Facts for Ages 14+
124 facts perfect for this age group
Most volcanoes form at the edges of tectonic plates where Earth's crust is being pushed together or pulled apart.
A perfect number equals the sum of its divisors — 6 is perfect because 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. Only 51 perfect numbers have ever been found.
Pyroclastic flows — clouds of hot gas and rock — can race down a volcano at over 450 miles per hour.
Ocean currents driven by temperature and salt differences help regulate Earth's climate by moving heat around the planet.
The Coriolis effect, caused by Earth's rotation, curves the paths of winds and ocean currents.
Most diamonds reach Earth's surface through deep volcanic pipes called kimberlites that erupt from 90 miles underground.
Scientists use seismographs to detect tiny earthquakes near volcanoes, which can warn of coming eruptions.
A shuffled deck of cards has never been in the same order before — there are more possible arrangements than atoms on Earth.
The ocean has a giant conveyor belt of currents that moves water around the entire planet and takes about 1,000 years to complete one loop.
There are more atoms in a glass of water than glasses of water in all the oceans on Earth.
The immortal jellyfish can reverse its aging process and turn back into a baby when it's stressed.
Neptune's largest moon Triton orbits backwards compared to the planet's rotation — it may be a captured dwarf planet.
The Truman Show inspired a real psychological condition called "The Truman Show delusion" where people think their life is a TV show.
Human cells have 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 pairs, that carry all your genetic instructions.
The first known writing system, cuneiform, was invented by the Sumerians about 5,000 years ago.
The first true battery was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800, which is why we measure electricity in 'volts.'
A light-year is a measure of distance, not time — it's about 5.88 trillion miles.
A bolt of lightning reaches temperatures of about 30,000 Kelvin — five times hotter than the surface of the Sun.
Crocodilians are one of the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, having shared a common ancestor over 230 million years ago.
There is no largest prime number — mathematicians have proven that prime numbers go on forever.