Biggest Flower Bloom
Found in the rainforests of Indonesia, the Rafflesia Arnoldii is a flower that boasts the world's largest bloom that can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds. With no visible leaves, roots or stem, the Rafflesia must attach itself to a host plant to receive its water and nutrients. The aroma that the flower emits is likened to rotten meat when it is in bloom.
Smallest Insect
The smallest insect in the world is the Megaphragma Caribea from Guadeloupe, measure at a mere 0.17mm long, which replaced the Alaptus Magnanimus (Fairy Flies) a member of the Myrmaridae family. Other members of the smallest insect category are the Diptera (True Flies), Collembola (Springtails) and Nanosella Fungi (Feather-winged Beetle).
The Furthest Moon From Sun
Image Credit:
Alan Stern (Southwest Research Institute), Marc Buie (Lowell Observatory), NASA and ESA
No longer classified as a planet, Pluto is the furthest moon at an astonishing distance of 4,583,190,000 miles from the sun. If it was possible to hop into a car and drive from the Sun to Pluto traveling at a consist speed of 55 mph, then the trip would take 9512.64 years to complete the entire trip. The planetary road trip would cost an outstanding $392,844,857.14 (based on 35 mpg and $3.00 per gallon of gas).
The First Water Powered Car
Swiss born inventor Isaac de Rivaz was the first to make an automobile powered by an internal combustion engine in the year 1805. Gasoline was not invented until the 1870's and this automobile operated on Hydrogen extracted from water in the form of ice. So, really Rivas not only invented the world's first water powered car, but also the first Hydrogen powered car.
Inventors who have tried to develop Hydrogen powered car have been threatened and killed mysteriously in their quest to improve life on earth. Inventor Stan Meyers was threatened and later found poisoned and Andrija Puharich mysteriously fell down a flight of stairs.
Many of the inventors' lives were threatened. Yull Brown had shots fired into his kitchen, Stan Meyers was threatened and eventually poisoned, and a few months Yull Brown dies of old age. Andrija Puharich mysteriously fell down a flight of stairs. Carl Cella died in prison.
Chocopologie The World's Most Expensive Chocolate
Fritz Knipschildt is the founder of Knipschildt Chocolatier in 1999 and currently holds the title for the most-expensive chocolate called Chocopologie. The rich dark chocolate truffle contains a French black truffle inside its seventy percent Valrhona cacao that is blended into a creamy ganache with truffle oil and dusted in cocoa powder. Individual Chocopologie pieces costs $250.00, but if one piece isn't going to be enough, then a one-pound box can be pre-ordered for $2600.00 by contacting Knipschildt.
World's Strongest Fiber
Interestingly, the world's strongest man-made fiber is Dyneema a superstrong polyethylene fiber that is 15 times stronger than quality steel. Dyneema is extremely durable, and is resistant to moisture, chemicals and UV light. The Dyneema fiber is used to produce the strongest fibrous rope in the world.
First Personal Computer
- NAME H316 Pedestal Model
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MANUFACTURER Honeywell
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TYPE Home Computer
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ORIGIN U.S.A.
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YEAR 1969
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BUILT IN LANGUAGE Recipes were programmed into it, but language/software is unknown
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KEYBOARD Small array of buttons and switches
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CPU Unknown
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SPEED 2.5 MHz
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RAM 4 KB magnetic core, expandable to 16 KB
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ROM Unknown
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TEXT MODES Unknown, probably some kind of text display
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SIZE / WEIGHT 150 pounds
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BUILT IN MEDIA Magnetic core memory
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POWER SUPPLY 475W at 125vAC
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PERIPHERALS Unless you count the cutting board... unknown
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PRICE $10,600
How Much Gas Is Left?
According to the Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ) estimates “that at the beginning of 2007, worldwide reserves were 1.32 trillion barrels of oil and 6.182 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. These estimates are 25 billion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubic feet of natural gas higher than the prior year, reflecting additional discoveries, improving technology, and changing economics.” The remaining reserves represent 44.6 years of oil and 66.2 years of natural gas at 2005 consumption levels. This does not mean that the world's gas and oil reserves will be depleted in fifty years, because new reserves are being discovered each year.
Toys Made In The USA
We are living in a time where 80% of all toys are manufactured in China and other foreign sources that have demonstrated a poor track record of quality control and safety. Locating toys made in the USA is very difficult, but for concerned parents and caregivers there is a ray of sunshine pushing through the clouds of unsafe products of the toy industry and about 100 USA made toys can be located at Made In USA Toys. (Declaimer: The author of this story is not affiliated with Step2.com and/or the toy manufacturers.)
The World's Most Dangerous Insect
The mosquito accounts for millions of deaths around the world every year. Sometimes carriers of yellow fever, dengue fever, West Nile virus and forms of encephalitis are deadly to humans and animals. Malaria a mosquito-born virus accounts for more human deaths each year than HIV, Cancer and Heart Disease worldwide. So, don't forget to protect your skin with your favorite mosquito repellent, because there are billions of hungry, blood-sucking critters that would enjoy nothing more than to make a feast out of you.
