The peregrine falcon is one of the fastest creatures in the world thanks to its amazing dive speeds which have been recorded as high as 200 mph. Their level flight speed of around 40-50 mph is also extremely fast with very few bird species being able to match them.
Peregrine falcons have a length of around 40-50cm, a wingspan of around 80-120cm and weigh in at around 1kg which means they’re not the largest of birds (the females are slightly larger and more powerful). Now despite being of average size they’re still extremely effective as predators making most small birds and even mammals like bats, rats and rabbits their prey.
Historically falcons have been recognised for their grandeur and expert flying abilities. Many ancient civilisations used them for hunting, sporting activities and the Egyptians even recognised their Sky God (Horus) as a half peregrine falcon half man creation.
Despite a great past these awesome birds did have some problems with DDT pesticides during the 60s and 70s. The DDT which is now band in farming was affecting the thickness of their egg shells making them so weak that an incubating adult would crush and destroy their own egg. Despite these problems falcon populations have recovered their numbers and are now considered stable.
The emperor penguin who weighs in at an almighty 90lbs and stands at an average height of 4 foot are not only one of the heaviest bird species on the planet but has an amazing life span of around 50+ years. Most other penguin species have a life expectancy of only 10 years, so it’s mind boggling and not fully understood why the emperors live an extra 40 years.Â
The fun facts don’t stop there because the male emperor penguin is also the only bird that lives out the complete winter on the antarctic continent. It will serve out some of the coldest, harshest (-60 Degrees Celcius) weather seen anywhere on the planet, whilst at the same time incubating the females egg.
During this time the emperor penguin will fast, sometimes going without food for over 120 days. Once the female returns to nurture and feed the hatched egg, the male emperor finally gets a chance to head out and grab some munch.
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Did you know that the kangaroo is the only large animal that uses hopping as a form of movement. In fact the kangaroo hops so efficiently that it can easily hop at speeds of around 25mph for distances up to  2km and over short distances can hit speeds as high as 40-45mph.
Despite the kangaroo having such a fast and energy efficient hopping technique it unfortunately cannot walk in the conventional sense. Rather it uses its tail and fore limbs to help it pivot and almost crawl if it needs only move a few steps.
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) born in Italy was known as the universal man because of his many and varied talents. Many seem to remember him more for his paintings such as the Mona Lisa and the portrait of the last supper which was the focus of the the recent hit book and movie the Da Vinci Code, but he was more than that.
Leonardo was a paintor, sculptor, architect, engineer, inventor, scientist, scholar, anatomist, botanist and zoologist, all combined into a single personality. No wonder he was called ten men in one, try finding people like that today.
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Did you know that water can expand in volume by around 1/9th of its total composition. This means that when frozen it occupies more space than when in liquid form.
The above phenomena is very common in houses where water pipes burst over the winter due to ice forming in the pipes. The pipes which were once wide enough for water to go through are now too small when the ice forms.
The brittle nature of the metal when it feezes combined with the ice expanding causes them to crack. In fact the enormous power of frozen water is also used in quarries to loosen up huge blocks of rocks.
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The arctic ice is receding and global warming is no longer a theory but a reality. Scientists predict that by the year 2100, the average surface temperature will jump up by 6 degrees Fahrenheit. Nighttime temperatures will be higher and there will be hotter days.
Since air temperature is a powerful component of climate, there will be unavoidable climate changes in the future. Some climate changes involve extreme weather disturbances such as more severe hurricanes and longer droughts. There will be an increased precipitation of snow and rain during winter. The faster melting of snow during the spring will result in flooding. All these climate changes are predicted based on the assumption that changes will be relatively gradual.
Easter Island which is also known as Rapa Nui is located between Chile and Tahiti. Not only is it one of the most isolated islands in the world but it represents an example of mass extinction and deforestation not found anywhere else in the world.
The Easter Islanders are famous for their gigantic monoliths called Moai. These were constructed using indigenous island rock and are placed all over the island some facing the sea but the majority facing inland, suggesting some religious significance. Very little is known about the social dynamics of the people of Rapa Nui but in a very short period of time they destroyed themselves and the ecosystem they lived in.
The disappearance was inferred as abrupt and violent with the population unable to support themselves. No one knows the exact reason for their extinction but scientists beleive the mass deforestation which led to the eradication of every single tree species on the island would have been a key factor in this disappearance.Â
The loss of trees would have had a huge impact on soil erosion, birds would have lost their nesting grounds and with very little rainfall the soil would have become more and more hostile to the growth of plants and crops. With no wood the local population would have struggled to build boats for fishing and this caused a change in their diet. Chickens and rats became a more common part of their food stock and some hint at even cannabalism due to the prescence of human remains at cooking sites.
No one will ever know the real reason for the sudden demise of this civilisation but from a scientific perspective it just demonstrates the severe consequences that tampering with a lands natural ecosystem can cause.
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You’ve heard of night vision right ? but did you know of night blindness ? Yes that’s right night blindness is an illness which causes the affected to be completely blind in dim light and darkness. It’s caused by a dietary deficiency of vitamin A which causes the eye cells to dry out thus limiting their ability to adjust to light of differing intensities.
Other side effects include the skin becoming rough and scaly causing eruptions on the arms and legs. Teeth formation and general growth of the body is also affected and in severe cases the cornea of the eye becomes so dry and opaque that it leads to total blindness.
A person suffering from this illness must include green leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach), liver, butter, fruits, carrots, pumpkin, milk and fish in their diet to help combat the lack of vitamin A.Jeder Spieler casinospiele gratis in der Regel nur gegen das Kasino, unabhängig von den anderen Spielern.
A light year is the total distance travelled by a beam of light in one year. A beam of light can travel at up to 300,000 km/sec and the approximate distance covered in a year works out to be 9,470,000,000,000 km (1 light year = 9.47 x1012 km). So why did scientists create this new unit of measure ?
Well as you can imagine the universe is so vast that talking about the distances between stars and planets was just unmanagable with miles and kilometres. For this reason a standardised unit of measure which we call the light year was created.
Did you know that fish like the electric eel and the electric ray can produce high voltage electric shocks as high as 700 volts.  Although these electric shocks can only be discharged in short bursts they are extremely effective as both an attack and defense mechanism. To put things into perspective the electricity levels involved with an eel could protect it from most large predators such as anacondas and crocodiles, and may even be enough to kill a human.
So how on earth do they create electricity from within their own bodies. The answer lies in the presence of specialised cells called electrocytes. On average an electric eel might have around 7000 of these cells and with each cell being able to produce 0.1 volts of electricity you can quickly see where all that voltage comes from.
