Nature

WTF Fact 12437 – The Speed of Snow

Most snowflakes fall at a speed of 1.5 mph, though some can reach up to 9 mph if they have picked up enough moisture to gain more mass.

Your typical snowflake traveling at a speed of 1.5 mph travels a long way before hitting the ground – 45 minutes to an hour.

Some other fun facts about snow include:

  • Snow is not white, it’s translucent
  • The first ever snowflake photograph was taken in Vermont in 1885
  • Chionophobia is the condition of being afraid of snow (that’s different from simply not liking it, of course)
  • While it can be too warm to snow (of course), it can never be too cold to snow
  • Snow can actually warm you up becase it’s at least 90% trapped air – that’s why animals burrow in the snow for warmth and people can live safely in igloos
  • Each winter in the US, roughly 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (or 1 septillion – that’s 24 zeroes!) fall from the sky

– WTF fun facts 

Source: “10 facts about snow” — Met Office

WTF Fun Fact 12436 – Ocean Depths

There’s a lot we don’t know about the ocean because humans simply can’t get to the very bottom. In fact, we don’t even know where the deepest spot on the planet lies because we’ve only mapped about 10% of the ocean floor in high resolution.

What we do know is that among the areas we’ve measured, the average depth of the ocean is 12,080 feet. For those who prefer different units of measure, that’s 3,682 meters, or 3.7 kilometers, or 2.3 miles – or, you know, 8 Empire State Buildings.

These measurements are taken from data gathered in 2010 and only provide an estimate.

Did you know there are different names for deep ocean zones?
– Littoral zone (from the shore to about 200 feet deep) tends to be shallow and has no formal definition.
– Bathyal (3,300 to 13,100 ft) 
– Abyssal (10,000 and 20,000 ft)
– Hadal zone (20,000 to 36,000 ft): This is the deepest part of the ocean, and you have to make your way into trenches created by tectonic plate shifts in order to reach them.

The ocean’s deepest known point is Challenger Deep, in the western Pacific’s Mariana Trench. It’s deeper than Mt. Everest is tall. – WTF fun facts 

Source: “How deep is the ocean?” — Natural History Museum

WTF Fun Fact 12432 – Spring Fever

The dawn of spring brings mixed feelings and physical reactions. While some poets have long written about “spring fever” as something associated with romance, pleasure, and good spirits, others find March to be a little more gloomy.

You won’t find a doctor diagnosing you with spring fever, but if you notice a change in mood or energy as the days get longer, you’re not alone.

Many people welcome the dawn of spring weather and the return of sunshine. Their ability to spend more time outside is a mood-booster, and they feel restless to get things done after a long and dark winter. Interestingly, these good moods tend to decrease in the hot summer months.

Other less ideal symptoms of this so-called “spring fever” can include an increased heart rate, appetite loss, and mood swings.

Then there are those for whom spring is a curse and who might think of spring fever as the bad kind of fever. There may be some truth to this as well. Some experience a more depressed mood and lack of energy at the start of spring as their bodies adjust. One theory is that the body has used up so much of its serotonin reserves by the end of winter that it leaves people depleted. The return of sunlight helps re-make this serotonin, but the physical process and the hormonal fluctuations involved can cause lethargy.

Some researchers have even hypothesized that rising temperatures cause blood vessels to expand and lead to a drop in blood pressure, leading to headaches. Then there are the people who suffer from “reverse seasonal affective disorder.” The list of spring maladies goes on and on.

However, fever isn’t typically a symptom of any of these reactions, so spring “fever” is more of a nickname.

And don’t worry, we didn’t forget about the allergy sufferers! For so many of us, spring pollen and the swirling of dust particles that occurs as we open our windows again can be a real downer. While allergies don’t cause a fever either, sinus infections can. – WTF fun facts 

Source: “Does “Spring Fever” Exist?” — Scientific American

WTF Fact 12430 – The Truth About Sunflowers

Don’t you just love sunflower season? Ok, it might be a bit too hot for some of us, but these big, happy flowers are a fun way to bring some sunshine to your yard or home.

If you’ve seen the sunflower a lot these days, it’s because it’s also the national flower of Ukraine. Girls would weave smaller varieties into flower crowns, and they’re commonly found on traditional embroidery. But the sunflower originated on the North American continent, in what is not the Western United States. In fact, it’s the only flower used for seed that originated in the US.

It wasn’t until the 1550s that Spanish conquerors brought the sunflower to Europe. Sunflowers have many practical uses since they can be pressed for sunflower oil, and the seeds are edible. Ironically, it wasn’t until the flowers reached Russia that they were seen as beautiful for display.

But the more fascinating thing about the sunflower might just be that – biologically speaking – what we consider to be one flower is actually thousands of tiny flowers. Those little brown things we think of as…well, what do we call those?… Anyway, those are individual flowers! And so are the petals.

That means a sunflower contains thousands (usually between 1000 and 2000) of individual flowers all held together by that impressive receptible base. The brown flowers develop into seeds, while the yellow petals (or “ray flowers”) simply wither.

Another cool fact about sunflowers is that they are heliotropic, which means the flowering head (which we guess is technically the correct phrase for what we refer to as a flower) turns with the sun for maximum exposure.

So if you set a vase of sunflowers on a table near a window and notice them all “looking” outside during the day, don’t assume someone turned the vase! The flower did that all on its own. – WTF fun facts 

Source: “Sunflower: An American Native” — University of Missouri, Department of Agronomy

WTF Fun Fact 12406 – Turtle Senses Volcanic Eruption

Animals seem to know when something’s up with Mother Nature. Certain out-of-character animals behaviors after precede storms, earthquakes, and more. Now, there’s evidence that Milly the Sea Turtle knew that the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano was about to erupt.

She was released by scientists in Australia wearing a tracker, and for 47 days she swam straight for the tiny island of Tonga. But the day before the earthquake, something made her do a sharp turn directly away from the island…like she knew it wasn’t a safe place.

While it’s just speculation, for now, Tilly also diverted her journey back to Australia right before a small earthquake occurred near the Great Barrier Reef. Again, she seemed to send something was about to go wrong in that direction.

Research has been done on the ability of whales, dolphins, and even goats to sense seismic activity, but this was the first time the behavior was observed in sea turtles.

Of course, turtles have no real way of explaining their behavior to humans, so we won’t be using Tilly as an earthquake or volcano predictor any time soon. But it is interesting to have more evidence that animals have some sort of sixth sense when it comes to potentially dangerous natural events. – WTF Fun Facts

Source: Tilly The Sea Turtle Knew About Tonga Eruption Before It Happened — IFL Science