10 true facts you need to know Nerdy stuff to impress your pals, possibly
Read about this issue's cool stuff including fearsome facts about sharks, why we think aliens look the way they do , the world's fastest roller coaster and when Gran Turino 6 is due. But don't hold your breath...
1. Tasty treat
Looking for all the world like an alien, the female praying mantis might tear the head of the male after mating, and eat it
2. Heavy weight
The weight of an asteroid that will narrowly miss the Earth later this year is 55 million tonnes
3. Shape shifters
When waves encounter shallow water, they transform, to become shorter in length, and taller. The process is called shoaling
4. Waiter, there’s a nest in my soup
In China, Thailand and other places in Asia, birds called swiftlets make little cup-shaped nests out of their congealed spit which are prized for the expensive ‘birds nest soup’
5. Paws for thought
Some dogs are scared of water and won’t dare go for a dog paddle. Others won’t take to the water until their owners have given them some help with swimming first by putting them in the shallow end of a pool and holding them up until they get the idea
6. Occam’s razor
In the 14th century, Father William of Occam suggested that when faced with two competing solutions, the best approach is to go for the option that best explains the facts and that makes the fewest assumptions. Now, detectives use his method, Occam’s razor, to solve crimes, doctors to make diagnoses, and scientists to test theories
7. King of the fishers
Kingfishers eat sticklebacks, minnows, baby trout and pike. They must eat 60% of their body weight every day so they’ll also eat small amphibians, insects, water beetles, larvae and freshwater shrimps
8. Eyes in the sky
You may hear that the Great Wall is the only man-made object that can be seen by astronauts orbiting the Earth. But it’s a myth. It is too far away to make anything of its size out clearly
9. Death race
12 Brits have died in F1, more than any other country. The last was the highly rated Tom Pryce in 1977
10. Blood lines
An Australian woman’s life has been saved after a car accident thanks to a transfusion of synthetic blood. This is the first time synthetic blood has been used in this way
