Interesting and Unbelievable Facts

Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia. It shares borders with China and India. More than 75% terrain of Nepal consists of the Himalayan Mountains . The remaining consists of forests and flat, fertile land. There are 14 eight-thousanders ( mountain peaks taller than 8,000 meters) in the world. Mt. Everest and seven other peaks among the top ten are present entirely or partially in Nepal. The Kali Gandaki valley in Nepal is the  deepest gorge  in the world. It is a popular trekking route due to easy accessibility and the availability of better services. ( Source ) Lumbini in southern Nepal is the birthplace of Gautama Buddha . Due to its cultural significance, Lumbini became a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997. Chandra Bahadur Dangi, a Nepalese citizen, is the  shortest male ever measured . He was 21.5 in. (54.6 cm) tall in 2012 at 72 years. ( Source ) Nepal has the world’s  highest percentage of women  compared to men. Nearly 54.2% of the Nepalese pop...

The polar bear is a large carnivore mammal in the bear family. It is present only in the Arctic region. The polar bear is the largest carnivore on land. The males can weigh between 400-600 kg and reach a length of 2.4-2.6 m. The Kodiak bear (a subspecies of brown bear in Alaska) is the second-largest terrestrial carnivore. ( Source ) Male polar bears can be twice heavier as females. It is one of the most prominent sexual dimorphism among mammals . Polar bears are the only marine mammals among bears as they depend on the ocean for food. They are well adapted for swimming and terrestrial locomotion and can tolerate the chilly weather of the Arctic. Polar bears are vulnerable due to their habitat loss . Global warming is shrinking the Arctic sea ice, which can reduce food and mating opportunities for these marine mammals. According to estimates, the population of polar bears can decline by nearly 33% by 2050. Polar and brown bears separated from each other 500,000 years ago. The firs...

Japan is an island country in East Asia on the North Pacific Ocean. It shares maritime borders with Russia, China, North Korea , South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. There are nearly 7,000 islands in Japan, and only 421 are inhabited. The four major islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Japanese capital Tokyo is present on Honshu, the largest island. More than 80% of the landscape in Japan is mountainous . The majority of the population lives in low-lying coastal areas. Japan lies on the western edge of the Ring of Fire. The Greater Tokyo Area is the world’s most populous metropolitan area , with a population of 36.5 million. Nearly 30% of Japan’s population resides in this region. ( Source ) Yumiuri   Shimbun, a Japanese Newspaper founded in 1874, has the world’s highest circulation . In 2010, it had a total circulation of over 13.5 million copies. It is the only newspaper with a morning circulation of more than 10 million copies. ( Source ) Japan is one of the...

Otters are semi-aquatic mammals of the weasel family. They include 13 living species present in all continents except Australia and Antarctica . Eleven of the 13 species are known as river otters, present in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, and wetlands. The sea otter and the marine otter are the two aquatic species of the Pacific Ocean. The smallest species is the Asian small-clawed otter that can attain 3 kg weight. The sea otter is the biggest with 45 kg weight, while the giant otter (26 kg) is the largest freshwater otter species.   Otters are famous for their playing with rocks. They are social  animals  and learn this behavior from other otters. Research has proved that playing does not improve their hunting skills, but they do so in the excitement of getting food. ( Source ) Otter feces, known as spraint, have one of the least offensive odors in the animal kingdom. A jelly-like substance covers the poop, which has a fishy odor because otters consume fish . R...

The Indian Ocean is the third largest after the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. It covers nearly 20% of the ocean area in the world. It is the only ocean present entirely in the eastern hemisphere. The Indian Ocean meets with South Asia to the north, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa to the West, Southeast Asia and Australia to the east, and the Southern Ocean to the south. It joins the Pacific Ocean to the east and southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. There are fewer islands in the Indian Ocean compared to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Famous ones are the Maldives , Madagascar, Sri Lanka , Mauritius, Comoros, Socotra, and Seychelles . The Indian Ocean initially formed around 140 million years ago but took its recent shape 36 million years ago. It happened after the collision of the Indian Subcontinent with Eurasia, the separation of Australia from Antarctica , and the western movement of Africa . The Indian Ocean basin is less than 80 million years old. The average dep...