It is estimated that the Earth
is 4,600,000,000 years old
(approximately). The first
evidence of life on earth occurs
about 3,200,000,000 years
ago.
1
46 of the World’s 6809 living
languages are known to have
just one native speaker.
2
Tsunami (tidal waves) can
travel at speeds of up to 373
miles per hour in the open
ocean.
3
The deepest point on the
surface of the earth occurs in
Challenger Deep (11,034m)
which is at the bottom of the
Marianas Trench in the
Western Pacific.
4
If an excavator could dig a
hole through the earth at a rate
of 1 metre per minute, it
would take 24 years to reach
the other side (12,742km)!!
5
The UK bumble bee population
has declined by 95% since
1960.
6
A kilogram of blueberries
imported by plane from New
Zealand produces the same
quantity of CO2 emissions as
boiling a kettle 268 times!
7
Mauna Kea, a volcanic
mountain on the Pacific
Ocean is 11,203m tall. That
is over 1000 metres taller than
Mount Everest.
8
Since 1940 190,000 miles of
hedgerows have been dug up
in Britain.
9
In 2003 54% of the 3,700,000
population of Eritrea rely on
foreign food aid to survive.
10
A typical North Sea oil rig
extracts enough oil in one day
to fill 70,000 cars with petrol.
11
3.2 milli0n tons of household
packaging waste is generated
each year.
12
A Tanzanian would have to
work for 500 hours to pay for
tuberculosis treatment, a
Swiss person just 90 minutes.
13
The average temperature at the
South Pole is -49°C. That is
about 5 times colder than the
inside of a freezer!
14
Tropical rainforests occupy
about 6% of the land on Earth
but are inhabited by about
50% of all Earth plants and
animals.
15
The Dover Straits is the
busiest stretch of water in the
world with over 400 ships per
day passing through it. Over
2000 shipwrecks are there!
16
The Sun’s heat removes 875
cubic kilometres of water from
the oceans every day.
17
The longest glacier in the
world is the Lambert-Fisher
Ice Passage in Antarctica with
a length of 320 miles!
18
An area of rainforest the size
of a football pitch is destroyed
every second!
19
If all the ice in Greenland and
Antarctica melted, global sea
levels would rise by 66
metres!
20
Annual spend per person on
health:
Canada $2,534
Mali
$1
21
Nine of the world’s ten tallest
peaks are in the Himalayas.
22
Europeans eat approximately
30 billion bananas every
year.
23
Global sea levels have risen by
10 – 25 cm over the past 100
years, the same amount as
that which occurred in the
previous 2000 years.
24
The most common starting
letter for capital cities is B.
How many can you name?
25
The biggest sand dunes in the
world are 200 metres high
and about 900 metres long.
26
Mount Everest grows by about
1m in height every 1000
years!
27
Angel Falls in Venezuela is
the highest waterfall in the
world with a height of 979
metres!
28
The River Amazon carries
20% of all river water on
earth. It would fill 53
Olympic sized swimming
pools every minute!
29
The centre of the earth is hot about 4,500°C.
31
Oymyakon in Siberia is the
coldest inhabited place on
earth. Temperatures can reach
-69°C!
32
Tornadoes can produce wind
speeds of up to 450km per
hour.
33
There are 0.000004 parts per
million of gold in the oceans!
34
10% of all land on earth is
covered by ice.
35
Every minute, lightning
strikes the earth 6000 times.
30
The biggest snowflake to fall
was measured at 20 cm in
diameter!
36
Volcanoes are named after
Vulcan, the Roman God of
Fire.
37
You grow 30 metres of hair
every day during your
lifetime.
38
Beneath the crust of the earth
is a soft mantle made up of
hot, partially molten rock.
39
There are over 30,000 different
species of spiders in the world.
40
Europe and North America are
moving apart at the rate of a
few centimetres every year.
41
The lowest point on the surface
of the earth is 400 metres
below sea level.
42
When Mt. Pelée in the
Caribbean erupted in 1902,
28,000 people were killed and
only 2 survived. One was a
convicted criminal locked n a
windowless cell.
43
According to Japanese legend, earthquakes
are caused by a giant catfish called the
Namazu which lives beneath the earth. The
catfish is restrained by a mighty magical
hood, held down by the Kashima, a Japanese
God. Whenever the Kashima relaxes his
guard, the Namazu thrashes about and
creates an earthquake.
44
Africa lies 9,600km away
from South America, but they
were once joined together.
45
A volcanic suit can protect
someone from temperatures of
900°C.
46
Aristotle, the great philosopher
and scientist believed that the
earth had grown like a living
thing to its present size.
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