1001 Shocking Science Facts

210 Pages·2008·9.58 MB·english

by  Anne Rooney

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This edition published in 2008 by Arcturus Publishing Limited
26/27 Bickels Yard, 151–153 Bermondsey Street,
London SE1 3HA
Copyright © 2008 Arcturus Publishing Limited
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without written permission in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person or persons who do any
unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
ISBN: 978-1-84858-008-4
Printed in Singapore
Author: Anne Rooney
The right of Anne Rooney to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act, 1988.
The author can be contacted at [email protected]
Goblin illustrations by Steve Beaumont
Editor: Kate Overy
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Shocking Body Facts . . . . . . . . . .
9
Shocking Animal Facts . . . . . . . .
47
Shocking Creepy Creature Facts . .
75
Shocking Living World Facts . . . .
95
Shocking Planet Earth Facts . . . .
119
Shocking Space Facts . . . . . . . .
143
Shocking Technology Facts . . . . .
169
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Prepare to be zapped!
Electricity isn’t the only thing in science that’s shocking.Some scientists
experiment by digging around in rubbish dumps or poking through
things that come out of the wrong end of animals! Others chase big,
slithering worms that live inside your body or work with poisons so
deadly,a single bottle could kill everyone on earth...let’s hope they don’t
have gooey worm slime on their hands when they pick up the bottle!
There are even scientists who watch dead bodies rot or send messages
into space to try to talk to aliens for a living.It’s no wonder we think of
mad scientists and nutty professors – some of the things they get up to
are truly shocking!
Science helps us to explore the world and the universe around us and
it uncovers some pretty weird and wonderful stuff.But if you thought
scientists knew everything,think again – we don’t know what 97 per
cent of the universe is made of! That means there’s still plenty for you
to discover,so get your lab coat on…and get experimenting!
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Sports science
Even extreme sports like surfing,snowboarding and skydiving are
fuelled by the power of science! Here are a few free skydiving facts
(not part of your 1001 total) to get your heart racing!
Skydivers fall through the sky at speeds of 190 kilometres (120 miles)
per hour! It’s the force of gravity that pulls them back down to Earth.
As a skydiver falls,super-fast wind is slowed as it enters their airways
to help them breathe.Oxygen is also absorbed through their skin.
Scientists developed a vertical wind tunnel that blows air upwards at
huge speeds so that skydivers can have their fun indoors!
A formula for fun
Science really is amazing! Did you know there’s a tree that cuts its
own branches off? And a type of male fish that lives inside its female
mate? Or that the land mammal with the most teeth doesn’t actually
use any of them? Do you know how long a lightning bolt is? How fast
raindrops fall? Or which plant can live for 10,000 years?
No? Well,you’re about to find out!
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Don’t do anything shocking…
If your hair is standing on end with excitement after reading all
the electrifying facts in this book,you might feel inspired to try
some experiments of your own! A word of advice…stick to
things like using laughter to combat your allergies,or keeping a
record of whether you’ve eaten a car’s weight in food in a year!
Leave the truly shocking tests like drinking your own vomit to
all the mad scientists out there…
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