Lightning Hits this Place for 300 Nights...

Did you know that the intersection between Catatumbo River and Lake Maracaibo in northwestern Venezuela is victim to lightning strikes 300 times a year and lightning flashes several times over one second? It holds the world's most lightning bolts per kilometer squared. This is created from the cool air from the Andes that mixes with the warm air from the Caribbean Sea causing this very unusual weather phenomenon.

Halloween Fact 1: The Silly String Fine

Did you know that you could be fined 1,000 dollars for using or selling silly string on Halloween in Hollywood? This fine started when thousands of people in Hollywood were so bored they went and bought silly string. Thus, they took it upon themselves to start vandalizing the streets of Hollywood, as a side note some people bought it illegally. Unfortunately, the city didn't take this too lightly, thus if you use or sell Silly String in Hollywood from 12:01 am on Oct. 31 to 12:00 pm on Nov. 1, you might get a fine that caps at 1,000 dollars. Talk about an expensive holiday!

The Pentagon

Did you know that the Pentagon is 17.5 miles long? General Eisenhower got lost in the Pentagon trying to find his office.

The Winged Misconception

Did you know that the 1903 Wright Flyer exhibit that we all know and love was not donate until a matter of decades? This was because Orville Wright was furious that the Smithsonian Museum tried to save face for the sake of Samuel Langley who experimented with the Langley Aerodrome which crashed 9 days before the Wright Brothers took flight. They altered the Aerodrome and called it the first machine "capable" of manned flight. Thus, Orville tried to correct this by donating his flying machine to the London Science Museum in 1925. Finally, in the 1940s, the Smithsonian corrected the mistake and Orville donated the invention a year before his death.

A Shallow Attack

Did you know that a shark attack on a human usually happens in less than 6 feet 6 inches of calm water with a relatively short distance from shore. This is a common misconception with many people who believe shark attacks happen in very deep waters isolated from an sight of land.

3D Printing in Gold

Did you know that you can use various materials for 3D printing? Some of these materials include gold, sliver, titanium, wood, and ceramics. 3D printers can now have the capability to 3D print prosthetics to 3D printing jewelry.

Permanent Footprints

Did you know that the Apollo astronauts' footprints on the moon will stay there for approximately 100 million years? This is because the Moon has no atmosphere so there is no wind or water to erode the footprints away. However, there are micrometeorites that hit the moon so erosion is still taking place but at a slower rate.

The Fifth Leg

Did you know that a walking kangaroo's tail works just as hard as an average human's leg at strolling speed? The tail acts as a fifth leg for the kangaroo and helps make the hop of the kangaroo more effective. If you want more about kangaroos visit National Geographic!

Man's Best Friend: The First Living Thing to Orbit the Earth (and come back alive)

Did you know two dogs named Belka and Strelka were the first living organisms to orbit the Earth?

Their real names were Albina and Markiza but they were renamed because the country's leadership didn't like foreign names. In August 1960, they orbited the Earth 15 times and their voyage was a little over 24 hours. When they returned from space they were studied to see what impact space had on their bodies. After, they died natural deaths and were old in age. Today, Belka and Strelka are located at the Cosmonautics Memorial Museum in Moscow.

Kiwi

Did you know the kiwi was originally called the "Chinese Gooseberry" but was later changed due to the name being negatively associated with the Cold War?

The iPad over the iPhone

Did you know that the first thing that came out was the iPad instead of the iPhone? Apple began exploring tablet devices way before the idea of an iPhone took shape. In fact, Steve Jobs during an interview that Apple was researching tablet designs with a virtual keyboard, they came back with a multi touch function and Steve Jobs thought to apply this to a phone. Thus, they began working on the iPhone.

The Slow Eater

Did you know it takes a giant panda up to 16 hours to eat bamboo? This is because bamboo is very poor in nutrition, thus pandas must to consume 20 kg of bamboo to meet their dietary needs.

Technology over Hygiene?

Did you know that there are 6.8 billion people in the world and 4 billion use a mobile phone? But only 3.5 billion of them use a toothbrush.

Gazelles

Did you know when Gazelles jump it actually slows the Gazelles down when it is being chased by a predator? It is used as a taunt to show the how fit the Gazelle is. This technique is called stotting.

Jedi are Real

Did you know Jedism is a real religion where people believe in the ways of The Force?
Over 53,000 people in New Zealand listed themselves as Jedi in New Zealand's 2001 census. Although it was not counted, it would have been the second largest religion in New Zealand.
It is also the 4th largest religion in England and Wales. In Australia, more than 70,000 people, which is 0.37% of the total population listed themselves as part of the Jedi order in the 2001 census as well.
Are you part of the Jedi?

The Decoy

Did you know when in danger, lizards have the ability to lose their tail to distract and confuse their predator? The tail that was left will then move to give time for the lizard to escape while the predator is confused. The tail will then grow back slimmer and in a different color.

Leonardo da Vinci

Did you know Leonardo da Vinci drew plans for a humanoid machine in 1945. Later Engineer Mark Rosheim created a functional mini version to help NASA colonize Mars.

Mars

Did you know only 16 out of 39 Mars missions have actually been successful?

Llamas

Did you know that llamas have three stomachs? Did you also know that llamas even have their own font? Use it here.
 

Black Holes

Did you know that from the perspective of a person A watching person B travel  into a black hole it seems that the person B is getting slower and slower? That is because according to Einstein's general relativity the faster you go towards the speed of light it seems time slows down. Thus, when person B travels into the black hole, the black hole warps time and space creating the perception that person B seems to be getting slower.