10 Amazing Scientific “Facts of Discovery, Invention & Wonder” interesting facts for Class 10 and 12 Part 8

Facts of Discovery, Invention & Wonder – 8

631. When astronauts remain weightless in space for a prolonged period, scientists have discovered that their bones lose a measurable amount of weight and thickness. This means that the weightlessness actually causes human beings to shrink.

632. Sir William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers discovered ‘xenon’ in 1889. It is one of the heaviest gases and is scarcely found in the atmosphere. To get just 900 ml of xenon, you will need 19 million litres of air.

633. The arrow- poison frog is so venomous that some South American tribes dip arrows into its poison to make them more deadly. A frog 2.5 cm long, makes poison for 50 arrows.

634. The Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest known sphinx statue in Egypt.

635. The 302 meters high Eiffel Tower was built by Alexander Gustave Eiffel, bridge engineer, for the Paris world Fair in 1889. It took 250 workers, two years and two months to complete the 6,000- ton wrought iron structure.

636. The Great Pyramid of Egypt was built as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops). It took hundreds of workers and nearly 20 years to construct the 140 – meter high pyramid.

637. The leaning Tower of Pisa is an eight- storied structure and 54.5 meters high. It was built as a bell tower for a nearby cathedral. The construction of the tower began in 1174 A.D. but was not completed for nearly 200 years. It started to lean shortly after it was built and continues to tilt a little more with each passing year.

638. The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is one of the finest and most famous examples of architecture of the eastern part of the Roman Empire. It was built as a cathedral between 532 and 537 A.D. by Emperor Justinian I. however, when the Turks conquered the city in 1453, they added four minarets to the cathedral and used it as a mosque. It now serves as a museum.

639. The 381- meters high Empire State Building in New York was the tallest building I the world for almost half a century until it was overtaken by the 415- meters tall twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1971 (The tallest building in the world today is in Tiwan).

640. At the court of King Louis XIV of France, prestige was measured by the height of the chair own was allowed to sit in. only the king and the queen could sit in chairs with arms.