Did You Know #5

1. Jellyfish Are Older Than Dinosaurs

Jellyfish have been drifting in Earth’s oceans for over 500 million years, long before trees and dinosaurs, making them some of the planet’s oldest animals. Imagine God teaching an art class to angels about their ideas for life. Then one angel is all excited about their painting and God is like, “Look at that! What a nice… blob.”

2. Some Fish Can Change Gender

Clownfish and wrasses can switch sex during their lifetime. In a clownfish group, if the female dies, the dominant male transforms into a female.

3. The World’s Largest Living Organism Is a Fungus

The “honey fungus” in Oregon spans over 2,000 acres underground. The mushrooms you see are just the fruit; the real body is one connected network. Just to be clear, mushrooms are not a fruit.

4. Your Tongue Print Is Unique

Like fingerprints, tongues have distinct patterns of ridges and textures. Researchers have even explored tongue prints as a quirky biometric idea.

5. The Eiffel Tower Has an Apartment at the Top

Gustave Eiffel built a small private apartment near the summit. It’s still there today, furnished in late-1800s style and sometimes viewable on tours.

6. Shark Skeletons Are Cartilage, Not Bone

Sharks don’t have bony skeletons—their frames are cartilage. This sparked myths about cancer resistance, but sharks can and do get cancers.

7. Lightning Can Strike the Same Place Twice

Despite the saying, lightning often hits tall structures repeatedly. The Empire State Building is struck roughly a couple dozen times each year.

8. Octopus Blood Is Blue

Octopuses use a copper-based molecule (hemocyanin) to carry oxygen, which makes their blood appear blue instead of red like ours.

9. You Walk Farther Than You Think

Over a lifetime, the average person may walk around 75,000 miles—roughly three trips around Earth at the equator.


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