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Science Facts
Science facts and facts about sciences.
80 facts on this shelf
Sadness May Encourage More Extravagance
A new study (2/08) suggests that sadness leads to shopping.
According to the study that will be published in the June 2008 number of Psychological Science, sadness leads to ego-centrist thinking. In other words, a sad person tends to transform into a shopaholic, willing to spend extra money on the same item than neutral-emotion people would buy for a lot less.
“It is the combination of sadness and self-focus that drives the effect, and it turns out that sadness leads to an increase in self-focus,” said Cynthia Cryder, co-author to the study, AFP quotes. “What we think is going on is that sad and self-focused people are feeling pretty bad about themselves and have a decreased valuation, and one way to do this is by acquiring material goods.”
Oh yeah, it also says this therapy does not work. If you’re sad and feel like shopping, don’t!
Who invented pasteurization?
French scientist Louis Pasteur developed pasteurization in the 1860s, which kills harmful microbes by heating liquids like milk and wine.
What ship was named after the Beagle?
HMS Beagle, the ship that carried Charles Darwin on the voyage that inspired his theory of evolution, was named after the Beagle dog breed.
Which cat breed was used for the first cat genome sequencing?
The first cat genome ever sequenced, published in 2007, came from an Abyssinian named Cinnamon, which made the breed an important part of feline genetics research.
Who developed the Bengal cat?
Breeder Jean Mill is credited with developing the Bengal, using hybrid cats from research by Dr. Willard Centerwall, who was studying leopard cats' resistance to feline leukemia.
What does a lion's mane say about it?
A darker lion mane is linked to higher testosterone and better health, and research found that female lions tend to prefer males with darker manes.
Why are pandas black and white?
Research suggests the panda's black-and-white coloring helps it blend into both snowy and shady forest habitats, while its dark eye patches may help pandas recognize each other.
Which shark lives the longest?
The Greenland shark is the longest-living vertebrate known. A 2016 study estimated one was at least 272 years old and possibly close to 400.
How long can whales live?
Bowhead whales can live more than 200 years. Some have been found with old harpoon tips from the 1800s still lodged in their bodies.
How strong are chimpanzees compared with humans?
Chimpanzees are stronger than humans, but not superhero-level. A 2017 study found their muscles are about 1.35 times as powerful as ours, much less than the "five times stronger" myth.
How long will the astronauts' footprints last on the Moon?
Because the Moon has no wind or water to erode them, the footprints left by Apollo astronauts could last for millions of years.
What does "Renaissance" mean?
"Renaissance" means "rebirth" in French and refers to the revival of art, science, and classical learning that began in Florence, Italy, in the 1300s.
How did scientists find a hidden space inside the Great Pyramid?
In 2017, scientists used cosmic-ray particles called muons to detect a large hidden void inside the Great Pyramid that no one had known about.
Why was the Wright Flyer displayed in London for years?
Because of a feud with the Smithsonian over who deserved credit for the first airplane, Orville Wright sent the Wright Flyer to the Science Museum in London. It didn't return to the US until 1948.
How much did the first lab-grown burger cost?
The first lab-grown beef burger, unveiled in London in 2013 by scientist Mark Post, cost about $330,000 to produce.
Who invented chicken nuggets?
Chicken nuggets were invented in the 1950s by Robert C. Baker, a food science professor at Cornell University.
What is the scientific name for brain freeze?
The scientific name for brain freeze is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia.
Is white chocolate really chocolate?
White chocolate contains no cocoa solids.
What makes ramen noodles springy and yellow?
Ramen noodles get their springy texture and yellow color from kansui, an alkaline mineral water.
Does a compass point to the North Pole?
A compass points to the magnetic north pole, not the geographic North Pole, and the magnetic pole is slowly drifting toward Siberia.
Has Earth's magnetic field ever flipped?
Earth's magnetic field has flipped many times. The last full reversal happened about 780,000 years ago, when a compass would have pointed south.
How did steam engines lead to thermodynamics?
French engineer Sadi Carnot's 1824 study of how efficient steam engines could be helped launch the science of thermodynamics.
When did tungsten filaments replace carbon?
Tungsten filaments replaced carbon in light bulbs in the early 1900s, and GE scientist William Coolidge made them practical in 1910.
Who proved radio waves exist?
German physicist Heinrich Hertz proved that radio waves exist in the late 1880s, and the unit of frequency, the hertz, is named after him.
Why do golf balls have dimples?
Golf balls have dimples to reduce drag and help them fly farther.
What is "The Knowledge"?
London's black cab drivers must pass "The Knowledge," a test of about 25,000 streets, and studies found it physically enlarges part of their brain's memory center.
Was the science on "The Big Bang Theory" accurate?
UCLA physicist David Saltzberg was a science consultant on "The Big Bang Theory" and checked the equations on the show's whiteboards.
Does Mayim Bialik have a PhD?
Mayim Bialik, who played Amy on "The Big Bang Theory," has a real PhD in neuroscience.
Did Stephen Hawking appear on "The Big Bang Theory"?
Stephen Hawking guest-starred as himself on "The Big Bang Theory."
Are bananas radioactive?
Bananas are very slightly radioactive because they contain potassium-40, and scientists sometimes jokingly use the "banana equivalent dose" to explain tiny radiation exposures.
Why do apples float?
Apples float in water because about 25% of their volume is air.
What gives orange peel its smell?
Orange peels get their scent from an oil called limonene.
What happens when you microwave a grape?
Cutting a grape almost in half and microwaving it can create a glowing ball of plasma.
Why does fresh pineapple make your tongue tingle?
Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that digests protein, which is why it makes your tongue tingle and keeps gelatin from setting.
What makes blueberries blue?
Blueberries get their color from anthocyanins.
Can a lemon power a battery?
A lemon can power a simple battery.
Can lemon juice be used as invisible ink?
Lemon juice can be used as invisible ink.
How acidic is lemon juice?
Lemon juice has a pH of about 2.
Why is helium rare on Earth?
Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but it's rare on Earth because it's so light that it escapes the atmosphere into space.
What is the most abundant element in Earth's crust?
Oxygen is the most abundant element in Earth's crust, making up about 46% of its mass.
What is Earth's core made of?
Earth's core is made mostly of iron.
What is the most common element on Earth by mass?
Iron is the most common element on Earth by mass.
What did Saint Nicholas look like?
A 2018 facial reconstruction suggested that Saint Nicholas had a broken nose.
What is the Anna Karenina principle?
The "Anna Karenina principle," used in science, is named after the opening line of Tolstoy's novel.
Did Poe predict ideas about the universe?
Edgar Allan Poe's essay "Eureka" included ideas about the universe that resemble later scientific theories.
When was a giant squid first filmed?
A live giant squid was photographed in the wild for the first time in 2004 and filmed in 2012.
When was a colossal squid first filmed?
A colossal squid was filmed alive in the wild for the first time in 2025.
What makes tomatoes red?
Tomatoes get their red color from lycopene.
Why do onions make you cry?
Cutting an onion releases a gas that irritates your eyes and makes them water.
Who invented the Scoville scale?
Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville created the Scoville scale in 1912 to measure how spicy peppers are.
Does milk help with spicy food?
Milk helps relieve the burn from spicy food.
How hot are bell peppers?
Bell peppers have a Scoville rating of zero.
Why does crushed garlic smell stronger?
Crushing garlic creates allicin, which gives garlic its strong smell.
Why does garlic breath last so long?
Garlic breath lasts because garlic compounds are released through your lungs and skin.
Can spinach detect explosives?
MIT engineers modified spinach to detect explosives in groundwater in 2016.
Why does spinach make your teeth feel gritty?
Spinach can make teeth feel gritty because of its oxalic acid.
What caused striped tulips?
The famous striped "broken" tulips of tulip mania were caused by a virus.
How are carnations dyed?
Carnations can be dyed by putting their stems in colored water.
What is the lotus effect?
Lotus leaves have a "lotus effect," a surface that repels water and cleans itself.
Do chrysanthemums clean the air?
A NASA study found that chrysanthemums can remove some pollutants from indoor air.
Is Magic: The Gathering Turing complete?
A 2019 study proved that Magic: The Gathering is Turing complete, meaning it can simulate any computer program.
What did Newton do during the plague?
While Cambridge University was closed during the plague in 1665 and 1666, Isaac Newton made major discoveries in calculus, optics, and gravity.
Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and she's the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences, physics and chemistry.
Did Aristotle know the Earth was round?
Aristotle argued that Earth is round, pointing to its curved shadow on the Moon during lunar eclipses.
Are Ramanujan's formulas used today?
Ramanujan's formulas for pi are used in computer algorithms.
What was Ada Lovelace's Note G?
In her famous "Note G," Ada Lovelace wrote a step-by-step method for calculating Bernoulli numbers on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.
What is Ada Lovelace Day?
Ada Lovelace Day celebrates women in science and technology.
What was "poetical science"?
Ada Lovelace described her approach as "poetical science."
Did the Three Gorges Dam slow Earth's rotation?
NASA calculated that the water held by the Three Gorges Dam lengthened Earth's day by about 0.06 microseconds.
How did the Moon form?
Scientists think the Moon formed from debris after a Mars-sized object crashed into the young Earth.
Did the movie "Interstellar" contribute to science?
The black hole visuals created for the movie "Interstellar" led to a published scientific paper.
What is a Turing machine?
A Turing machine is a theoretical model of computing described by Alan Turing in 1936, and it laid the foundation for computer science.
Who first measured the size of Earth?
Greek scholar Eratosthenes estimated Earth's circumference around 240 BC with remarkable accuracy.
Who invented the first seismoscope?
Chinese scientist Zhang Heng invented the first known seismoscope in 132 AD.
How clear is Crater Lake's water?
Crater Lake is famous for its clear water, and in 1997 scientists could see a measuring disk about 142 feet down.
Do scientists know how general anesthesia works?
Scientists still don't fully understand exactly how general anesthesia makes people unconscious.
What are Koch's postulates?
Koch's postulates are rules for proving that a specific germ causes a specific disease.
How did germ theory change medicine?
Germ theory showed that many diseases are caused by microorganisms.
Who discovered the structure of DNA?
James Watson and Francis Crick described DNA's double helix structure in 1953, using X-ray data from Rosalind Franklin.