Bernie Krause, founder of the scientific field called “soundscape ecology,” believes that bird songs, wolf howls, and even insects footsteps have become quieter over the last 50 years. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151006-nature-sounds-science-animals-music/
The unique nose of the Shinkansen 500 bullet train prevents sonic booms whenever it exits a tunnel. It was designed based on the shape of a kingfisher’s beak, which allows it to hit the water at high speed with very little splash. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/sunni-robertson-on-how-a-kingfisher-inspired-a-bullet-train
Wax worms, which have evolved to live in bee hives, produce an enzyme that allows them to eat and break down one of the most common plastics (polyethylene) into organic compounds. – WTF Fun Facts
Sphenopalatine Ganglioneuralgia is the scientific term for a “brain freeze,” which occurs when cold hits two arteries in the back of the throat causing them to dilate and contract. This is a sensation that the brain interprets as pain. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130522095335.htm
“Old-person smell” was confirmed by scientists as real. In a research study, participants were able to single out old-person smell much better than the odors of other younger age groups. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://healthland.time.com/2012/05/31/old-person-smell-really-exists-scientists-say/
By the 17th week of pregnancy, a child’s unique fingerprints have already formed and the pattern won’t change. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.livescience.com/30-lasting-impression-fingerprints-created.html
The phonautograph was invented by a Frenchman in the 1850’s and was the first device to record sound. Researchers played back these early recordings as sound for the first time in 2008. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89380697
Dutch researchers have created artificial leaves that produce drugs using sunlight. In testing, they successfully produced artimensinin, which is a drug to treat malaria, and ascaridole, used against certain parasitic worms. – WTF Fun Facts
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It is estimated that the Earth as a whole is struck by an average of more than a hundred lightning bolts every second. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/6/flash-facts-about-lightning/