Stupid Facts - Life and the Universe

• Due to Plate Tectonics, Europe and North America are drifting apart at the same speed a human finger nail grows.

• A human finger nail grows approximately 2 yards in a lifetime.

• The distance from the surface of the Earth to its core is 3,959 miles.

• Coral reefs constitute less than 1% of the oceans' space, but are home to about 25% of the oceans' fish.

• DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid.

• The genes of any two people are 99.9% the same.

• There is nearly 6 feet of DNA in every human cell.

• DNA was discovered in 1869 by Johan Friederich Miescher.

• The Flamingo gets its pink color from food high in alpha and beta-carotene.

• The Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the deepest part of the oceans at 11,033 meters (36,201 feet) below sea level.

• The scientific name for two different color eyes in the same individual is heterochromia iridium.
  (see Heredity of Eye Color)

• Steve Martin has hosted Saturday Night Live more than anyone else at 13 times.

• Missouri and Tennessee are both bordered by 8 states.
  (see United States)

• The scientific term for nose-picking is rhinotillexonamia.
  (see Don't Pick Your Nose and Another Reason Not to Pick Your Nose)

• The spice Coriander is the dried fruit of the cilantro plant.

• The West Edmonton Mall is the World's largest mall at 5.3 million square feet (493,000 sq. meters).

• There is a 55-foot high statue of the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth, MN.

• The equator passes through 13 countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati.

• There is methane in the atmosphere of Uranus.
  (see The Solar System)

• Cats sleep between 14 and 16 hours a day.