#1 - Some other World Facts.

• World Facts

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• Giant Horsetail plants formed a large part of plants that turned into coal deposits years ago.
• The tallest living being on Earth is the Redwood Tree, which can grow to a height of more than 350 feet.
• An average tree can absorb a ton of carbon dioxide in its whole life time.
• Flowers:
  • Largest : Rafflesia arnoldii (3 feet wide, weighs 24 pounds)
  • Smallest: Lemnaceae, Duckweeds (floating aquatic plants, 0.04 to
• Trees:
  • Tallest Sequoia sempervirens, Redwood tree (found in California in 2006)
  • Oldest living tree: Picea abes, Norway spruce (9,550 years old root system, found in Sweden in 2004)
• Hottest inhabited place is Djibouti (86˚F) and coldest inhabited place is Norilsk in Russia (12.4˚F)
• 8 of the world’s 10 worst tropical cyclones occurred in Bay of Bengal.
• Major Biomes: Temperate forest, Rain forest, Boreal forest, Mediterranean forest, Mangrove, Grassland and Savanna, Desert and dry Shrubland, Tundra and Icecap, Marine and Fresh water.
• About 2% of the water on Earth is locked up in snow, ice and glaciers.
• Deepest points in Oceans : Pacific (Mariana trench); Atlantic ocean (Puerto Rico Trench); Indian (Java Trench); Arctic (Molloy Deep)
• Textile history:
  • 5000 BC: Cotton wearing in Pakistan, India and Africa
  • 5000 BC: Flax weaving in Egypt
  • 2700 BC: Silkworm cocoon thread used to weave cloth in China
  • 500 BC: Spinning wheel developed in India
  • 1790: Water-powered spinning mill in the U.S
  • 1910: Rayon developed
  • 1938: Nylon developed
  • 1952: Polyester developed
• Rosetta Stone: it was created in 200 BC that unlocked hieroglyphic symbols that were used by scribes in Egypt. The Hieroglyphic system of writing vanished in 5th century AD from Egypt. With this, the knowledge of translation of complex symbols was also lost. Then, in 1799, a Frenchman in Rosetta in Egypt discovered a black granite stone from 2nd century BC that bore inscriptions in Egyptian hieroglyphic, Egyptian demotic and Greek. Using this, he was able to reveal the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
• Milestones in Religion:
  • 70,000 BC: Neanderthals buried with ritual objects
  • 10,000 BC: European cave paintings depict shamans
  • 3000 BC: Egyptians build temples to creator God
  • 2000 BC: Abraham leads Hebrews into Canaan
  • 1500 BC: Hinduism begins as Aryans invade the Indus Valley
  • 1290 BC: Moses leads slaves out of Egypt
  • 600 BC: Zoroaster brings monotheism to Persia
  • CIRCA 528 BC: Gautama Buddha receives enlightenment
  • CIRCA 500 BC: Confucius teaches moral principles
  • CIRCA AD 30: Jesus crucified in Judea
  • 300-500: Buddhism spreads to China, Korea and Japan
  • 610: Mohammad receives first revelations of the Koran
  • 1054: Christianity splits into Eastern and Western branches
  • 1517: Martin Luther begins Protestant movement
• Transportation history:
• CIRCA 3500 BC: First known wheel, Mesopotamia
• 3000 BC: Egyptians build sailing ships
• AD 1769: Cugnot invents steam- propelled vehicles
• 1783: Montgolfier brothers fly hot-air balloon
• 1807: Fulton operates successful steamboat
• 1885-1886: Dailmer and Benz build gas-powered auto
• 1903: Wilbur and Orville Wright fly airplane
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• Glaciers shape the land: although they seem to be frozen, still and solid, they are actually moving, carving and churning the land beneath and around them. During Glaciations, ice sheets prevent water flow except for trickles of molten water through glacier tunnels. After Glaciations, the land forms reflect an icy past in structure and composition of soil by forming kettle lakes, terminal moraines and eskers.
• Carbon dioxide Emissions from fossil fuels:
  • USA (20% of the world’s emission)
  • China (18.4%)
  • Russia (5.6%)
  • India (4.9%)
  • Japan (4.6%)
  • Germany (3%)
  • Canada (2.3%)
• Without the natural greenhouse effect, the Earth would be more than 50˚F colder than it is today, with an average global temperature of 5˚F which is much less hospitable to life.
• The hole in Earth’s protective layer called the Ozone Layer above Antarctica is now equal to the size of North America. It has grown to 10.5 million square miles. Global temperatures are predicted to increase by average 2.5-10.4 % by the end of 21st century.
• The largest oil that was spilled by Exxon Valdez is equal to 2% of one day’s oil supply used in USA.
• Prokaryotes (single celled bacteria, 3.9 billion years ago)
• Blue green algae (first plants, 3.5-2.5 billion years ago)
• Eukaryotes (multi cellular organisms, 2.5-1 billion years ago)
• Metazoans (multicellular marine organisms (2 billion -540 million years ago)
• Trilobites (segmented marine arthropods, 540 million years ago)
• Carolus Linnaeus is called the Father of Classification of Nature (plants, animals and stones). He was the first to use the scientific name of Human beings as ‘Homo sapiens’.
• Plants Evolution:
• Seedless Vascular Plants (Ferns, Horsetails; 410 million years ago)
• Early Seed bearing Plants (Precursors to conifers; 360 million years ago)
• Bryophytes (Mosses; 320 million years ago)
• Gingkos (286 million years ago)
• Cycads (275 million years ago)
• Angiosperms (Flowering Plants; 130 million years ago)