26 surprising scientific facts

1. Can humans live without a stomach?

Have. Total gastrectomy is performed when there is stomach cancer. The small intestine will take over the digestive function. Patients must eat many small meals, supplement vitamin B12 and live normally on a diet.

2. Can boiling water freeze faster than cold water?

Yes, this is the Mpemba effect. Under certain conditions (water purity, bottle shape, freezer temperature...), hot water can freeze faster thanks to rapid evaporation, better convection and other physical factors.

3. A day on Venus is longer than a year?

Have. Venus rotates around its axis very slowly (243 Earth days for a sidereal rotation), while its orbit around the Sun only takes about 225 Earth days.

4. Can metal float on water?

Have. Steel ships float thanks to the Archimedes principle (the volume of water pushed up is greater than the weight). Thin metals can also float thanks to surface tension.

5. Can lightning strike the same place twice?

Have. Tall buildings, towers or mountaintops are often struck by lightning multiple times in the same storm or over many years.

6. Can some frogs freeze and then come back to life?

Have. Wood frogs produce glucose as an antifreeze, freezing almost their entire body, then thawing and coming back to life in the spring.

7. Can plants communicate through underground fungal networks?

Have. The mycorrhizal system (wood wide web) allows trees to share nutrients, water, and warning signals across a mycelial network.

8. Can bananas be radioactive?

Have. Bananas contain naturally radioactive potassium-40. Very small doses (called “banana equivalent dose”), are completely safe.

9. Could Antarctica be a desert?

Have. Deserts are defined by low rainfall (usually less than 250 mm/year). Antarctica's interior receives only about 50 mm of snow equivalent per year.

10. Can rocks float on water?

Have. Pumice is very porous, contains many air bubbles, so it is lighter than water and floats.

11. Can bandages cause burns?

Have. Prolonged exposure to ice or dry ice causes “frostbite/ice burn” because cells freeze and become damaged.

12. Can rain fall upward?

Have. In a strong storm, updrafts can push raindrops upward before falling.

13. Can rivers flow underground?

Have. In the limestone area (karst), the river disappears into caves and flows underground for kilometers.

14. Can volcanoes create blue flames?

Have. At Kawah Ijen volcano (Indonesia), burning sulfur gas creates electric blue flames at high temperatures.

15. Can fish climb trees?

Have. Climbing perch and some mudskippers use their spiny fins and gills to climb tree trunks or soil.

16. Can plants grow without soil?

Have. Hydroponics and aeroponics allow plants to live entirely in a nutrient solution or mist.

17. Can flowers generate heat?

Have. Some species (stinky cabbage, lotus, corpse flower...) perform thermogenesis to attract pollinating insects.

18. Can birds fly backwards?

Have. Hummingbirds are the only species that can fly backward, upright, and even upside down.

19. Can mammals lay eggs?

Have. The platypus and echidna (echidna) are primitive egg-laying mammals.

20. Can snakes fly?

Have. Flying snakes (Chrysopelea) flatten their bodies and glide from tree to tree.

21. Can lizards run on water?

Have. Jesus lizard (basilisk) runs very fast on water thanks to its speed and special leg structure.

22. Can oceans have underwater waterfalls?

Have. Density cascade like in the Denmark Strait: denser cold water flows down kilometers deep.

23. Can the lake "explode"?

Have. Limnic eruption phenomenon (like Lake Nyos, Cameroon 1986): CO₂ gas accumulated at the bottom of the lake suddenly erupts.

24. Can lightning occur in volcanoes?

Have. Volcanic lightning is formed by the friction of ash and particles in the smoke column.

25. Can sand make a "singing" sound?

Have. Singing sand occurs when a layer of dry sand slides down, and the particles collide synchronously, creating a rumbling sound.

26. Can some turtles breathe through their skin?

Have. Many species of freshwater turtles use cloacal respiration (breathing through the cloaca - multipurpose anus) and skin when lying underwater or hibernating.

All 26 facts above are true in scientific nature. Some phenomena only occur under special conditions or require more detailed explanation, but they have all been observed and studied. Hopefully the article with 2D animation helps you remember and love science more!