Braindrops from
The Franklin Institute


Learn more about your brain and how to take care of it

11/21/08 - Most experts agree the single most effective practice to prevent the spread of germs is good hand washing. The U.S. Center for Disease control estimates 40% of foodborne illness results from poor hand washing practices.

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11/20/08
The zenith is the point on the celestial sphere directly above the observer.
11/19/08
Did you know that in one acre of land there can be more than one million earthworms?
11/18/08
There are four major classifications of hazardous materials. Corrosive materials can dissolve or wear away materials and most can harm skin and eyes. Flammable materials pose a threat of fire if stored improperly. Explosive or reactive materials can explode when combined with other substances. Toxic materials, in sufficient quantities, pose a hazard to human health.
11/17/08
Apples have five seed pockets or carpels. The number of seeds per carpel is determined by the health and heartiness of the plant. Different varieties of apples will also contain different number of seeds.
11/16/08
Chorology is the study and description of regions, also known as regional geography.
11/15/08
The cornea is the dome-shaped covering of the front of the eye; it provides about two thirds of the eye's focusing power.
11/14/08
An asterism is a star pattern, but not a constellation. An asterism may be composed of stars from one or more constellations. One of the best known asterisms is the Big Dipper as a part of the constellation Ursa Major.
11/13/08
Seattle's Space Needle sways approximately 1 inch for every 10 mph of wind. It was built to withstand a wind velocity of 200 miles per hour, doubling the 1962 building code requirements.
11/12/08
Giant pandas' black and white fur makes them easy to see in dense bamboo forests; it may also help them to find each other during the brief breeding season.
11/11/08
Some plants don't produce flowers and seeds. Plants such as ferns and mosses are called nonflowering plants and produce spores instead of seeds.
11/10/08
When a bee stings, it loses the entire injection apparatus or stinger, and actually dies in the process. A wasp can inflict multiple stings because it does not lose its stinger after it stings.
11/09/08
The phalanges are the small bones that make up the skeleton of the fingers, thumb, and toes. Each finger and smaller toe has three phalanges; the thumb and big toe each have two.
11/08/08
The first two modules of the International Space Station were launched and joined together in orbit in 1998. The first crew arrived in 2000.
11/07/08
Did you know that the state of Nevada produces more gold than any other state?
11/06/08
Fingernails require 3 to 6 months to regrow completely, and toenails require 12 to 18 months.
11/05/08
Koalas almost never need to drink; they get most of their water from the eucalyptus leaves they eat.
11/04/08
A uniform date for choosing presidential Electors was instituted by Congress in 1845.
11/03/08
Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbita family, which includes squash and cucumbers.
11/02/08
According to MyPyramid.gov, vegetables are organized into five subgroups, based on their nutrient content. They are: dark green vegetables (for example, broccoli and spinach), orange vegetables (ex: carrots and pumpkin), dry beans and peas, starchy vegetables (ex: corn and potatoes), and other vegetables (ex: artichoke and eggplant).
11/01/08
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite network originally developed and implemented by the U.S. military as a military navigation system.

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10/31/08
By age 30, inherited patterns for aging generally begin to show. Fine lines and wrinkles may begin to appear because cellular regeneration is slowing down.
10/30/08
A heart murmur is an extra, unexpected, or abnormal sound that is caused by the flow of blood through the heart. A murmur can be normal, or it can indicate the presence of a serious heart disease.
10/29/08
Jellyfish are older than sharks and dinosaurs, and have lived on Earth for over 650 million years.
10/28/08
Serology units in a forensic lab are used to identify and analyze bloodstains and other bodily fluids and to conduct DNA sequencing.
10/27/08
Plastic bags are typically made from oil, a non-renewable resource. Plastics are a by-product of the oil-refining process, accounting for about four percent of oil production around the globe.
10/26/08
Saturn's moon Titan received a visit from the Huygens probe in January 2005, making it the only moon aside from Earth's to receive a robotic surface visit from humans.
10/25/08
More amphibian species are under threat than any single animal group - about 31 percent of all known amphibians. Scientists believe that habitat loss and pollution are the major causes.
10/24/08
Sleep plays a significant role in brain development. Sleep is essential to maintaining normal levels of cognitive skills such as speech, memory, and innovative and flexible thinking.
10/23/08
The spleen acts as a filter for your blood, cleansing it of bacteria, viruses, and other debris. When blood flows through the spleen, white blood cells attack and remove any foreign invaders. It is possible to live without a spleen; most of its functions can be taken over by other organs. However, people without spleens are more vulnerable to infection.
10/22/08
In cold conditions, reptiles become sluggish and don't move around much. Some even enter a state of hibernation during extended periods of cold.
10/21/08
Sheets of calcite growths on cave walls and floor are called flowstones.
10/20/08
Today, most asteroids orbit the sun in a tightly packed belt located between Mars and Jupiter. The largest asteroid, Ceres, is about 590 miles (950 kilometers) wide.
10/19/08
Most common health problems are caused or worsened by stress, such as depression and anxiety, memory loss, trouble concentrating, and changes in appetite.
10/18/08
Pineapple and sugarcane are Hawaii's chief crops. Bananas, coffee beans, and macadamia nuts are also grown there.
10/17/08
Once they are reproductively mature, female sea turtles will typically return to the beach area from which they originally hatched to deposit their own eggs.
10/16/08
By the age of 12, an estimated 70% of children have developed the beginning stages of hardening of the arteries.
10/15/08
Home car washing can use two to three times more water than a commercial car wash. Also, since a commercial car wash is zoned for washing cars, the dirty, greasy, oily water goes into the sewers where it is treated and cleaned. When you wash your car at home, the grimy, soapy water full of chemicals goes right into the storm drain and can end up in a lake or ocean without being treated.
10/14/08
In order to produce one pound of honey, worker bees from a single hive will travel approximately 55,000 miles and make contact with about 2 million flowers.
10/13/08
The U S. Food and Drug Administration has grown from a single chemist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1862 to a staff of nearly 10,000 employees comprised of chemists, pharmacologists, physicians, microbiologists, veterinarians, pharmacists, lawyers, and many others.
10/12/08
Peninsulas are pieces of land that are surrounded by water on three sides, jutting out from a larger mass of land.
10/11/08
Psoriasis is a disease that causes an increase in skin cells on the outer layer of the skin. In a healthy person, skin cells mature and shed from the surface of the body about every 28 days; a person with psoriasis sheds skin cells every 3 to 4 days. The excess skin cells build up and form the skin lesions that are characteristic of psoriasis.
10/10/08
Stellar wind is the ejection of gas off the surface of a star. A star's wind is strongest near the end of its life, when it has consumed most of its fuel.
10/09/08
Purple sea urchins are highly sensitive to poor water quality. They are used as an "indicator species" in aquariums, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has used their spawning as an indicator of water quality in bays and shorelines.
10/08/08
The year 1974 currently holds the record for most reported tornadoes in a year: over 1,100. In April of that year, there was a "super outbreak" during which 148 tornadoes were reported over a span of 16 hours across 13 states.
10/07/08
Parkinson's disease is a progressive disorder caused by degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls movement.
10/06/08
The average adult takes about 9,000 steps per day.
10/05/08
Did you know that one nanometer is one-billionth of a meter?
10/04/08
Wolves live in family groups called packs. A pack usually consists of an adult male and female and their pups. The average size of a pack is 8 or 9 wolves.
10/03/08
Sandstone rocks are sedimentary rocks made from small grains of the minerals quartz and feldspar.
10/02/08
Sweetened condensed milk is a mixture of whole milk and sugar, 40 to 45 percent of which is sugar. The mixture is heated until about 60 percent of the water evaporates, making it very sweet and sticky. Unsweetened condensed milk is referred to as evaporated milk.
10/01/08
A chemical in the sap of poison ivy plants called urushiol causes the poison ivy rash. Only a tiny amount of this chemical--1 billionth of a gram--is enough to cause a rash in many people.
09/30/08
Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide. A block of dry ice has a surface temperature of -109.3 degrees Fahrenheit. As it breaks down, dry ice turns directly into carbon dioxide gas rather than a liquid.
09/29/08
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) last 10 times longer than a standard bulb and use at least two-thirds less energy.
09/28/08
The modern space suit, or Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) has a combination of soft and hard components to provide support, mobility, and comfort. The suit has 13 layers of material, including an inner cooling garment (two layers), pressure garment (two layers), thermal micrometeoroid garment (eight layers) and outer cover (one layer).
09/27/08
Singapore is made up of one main island and 63 small islets; its total area is 265 square miles (686 square kilometers).
09/26/08
Jungles protect land from erosion, generate rainfall by cooling the air above them, protect soils, prevent floods, and contribute to groundwater supplies.
09/25/08
Sailfish can change their colors almost instantly, from subdued browns and grays to vibrant purples and even silver.
09/24/08
Did you know that undiluted white vinegar kills 82 percent of mold strains?
09/23/08
King cobras can reach 18 feet (5.5 meters) in length, making them the longest of all venomous snakes.
09/22/08
The sympathetic nervous system controls bodily functions over which we have less control such as blushing, sweating, and pupil dilation.
09/21/08
There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave.
09/20/08
A soil survey is the systematic examination, description, classification, and mapping of soils in a specific area.
09/19/08
Hippos can store two days worth of grass in their stomachs and, if necessary, are able to go up to three weeks without eating.
09/18/08
The caruncle is a small, red portion at the corner of the eye that contains modified sebaceous and sweat glands.
09/17/08
The strawberry is a small plant of the Rosaceae (Rose) family. It grows both as a wild plant and as a cultivated plant.
09/16/08
In order for a landmass to qualify as a mountain, some geologists say it must include two or more climate zones and different types of plant life at different elevations.
09/15/08
Impetigo is a bacterial infection on the surface of the skin, and is seen most often on the hands and face.
09/14/08
The average person will produce 3,750 gallons of sweat in a lifetime.
09/13/08
Sharks constantly grow new rows of teeth. They are generally replaced every eight days.
09/12/08
Extra-virgin olive oil is the first pressing of whole unblemished olives done within a day of harvest.
09/11/08
Used aluminum beverage cans are the most recycled item in the United States, but other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car parts, storm window frames, and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
09/10/08
The giant clam is the largest mollusk on Earth, and can weigh more than 500 pounds. Giant clams live in the warm waters of the South Pacific and Indian oceans.
09/09/08
Gems and minerals are classified by physical properties, including luster, color, hardness, density, and magnetism.
09/08/08
Approximately 3 percent of the world's water is fresh water. Of that, only one third is available for human consumption.
09/07/08
In 2006, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet, which means it is not gravitationally dominant and shares orbital space with other celestial bodies of similar size. Pluto is about 30 percent smaller than Earth's moon.
09/06/08
Antioxidants are chemicals that prevent certain substances in the body from reacting with oxygen. When oxygen reacts with cholesterol in the blood, it helps it build up in arteries. Eating foods with lots of antioxidants could help prevent heart disease.
09/05/08
Canada geese are adaptable to many different habitats and can thrive wherever grasses, grains, or berries are available. When they migrate, the birds form impressive aerodynamic V-formations.
09/04/08
What does it mean to "eat green"? It means choosing organic foods when possible, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, and grains, and also trying to find locally produced foods that travel shorter distances from field to market to kitchen.
09/03/08
Madrid lies as far north as New York City, but its weather is mild most of the year due to its temperate Mediterranean climate.
09/02/08
Avocados act as a nutrient booster by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha- and beta-carotene, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.
09/01/08
About 50 percent of the corn grown in the United States is used to feed livestock.
08/32/08
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08/31/08
Commodore released the Amiga 1000 in 1985. It was originally designed as a successor to Atari, but evolved into both a game console and a home computer.
08/30/08
The brain stem, at the organ's base, controls reflexes and crucial, basic life functions such as heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
08/29/08
Astronaut Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and then command a space shuttle crew.
08/28/08
A lepidopterist is a person who catches, collects, or studies lepidopterans, members of an order comprised of butterflies, skippers, and moths.
08/27/08
In addition to being a volcano that is presently erupting, an active volcano is also one that has erupted within historical time and is considered likely to do so in the future.
08/26/08
An adult bladder can usually hold about a pint of fluid comfortably.
08/25/08
Hydropower is electricity generated using the energy of moving water. A typical hydro plant is a system with three parts: an electric plant where the electricity is produced; a dam that can be opened or closed to control water flow; and a reservoir where water can be stored.
08/24/08
A group of rhinos is sometimes called a "crash."
08/23/08
A place that receives less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain per year is considered a desert.
08/22/08
Gelotology is the study of humor and laughter, and its effects on the human body. It is also the psychological and physiological study of laughter.
08/21/08
Arthritis refers to inflammation of a joint. The inflammation may cause pain, swelling, stiffness, and damage.
08/20/08
Prescribed fire is wildland fire that is planned, ignited, and managed by professional fire managers. Managed fire is used to reduce wildfire risks and benefit natural resources by thinning overgrown vegetation.
08/19/08
A forensic chemist is a specialist in the analysis of drugs, dyes, paint samples, and other chemicals involved in crimes.
08/18/08
Line drying a single load of laundry saves approximately 2.6 kWh of electricity and prevents 3.35 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
08/17/08
Moth and butterfly wings are very delicate, and can easily rip or tear from the slightest touch.
08/16/08
Osteoporosis is the loss of bone density or thinning of the bones. People reach their peak bone mass by about age 30. After the age of 30, bone loss slowly begins to occur. If it becomes severe, this loss can lead to osteoporosis.
08/15/08
The first television remote control, originally developed around 1950, was wired to the television set with a cable about 20 feet long.
08/14/08
"Dinosaur" comes from the Greek words "deinos" (terrible) and "sauros" (lizard or reptile). British anatomist Richard Owen first used the term in 1842.
08/13/08
Did you know that each base is 90 feet apart in a Major League Baseball game?
08/12/08
Certain species of the poison dart frog are so deadly that only .000001 gram of their poison can kill a human.
08/11/08
The Perseid Meteor Shower takes place tomorrow, August 12. After the first-quarter moon sets around 2am, meteors should be more easily visible until dawn.
08/10/08
An astronomical unit (AU) is equivalent to approximately 150 million kilometers and is the scale that scientists use to measure distances across the universe.
08/09/08
Your body has approximately 300 million skin cells, and every minute you can shed up to 40,000 of them.
08/08/08
Clouds are not unique to Earth: on Venus, clouds are made of sulfuric acid, and Saturn's moon Titan has clouds made of liquid methane.
08/07/08
Climate is the average course of weather conditions for a certain location over a period of many years. Weather is the condition of the atmosphere over a short period of time.
08/06/08
Less than 3% of all bird species are active at night, and half of those are owls.
08/05/08
A blastocyst is a very early embryo. A spherical cell mass, the blastocyst contains a fluid-filled cavity, a cluster of cells called the inner cell mass (which subsequently forms the embryo) and an outer layer of cells called the trophoblast (that forms the placenta).
08/04/08
About ninety percent of all volcanic activity on Earth occurs in the oceans.
08/03/08
Did you know that "Moon" was Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr.'s mother's maiden name? Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon after Neil Armstrong.
08/02/08
Monotremes, one of the three classes of mammals that are the most primitive, have hair and produce milk, but they also lay eggs. The eggs are similar to reptile eggs, and hatch into tiny young that are not well developed. The young cling to the fur on the mother's belly and suck her milk, which comes from pores in the skin rather than from a nipple.
08/01/08
SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is a measure of UVB protection and ranges from 1 to 90. The actual SPF number is determined experimentally by exposing people to a light spectrum similar to noontime sun. Some people wear sunscreen and others don't. The amount of light that causes redness in sunscreen-protected skin, divided by the amount of light that causes redness in unprotected skin is the SPF.
07/31/08
Neurons are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information. Neurons are the core components of the brain, the vertebrate spinal cord, the invertebrate ventral nerve cord, and the peripheral nerves.
07/30/08
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow, such as air or water. Claude Burdin (1788-1873) coined the term during an 1828 engineering competition.
07/29/08
Ice cream was introduced to the United States by Quaker colonists who brought their ice cream recipes with them. Confectioners sold ice cream at their shops in New York and other cities during the colonial era. Ben Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson were known to have regularly eaten and served ice cream.
07/28/08
"Happy Birthday to You" is a traditional song that is sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, "Happy Birthday to You" is the most popular song in the English language.
07/27/08
Miranda is the smallest of Uranus' five major moons. It was discovered by Gerard Kuiper in 1948 and named after Shakespeare's character in "The Tempest."
07/26/08
Lampyridae is a family in the beetle order Coleoptera, members of which are commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or "glow worms" due to their nocturnal use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey.
07/25/08
Istanbul, Turkey is Europe's most populous city. It was previously known as Constantinople and Byzantium.
07/24/08
Jonas Salk was an American biologist and physician best known for the research and development of a killed-virus polio vaccine first introduced in 1954.
07/23/08
A solar flare is an explosion in a star's atmosphere, usually in the solar corona or chromosphere.
07/22/08
A sunburn is a burn to living tissue, such as skin, produced by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, commonly from the sun's rays.
07/21/08
The Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster in London is the world's biggest four-faced chiming clock. Within it you'll find the chiming bell known as Big Ben.
07/20/08
The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded in 1895 in Chicago, Illinois, and named for its founder, Ignaz Schwinn.
07/19/08
The world's first functional nuclear power plant was in Obninsk, USSR. It became operational on June 27, 1954.
07/18/08
Francis Scott Key, author of the lyrics to the U.S. National Anthem, was a lawyer and amateur poet.
07/17/08
The watermelon vine is believed to have originated in the Kalahari Desert of Africa.
07/16/08
The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science…"
07/15/08
The only American LEGOLAND is located in Carlsbad, California. It opened on March 20, 1999 and features amazing LEGO constructions including the magnificent Miniland, USA.
07/14/08
The muskrat is a semi-aquatic rodent native to North America. It uses its scent glands to mark its territory with a musky scent.
07/13/08
The Toyota Prius first went on sale in 1997 in Japan. Worldwide sales began in 2001.
07/12/08
Carnegie Mellon University was established in 1967 when the Carnegie Institute of Technology merged with the Mellon College of Science.
07/11/08
The vulture's excellent eyesight enables the bird to spot small animal carcasses up to four miles away!
07/10/08
A sidereal month is defined as the average time it takes the moon to make a full revolution around Earth in relation to fixed stars.
07/09/08
The coccyx is commonly referred to as the tailbone, and is the final segment of the human vertebral column.
07/08/08
Synesthesia is a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.
07/07/08
Balloons were initially made from dried animal bladders. It wasn't until the 19th century that the rubber balloon was invented.
07/06/08
In 1610, Galileo was the first astronomer to view Saturn's rings.
07/05/08
The first Internet browser developed for public use, Mosaic, debuted in 1993. It was officially discontinued in 1997.
07/04/08
Founded on July 4, 1776, with the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the United States of America celebrates its 232nd birthday this year.
07/03/08
The corpus callosum is the largest connective pathway in the human brain, allowing the right and left hemispheres to communicate and coordinate movement and thought.
07/02/08
The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way and the most distant object visible from the Earth with the naked eye. Andromeda has a diameter twice that of the Milky Way's.
07/01/08
July is National Ice Cream Month. In 2006, about 8% of the milk produced in the U.S. was used to make frozen dairy products.
06/30/08
In 1981, M&M'S Chocolate Candies were chosen by the first space shuttle astronauts to be included in their food supply. M&M'S Chocolate Candies are now on permanent display at the space food exhibit of the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
06/29/08
Fireflies (also called lightning bugs) have dedicated light organs, located under their abdomens. The insects take in oxygen and, inside special cells, combine it with a substance called luciferin to produce light. Firefly light is usually intermittent, and flashes in patterns that are unique to each species.
06/28/08
Did you know that "crayon" comes from the French word for pencil? (original: "chalk pencil")
06/27/08
During pregnancy, the uterus' muscular walls increase from two to three ounces to about two pounds; it is these powerful muscles that release the baby through the birth canal.
06/26/08
The planet Venus is similar to Earth in size and mass. A permanent blanket of clouds traps heat, creating surface temperatures that are hot enough to melt lead.
06/25/08
World fusion, also known as "global fusion" or "world beat," is a term for the many crosscultural musical collaborations that fuse Western pop with indigenous pop and folk traditions from around the world.
06/24/08
Mandarin Chinese is the world's most spoken primary language.
06/23/08
Bobcats, sometimes called wildcats, are roughly twice as big as the average housecat. North American populations are believed to be quite large, with perhaps as many as one million cats in the United States alone.
06/22/08
Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth's poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
06/21/08
The tibia is the inner and thicker of the two long bones in the lower leg. It is also called the shin bone.
06/20/08
The Sun's surface temperature measures nearly 6,000 degrees Celsius, but its atmosphere can heat up to several million degrees.
06/19/08
There are two types of grapes: tablegrapes, to be eaten raw, and winegrapes, used for the production of wine.
06/18/08
The Dwarf Lanternshark is the smallest known shark; it only grows to about 8 inches long.
06/17/08
Insects and spiders are invertebrates, which means they do not have an internal skeleton and backbone.
06/16/08
The human heart beats 100,000 times a day, 40 million times a year - in total, about three billion heartbeats over an average lifetime.
06/15/08
There is absolutely no oxygen contained in Mars' atmosphere. The atmosphere on Mars is 95 percent carbon dioxide, 3 percent nitrogen and 1.6 percent argon.
06/14/08
Paragliding came to exist through a series of parachute improvements for military purposes. The chutes were initially altered so that they could be towed by a vehicle and steered into the air.
06/13/08
Tyrannosaurus rex's 6-foot skull was full of holes. Scientists think the holes reduced the massive dinosaur's head weight and helped it to stay upright.
06/12/08
A prune is a dried plum. Prunes used to be dried on the tree and in the sun like raisins, but now they are dried in heated forced air tunnels.
06/11/08
The pink or reddish color of flamingos comes from the rich sources of carotenoid pigments in the algae and small crustaceans that the birds eat.
06/10/08
AIDS is triggered by a virus (HIV) acquired through direct contact with infected body fluids. The virus causes an immune deficiency by attacking a type of white blood cell that helps to fight infections.
06/09/08
The Internet has been the fastest-growing tool of communication. It took radio broadcasters 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million, television 13 years, and the Internet just 4 years once it became available to the general public.
06/08/08
The crust or outermost layer of the Earth ranges from about five miles (eight kilometers) thick beneath the oceans to an average of 25 miles (40 kilometers) thick beneath the continents.
06/07/08
When authenticating artwork, factors such as type of canvas, the wood and configuration of the stretcher bars, current condition of the paint, and surface varnish can all be clues to help establish age and location of a painting.
06/06/08
The Komodo dragon is a type of monitor lizard, an ancient species of reptile with ancestors that date back more than 100 million years.
06/05/08
The human brain is protected by the surrounding skull and three tough membranes called meninges. The spaces between these membranes are filled with fluid that cushions the brain and keeps it from being damaged by contact with the inside of the skull.
06/04/08
Arches National Park in Utah contains more than 2,000 natural arches--more than any other U.S. state.
06/03/08
The clementine is a cross product between a sweet orange and a Chinese mandarin.
06/02/08
An airburst is the explosion of an asteroidal meteorite which has entered the Earth's atmosphere before it reaches the ground.
06/01/08
Rain forests are ecosystems characterized by high annual precipitation and an abundance of many large trees, generally of very old age. Rain forests can be found in both tropical and temperate regions.
05/31/08
A parasite is an organism that depends on another organism, known as a host, for food and shelter.
05/30/08
Lions are the only cats that live in groups, or prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young.
05/29/08
Underinflated tires can waste up to five percent of a car's fuel.
05/28/08
Almost two-thirds of iron in the body is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to tissues.
05/27/08
May is National Bike Month. Did you know that the same laws apply to cyclists that apply to motorists and that cyclists should always ride on the right, traveling in the same direction as traffic?
05/26/08
Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May as a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.
05/25/08
New evidence presented in the May issue of the "Geological Society of America Bulletin" shows that the Grand Canyon may be far older than previously thought. A long-held belief asserts that the canyon was carved by the Colorado River about six million years ago. The new evidence, based on uranium-thorium-helium dating, claims that part of the canyon known as Upper Granite Gorge formed more than 55 million years ago.
05/24/08
Sea lions will frequently float in close proximity to each other in groups called rafts.
05/23/08
Most geologists classify a mountain as a landform that rises at least 1,000 feet (300 meters) or more above its surrounding area.
05/22/08
The average bathroom sink runs 1.5 gallons of water down the drain in a minute. So remember to turn off the water while you brush your teeth!
05/21/08
The largest body of lymphoid tissue in the human body is the spleen.
05/20/08
Coral reefs grow best in sunny, shallow, clear water.
05/19/08
Acid rain describes any form of precipitation with high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids. Most acid rain falls because of human activities; the biggest culprit is the burning of fossil fuels by coal-burning power plants, factories, and automobiles.
05/18/08
The didgeridoo (or yidaki) is the most recognizable instrument in Australian Aboriginal music. The didgeridoo is played as a kind of woodwind aerophone, producing a low frequency sound that can be sustained and heard over long distances.
05/17/08
African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins, and can be identified by their larger ears.
05/16/08
Jupiter's Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system, with a diameter of 3,280 miles (5,262 kilometers).
05/15/08
Because your lungs process air, they are the only internal organs that are constantly exposed to the external environment.
05/14/08
Fossilized dinosaur remains have been found all over the world, from the state of Kansas, to Argentina, to China.
05/13/08
There are three conditions that need to be present in order for a wildfire to burn, which firefighters refer to as the fire triangle: fuel, oxygen, and a heat source.
05/12/08
Did you know that vitamin A promotes growth and repair of body tissue, healthy eyes, good night vision, and a strong immune system?
05/11/08
Sapphires are well known among the general public as being blue, but can be nearly any color, even colorless.
05/10/08
The English Mastiff is one of the most massive and powerful dog breeds. It is considered to be the oldest breed of English dog.
05/09/08
The corona is the very hot outermost layer of a star's atmosphere. Our Sun's corona can only be seen during a total solar eclipse.
05/08/08
Aerodynamics is the study of forces and the resulting motion of objects through the air. The word comes from two Greek words: aerios, concerning the air, and dynamis, which means force.
05/07/08
A "Nowcast" is a short-term weather forecast for expected conditions in the next few hours.
05/06/08
Hard water refers to water that has a significant amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium ions. This water performs poorly with most soaps and detergents and leaves a scaly deposit in containers where it is heated or evaporates.
05/05/08
Your skin is alive. It is made of many layered thin sheets of flat, stacked cells in which you will find nerves, blood vessels, hair follicles, glands, and sensory receptors.
05/04/08
Bat wings contain bones similar to that of a four-fingered human hand. A thin, strong membrane spreads across these bones, connecting them to the bat's back and legs.
05/03/08
PDA is short for personal digital assistant. It is a handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax, Internet, and networking features.
05/02/08
Solar flares are violent eruptions of gas on the Sun's surface.
05/01/08
Polonium was discovered in 1898 by physicist Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre. They were looking for the source of radioactivity in a naturally occurring ore called pitchblende.
04/30/08
Approximately one third of the Earth's land surface is desert.
04/29/08
Olive cake is the solid phase that remains after pressing olives. It is also called pomace or sansa.
04/28/08
Qwerty is the most common modern-day keyboard layout on English-language computer and typewriter keyboards. It takes its name from the first six letters seen in the keyboard's top first row of letters.
04/27/08
Quicksand is actually solid ground that has been liquefied by a saturation of water. "Quick" derives from "quyk" which meant "living," which characterizes how the ground can appear to be alive as it easily shifts when in this semi-liquid state.
04/26/08
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower, are members of the cabbage family; they get their name from their four-petaled flowers, which look like a crucifer, or cross.
04/25/08
A female kangaroo is called a doe, flyer, jill, or roo; a male kangaroo is called a buck, boomer, jack, or old man.
04/24/08
Avalanches are most common during and in the 24 hours right after a storm that dumps 12 inches or more of fresh snow. These moving masses can reach speeds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) per hour within about five seconds.
04/23/08
Hydrocephalus is the buildup of too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. There are two kinds. Congenital hydrocephalus is present at birth; causes include genetic problems and problems with fetal development. Acquired hydrocephalus can occur at any age; causes can include head injuries, strokes, infections, tumors, and bleeding in the brain.
04/22/08
Aphelion is the point in its orbit where a planet is farthest from the Sun. Aphelion is the opposite of perihelion.
04/21/08
Today more than 3,700 cherry trees of several varieties grow around the Tidal Basin, at East Potomac Park, and on the Washington Monument Grounds in Washington, D.C. Most of the trees are the Yoshino variety, Japan's favorite cultivated cherry tree that was developed about 1870 and presented as a gift to the United States in 1912.
04/20/08
Airbags are gas-inflated cushions built into the steering wheel, dashboard, door, roof, or seat of your car that use a crash sensor to trigger a rapid expansion to protect you from the impact of an accident.
04/19/08
Mangabeys are some of the most rare and endangered monkeys on Earth. The large, forest-living monkeys are found only in Africa. Depending on the species or subspecies, mangabeys can be golden brown, gray, dark brown, or a soft black, usually with a lighter color on their underbellies.
04/18/08
The Saguaro Cactus grows very slowly at about an inch a year, but to great heights: 15 to 50 feet. The largest plants, with more than five arms, are estimated to be 200 years old.
04/17/08
Between 1908 and 1919, only two famous Americans were pictured on U.S. regular issue stamps: George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
04/16/08
"Googol" is the mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeros.
04/15/08
This is Awards Week at The Franklin Institute, celebrating the 2008 Award Laureates. The Franklin Institute Awards Program was launched in 1824 when the Institute began giving awards and premiums for superior products and inventions at the annual American Manufacturer's Exhibition.
04/14/08
Foods flown on space missions are researched and developed at the Space Food Systems Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston. Diets are designed to supply each astronaut with 100 percent of the daily value of vitamins and minerals necessary for the environment of space.
04/13/08
Spider silk is one of the strongest known natural fibers.
04/12/08
There are five basic types of dunes: crescentic, linear, star, dome, and parabolic. The most common dune form on Earth is the crescentic.
04/11/08
No one form of sign language is universal. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions. For example, British Sign Language (BSL) differs notably from American Sign Language (ASL).
04/10/08
A codicil is a separate document that adds to and/or replaces one or more provisions in an existing will.
04/09/08
Hafnium, an element undiscovered until 1923, is a shiny, silvery-white metal. It is always found with another chemical element, zirconium.
04/08/08
The lacrimal gland produces lubricating fluid for the eyes. Excess fluid drains through the tear ducts and into the nasal cavity. This is why an abundance of tears can cause the nose to run.
04/07/08
The goliath frog is the largest frog in the world, measuring up to 12.5 inches in body length and up to 7 lbs in weight! Goliath frogs are found in the rainforests at the equator of western Africa, near swift-moving rivers and waterfalls.
04/06/08
Fingernails grow about one tenth of an inch per month, approximately two times faster than toenails.
04/05/08
The United Nations uses six official languages in its intergovernmental meetings and documents: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
04/04/08
Nautical archaeology is the science of finding, collecting, preserving, and studying human objects that have become lost or buried under water.
04/03/08
Friction is a force that resists motion when the surface of one object slides over the surface of another.
04/02/08
One of the world's most dangerous animals is the mosquito. The mosquito accounts for 2 to 3 million deaths per year, primarily due to its role in spreading malaria.
04/01/08
Aerobic organisms require the presence of oxygen for growth, while anaerobic organisms do not require oxygen and sometimes cannot even tolerate the presence of oxygen.
03/31/08
Macaws are members of the parrot family, famous for their bright colors that actually blend in well with the green leaves, red and yellow fruits, and bluish shadows in the rain forest.
03/30/08
The epidermis is the outer layer of skin. It is thinnest on the eyelids and thickest on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
03/29/08
A "shooting star" is actually a meteor, and its glowing trail is caused by the incineration of a piece of celestial debris entering our atmosphere.
03/28/08
A lava tube is a tunnel below the surface of a solidified lava flow. It is formed when the exterior portions of the flow solidify and the molten internal material is drained away.
03/27/08
Iodine is the heaviest of the commonly occurring halogens. The element occurs primarily in seawater and in solids formed when seawater evaporates. Its single most important property may be the ability to kill germs. It is used in antiseptics, germicides, and other medical applications.
03/26/08
Acoustic ecology is the study of sound in the relationships between organisms and their environment.
03/25/08
Sliced or cut apples stay white longer if dropped in a bowl of water containing 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
03/24/08
In 1971, IBM introduced the first "memory disk" or "floppy disk." The first floppy was an 8" plastic disk coated with magnetic iron oxide.
03/23/08
In general, deserts are defined as areas where more water evaporates in the air than falls to the ground as rain.
03/22/08
The average human being is able to recognize approximately 10,000 different odors.
03/21/08
If a tiger lost all his hair, he would still be striped; the stripes are skin deep. Tiger stripes are similar to fingerprints in that each individual cat's markings are unique.
03/20/08
A cloud to ground lightning bolt carries between 100 million and 1 billion volts. It can reach 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 3 to 4 times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
03/19/08
The venom of the box jellyfish is considered to be among the most deadly in the world, containing toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells.
03/18/08
Lymphedema is swelling from fluid build-up caused by improper functioning of the lymph system.
03/17/08
The more taste buds you have, the more intensely you perceive tastes, especially bitter ones. People who are particularly sensitive are called supertasters, and they can have up to twice as many taste buds as normal tasters.
03/16/08
NASA celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2008. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began operation on October 1, 1958.
03/15/08
Did you know that a group of alligators is called a congregation?
03/14/08
The longest known cave in the world is Mammoth Cave, located in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. It has more than 350 miles of surveyed passages.
03/13/08
A newborn's visual sharpness is approximately 20/400. That is equivalent to seeing only the big letter "E" on an eye chart.
03/12/08
Prehistoric animals are all organisms that walked, swam, crawled, slithered, or flew on Earth more than 5,500 years ago, before humans started recording history.
03/11/08
At 250 tons and 60,000 vacuum tubes, the SAGE system was the largest and heaviest computer system ever built. The SAGE system was a continental air-defense network commissioned by the U.S. military in the 1950s.
03/10/08
Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is March 10-16, 2008. Launched in 1996, the campaign has united a coalition of over 1,200 science, advocacy, and other health organizations that share an interest in elevating public awareness of brain and nervous system research.
03/09/08
Fulgurites are natural tubes of glass formed by the fusion of silica (quartz) sand or rock from a lightning strike. Their shape mimics the path of the lightning bolt as it disperses into the ground.
03/08/08
Grapefruit is a cross between a sweet orange and a pummelo. It is believed that grapefruit originated in the West Indies.
03/07/08
Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour (70 kilometers per hour).
03/06/08
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's oceans; it covers about one-third of the global surface.
03/05/08
A leaf is a plant's principal organ of photosynthesis, the process by which sunlight is used to form foods from carbon dioxide and water.
03/04/08
Mercury goes around the Sun in only 88 days. It takes Dwarf Planet Pluto 248 years to make one trip around the Sun.
03/03/08
To date, 105 Franklin Institute laureates also have been honored with 107 Nobel Prizes.
03/02/08
The damage path of a tornado can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long.
03/01/08
A leap year is a year in which one extra day has been inserted at the end of February. Leap years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun.
02/29/08
Pandas live in cold and rainy bamboo forests high in the mountains of western China. Bamboo is the most important plant in a giant panda's life. They eat as much as 84 pounds of it each day.
02/28/08
Capillaries are so thin that blood cells can only pass through them in single file.
02/27/08
Geriatrics is the branch of medicine that focuses on health promotion and the prevention and treatment of disease and disability in later life.
02/26/08
Beryllium is the lightest member of the alkaline earth metals family. These metals include beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium.
02/25/08
Explorer 1 became the United States' first successful satellite on January 31, 1958. Data returned by Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 (launched in March 1958) provided evidence that the Earth is surrounded by intense bands of radiation, now called the Van Allen radiation belts.
02/24/08
Frogs are more likely to live in or near water than toads. There are approximately 4,000 known frog and toad species.
02/23/08
A glacier's top end is called its head while its lower end is called its snout, toe, or terminus.
02/22/08
The Przewalski's horse is also known as the Asiatic wild horse, or Mongolian wild horse. It is stocky, short, and pot-bellied, with a spiky mane like a zebra.
02/21/08
One of the first museums to open to the public was The British Museum in London, which opened free to the public in 1759 after being founded a few years earlier in 1753.
02/20/08
Did you know that trees improve water quality by slowing and filtering rain water as well as protecting aquifers and watersheds?
02/19/08
A cold front is a warm-cold air boundary with the colder air replacing the warmer. While a winter cold front can bring frigid air, summer cold fronts often can more accurately be called "dry" fronts, bringing air that might be only a few degrees cooler, but much less humid.
02/18/08
Lady "bugs" are a group of beetles that are also known as ladybird beetles, or lady beetles. The color on the wing covers can be yellow, orange, or red; some species are entirely black.
02/17/08
In February of 1908, the U.S. War Department informed the Wright Brothers that their proposal to build a heavier-than-air flying machine for $25,000 had been accepted. The performance of the Wrights' Army Flyer exceeded expectations so much that the War Department paid them $30,000--which included bonus money--for their efforts.
02/16/08
The light from a laser is monochromatic, or contains exactly one color or wavelength.
02/15/08
Tangerine is the common name for a variety of Mandarin orange. The tangerine resembles the orange but is smaller and oblate in shape and has a more pungent odor and a thinner rind.
02/14/08
Fear of computers is called Cyberphobia or Logizomechanophobia.
02/13/08
Migration refers to the regular, periodic movement of animals between two different locations. It usually occurs in response to seasonal changes, motivated by the drive to reproduce or feed. Birds, insects, fish, whales, and other mammals are known to have migratory patterns.
02/12/08
The color blue is an appetite suppressant. This may be due to the fact that blue food is a rare occurrence in nature. Our primal nature avoids foods that are poisonous, and when our early ancestors foraged for food, blue, purple, and black were "color warning signs" of potentially lethal food.
02/11/08
Biophysics is the application of theories and methods of the physical sciences to questions of biology.
02/10/08
All three basic rock types were used in the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Igneous granite is found in the base and lower steps of the memorial, the floor and statue of President Lincoln are made of metamorphic marble, and the interior columns and walls are composed of sedimentary limestone.
02/09/08
Warthogs use burrows for shelter. When they enter them, the hogs back in in order to defend themselves. In the morning, warthogs burst out of their burrows at top speed to get a running start on any predators that may be nearby.
02/08/08
Known as hacking, unauthorized computer access is a crime punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
02/07/08
Sucrose is actually two simpler sugars fused together: fructose and glucose.
02/06/08
Rainsplash is soil erosion caused by the force of impact of raindrops.
02/05/08
The laryngeal prominence is more commonly known as the Adam's apple.
02/04/08
Depending on the species of praying mantis, their coloring can range from light brown to bright green.
02/03/08
The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is over 50 feet (16 meters).
02/02/08
A detritivore is an organism which feeds on dead organic material.
02/01/08
Did you know that there are over 2,500 satellites (operative and inoperative) orbiting Earth?
01/31/08
The largest and longest nerve in the body is the sciatic nerve.
01/30/08
Mussels have important functions in aquatic environments. Because they are sensitive to changes in water quality, mussels are important indicators of aquatic ecosystem health. The disappearance of mussels from a river or lake often signals that other aquatic species are in danger.
01/29/08
A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of them that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others. A service mark is the same as a trademark, except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product.
01/28/08
Nearsightedness, or myopia, is a vision condition in which near objects are seen clearly, but distant objects do not come into proper focus.
01/27/08
A vaccine is a substance made of weakened or killed disease germs designed to make a body immune to that particular infectious disease. The vaccine prepares the immune system and its antibodies to react quickly and effectively when threatened by disease in the future.
01/26/08
Butterflies' colors come from tiny scales which cover the wings. Colors may aid in species recognition and camouflage, or by warning away predators.
01/25/08
"Caveat Emptor" notifies a buyer that the goods he or she is buying are "as is." When a sale is subject to this warning, the purchaser assumes the risk that the product might be either defective or unsuitable to his or her needs.
01/24/08
Small warm-blooded animals have much higher resting pulse rates than large ones. For example, a mouse may have a heart rate of 670 beats/minute, while the average human's resting heart rate is 70-80 beats/minute.
01/23/08
The dromedary camel can drink 30 gallons (100 L) of water in just 10 minutes.
01/22/08
Paleozoology is a sub-discipline of paleontology that focuses on the study of ancient animal life. Paleobotany is a sub-discipline that focuses on the study of the plant life of the geologic past.
01/21/08
A keloid is a patch of excessive scar tissue that may form following a skin injury. Keloids tend to be thick, smooth, and pink in color.
01/20/08
An adult electric eel is capable of firing off roughly 600 volts of electricity.
01/19/08
Today's hockey sticks are made primarily of graphite, which is a strong, lightweight material woven from carbon. Professional hockey players' sticks are custom-made so the curve and angle of the blade are tailored to their exact specifications.
01/18/08
The iron oxide or rust in its crust is what gives Mars its "red" color.
01/17/08
The first computer mouse was introduced in 1968 by Douglas Engelbart and his team of researchers at the Fall Joint Computer Expo in San Francisco.
01/16/08
Did you know that hormone imbalance and crash dieting can trigger temporary hair loss?
01/15/08
Approximately 7 or 8 percent of human males are relatively or completely deficient in color vision. Humans with the most common form of color-blindness are unable to differentiate between reds and greens. They see the world as a blend of blues, yellows, and grays.
01/14/08
"Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" opens February 9 at The Franklin Institute. The original Star Wars film was released in May 1977. Anthony Daniels as C-3PO and Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2, are the only actors credited with being in all six Star Wars films.
01/13/08
The seahorse's scientific genus name, Hippocampus, is Greek for "bent horse." There are approximately 35 species of seahorse worldwide.
01/12/08
A coroner is the person responsible for the legal investigation of any unexplained or suspicious death that occurs within their area of jurisdiction. It is the coroner's job to determine a manner and cause of death.
01/11/08
Molybdenum is a hard, silvery metal with a very high melting point. It is used primarily to make alloys with other metals. Molybdenum improves the strength, toughness, resistance to wear and corrosion, and ability to harden steel.
01/10/08
Acetylsalicylic acid, more commonly known as aspirin, is the most popular therapeutic drug in the world.
01/09/08
Onychectomy is the name of the surgical process in which a domestic cat's claws are removed. While ethically disputed in the U.S., it is outlawed in the U.K. and widely across Europe.
01/08/08
Alien Hand Syndrome is a neurological disorder in which the sufferer's hands have separate wills, or, "minds of their own." It is caused by damage in the medial motor frontal region of the brain.
01/07/08
Additive color mixing refers to mixing colored light, like red, green and blue, to make other colors. Subtractive color mixing refers to mixing pigments, like cyan, magenta and yellow, to create colors.
01/06/08
The FI.edu domain was activated March 22, 1988.
01/05/08
99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid. The likelihood that it will strike Earth on April 13, 2036, is estimated at 1 in 45,000.
01/04/08
Amphibians are cold-blooded, born in water, and breathe through their skin and lungs or gills.
01/03/08
A blizzard is a winter storm characterized by high winds, low temperatures, and driving snow. The winds must exceed 35 miles per hour and the temperature 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower.
01/02/08
Although it is not the largest of all sharks, the great white is the largest predatory shark.
01/01/08
The CALIPSO satellite was developed to help scientists answer significant questions and provide new information about the effects of clouds and other airborne particles on changes in the Earth's climate.