Facts of Discovery, Invention & Wonder – 2 571. Formerly called Kiritimati, the Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is 52 square miles. It was sighted and named on Christmas Day in the year, 1643 by British sailor, Capt William Mynors. The phosphate- rich island is now an Australian Territory. 572. Alexander Graham Bell, the man who invented the telephone, was originally an instructor for deaf children and invented the telephone...

Facts of Discovery, Invention & Wonder – 1 557. The early Romans used pebbles for counting. 558. The Great Pyramids of Egypt were among the tallest of all man- made structures until the Eiffel tower was built in the year, 1889. 559. The Roman calendar had only ten months and it began with march. September was thus the seventh month, October the 8th, November, the 9th and December, the 10th. It...

Facts of the Sea – 6 531. The sea anemone has many brightly coloured tentacles which attract small fish. The tentacles then sting the prey and trap it. 532. Twenty ocean sunfish can lay at a time as many eggs as there are people on earth. 533. If a soap- fish gets annoyed, it lets off a soapy, slimy mucus. 534. The lantern- eye fish is a small fish that has...

Facts of the Sea – 5 521. The biggest wave ever recorded in the open sea was during a storm in 1933. The wave hit a height of 34 meters. 522. The level of the sea rises by about 30 cm every 100 years. 523. A blue baby whale, at the time of its birth, weighs up to 4,000 kg, almost as heavy as a full – grown elephant. 524. On...

Facts of the Sea – 4 511. It is very difficult to move at great speed in the water, but the barracuda, which is the fastest fish in the sea, swims at 60 km per hour. 512. Salt water does not decay because chloride ions comprise 55% of the solids dissolved in it. Out of 100 parts of sea water near the surface, salt constitutes more than 3 parts. 513. The...

Facts of the Sea – 3 501. The starfish has an eye on the end of each arm. 502. The most venomous fish in the world is the stonefish of the tropical waters of the Indo- Pacific. Direct contact with the spines of its fins, which contain neurotoxin poison, often proves fatal. 503. The giant squid can grow up to 15 metres long and weigh as much as 2 tonnes. Its...