and share your thoughts on the implications of these numbers.
Copper – A reddish-brown metal that is a good conductor of electricity and is used in electrical wiring and coins. – Copper is often used in electrical circuits because it conducts electricity very efficiently.
Oxidation – A chemical reaction in which a substance combines with oxygen, often producing rust or tarnish. – The oxidation of iron in the presence of moisture leads to the formation of rust.
Mountain – A large natural elevation of the Earth’s surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level. – Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, reaching a height of 29,032 feet.
Ocean – A vast body of salt water that covers almost three-quarters of the Earth’s surface. – The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean on Earth.
Hemisphere – Half of the Earth, usually divided into northern and southern halves by the equator, or eastern and western halves by the prime meridian. – The Northern Hemisphere experiences summer while the Southern Hemisphere experiences winter.
Pyramid – A solid geometric figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a point, often used to describe ancient monumental structures. – The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the most famous pyramids in the world.
Continent – One of the Earth’s seven large landmasses, including Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. – Africa is the second largest continent in the world by both area and population.
Water – A transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance that is essential for the survival of most living organisms. – Water covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface, mostly in oceans and seas.
Snow – Precipitation in the form of ice crystals, forming a white layer on the ground when it accumulates. – During winter, many regions experience snowfall, which can create beautiful landscapes.
Whale – A large marine mammal that lives in the ocean and is known for its impressive size and intelligence. – The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth, capable of growing up to 100 feet long.
