Stranger than fiction: 4 wacky science facts that you will find hard to believe
Science as a subject keeps developing and growing as time passes by. From new discoveries to unprecedented technological innovations, new information is constantly being added to our knowledge bank. It is hard to not be amazed by wacky science facts that are apparently stranger than fiction. But trust us, they are for real! Here are five wild scientific facts that you will find hard to believe.
The human stomach is capable of dissolving a razor blade
You might have flinched as you read that, but it’s true. The human body is more capable than you might assume it to be. The stomach is filled with different sorts of acids which are ranked on a scale of 0-14. Here, 0 denotes the lowest pH level while 14 denotes the highest. The lower the pH level, the stronger is the acid while the higher the pH level, the weaker is the acid. The acid in the human stomach is very potent, generally at a 1.0-2.0 pH. In an experiment, scientists immersed a single-edged blade in stomach acid. To their amazement, it took only 2 hours for it to be completely dissolved!
Clouds can potentially way up to a million pounds
As a child, did you ever look up in the sky and imagine what it would feel like to be floating on those fluffy, marshmallow-looking clouds? Well, don’t be fooled by what you see. According to scientists, a single average cumulus cloud can be as heavy as a million pounds. To put that into perspective, a cloud can be as heavy as the world’s largest jet, that too, filled with passengers and cargo! The weight comes from the moisture and water-content that clouds hold.
Trees on earth outnumber stars in the Milky Way
Everyone has the experience of looking straight into the infinity when they gaze at the night sky. How many times have you tried counting stars and given up because it seems like it’s an impossible task to accomplish? Well, you may not have considered this, but trying to count the number of trees on our plant is even harder. This is because trees on our planet outnumber the stars in our galaxy. NASA estimates that there are 100 billion-400 billion stars in the Milky Way. However, a research paper published in the journal Nature estimates that there exist close to 3.04 trillion trees!
Not just snakes, even humans have to capability to produce venom
Evolution is an incredibly interesting phenomenon. As of now, humans cannot really produce venom like snakes. However, technically speaking, it is possible. According to scientists, humans possess the required tools for it. But we have not yet evolved enough to do so. An article published in a popular science journal named Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that it is possible to produce venom for all mammals and reptiles.