The next time you are tempted to complain about the price of a gallon of milk or even the cost of a new car, take a moment to give thanks that you […]
Forget Real Estate — Here is Where the Big Investment Is
No One is Worthless. Everyone is Worth at Least $160
If you have ever heard someone described as “worthless,” you would do well to remember that no one truly qualifies as such. Setting aside the value of life and what a person […]
Stretching a Teaspoonful
A teaspoon of water may not seem like much, but if you take the 167,300,000,000,000,000,000,000 water molecules and lay them out in single file, you will have a very skinny line of […]
Why Barbers Will Never Be Out of Business
If you are average you will grow 590 miles of hair in your lifetime. Source
The Size of Smallness
If you have a hard time telling the difference between kilometers, meters, and centimeters, you are really going to struggle with nanometers. At one-billionth of a meter, the nanometer is used to […]
500 Miles and 500 More… No Sweat for an Astronaut
The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the earth at a relative speed of 7.66 kilometers per second, allowing it to circle the earth in 90 minutes. The 1988 song “500 Miles” by […]
Consider All the Empty Space Out There
As documented here, all of the people on planet earth could be relocated comfortably to any one of several U.S. states. What if you wanted to fit everyone into an even smaller […]
Fast Times at Electron High
Ever wonder just how fast electrons are buzzing around in the orbits of atoms? There are a lot of variables that come into play, but if we keep it as simple as […]
Need a Hand? They Have Plenty to Spare
Afflicted with a condition called macrodactyly, Lui Hua of Jiangsu, China had one of the largest hands on record. His left thumb was 10.5 inches (26 cm); his index finger was 12 […]
Major Metric Malfunction Means Missed Mars Mission and Millions of Moolah
Hopes were high when the Mars Climate Orbiter launched from Cape Canaveral on December 11, 1998. The robotic space probe was designed to study the climate, atmosphere, and surface changes of Mars […]
A Diamond of a Discovery
Strangely reminiscent of the Planet Midnight in the BBC television program Doctor Who, this real life diamond planet orbits a star in the constellation Cancer. Composed largely of carbon, the surface temperature of […]
How Much is Googol?
A googol is 10100 or 1, followed by 100 zeroes. In contrast, a googolplex is 10googol or 10(10100) or 1, followed by 10100 zeroes.To write out googolplex, be prepared to invest some […]
A Story About Many Stories
The Burj Khalifa (Khalifa Tower) in Dubai officially opened on January 4, 2010. It currently holds the record as the tallest man-made structure.
Time Waits for No Man … But Don’t Underestimate Illinois Politics
Baseball is one sporting event that doesn’t use a clock to regulate the length of its games. Ironically, it was a clock that was very much at the heart of one of […]
Mouth-watering Aquatics
In your lifetime you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools. An average human produces between 1 to 2 liters of saliva each day, which is a maximum of 730 […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 