| 3261/ Kilauea
on the Island of Hawaii is the world's most active volcano.
Geologists estimate that it could be up to 600,000 years old
with no known prolonged periods of quiesence.
3262/ The highest man-made climbing
wall in the world can be found at the foot of Mount Blanc,
the highest mountain in Europe at 4,807m (15,772 feet). The
site is the home of the Emosson Dam which was built in the
1960s; but which in 1996 had more than 600 holds and bolts
added to it in a mammoth effort which took over 600 man hours
to achieve. It would take a novice climber and their guide
at least four or five hours to complete the climb.
3263/ The pressure in the centre
of the Earth is three million atmospheres and the temperature
is 6,000 centigrade.
3264/ There is enough iron solidifying
from the molten fluid in the centre of the Earth to re-lay
the railways from London to Edinburgh every minute.
3265/ According to the Health
and Safety Executive there are on average 41 reported drownings
per year in the UK in public swimming baths.
3266/ The temperature in space
is calculated as 3 Kelvin (K). This is 270 degrees below the
freezing point of water (zero celsius) or just three degrees
above absolute zero (-273C). The temperature of 3K accounts
for the background radiation of space, coming from the planets
and stars.
3267/ The Sun heats all the planets
in the Solar System at 5,760K.
3268/ Of the 26 people present
at the opening of the tomb of Tatanhamun, only six perished
within ten years. Of the ten who had witnessed the unwrapping
of Tutanhamun's corpse, none died within that period.
3269/ Antimatter is the most
potent explosive in the universe: mix just one part matter,
one part antimatter and every kilogram of the mix will be
turned into 100 million billion joules of energy - three years
of output from a nuclear power station. Unfortunately, this
may be some time off. Using current technology, it would take
a decade to make a billionth of a gram of antimatter.
3270/ Melarsoprol, the most commonly
used drug for the treatment of African trypanosomiasis or
sleeping sickness, was introduced over 50 years ago. Thisarsenic
derivative causes severe pain upon intravenous injection and
actually kills up to 10 % of patients due to severe side effects.
3271/ The tsetse fly infests
36 African countries and a total of 9-10 million square kilometres
of land.
3272/ The UK Government raises
about £400 billion per year in taxes. And it spends
the equivalent of £6,500 each year for every man, woman
and child in the country.
3273/ When Alexander the Great
was campaigning in Asia, his army cost twenty talents a day,
the equivalent of half a ton of silver.
3274/ The US national debt more
than doubled in eight years under Ronald Reagan, generating
an annual interest bill of nearly $200 billion.
3275/ The official permitted
human population of the Galapagos Islands is 16,000, and people
inhabit three percent of the Islands - 11,000 on Santa Cruz
alone. Their presence pre-dates the declaration of the area
as a World Heritage Site and National Park. Due to people
slipping through the net unofficially, the real figure may
be much higher.
3276/ Halons are used in fire
extinguishers and contain carbon and the halogens fluorine,
chlorine, iodine and bromine. Halons are 40 times more destructive
to the ozone layer than CFCs.
3277/ In January 1993, Stanley
Williams, a Professor of Geology at Arizona State University,
led a one-day expedition onto the Galeras Volcano in Colombia.
While he was loitering at the edge of the crater, it suddenly
erupted - instantly killing six of his colleagues and four
tourists. Williams escaped with multiple fractures and a serious
head injury.
3278/ Whales annually feeding
in the Bering Sea rework at least 120 million cubic metres
of seabed sediment.
3279/ The Nazca Lines in Peru
became a World Heritage Site in 1995.
3280/ With the addition of the
new sites inscribed by the 29th session of the World Heritage
Committee, the World Heritage List now numbers 788 properties
including 611 cultural, 154 natural and 23 mixed properties
in 134 States Parties. You can find a list by country of World
Heritage Sites here - http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31
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