Interesting and Unbelievable Facts

Squids are marine animals that belong to the family of octopuses.  Their other close relatives are cuttlefish and nautilus.  Squids have a mantle and 8 arms like octopuses. However, they can be distinguished from octopuses through 2 fins, 2 tentacles, and a bony structure, called a pen. Octopuses do not have any such feature. ( Source ) Squids are known as one of the most intelligent invertebrate animals. They have proved their reasoning power by locating and capturing their prey. ( Source )  Colossal squids have the  largest eyes in the animal kingdom. The diameter of their eyes is 27 cm (11 in). This big eye helps the animal to avoid its main predator, the sperm whale. The next largest animal eye belongs to the Swordfish, which is only 1/3 (9 cm) of a squid eye. ( Source ) There is a considerable difference between the  sizes of various species of squid. The length varies from 10 mm (0.4 in) of pygmy squid to 13 m (43 ft.) long giant squid.  Giant...

Bhutan is a landlocked country in South Asia. This small country is surrounded by China and India. Bhutan is the first, and so far the only,  carbon-negative country  in the world. Bhutan only generates 1.1 million tones of CO2, while its forests can absorb a lot more CO2. ( Source ) Bhutan is also the first country to  ban tobacco products . The ban on smoking and selling of all types of tobacco products was imposed in this Asian country in December 2004. ( Source ) Bhutan is one of the seven countries in the world and the only country in  Asia  without any world heritage site. ( Source ) Paro airport in Bhutan is known as one of the  most dangerous  in the world. Only a few pilots are certified to land and take off from this airport. It is located in a winding valley between high peaks. The airport has a small runway that is only visible moments before landing. Due to the absence of radar, flights are only allowed during daylight under clear visib...

Costa Rica is one of the seven countries in Central America. It shares land borders with Panama and Nicaragua.  Costa Rica has the highest percentage (over 65%) of white people in Central America. It is also the only Central American country with a majority white population of European descent. Costa Rica is famous as the  oldest and strongest democracy in Latin America. Consequently, it has the most stable government in Central America.  Costa Rica hosted the world’s longest-running TV educational show. The Teleclub ran for a minimum of 53 years and 244 days from 8 th  February 1963 to 9 th  October 2016. ( Source ) Costa Rica has  defaulted nine times . It is one of the highest numbers of defaults in the history of world economics. ( Source ) Costa Rica is on the list of the world’s ten best  ethical destinations for 2019. The country achieved this status by abolishing  shark  finning, promoting green energy, and taking other env...

Albania is one of the very few Muslim-majority countries in Europe. Around 60% of people in Albania are Muslims (majority Sunni Muslims). Islam was introduced in Albania after its conquest by Ottoman Empire in the late 14 th and early 15 th Centuries. Before that, the majority Albanian population was adherent to Christianity . Albania has the highest consumption rate of cocaine  in the world. About 2.5% of the Albanian population uses cocaine. ( Source ) George Castrioti Skanderbeg, an Albanian nobleman and military leader, rebelled against the Ottomans in 1443 after serving them for 20 years. Skanderbeg remained undefeated  for the next 25 years when the Ottomans were at the peak of their rule. Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Albanian Ottoman ruler of Egypt, is considered the founder of modern Egypt . His dynasty remained in power in Egypt from 1805 till the 1952 coup d’état.    Albania is also known as the world’s first atheist country . The communist regime of...

Guyana is a small country in South America. However, it is also considered part of the Caribbean region due to its geographical, cultural, and historical ties. Caribbean Community (CARICOM) represents 15 Caribbean nations. The headquarter of CARICOM is in Georgetown, Guyana’s capital. Guyana is one of the most forested countries  in South America . More than 87% area of Guyana has  forests . 11% of the country’s population is indigenous that owns 18% of these forests. ( Source ) Guyana has the highest percentage of people living abroad . More than 36% of Guyanese reside in other countries. ( Source ) Guyana is a word taken from the Native American language, which means “land of many waters.” Guyana has the second highest suicide rate  in the world. Its suicide rate (40.3/100,000 people) is only below Lesotho (72.4/100,000 people). ( Source ) St. George Cathedral in Georgetown is one of the tallest wooden churches  in the world. This Anglican ...

There are more than 400,000 species of beetles, which makes it the largest order in insects. The estimated number of total beetle species is between 1 and 2 million (an average of 1.5 million). There are more than 80,000 species of weevils, and they constitute the  largest family of beetles.  The smallest suborder of beetles is Archostemata, which has fewer than 50 known species. The fire chaser beetle can  spot a fire 80 miles  away. These insects prefer forest fires because they lay eggs in forests with freshly burnt trees. They detect fire quickly thanks to infrared receptors in their thorax. ( Source ) Dermetids, commonly known as  flesh-eating beetles , eat the flesh of carcasses without damaging the skeleton. They assist in forensic cases where chemicals can damage bones. ( Source ) A species of  Australian  tiger beetle is the  fastest insect  on earth. It can run at 5.6 mph (9 km/h). This insect cannot see anything while runnin...

Lizards are reptiles with around  6,000 species . Their closest living relatives are snakes and worm lizards.  Lizards are present all over the world except  Antarctica  and extreme northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Four legs and feet in most lizards are their most prominent difference from snakes. They are also  distinguishable from snakes  due to the presence of external ears, movable eyelids, two lungs ( snakes have a single lung), and less flexible jaws. ( Source ) Thorny Devil, lives in  deserts  of Australia, cannot drink water directly due to structure of its mouth. It uses its feet and skin as a straw to sip water  from the sand. ( Source ) All the members of Whiptail lizards are female. They can  reproduce without male lizards,  thanks to the presence of extra chromosomes. ( Source ) Lizards can  detach their tail  for defense purposes. Most of them can re-grow their tail several time...