Contents 2
The body is 75% water 6
We use only 10% of our brains 8
The brainβs left side controls the bodyβs right side 10
We lose most body heat through our heads 12
If you swallow an apple seed, a tree will grow in your stomach 14
You are taller in the morning than in the evening 16
You use more muscles to frown than to smile 18
Your irises are as unique as your fingerprints 20
The tongue has taste zones 22
Head lice like dirty hair 24
You catch a cold from being cold 26
Spinach makes you strong 28
We share 96% of our DNA with chimps 30
Your ears and nose keep growing as you age 32
Body talk 34
Birds are descended from dinosaurs 38
T-rex was the biggest dinosaur 40
Crocodiles cry when they eat prey 42
Elephants never forget 44
Camels store water in their humps 46
Falling coconuts kill more people than sharks 48
Chameleons change color to match their surroundings 50
If itβs scared, an ostrich will bury its head in the sand 52
Mice like cheese 54
Bees die when they sting you 56
Goldfish have three-second memories 58
A cockroach can live for three days without its head 60
We swallow eight spiders a year in our sleep 62
Sunflowers follow the sun across the sky 64
A tomato is a fruit 66
Second nature 68
You canβt boil water on top of a mountain 72
All light travels at the same speed 74
An opera singer can shatter glass 76
A rainbow has seven colors 78
A coin dropped from a tall building can kill 80
Toast lands butter-side down 82
A screen saver saves electricity 84
Glass is made of sand 86
Penicillin was found by accident 88
You canβt be in two places at once 90
The Internet and the World Wide Web are the same thing 92
You are caught on camera 300 times a day 94
Robots will take over the world 96
Cool science 98
The Big Bang was loud 102
The universe is getting bigger 104
A black hole sucks in everything near it 106
Only Saturn has rings 108
There has never been life on Mars 110
Pluto is a planet 112
Earth is a perfect sphere 114
There is a dark side of the moon 116
The sun is yellow 118
Starlight is millions of years old 120
Stars in a constellation are close together 122
Astronauts would explode without space suits 124
Out of this world 126
India was once joined to Australia 130
There are seven seas 132
Earthβs longest river is the Amazon 134
Mount Everest is the worldβs tallest mountain 136
Deserts are always hot 138
If a volcano doesnβt produce lava, it isnβt dangerous 140
Earthquakes are very rare 142
It is warm in summer because Earthβs orbit is closest to the sun 144
A red sky at night signals good weather 146
Lightning canβt strike the same place twice 148
No two snowflakes are the same 150
The population of the world can fit into Los Angeles 152
Down to Earth 154
Neanderthals were really hairy and spoke in grunts 158
The pyramids were built by slaves 160
Greek statues are white marble 162
Roman emperors gave a thumbs-up to save a gladiator 164
Vikings wore horned helmets 166
Medieval people didnβt bathe 168
Rats spread the plague 170
Columbus discovered America 172
Marie Antoinette said, βLet them eat cake!β 174
Napoleon was short 176
Enemy soldiers played soccer in the trenches 178
Olympic gold medals are solid gold 180
Hamburgers were invented in Hamburg 182
Listening to classical music makes you smarter 184
The rest is history 186
Index 188
Acknowledgments 192
