Myths and facts about Planet Earth

I saw this science facts writing by accident and just want to share with all of you about it. Enjoy myths and facts about Planet Earth that are bound to widen your knowledge.

Fact #1

The planet Earth weighs approximately 5,974,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms (nearly 6 septillion kg). That is roughly the same amount of weight of 55 quintillions of Blue Whales, the heaviest creature on Earth.

Fact #2

Actually, it doesn’t take the Earth 24 hours to complete a single rotation. In fact, it only takes it 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. Astronomers call this a sidereal day.

Fact #3

A year on the Earth is not 365 days as widely thought. It is in fact, 365.2564 days. The extra 0.2564 days is added onto February every four years, every leap year. That’s where leap year comes from.

Fact #4

The Planet Earth consists of 3 different layers including the Crust, the Mantle, and the Core(Outer Core and Inner Core). And each layer is made up of different elements. This is one of the most amazing facts about Planet Earth ever. 

Fact #5

The massive amount of water covering the Earth makes the Earth become one of the brightest planets when looking from a distance. It’s because the way the water reflects the Sun rays.

Fact #6

70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water so people call the Earth the Blue Planet.

Fact #7

And surprisingly, only 3% of the total 70% of water covering the Earth is fresh. The rest is salted. 

Fact #8

And of this 3%, more than 2% resides in ice sheets and glaciers and 1% is in lakes and rivers.

Fact #9

The Earth is also the only planet in our solar system that is not named after either a Greek or Roman Goddess. It is the truth, not jokes for fun.

Fact #10

The name Earth comes from a combination of Old English and Germanic and is derived from "eor(th)e" and "ertha" which mean "ground".

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Amazing Halloween Traditions Around The World

Let's find out amazing Halloween traditions around the world via this article: 

Austria

funny images on Halloween

Austria has a Pumpkin Festival in Retzer Land called Kürbisfest im Retzer Land. On November 11, Austria celebrates Martini which includes costumes and a lantern procession. Some people in Austria believe that if they leave bread, water, and a lighted lamp out, dead souls will be welcomed back to earth for that night.

Belgium

In Belgium some villages celebrate Halloween while other villages focus on celebrating All Saints' Day. On Halloween night, a Belgian may be found lighting a candle in memory of a dead relative.

Canada

In Canada, the Halloween celebration began with Scottish and Irish immigrants who arrived in the 1800s. Canada actively celebrates Halloween each year on October 31 with decorations, costume parties, and trick-or-treating.

England

The "trick-or-treat" custom originated in England known as "Mischief Night." Whereas we in the US carve pumpkins, English children would carve designs out of large beets which were known as "punkies."

France

As Halloween is not really a French holiday, there is some controversy pertaining to October 31 festivities. This holiday is a new trend for some of the French and they celebrate withHalloween costumes parties and dressing in scary outfits.

Germany

Halloween auf Deutsch became popular in the 1990s. People start to decorate around mid-October and use Halloween as a party theme. On November 11, Germans celebrate Matinstag which includes costumes and a lantern procession.

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Ireland

Halloween is considered to have originated in Ireland. There are many similarities between how Halloween is celebrated in Ireland and the US, yet the Irish still have unique traditions. Apart from trick-or-treating, children also play a trick known as "knock-a-dolly" which involves children knocking on their neighbors' doors and running away before they answer them. The Irish traditionally eat a fruitcake called barnbrack on this day. Barnbrack has a treat baked inside the cake and, depending on which treat is inside, will foretell the future of whoever receives it.

Japan

Halloween in Japan became popular when Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan began to promote Halloween celebrations. In 2000, Tokyo Disneyland had its first Halloween event, which has grown tremendously in popularity. The Japanese currently enjoy celebrating with decorations and dressing up in costumes.

Korea

Halloween is not celebrated in Korea. However, Korea has a harvest festival called Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day). During Chuseok, Koreans visit the places where their ancestors used to live and feast on traditional Korean food.

Latin America/Mexico/Spain

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is the popular celebration in these regions. The belief is that on October 31, spirits visit their families and then depart again on November 2. The families set up decorations and food for the arrival of the spirits. This time period represents a celebration of death as opposed to mourning.

Keep following to check out more news about Halloween traditions around the world, Halloween costume ideas, adult Halloween costumes on factoflife.net.

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7 interesting facts about light and shadow for kids

Check out amazing facts about shadow below:

• A shadow happens when an object blocks the sun’s rays. Shadows are longer in the winter because of the angle of the sun.
• Your shadow is longest in the early morning and in the late afternoon. In the afternoon, when the sun is directly above you, your shadow leaves your side for a little while. The sun makes the longest shadows at the beginning and at the end of the day because at that time, the sun is lowest in the sky and aimed at the sides of the various things on the earth. When the sun is directly above you, there is little or no shadow because the light from the sun is falling upon you from all the sides and there is hardly any dark region.
• A long time ago, people observed the way shadows were formed by the sun and utilized this principle in making the world’s most primitive clocks, the sundials.
• The first person to calculate the size of the planet Earth with a high degree of accuracy used simple geometric equations and measurements of shadows. Eratosthenes, the head librarian of the Great Library of Alexandria, performed this feat over 2,000 years ago, around 250 BCE.
• Does everything has a shadow? Take a look around and see what all things form shadows. You will notice that swings, trees, cars, tables and almost everything else has a shadow. Any object – living or non living that can block light can cast shadows.
• Is there anything that doesn't have a shadow? Some objects, such as glass, are transparent. Light can shine through them. Some light shines through translucent objects, such as a balloon or sheet of wax paper. Light cannot shine through opaque objects and you can’t see through them. Opaque objects, including a desk, bath towel or blanket, are solid.
• The smaller the angle between an elongated object and the direction of the light is, the shorter the shadow is. On the other hand, the smaller the angle between the direction of the light and the surface on which the shadow occurs is, the longer the shadow is.
• If the object is close to the light source, the shadow is large. 
• If the surface is curved there are further distortions.
• For non-point sources of light, the shadow is divided into the umbra and penumbra. The wider the light source, the more blurred the shadow.
• If there are multiple light sources there are multiple shadows, with overlapping parts darker. For a person or object touching the surface, like a person standing on the ground, or a pole in the ground, these converge at the point of touch.

Check out for more news about animal facts and about tiger facts for kids.

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Nobel Prize - the international award given yearly to honor work facts

All interesting facts in the world from science facts to nature facts included in our site. And now, it's the time for Nobel Prize - the international award given yearly to honor work facts

1. Three prisoners received the Nobel Peace Prize

Three laureates were in prison when they received the award, all of them winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. German pacifist and journalist Carl von Ossietzky in 1935, Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 and Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo in 2010

2. There are 49 years without Nobel Prizes

Since the start, in 1901, there are some years when the Nobel Prizes have not been awarded. The total number of times are 49. Most of them during World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945).

3. The large number of Peace Prize candidates

The class of 273 Peace Prize candidates for 2015 was the second-largest ever, behind 2014's record of 278.

4. Nobel Prize has been sold

Physics winner Leon Lederman, who won in 1988 for his co-discovery of the muon neutrino, sold his Nobel earlier this year to cover medical care expenses. The buyer, whose identity was not released by the auction house, paid $765,000 for it. Only two Nobels have ever been sold during a winner’s life. Both such sales occurred in the past year.

5. Posthumous nominations can't be made for Nobel Prizes

A person must be alive to be nominated. If they die during the consideration period, their name will be removed. Only if a person is announced as a winner and dies prior to the ceremony, will a posthumous award be given.

6. The medal should remain with the winner

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov paid $4.7 million to buy the gold Nobel medal awarded to biologist James Watson for his work deciphering DNA’s double helix, but he then gave the medal back to the laureate. Usmanov said the medal should remain with the winner and that the monies he paid for it should go toward research.

7. Hitler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

funny images

Adolf Hitler was nominated in 1939 by Swedish lawmaker E.G.C. Brandt for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is meant to promote "fraternity between nations" and global disarmament. Brandt later withdrew the nomination, saying it was meant as satire.

8. The prize awarded in Economics is not truly a Nobel Prize

Technically, the prize awarded in Economics is not a Nobel Prize, as it was not specified in Alfred Nobel's will. It has been nicknamed the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, and is selected by the same committee that selects the physics and chemistry prizes, but has only been awarded since 1969. It is award in memory of Alfred Nobel. Also, Mathemetic is not in the list of Nobel Prize.

9. The Nobel Prize money is used to divorce from wife

When Albert Einstein wanted a divorce from his first wife, he promised her to pay the Nobel Prize money he was confident he would win for his work, which he paid when he won the award a few years later.

10. The two opposite discoveries won the Nobel Prize

Thomson won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering that electrons act as particles, while his son George Paget Thomson won the Nobel Prize for discovering that electrons act as waves.

Source: factoflife

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