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Showing posts from October, 2017

40+ Interesting Facts About Colombia

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Colombia is a transcontinental country with its major part in South America. A few of its small islands are in North America. Colombia is the only country in South America  with a  coastline on both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia is the  highest coastal mountain range  in the world. A study finds that this mountain range has moved 2,200 km in the last 170 million years. ( Source ) The orchid is the national flower of Colombia, and the country also contains the highest number of orchids in the world. There are around  4,000 orchid species  in Colombia, including 1,500 endemic species. ( Source ) Colombia is the biggest  producer of emeralds  in the world. It also provides more than 50% of emeralds in the international market. The concept of ciclavia started in the Colombian capital Bogota in 1978. The city transforms 120 km of the highway into a bicycle route on Sundays from 7 AM to 2 PM. It is also the  largest street cycle

20+ Interesting Facts About Bolivia

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Bolivia is the only South American country with more than half the percentage (55%) of the  indigenous population .  It also has the  highest number  of indigenous people (around 7 million) in South America. North Yungas Road in Bolivia is the world’s most dangerous road . Before the construction of a new road in 2006, it was the only road in this area where the death rate was around 300 travelers per year. Due to such a high death rate, it is notorious as the  “Death Road.”  Landslides, fog, high cliffs, and narrowness make it a challenging road for bikers from around the globe. People in Bolivia have the  shortest average height in the world. The average height for both genders of its population is just 4 feet, 11.5 inches. ( Source ) Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, is located at an altitude of 3640 m (11,942 ft.). It makes it the capital city at the highest elevation in the world. ( Source ) Bolivia has the world’s largest system of cable cars in urban areas. Its length is around

50+ Interesting Facts About Sharks

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Sharks are cartilaginous fishes, closely related to rays and skates. There are more than  400 species  of sharks. Of these hundreds of shark species, only four  attack humans without provocation . These are great white sharks,  tiger sharks , bull sharks, and oceanic whitetip sharks. Scientists have discovered three shark species that  glow in the dark . These include the kitefin shark, blackbelly lanternshark, and southern lanternshark. Thousands of photophores in the skin of these shark species provide this unique feature that is important for camouflage. ( Source ) A  warming system for the   brain and eyes is present in mako and porbeagle sharks. This system keeps the temperature higher in the brain and eyes of these sharks compared to their surroundings. It protects their nervous system and improves the visual sensitivity. ( Source ) Among all the shark species, the bull shark has the  strongest bite  related to its body size. It is primarily due to its wide head and jaws. ( So

50+ Interesting Facts About Snakes

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Snakes are limbless reptiles known for their potent venom. Their closest living relatives are lizards.  Snakes are present in all the continents except Antarctica . They  are also absent from specific areas,  including the North Pole and the island countries of New Zealand, Ireland , Iceland , and Greenland . All extant species of snakes are without feet. However, it has been proved that their ancestors had feet. A fossil of a  120 million-year- old snake has been found having 4 feet with five digits each. ( Source ) Snakes have nostrils. However, they primarily use their tongue to smell the air, while the nostrils are for respiration.  Few snake species are diurnal, while others hunt at night. All the snakes are dichromatic , and can see blue and green colors (compared to trichromatic vision in humans that include red color). The nocturnal species can also see UV (ultraviolet) light that assists them in hunting in the dark. ( Source ) Like some other animals, females of a few s

65 Interesting Facts About Fish

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Fish are fully aquatic vertebrate animals that breathe underwater. They use gills for breathing, fins for locomotion, and scales to protect their bodies. There are three main types of fish : jawless fish (hagfish, lampreys), cartilaginous fish (whale shark, great white shark, skates), and bony fish (tuna, cod, lionfish, sea horses). There are more than 30,000 species of fish in both saltwater and freshwater. Around 20,000 species are bony fish. The first fish on earth lived more than  500 million years ago . This first true vertebrate was 6 cm long and had external gills and large protruding eyes. ( Source ) Catfish have the  highest number of taste buds  in the animal kingdom. Few large catfish can have up to 175,000 taste buds. It helps them to detect prey in extremely muddy and murky water. Comparatively, humans have 10,000 and chickens 24 taste buds. ( Source ) Few fish species live in the Antarctic Ocean. The temperature of the Southern Ocean is lower than the minimum tempe