10 Amazing Scientific “Facts of Discovery, Invention & Wonder” interesting facts for Class 10 and 12 Part 9

Facts of Discovery, Invention & Wonder – 9

641. Many scientific discoveries were purely accidental. For example, William Perkins was trying to make quinine when he discovered how to make synthetic dye.

642. Ira Remsen accidentally discovered saccharin which is 675 times sweeter than sugar.

643. Early astronomers thought that everything in the universe circled around the earth. But they were wrong, because later, a polish astronomer, Copernicus, suggested that the earth orbits the sun.

644. The Baobab tree of East Africa is one of the strangest looking trees in the world. The tree has a large trunk that is almost nine meters (30 feet) in diameter. The small twisted branches of the tree look like roots and seem very disproportionate to the trunk and the entire trunk is like a water tank. The trunk can store so much as 4,000 liters of water. In periods of draught, elephants raid these trunks for water.

645. The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is world-famous. But very few people know about the shaking minarets of Ahmedabad. Built in the 15th century, these minarets of Siddi Bashir’s mosque are unique. They are twenty meters high and each minaret has three storey’s with carved stone balconies. When the top portion of one minaret is shaken, the vibrations travel down to the hollow tower and pass through the arch to the other minarets, moving it in the opposite direction. A flat terrace joins the two minarets and serves as a bridge. These minarets are shaken many times a day for the benefit of sightseers who climb up the spiraling steps to reach the top. As one minaret starts swinging, the other one also sways rhythmically. 646. In 1918, a flu epidemic killed 548,000 people in the U.S.A.

647. In 1895, Ralph E. Morris, an American telephonist, invented the electric Christmas lights, similar to the ones we use today. The actual string of lights has actually been manufactured for use in telephone switchboards. Morris looked at the tiny bulbs and had the idea of using them on his Christmas tree. The lights proved safer than the traditional candles.

648. Asprin was discovered during experimentation with a waste product.

649. The first stone lighthouse was lit by one 24 candles.

650. In the great fire of London in 1666, half of London was burnt down but only six people were injured.