65 Random and Obscure Facts to Start Up a Conversation
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Transcript
00:00 Now, there are things about nature that you know for sure.
00:04 Or don't you?
00:05 Let's check how much you know about the incredible world we live in.
00:09 How many of the 14 points will you guess?
00:12 Let us know!
00:14 The Great Pyramid of Giza was built when mammoths still roamed the Earth.
00:18 Myth or fact?
00:26 It's actually a fact!
00:28 The most famous pyramid in the world had been constructed about 500 years before woolly
00:33 mammoths went extinct, approximately 4,000 years ago.
00:38 Their last known habitat was the cold and deserted Wrangel Island in the Arctic Sea,
00:43 which might not have been as cold then as it is today.
00:47 There are more trees on Earth than stars in the Milky Way.
00:51 Is it myth or fact?
01:00 It's a fact!
01:02 Scientists used to believe there were about 4 billion trees on our planet, but more recent
01:06 studies have shown that there are over 3 trillion of them, making it 420 trees per person.
01:13 As for the stars in our galaxy, there are only about 100 billion, which is 30 times
01:18 fewer than the trees on Earth alone.
01:22 The trees you see are all individual ones.
01:25 Myth or fact?
01:33 This is false, in fact.
01:35 90% of the trees on Earth are interconnected by mycelium filaments.
01:40 They send warning signals when in danger and exchange nutrients through them.
01:44 It's kinda like the underground internet.
01:47 Also, there are organisms like Pando, for example, which is the largest single living
01:52 being on the planet.
01:54 It looks like a dense forest of quaking aspens.
01:57 In fact, it's basically a single giant tree, with its roots being interconnected underground.
02:03 We drink the same water dinosaurs used to drink hundreds of millions of years ago.
02:08 Myth or fact?
02:18 Actually it is!
02:20 Only a small portion of the water on our planet has evaporated for good.
02:24 The rest of it is constantly renewed.
02:26 So, mammoths, dinosaurs, and whatever came before them billions of years ago drank and
02:31 swam in the same water we see today.
02:34 Not to mention what else they did in the water.
02:37 Unfortunately, the water doesn't keep information about those ancient creatures for us to find
02:42 out more about them.
02:44 Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
02:47 Are you willing to bet on that?
02:49 Myth or fact?
02:53 If you aren't, good for you!
03:00 Lightning may strike the very same spot as many times as it wants.
03:04 It might seem random, but the electrical discharge from the sky is pulled toward the tallest
03:09 objects in the thunderstorm area.
03:11 Also, the material this object is made of matters too.
03:15 It's by no chance that lightning rods on buildings are mostly made of copper and aluminum
03:20 alloys.
03:21 These metals are some of the most conductive materials, so they pull lightning very efficiently.
03:28 All deserts are hot.
03:29 Now this one's easy, right?
03:31 Myth or fact?
03:40 If you guessed it's a myth, then right you are!
03:43 Deserts are qualified not for their temperature, but for the presence or absence of growth
03:48 and life in them.
03:49 The most well-known desert is the Sahara, of course, and it is indeed very hot.
03:54 The actual largest desert in the world is Antarctica, which is almost twice the size
03:59 of the Sahara Desert.
04:01 And you wouldn't call it even lukewarm.
04:04 It's a polar desert, and there are several others on our planet, for example, Greenland.
04:10 There's enough gold underground to cover the entire planet in a thick layer.
04:14 Would you believe that?
04:23 Well you should, because it's true!
04:25 Since 1950, humanity has mined nearly 200,000 tons of gold.
04:31 If we made a cube out of all this metal, it would be 70 feet high and wide!
04:36 Recent data from scientists confirm that there are huge reserves of gold in the Earth's
04:41 core.
04:42 The metal is enough to cover the whole planet, and people might have gold up to their knees.
04:47 The problem is, we just can't mine it from there.
04:49 Hey, I don't mine if you don't!
04:52 The Moon and Mars are better mapped than the Earth's oceans.
04:56 Now this can't be true, can it?
05:01 Actually, it can.
05:08 We have a detailed map of the Moon and Mars, although we're still discovering surprises
05:13 on their surfaces, granted.
05:14 Still, over 80% of the Earth's oceans are unmapped and unexplored.
05:20 We can't study the oceans properly because of pressure, cold, and lack of light underneath
05:25 billions of tons of water.
05:28 The lava is always red.
05:30 What other color can it be, right?
05:32 Myth or fact?
05:36 Myth.
05:39 Usually, lava is really red or orange because it's basically molten rock from the deep
05:47 bowels of our planet.
05:49 There's one volcano in Indonesia whose lava is blue and luminescent.
05:54 Only at night, though.
05:55 During the day, it looks normal.
05:57 No mystery about it, just tons of sulfuric gas.
06:00 This volcano also has the largest acidic crater lake in the world.
06:05 The water there is so turquoise, you want to jump in immediately, but you probably guessed
06:10 you should never do that.
06:12 The fire on that volcano is also blue, the largest blue fire in the world, rising up
06:16 to 16 feet high.
06:18 Ever seen a gas stove burning?
06:20 Here, the principle is basically the same.
06:24 You can see a rainbow at night, too.
06:26 Is it myth or fact?
06:36 It's true!
06:37 And there's even a name for this phenomenon – a moonbow.
06:40 Also called a lunar rainbow, this event occurs extremely rarely.
06:45 It's similar to a regular rainbow, except when it appears on a clear, moony night after
06:50 a rain shower.
06:52 There's a thing called a fire rainbow.
06:55 Myth or fact?
07:04 You bet!
07:05 It's a beautiful phenomenon when the clouds in the sky are painted all the colors of the
07:09 rainbow, looking like a fiery, multicolored cascade.
07:13 It only occurs when the conditions are right, and those are very specific.
07:18 It's close to the equator, the weather is clear, there are feather-like clouds in the
07:22 sky, the sun is higher than 58 degrees above the horizon.
07:27 Such clouds are made of ice crystals.
07:30 When the sun's rays hit them, the particles refract the light and create a rainbow.
07:35 Wow!
07:37 There are rainbow trees!
07:39 Myth or fact?
07:48 If I made you doubt this, I'm glad, because this one is not photoshopped.
07:53 This is the rainbow eucalyptus, and their bark may literally have all the rainbow colors.
07:59 These eucalyptuses shed their bark at different times each year.
08:03 Every time the old section goes off, the tree first reveals bright green bark that was hiding
08:08 underneath, and then it may turn any color.
08:11 There's a whole set of hues – orange, maroon, blue, even purple!
08:18 Stones can move on their own.
08:19 Myth or fact?
08:24 You'd be right to believe me.
08:30 There's a desert plain in California where rocks move around of their own will.
08:36 Once this plain used to be the bottom of a lake, but then it dried out and became an
08:40 arid wasteland.
08:42 Sometimes, rains fall here, flooding the entire valley.
08:45 When night comes, the temperature drops, and the water is covered with a thin layer of
08:50 ice.
08:51 When it gets warmer again, the ice breaks into segments, and the wind pushes them around
08:55 the place.
08:57 Some of these ice shards take small rocks with them.
09:00 When the ice melts for good and the water evaporates, the only thing that remains are
09:04 trails left by the rocks, as if they'd moved on their own.
09:09 Mud puddles can move around.
09:11 Myth or fact?
09:20 In fact, a single mud puddle in the world also travels as it wants, and nobody still
09:25 knows why.
09:26 It moves at a pace of about 20 feet per year, and it seems to have started its journey near
09:31 the San Andreas Fault in California.
09:34 People have tried to stop its march but couldn't.
09:37 So far, this creeping natural disaster isn't showing any signs of stopping on its own either.
09:43 So there's your pesky, problematic puddle to ponder.
09:51 Are humans the only creatures on Earth that enjoy eating spicy food?
09:55 Probably.
09:56 I mean, it's not like you've ever seen a giraffe ordering a curry takeout at your local restaurant.
10:01 Well, that might not be completely true.
10:04 It turns out that tree shrews, these adorable little critters, have a burning passion for
10:09 spicy food too!
10:13 Asian researchers stumbled upon this fascinating fact.
10:17 Tree shrews are the only non-human mammals who intentionally seek out mouth-numbing,
10:22 tongue-tingling, tear-inducing spicy delicacies.
10:27 Scientists detected a sneaky genetic mutation in these courageous tree shrews.
10:32 They feature a certain receptor that is responsible for detecting pain caused by the scorching
10:37 sensation of capsaicin, the infamous hot chemical found in chili peppers.
10:43 It's like having a secret superpower that shields them from feeling as much discomfort as the
10:48 rest of us mere mortals.
10:51 But how did scientists come to this astonishing revelation?
10:55 They decided to venture into the wild and looked at five wild tree shrews and a group
11:00 of six wild mice, acting as the control group for the test.
11:05 The team then took notes on how each of these tiny mammals reacted to the fiery capsaicin.
11:11 No surprises when it came to the mice, they really didn't have a good time.
11:16 But the tree shrews remained remarkably calm and collected.
11:20 The secret behind the tree shrews' spice resilience was a single amino acid that sets them apart
11:27 from their mouse counterparts.
11:30 While many plants have evolved to deter animals from munching on them by producing pungent
11:35 chemicals, the tree shrews have managed to outsmart Mother Nature.
11:39 The scientists behind this study believe that the genetic mutation responsible for the shrews'
11:44 spice tolerance is an incredible evolutionary adaptation.
11:49 It allowed them to expand their culinary horizons and survive in diverse environments.
11:57 For us humans though, spices aren't a modern discovery.
12:01 Even back in prehistoric Denmark, our ancestors had a spicy side.
12:06 Researchers found some ancient pots that were used for cooking around 6,000 years ago.
12:11 And guess what?
12:12 They found traces of a peppery, mustard-like flavor.
12:17 Now when exactly did humans start seasoning their food?
12:21 That's a bit of a mystery.
12:23 Take coriander seeds for instance, which are heavily featured in many Asian, Middle Eastern,
12:29 and Mediterranean dishes.
12:31 They were found at a site in Asia dating back a whopping 23,000 years!
12:37 Unfortunately, we can't be absolutely sure if they were indeed used to add flavor to
12:43 food.
12:44 They might have been just growing there randomly.
12:46 However, solid evidence has been uncovered that confirms people in Northern Europe were
12:52 intentionally spicing up their food around 6,100 years ago.
12:58 This is the earliest known record of spiced food in Europe, and possibly the world.
13:03 To get this spicy scoop, the researchers examined the leftovers stuck inside 74 cooking pots
13:10 from ancient sites in Denmark and Germany.
13:13 These pots had all the chemical signatures of meat or fish, and they even found phytoliths,
13:19 which are little mineral traces left by food.
13:23 These phytoliths were similar to the ones found in garlic mustard seeds, a local plant
13:29 known for its zesty kick, but not much nutritional value.
13:35 Here's where it gets interesting.
13:37 There were way more phytoliths in the pot residue than in the surrounding sediment.
13:42 That means those clever people intentionally brought the garlic mustard from elsewhere
13:47 and tossed it into the pots.
13:50 What's even more amazing is that these pots predate the arrival of agriculture in the
13:55 region.
13:56 So we're talking about good ol' hunter-gatherers here!
14:02 Now let's ponder this spicy conundrum.
14:05 Why are humans so obsessed with adding a kick to their cuisine?
14:10 We've got a couple of theories brewing.
14:12 One is that even the Neanderthals used plants for their medicinal properties, and the garlic
14:17 mustard seems to have been used as a disinfectant back in the day.
14:22 So maybe our ancestors had a knack for combining flavor and health benefits.
14:29 Another idea suggests that humans started seasoning their food because some spices have
14:33 antimicrobial properties that protect against food spoilage.
14:39 In other words, our taste buds might have evolved to love the spice for a good reason
14:43 - it kept us safe!
14:46 Others prefer to keep things simple and believe there might not be a functional reason behind
14:50 our love for spice.
14:52 It may all come down to the joy of taste.
14:56 Next time you add a dash of chili to your meal, remember that you're continuing a
15:00 tradition that goes back thousands of years!
15:05 Have you ever wondered why spicy food feels like it's setting your taste buds on fire?
15:10 It's because spicy food contains that mischievous little compound called capsaicin.
15:16 When you take a bite of that fiery dish, capsaicin latches onto the specific receptors inside
15:21 your mouth.
15:23 Now these receptors weren't initially meant to detect capsaicin at all - they evolved
15:28 to sense heat, acting like the mouth's own heat detectors, keeping us from munching on
15:33 foods that could cause harm.
15:37 But here's the funny part - capsaicin and VR-1 receptors ended up in this relationship
15:43 by accident!
15:47 When capsaicin waltzes into the picture and triggers those VR-1 receptors, our brain gets
15:52 a signal that shouts "HOT ALERT!" and that's why we perceive spicy food as hot, even though
15:58 technically it doesn't have a high temperature.
16:01 It's just our brains being tricked into thinking we're eating something that could burn us!
16:08 Although spicy food doesn't actually burn, our brain falls for the trick and believes
16:12 we're in some sort of discomfort.
16:15 So why do we keep going back for more?
16:18 Scientists have been scratching their heads over this curious phenomenon and uncovered
16:21 a fascinating explanation tied to our brain's pain relief system.
16:26 You see, when our brains think we're hurt, it releases endorphins for us to get better
16:31 as soon as possible.
16:33 These endorphins not only dull the bad sensation, but also shower us with a nice feeling.
16:40 It's no wonder we adore spicy food!
16:44 The spicy saga goes even further!
16:47 Scientists have been delving into capsaicin's potential beyond the realm of taste buds.
16:52 They've been exploring its abilities to provide relief and have stumbled upon some intriguing
16:57 findings.
16:59 Throughout history and across various cultures, capsaicin has been used to tackle an array
17:05 of ailments.
17:07 From fever to different types of aches, capsaicin has made its mark.
17:12 In certain communities in Peru, they burn leaves containing capsaicin to produce steam,
17:17 which helps alleviate headaches.
17:20 In the Dominican Republic, these leaves are ingested as a form of treatment, and in the
17:25 Philippines, capsaicin-rich fruits are sought after to treat people's joints.
17:32 Now you might assume that the spiciness of peppers, for instance, is a clear message
17:37 from Mother Nature screaming, "Don't eat me, silly human!"
17:41 That's exactly what scientists initially believed.
17:45 They thought that pepper plants evolved their fiery flavors to keep us mammals from gobbling
17:50 up their fruits.
17:52 However, recent research on wild peppers suggests that deterring big mammals like us is actually
17:58 just a side gig.
18:00 The real reason behind their heat is likely their way of defending against much smaller
18:05 threats - nasty insects and pesky mold.
18:12 Back in the 1890s, scientists proposed the direct deterrent hypothesis to explain why
18:17 peppers evolved to be spicy.
18:20 According to this theory, peppers wanted to make sure their fruits were feasted upon by
18:25 birds, not by clumsy creatures like us.
18:28 You see, birds' heat-sensing nerves are blissfully immune to capsaicin's fiery charms,
18:33 making them the perfect seed dispersers.
18:37 The direct deterrent hypothesis took a hit when scientists looked at the natural variation
18:43 in pepper spiciness.
18:44 It turns out that the heat levels of pepper species tend to vary, probably because producing
18:50 capsaicin isn't easy.
18:52 So if these peppers can get away with being mild, they stop producing the spicy stuff
18:57 altogether.
18:59 When scientists ventured into pepper-packed landscapes, where both mild and hot peppers
19:04 grow, they made an intriguing discovery.
19:08 Mammals even when faced with milder peppers don't really fancy eating them.
19:13 Also, peppers don't crank up the spice levels just because there are more animals around.
19:17 It's like they're saying, "Hey mammals, you're not the main concern here."
19:21 Instead, the spiciness of peppers seems to be closely tied to the local climate.
19:28 Spicier peppers tend to thrive in areas with more rainfall.
19:31 Why?
19:32 Because of fungal damage.
19:34 That's right, fungi wreak havoc on our beloved peppers.
19:38 It turns out that mold, not mammals, might be the true reason behind spiciness!
19:48 Now can you honestly tell me you have never used your phone while driving?
19:53 I know, me too.
19:55 But we both know that it can be dangerous.
19:58 To help with this, some newer cars have a special feature called a "heads-up display."
20:04 This option shows important driving information in front of you, like speed and directions,
20:09 so you don't have to look away from the road.
20:11 It's like a floating screen on the road in front of you.
20:15 This can help you drive safer and avoid getting a ticket for going too fast.
20:20 Not all cars are so modern, so to drive safely, you need to put your phone away.
20:26 Thankfully, some cars have special places for your phone while you're focused on the
20:30 road.
20:31 One specific 2021 model, Chrysler Pacifica, has a feature where the second row of seats
20:37 can be folded down into the floor.
20:39 It's good for carrying big items.
20:42 But when the seats are up, these areas are good for storing things out of sight.
20:47 Just remember to check and clean them out every once in a while because they can become
20:51 magnets for all sorts of knick-knacks, like French fries or wet swimsuits, that will surely
20:57 start to smell at one point.
20:59 And some cleaning supplies in your car, just in case.
21:04 Are you a science fiction fan?
21:05 I have some good news for you then.
21:08 Turns out that flying cars may be closer to us than we think.
21:12 And it's not just because they look cool.
21:15 Manufacturers are looking into developing such vehicles for practical reasons too.
21:20 For starters, our standard rows are getting pretty congested as time goes by.
21:25 We'll need some other means of transportation in the future to be able to cope with a large
21:30 number of vehicles.
21:31 You can find loads of flying car concepts online, for all preferences.
21:36 There's one that looks like a giant drone, and another one like a mini-airplane.
21:41 The simplest designs just took a car and put wings on it.
21:46 Some cars will light up a snowflake on the dashboard every now and then.
21:50 In case you're wondering, it's a sensor, and a pretty important one too.
21:54 It shows the exterior ambient temperature.
21:58 It gets activated when there's a road warning due to a sharp drop in temperature.
22:03 It may sometimes even come with an audio warning or a message on your dashboard to inform you
22:08 that the roads may be getting icy, so you can either adapt the speed or change to the
22:14 appropriate tires if necessary.
22:18 Cars these days aren't just adapted for the cold season.
22:22 They come with cool features to help out during the summer months too.
22:25 I'm talking about those neat sun visors.
22:29 Check your car to see if it has this added bonus feature.
22:32 We know they twist to help the driver out even when they're not driving directly toward
22:37 sunlight.
22:38 Some visors can also extend, so they can provide shade to a larger area.
22:43 If yours can't extend, there's a simple solution.
22:46 Buy a sun visor extender.
22:48 You can even find them online.
22:50 They work by being attached to your existing sun visors or the windows for better shade
22:55 coverage and visibility.
22:58 Your car might have another hidden feature.
23:00 Well, it's technically not in the car, but in its tires.
23:05 These days, some cars come equipped with foam-filled tires.
23:09 They were created to fix the problem of air-filled ones that often went flat.
23:14 Why?
23:15 Well, because foam-filled tires have many of the same benefits as air-filled tires without
23:20 the danger of leaks.
23:22 Regular air-filled tires can sometimes lose air over time, even if there hasn't been
23:27 any damage.
23:28 In most cars with this feature, the tires are not completely filled with either foam
23:33 or air.
23:34 They have a mix of both.
23:40 A bonus of these modern tires is that they make the cars quieter.
23:45 Generally, electric cars make less noise, but because of that foam, they end up being
23:50 as quiet as a cat.
23:52 Some people like the fact that they're quiet, while others prefer that classic screeching
23:56 or rumbling that vehicles make.
23:59 But even people who like the sound of regular engines might like the quietness of these
24:03 new models because they are still very fast.
24:07 Hey, I drive one, and it's fun!
24:12 You might have stumbled upon a button called AEB.
24:15 It stands for Automatic Emergency Braking, and it's a feature that uses sensors to
24:19 detect if a collision is going to happen really soon.
24:23 When activated, it will automatically apply the brakes to try and prevent something bad
24:28 from happening, or make it less severe.
24:31 There are two types of AEB – one that only works at slow speeds, and one that works at
24:37 all speeds.
24:38 If the car can't be stopped completely, the AEB system will try to slow it down as
24:43 much as possible to reduce the impact.
24:48 Many cars now have systems that can warn you if someone is walking in front of you, and
24:53 can even automatically stop the vehicle to prevent an accident.
24:57 These systems use special sensors that can also detect bicycles and animals.
25:02 However, a study found that these systems don't always work well, especially at night.
25:08 Even if your car comes equipped with this added feature, it's crucial to always pay
25:12 attention while driving and not rely solely on these systems.
25:18 A little thing called Lane Centering Assist helps you stay in the middle of your lane
25:23 when you're driving on the highway.
25:24 It's not a replacement for paying attention to the road either, but it can help guide
25:29 you through gentle curves.
25:31 You'll still be in control of the car and can turn the wheel if you want to go in a
25:35 different direction.
25:37 Some systems give you a lot of feedback, while others are more subtle.
25:42 Lane Centering Assist can't handle sharp turns, and in most cars doesn't work if
25:47 you don't have the cruise control on.
25:49 What's also cool about this feature is that if it senses you've removed your hands from
25:54 the wheel, it'll give you the warning to return to the correct driving position.
26:00 A lot of accidents can happen when you're reversing your car, like out of the supermarket
26:05 parking lot.
26:07 Parking sensors can help prevent these things from happening by using radar or sound to
26:12 detect things that the driver might not see from his position.
26:16 These sensors will make a noise or show a warning on the car screen to let the driver
26:21 know something is there, like another car or a person passing by.
26:27 If you're planning to have a road trip, you know how hard it is to adapt to various
26:32 speed limits throughout the country.
26:34 Traffic sign recognition is a technology that can help with that.
26:38 It allows you to know what the speed limit is on the road you're driving on.
26:42 It uses a camera to take pictures of traffic signs and display them on a screen in your
26:47 car.
26:48 This can be helpful if the signs are hard to see or if you miss them while driving.
26:53 Some cars with this technology can even change their speed automatically based on the signs
26:58 they see.
27:00 This technology is mostly found in luxury cars, but it is becoming more common in other
27:05 types of cars too.
27:08 The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has made studies that show up to 6,000 drivers
27:14 per year have bad accidents simply because they were too tired.
27:19 Sure, I would like my car to come with built-in coffee makers or showers to keep me awake
27:24 on those long days driving, but some do have systems that can tell when a driver's getting
27:29 kinda snoozy.
27:31 These systems monitor the movements you make while in the driver's seat.
27:35 It looks at things like how you turn the steering wheel around and move the car.
27:40 If it senses you're a bit too tired to move on, it'll make a noise and show a message
27:44 on the dashboard urging you to take a break.
27:48 Some of these systems even show a picture of a coffee cup to remind you to stop at the
27:52 next gas station for a refreshing beverage.
27:55 Might save your life too!
27:58 So hi!
27:59 How about exploring some cool and unusual artifacts from the past?
28:04 Let's go!
28:05 Have you ever heard of Chinese magic mirrors?
28:08 These mirrors were made of solid bronze.
28:10 They had two sides.
28:12 The front was a shiny polished surface similar to our typical mirrors.
28:17 It was the back that did the magic.
28:19 When bright light fell on the mirror, it looked as if it was transparent, and the pattern
28:24 on the back of the mirror got projected onto the wall.
28:28 The back side could have different designs on it depending on what its creator wanted
28:32 to depict.
28:34 Since the mirror was made out of bronze, no one expected this optical illusion to occur.
28:40 These ancient artifacts date back to 2900-2000 BCE.
28:45 They became popular in China and were produced in large numbers at the time.
28:50 Eventually, their fame faded away.
28:52 For centuries, the magic of these mirrors baffled both people and scientists.
28:58 In the 11th century, Chinese scientist Shen Kou decided to study the mirrors.
29:03 He conveniently had three of them.
29:06 He was surprised by the ability of the metal to act as if it were transparent.
29:10 He believed that some tempering techniques created surface wrinkles on the mirror to
29:15 make it translucent.
29:16 Yet these wrinkles were imperceptible to the human eye.
29:21 It turns out he was right.
29:23 Many scientists tried to decipher the open mirrors over the centuries but remained clueless.
29:29 Finally, in 1932, William Bragg discovered that Shen Kou had been right about imperceptible
29:36 surface wrinkles all along.
29:39 Every once in a while, people open multiple tabs in a browser and come to a point where
29:43 there's no room for a new tab.
29:46 Apparently, this had also been happening long before computers and the Internet were invented.
29:52 Meet the 16th century browser.
29:55 This is a full-size book wheel.
29:58 It's kind of a custom-made rotating bookshelf.
30:01 Gregory Hayworth, a specialist in textual science, says that this tool has a system
30:07 of epicyclic gears.
30:10 That means that the book wheel has a working principle like a planetary system.
30:15 One gear rotates around another.
30:17 The shelves of the device maintain a constant 45-degree incline that holds the book securely
30:23 as the giant wheel turns.
30:26 Back then, people used the tool while writing encyclopedias and editions of classical works.
30:31 In this kind of work, a person has to have many books open simultaneously so that the
30:36 information from multiple sources can be gathered easily.
30:40 Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli is the inventor of this piece of early modern machinery.
30:49 What if I tell you that sponge divers in Greece accidentally found an ancient computer?
30:55 They pulled out this artifact from a shipwreck near Antikythera Island in 1901.
31:01 Scientists called it the Antikythera Mechanism and labeled it as the first mechanical computer.
31:07 The machine looks like a hunk of bronze, but it has some kind of mechanism composed of
31:13 gears and wheels.
31:15 So experts first assumed that it was an astronomer's tool.
31:19 After an X-ray scan, though, they found out that the instrument was far more complex than
31:24 they thought.
31:26 The artifact was meant to calculate astronomical positions, track the 4-year cycle of athletic
31:32 games, and so on.
31:34 It contained a box with dials on the outside and had an assembly of gear wheels attached.
31:40 It's still unknown who built an instrument with this level of artistry 2,000 years ago
31:45 and why this technology was lost.
31:49 After seeing how sophisticated the device was, scientists accepted that their perception
31:54 of ancient Greek engineering wasn't really accurate.
31:58 Professor Michael Edmonds of Cardiff University admits that, based on the knowledge they have,
32:03 this mechanism shouldn't even exist.
32:07 Edmonds says the machine is one-of-a-kind and its astronomical calculations are precise.
32:14 For him, the Antikythera Mechanism is more valuable than the Mona Lisa.
32:20 In 1929, scholars working in Topkapi Palace Museum in Turkey discovered a map.
32:27 It became famous for being the oldest map showing the Americas.
32:31 Piri Reis drew this detailed map on a gazelle skin in 1513.
32:37 He depicted Europe, North Africa, the coast of Brazil, and several islands, such as the
32:42 Azores and Canary Islands.
32:45 The most exciting thing is that he created the map only 21 years after Columbus had set
32:51 foot in the New World.
32:52 Well, it was new to him.
32:55 Piri Reis was a maritime scholar and a successful naval commander leading the Ottoman fleet.
33:00 Yet, while drawing the map, he relied not only on his expertise in sailing.
33:06 He created it by assembling and referring to 20 other regional maps, like the Arab map
33:12 of India, 4 Portuguese maps, and the map of the Western parts, drawn by Columbus.
33:18 Yes, the part he got from Columbus raised the heartbeat of many historians.
33:24 Columbus drew a map during his third voyage to the New World and sent it to Spain in 1498.
33:31 It's assumed to be lost.
33:33 Surprisingly, historians can now understand what Columbus noted down by looking at Piri
33:39 Reis' map.
33:41 In fact, he also drew another world map in 1528.
33:46 Even though only about one-sixth of this map has survived, it's clear that it described
33:52 the northwestern part of the Atlantic, the region from Venezuela to Newfoundland, and
33:57 the southern tip of Greenland.
33:59 The map also showed Antarctica centuries before its discovery.
34:04 Historians had to rethink the chronology of history after getting this crazy information.
34:10 Piri Reis described Antarctica's topography without ice in great detail.
34:16 Our Sun is an average-sized star, and still, it could fit 1,300,000 Earths.
34:23 The star is also 333,000 times as heavy as our planet.
34:28 NASA has translated radio waves created by planets' atmospheres into audible sounds.
34:34 That's how astronomers found out that Neptune sounds like ocean waves.
34:39 Jupiter like being underwater.
34:42 And Saturn's voice resembles background music to a horror movie.
34:46 Here on Earth, it's bebop jazz.
34:49 Now I made that up.
34:51 The Sun's surface is scorching hot, but a bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter.
34:58 Earth gets struck by 100 lightning bolts every second, which results in 8 million lightning
35:03 strikes a day and around 3 billion a year.
35:07 Shocking!
35:09 If you manage to go to the Moon one day and see fresh footprints, that doesn't mean
35:14 there's someone else there with you.
35:17 Footprints or similar marks can last for a million years over there.
35:21 Because the Moon doesn't have an atmosphere.
35:24 There are no winds, not even a breeze, that can slowly erase those footprints.
35:30 Astronomers have found the largest hole we've ever seen in the Universe.
35:34 It's the giant void that spreads a billion light-years across.
35:39 They found it accidentally.
35:40 One of the research team members was a little bored and wanted to check how things are going
35:45 in the direction of the cold spot.
35:47 That's an anomaly in the Cosmic Microwave Background Map, or CMB for short.
35:53 It's a faint glow of light that falls on our planet from different directions and fills
35:57 the Universe.
35:59 It's been streaming through space for almost 14 billion years as the afterglow that occurred
36:04 after the Big Bang.
36:07 So you fall right into the heart of the black hole and prepare for a sad end.
36:12 Well, you don't have to.
36:14 Falling into a black hole won't necessarily destroy you or your spaceship.
36:19 You have to choose a bigger black hole to survive.
36:23 If you fall into a small black hole, its event horizon is too narrow, and the gravity increases
36:28 every inch down.
36:30 So if you extend your arm forward, the gravity on your fingers is much stronger than on your
36:35 elbow.
36:36 This will make your hand lengthen, and you'll feel some discomfort.
36:40 Rather significant to be honest.
36:43 Things change if you fall into a supermassive black hole, like the ones in the center of
36:47 galaxies.
36:48 They can be millions of times heavier than the Sun.
36:51 Their event horizon is wide, and the gravity doesn't change as quickly.
36:55 So the force you'll feel at your heels and at the top of your head will be about the
37:00 same, and you can go all the way to the heart of the black hole.
37:04 This myth is busted.
37:07 If you watch a very touching movie in space and start crying, your tears won't run down.
37:13 They will gather around the eyeballs.
37:16 Your eyes will get too dry, so you'll feel like they're burning.
37:20 Any exposed liquid on your body will vaporize, including the surfaces of your tongue.
37:26 Speaking of burning, that's one thing fire can't do in space.
37:29 Fire can spread when there's a flow of oxygen, and since there's not any in space, well…
37:37 Once they explode, stars aren't supposed to come back to life.
37:41 But some of the stars somehow have survived the great supernova explosion.
37:46 Such zombie stars are pretty rare.
37:49 Scientists found a really big one called LP40365.
37:51 It's a partially burnt white dwarf.
37:56 A white dwarf is a star that burned up all of the hydrogen, and that hydrogen was previously
38:01 its nuclear fuel.
38:04 In this case, the final explosion was maybe weaker than it usually is, not powerful enough
38:09 to destroy the entire star.
38:12 It's like a star wanted to explode but didn't make it, which is why part of the matter still
38:17 survived.
38:19 If you ever go into space, don't take off your spacesuit unless you're on a spaceship.
38:24 Air in your lungs would expand, as well as the oxygen in the rest of your body.
38:28 You'd be like a balloon, twice your regular size.
38:33 Good news, the skin is elastic enough to hold you together, which means you wouldn't explode.
38:38 Small comfort.
38:40 When something goes into a black hole, it changes shape and gets stretched out just
38:45 like spaghetti.
38:46 This happens because gravitational force is trying to stretch an object in one direction,
38:51 and at the same time, squeeze it into another, like a pasta paradox.
38:56 Speaking of, a black hole that's as big as a single atom has the mass of a really big
39:02 mountain.
39:03 There's one at the center of the Milky Way called Sagittarius A. It has a mass like for
39:09 a billion suns, but luckily, it's far away from us.
39:15 If you made a big boom on an asteroid, you'd never be able to hear its loud sound.
39:20 Yes, we often hear the sound of spaceships and battles in space in the movies, but that's
39:25 just a myth.
39:27 Sound is a wave that spreads because of the vibrations of molecules.
39:32 A person claps a few feet away from you, the sound wave begins to push the first air molecule
39:37 next to the clap, then the second, third, and so on, until the wave reaches your ear.
39:43 So to spread sound, we need molecules, like air or water.
39:47 In our atmosphere, sound waves spread out just fine, but space is a vacuum, so it's
39:53 nothing here.
39:54 You can clap your hands loudly there, but there just won't be any molecules that can
39:58 vibrate and carry that sound.
40:00 So to carry on a conversation, you'd either need a radio or really good lip-reading skills.
40:09 Meteoroids orbit the Sun, while the majority of human-made debris orbits our planet.
40:14 For example, we launched almost 9,000 spacecraft around the world from satellites to rocket
40:20 ships.
40:21 Even the tiniest pieces can damage a spacecraft at such high speeds.
40:26 Galaxies, planets, comets, asteroids, stars, space bodies are things we can actually see
40:32 in space.
40:34 But they make up less than 5% of the total universe.
40:38 Dark matter, one of the biggest mysteries in space, is the name we use for all the mass
40:43 in the universe that's still invisible to us.
40:46 And there's a lot of it, it may even make 25% of the universe.
40:50 Dark energy makes the other 70% of the universe.
40:53 Hmm, that adds up to 100, right?
40:56 That's it for today!
40:58 So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
41:02 friends!
41:03 Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!