Top 5 Unbelievable Random Facts

Amazing Random Facts

1. Cows are magnetic
Well, technically they’re more like compass needles. Studying satellite imagery from Google Earth,
researchers found that cattle (and deer) often align themselves with the Earth’s magnetic fi eld lines
between the north and south poles. They aren’t the only ones believed to sense magnetic
fi elds: bacteria, molluscs and mole rats also display a magnetic ‘sixth sense’. But while magneto reception has a clear advantage for migratory animals, it’s not obvious how it could
benefi t cows. One hypothesis is that it may help them to map their local surroundings.

2. Too much silver can turn skin blue
Argyria is a condition in which skin turns a blue-grey shade, provoked by ingesting silver.
Broken down in the stomach, silver enters the bloodstream as a salt and is deposited in the
skin. Light oxidises it, producing blue or grey-silver compounds. Sufferers have usually
taken colloidal silver supplements – an alternative remedy with no known benefits.

3. There is 0.2mg of gold inside us
We absorb small amounts of gold from our environment, but it serves no known purpose. Largely
inert, it is non-toxic in small doses. Gold compound sodium aurothiomalate can, however, reduce
inflammation in arthritis patients, although its mechanism of action isn’t fully understood.
Researchers are currently investigating the use of nanoparticles equipped with antibodies which could
latch on to cancer cells to help speed up diagnosis.

4.The colour of the universe is beige
After adding up the light emitted by 200,000 galaxies, two astrophysicists determined the
average colour of universe: a rather bland shade of beige that they nicknamed ‘Cosmic Latte’.
Ten billion years ago, the universe would have had a pale blue hue, but its colour has shifted
with the increasing number of redder stars.

5.There is more than one north pole
True (or geodetic) north is a fi xed point, located where the Earth’s axis of rotation meets the planet’s surface, diametrically opposite the south pole. However if you look at a compass needle, it doesn’t point to the north pole, but rather to a place a few hundred kilometres south-east: magnetic north. Earth acts like a giant magnet, and the magnetic north is one of its poles. The planet’s magnetic fi eld is created by churning molten iron in the planet’s outer core. As these currents change, so does the location of the magnetic north pole, which is currently wandering at a speed of about 55 kilometres (34 miles) a year. After drifting through northern Canada, magnetic north is now heading towards Siberia. More dramatic changes could, however, be afoot. In the past, Earth’s magnetic
poles have switched places every 500,000 years. The reason behind these fl ips is unknown, but
geophysicists predict that the next one could be coming up in a few thousand years.