Magnolia plants are so ancient that they’re pollinated by beetles because they existed prior to bees appearing. –WTF Fun Facts
Source: Magnolia – Wikipedia
Nature
WTF Fun Fact – Oculudentavis
The smallest dinosaur ever found – a bird-like creature weighing less than a tenth of an ounce – has been discovered inside a drop of amber, where it was preserved for 99 million years. The dinosaur has been named “Oculudentavis” meaning “eye tooth bird.” – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The smallest dinosaur ever found was a weird, primitive bird, researchers say (nbcnews.com)
WTF Fun Fact – The Manitou Incline
The Manitou incline is a former cable car path in Colorado that has only the rail ties remaining. It is just under a mile long and climbs 2,000 vertical feet. World class athletes have been timed climbing it in under 20 minutes. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Corn Belt Vs Amazon
NASA satellite imagery shows that the US corn belt, at peak production in July, produces oxygen levels 40% greater than those observed in the Amazon rain forest. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Satellite Shows High Productivity from U.S. Corn Belt | NASA
WTF Fun Fact 11577 – Tomacco Plant
In 2003, a man in Oregon managed to successfully grow a “tomacco” plant – a hybrid of a tobacco and tomato plant. The plant, straight out of a 1999 “The Simpson’s” episode, managed to bear fruit for a year and a half. –WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.wired.com/2003/11/simpsons-plant-seeds-of-invention/
WTF Fun Fact – Don’t Say Tornado
Between 1887 and 1950, American weather forecasters were forbidden by the Weather Bureau from using the word “tornado” and instead had to use euphemisms like “severe local storm.” – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Florida Water Snake Orgy
During the Florida water snake mating season, part of a park near Lake Hollingsworth was shut down for a snake orgy. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Florida snake orgy: Authorities shut down park area because of annual snake mating season – CNN
WTF Fun Fact – Old (And Now Less) Faithful
“Old Faithful” first earned its name in 1870, when a group of explorers noted that it erupted roughly once every 60 minutes. After decades of earthquakes, it can now take up to 90 minutes between eruptions. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: 10 Things You May Not Know About Yellowstone National Park – HISTORY
WTF Fun Fact – Squealing Plants
A study found tobacco and tomato plants emit ultrasonic “squeals” when stressed. Microphones 4″ away picked up the sounds when plants had their stems cut or were under-watered. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Plants May ‘Scream’ When Stressed | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine
WTF Fun Fact – Roundest Natural Object
The Kepler 11145123 star, discovered in 2016, is the roundest natural object ever measured. Using asteroseismology, scientists were able to measure the oblateness of the star and found it’s even more perfectly spherical than the sun. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Kepler 11145123 is Most Spherical Natural Object Ever Seen, Astronomers Say | Astronomy | Sci-News.com (sci-news.com)
Image credit: Mark A. Garlick
WTF Fun Fact – Plastic Bag Lifespan
The average consumer typically uses a single use plastic bag for twelve minutes. After those twelve minutes, it can take up to 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Baikal Zen
This rare phenomenon is called “Baikal Zen”. Rocks that have fallen on the ice of Lake Baikal are heated by sunlight and melt the ice below. Once the sun is gone, the ice becomes solid again, creating a small support for the rock above. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Incredible natural phenomena on Lake Baikal (getaway.co.za)
WTF Fun Fact – Singing Sand
“Singing sand” produces a deep hum that can be heard for miles. The sound can be heard as a sand avalanche is triggered by the wind or even by people walking on the sand. There are ~30 sand dunes in the world with the right grain size and dry conditions needed to “sing.” – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Hairy Panic In Oz
In 2016, the Australian city of Wangaratta dealt with a hairy tumbleweed invasion. Nicknamed “hairy panic”, the weed Panicum effusum flourished under the dry conditions and a local farmer’s field that was left unmanaged. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: What is the ‘hairy panic’ tumbleweed that has buried a small Australian city? (theconversation.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Burial Pod
Italian designers Raoul Bretzel and Anna Citelli created the Capsula Mundi (“world’s capsule” in Latin), an egg-shaped, organic casket that’s suitable for ashes. Its biodegradable plastic shell breaks down and the remains provide nutrients to a tree planted above it. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/03/world/eco-solutions-capsula-mundi/index.html
WTF Fun Fact – The Mother Of All Flowers
In 2002, scientists found a fossil believed to be the world’s oldest flower. Now dubbed “the mother of all flowers,” the Archaefructus sinensis is thought to have bloomed more than 125 million years ago in China. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/4768447/The-mother-of-all-flowers.html
WTF Fun Fact – Underground Salt City
1,100 ft. beneath the city of Detroit, Michigan lies a massive salt mine. Opened in 1910, it covers 1,500 acres and has over 100 miles of roads. – WTF Fun Facts
WTF Fun Fact – Movile Cave Romania
Movile cave in Romania has been separated from the outside world for the past 5.5 million years. The atmosphere deep in the cave is like a different planet and more than 30 of the species found inside cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. – WTF Fun Facts