All FactsClaim verified Β· Receipt attachedFILE 001Dinoπ¦22 metresBrachiosaurus had front legs longer than its hind legs β giving a giraffe-like upward tilt for browsing tall trees; NHM lists it at about 22 metres long.SrcNatural History Museum (London)Pass the claimNext evidence β
FILE 002BodyShare120 daysHealthy red blood cells circulate for up to about 120 days before the spleen and liver clear them.SrcNCBI β Blood Groups and Red Cell Antigens
FILE 003WeirdShare60% of an adult human bodyAbout 60% of an adult human body is water β the fraction is higher in infants and lower with more body fat.SrcUSGS Water Science School
FILE 004Animalsπ¦ShareGermany and JapanRaccoons (Procyon lotor) are native to North America but became invasive after 20th-century introductions to Germany and Japan.SrcPLOS ONE / BMC Ecology
FILE 005Snakesπ§¬Sharepelvic spursPythons and boas still carry pelvic spurs β claw-like remnants of ancestral hind limbs used in courtship, not walking.SrcBritish Herpetological Society β Herpetological Bulletin
FILE 006InsectsπShare600 to 1,500 metersA single silkworm cocoon yields one continuous filament typically 600 to 1,500 meters long.SrcFAO β Silk Reeling and Testing Manual
FILE 007OceanπShare2.5 centimeters per yearThe Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreads at about 2.5 centimeters per year β roughly the rate human fingernails grow.SrcUSGS β This Dynamic Earth
FILE 008Hidden Gemsπ―π΅ShareOkunoshima Poison Gas MuseumΕkunoshima was a secret WWII poison-gas manufacturing site β erased from army maps β and today houses the Okunoshima Poison Gas Museum.SrcVisit Takehara / Okunoshima Poison Gas Museum
FILE 009SpaceπSharediamond βrainβLab experiments show hydrocarbons can form diamond βrainβ under extreme pressure β supporting models for Neptune and Uranus interiors.SrcSLAC / Nature Astronomy (Kraus et al., 2017)
FILE 010MummiesπShare5,398 objectsHoward Carter catalogued about 5,398 objects from Tutankhamun's tomb (numbers 1β620, many as groups) β records held at Oxford's Griffith Institute.SrcGriffith Institute, University of Oxford
FILE 011Dinoπ£Shareeutherian mammals and precocial birdsBone histology shows dinosaurs grew at accelerated rates versus living reptiles β large species reached rates comparable to eutherian mammals and precocial birds.SrcErickson et al., Nature (2001)
FILE 012BodySharehiccupsThe diaphragm is the main muscle of breathing β and sudden spasms of it cause hiccups.SrcNCBI StatPearls β Anatomy, Thorax, Diaphragm
FILE 013WeirdSharevibrations through the head and bodySnakes lack outer ear openings and eardrums, yet they still hear via vibrations through the head and body to the inner ear.SrcNatural History Museum (London)
FILE 014AnimalsπSharealarm rumbles for bees versus humansAfrican elephants produce distinct alarm rumbles for bees versus humans β listeners flee both, but head-shaking appears mainly after bee alarms.SrcPLOS ONE (Soltis et al., 2014)
FILE 015SnakesπSharespectacle (brille)Snakes have no eyelids β each eye is covered by a transparent scale called a spectacle (brille).SrcNatural History Museum (London)
FILE 016InsectsπShare66 million years agoFungus-farming ants began cultivating crops about 66 million years ago β long before human farming.SrcSmithsonian / Science (Schultz et al., 2024)
FILE 017OceanπSharemore fish biomass than the rest of the ocean combinedThe ocean twilight zone (200β1,000 m) may hold more fish biomass than the rest of the ocean combined.SrcWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution
FILE 018Hidden Gemsπ¨π³Share2011β2013China used more cement in 2011β2013 than the United States used in the entire 20th century (about 6.6 vs 4.4 billion tonnes) β figures drawn from USGS data.SrcWashington Post / USGS (via Vaclav Smil)
FILE 019SpaceπShare1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per yearLunar laser ranging shows the Moon drifting away by about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per year.SrcNASA β Apollo Lunar Laser Ranging
FILE 020MummiesπSharedozens of individually wrapped baby crocodilesA 3-metre βgiant crocodileβ mummy in Leiden holds two juvenile crocodiles plus dozens of individually wrapped baby crocodiles revealed by 3D CT scans.SrcRijksmuseum van Oudheden (Leiden)
FILE 021Dinoπ¦Sharechestnut to reddish-brownFossilized melanosomes in Jehol theropods show Sinosauropteryx's dark tail stripes were likely chestnut to reddish-brown β not unknown color forever.SrcZhang et al., Nature (2010)
FILE 022BodyShare2β3 million red blood cells every secondBone marrow releases about 2β3 million red blood cells every second into circulation.SrcNCBI β Blood Groups and Red Cell Antigens
FILE 023WeirdSharecan sneeze with your eyes openYou can sneeze with your eyes open β closing them is a reflex, not a hard rule.SrcScienceDaily / Texas A&M
FILE 024Animalsπ¦Sharegreater lateral search areaHammerhead sharks' wide cephalofoil spreads electroreceptors across a greater lateral search area, raising the odds of detecting buried prey.SrcJournal of Experimental Biology (Kajiura & Holland, 2002)
FILE 025Snakesπ Sharevomeronasal (Jacobson's) organA snake's forked tongue delivers odor molecules to the vomeronasal (Jacobson's) organ in the roof of its mouth.SrcNatural History Museum (London)
FILE 026InsectsπShareliving bridgesArmy ants build living bridges from their own bodies, then dynamically lengthen and shift them as traffic changes.SrcPNAS (Reid et al., 2015)
FILE 027Oceanπ³Share2,000 feet for ~45 minutesSperm whales routinely dive about 2,000 feet for ~45 minutes while hunting, then raft at the surface to recover.SrcNOAA Fisheries β Sperm Whale
FILE 028Hidden Gemsπ³π±Share1255The Hoogheemraadschap van Rijnland β dating from a 1255 charter β is the oldest water board in the Netherlands and a root of Dutch water democracy.SrcDutch Water Authorities
FILE 029SpaceπͺShare72,000 feetOlympus Mons on Mars rises about 72,000 feet (21.9 km) β roughly 2.5Γ Mount Everest β the solar system's tallest volcano.SrcNASA/ASU THEMIS β Mars Odyssey
FILE 030MummiesπSharemillions of animalsAncient Egyptians mummified millions of animals β cats, ibises, crocodiles, baboons and more β as votive offerings; Manchester's Animal Bio Bank studies them non-invasively worldwide.SrcUniversity of Manchester β Ancient Egyptian Animal Bio Bank
FILE 031Dinoπ¦΄Sharepermineralization and mineral replacementMost dinosaur βbonesβ on display are fossils formed by permineralization and mineral replacement β original bone pores and tissue swapped or infilled by silica and other minerals.SrcU.S. National Park Service
FILE 032BodySharered blood cellsThe spleen filters blood in its red pulp β trapping and recycling aging or damaged red blood cells.SrcNCBI StatPearls β Physiology, Spleen
FILE 033WeirdShare23 times better than airAt about 20Β°C, liquid water conducts heat roughly 23 times better than air.SrcEngineering Toolbox
FILE 034AnimalsπShareelephant skulls and ivoryAfrican elephants show intense interest in the remains of their own kind β touching elephant skulls and ivory far more than other objects.SrcBiology Letters (McComb et al., 2006)
FILE 035Snakesπ¦΄Share100β400 vertebraeA snake's spine can hold 100β400 vertebrae β plus up to about 200 more in the tail β far more than a human's 33.SrcNatural History Museum (London)
FILE 036Insectsπͺ³Shareweeks without its headA cockroach can survive weeks without its head β it breathes through body spiracles and eventually dies of thirst, not brain loss.SrcScientific American
FILE 037OceanπShareedit their own RNAOctopuses can edit their own RNA in response to temperature β massively recoding neural proteins as the water warms or cools.SrcCell (Birk et al., 2023)
FILE 038Hidden Gemsπͺπ¬ShareSenetAncient Egyptians played Senet β a board of three rows of ten squares β from the Predynastic Period through at least the Late Period.SrcMetropolitan Museum of Art
FILE 039SpaceπͺSharelakes of liquid methaneSaturn's moon Titan has stable lakes of liquid methane β the only world besides Earth known to have standing surface liquids.SrcNASA Science β Cassini Titan Lakes
FILE 040Mummiesπ΅πͺShareconsulted in ceremoniesInca communities kept ancestor mummies (mallki) as active kin β periodically offered food and drink and consulted in ceremonies as if still living.SrcWorld History Encyclopedia