| 3281/ In Antarctica,
Lichens are the only abundant organism, with 200-300 species
found on the continent - they are able to withstand the effects
of a massively depleted ozone layer as well as tempetratures
down to -50C.
3282/ Following the Chernobyl
disaster, lichens in Europe accumulated levels of radioisotope
caesium that were 165 times higher than recorded before.
3283/ The Goltzschtal Railway
Bridge in Plauen, Germany was built in 1900 and is the worlds
longest stone bridge.
3284/ The largest organism in
the world is widely believed to be a fungus. Living mainly
underground among the entwined roots of trees in the Blue
Mountains of Oregon, Armillaria Ostoyae, or the 'honey mushroom'
covers 890 hectares (2,200 acres) - equivalent to about 1,200
football pitches.
3285/ In 1998, design student
Damini Kumar at South Bank University patented a teapot with
a special grooved spout, which she claims virtually rules
out dribbling.
3286/ The noise a whip makes
when it is cracked is as the result of a mini sonic boom.
3287/ The Titanic weighed about
45,000 tons.
3288/ Metal which is very high
in sulphur content becomes brittle in extreme cold. This is
now touted as a contributory factor in the sinking of the
Titanic, which was made of just such metal.
3289/ Uranium 236 is ten times
more radioactive than depleted uranium.
3290/ Thirty years ago, Tanzania
had a population of some 10,000 chimps. Today less than a
quarter of these survive in isolated pockets.
3291/ The worlds highest motorable
pass is the 5,385 metre high col of Khardong La in the Nubra
Valley in India.
3292/ Generally, if an athlete
has eaten plenty of carbohydrates (about 60 per cent of total
calories) and trained well, he or she will have enough glycogen
to power an hour of fairly intense exercise such as running.
After this, glycogen stores begin to dwindle, and after two
or three hours they are almost completely exhausted. This
is the infamous 'wall'.
3293/ Knowledge about how glycogen
powers the human body has given rise to the standard advice
to runners and other sports people to eat a high carbohydrate
meal three hours or so before exercise.
3294/ Where exercise lasts longer
than an hour people are strongly advised to consume carbohydrate
or sports drinks to delay the onset of the wall.
3295/ Anita Bean, author of 'The
Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition' explains what it is to
hit the wall as follows, 'Temporary hypoglycaemia (an abnormally
low blood sugar level) is common after two to three hours
exercise without consuming carbohydrates. In this state, you
would be very fatigued and light headed, your muscles would
feel heavy and exercise would seem very hard. The depletion
of muscle and liver glycogen would make you reduce exercise
intensity or stop'.
3296/ Psychologists have discovered
that facial traits such as symmetry, size and group 'averageness'
are all important in our selection of mates.
3297/ Left to their own devices
pearls grow naturally only once in every 20,000 oysters.
3298/ Only about 1 in every 15,000
pearls that are sold today are 'naturals' ie have grown without
human intervention.
3299/ A perfect cultivated black
pearl of about 18mm in diameter will cost upwards of $10,000.
Even today, cultivation by hand only has a 30% success rate
and takes about 2 years.
3300/ Astronauts on earth often
train in swimming pools in their spacesuits to simulate spacewalks
and test equipment. The suits typically weigh between 170
and 200kg, and the pressure inside it is 0.4kg. After two
or three hours work underwater, even the fittest astronaut
loses 4kg in body weight.
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