Facts of Nature & Space – 9 171. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal are lashed by rain from November to January and from May to September. The people therefore build their houses on stilts. The area between the stilts is used as a courtyard. The huts are built in a circle with an open space n the centre. Some tribes in the North- Eastern States of...

Facts of Nature & Space – 8 161. The Mexican jumping bean is not a bean. It is a hollow shell containing worms or larvae. 162. Like the tomato, the brinjal too is a fruit. 163. Honey is used in anti- freeze mixtures. It is also a good remedy for the cure of cough and cold. 164. Caffeine is the most widely consumed addictive in the world. 165. A diamond will...

Facts of Nature & Space – 7 151. The awesome Himalayan rage of mountains is the only one is the world towering above 7,000 meters. 152. The height of Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world, is 8, 872 meters. Formerly, it was measured as 8,848 meters. In 1987, this was disputed, with claim that the peak of K2 was higher. Satellite picture of the Mount Proved that it...

Facts of Nature & Space – 6 141. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It is made up of whirling gasses and is always covered with clouds. The planet has the most powerful radio waves. 142. Uranus is greenish in colour and contains methane gas. It is mainly composed of hydrogen and ice. 143. Neptune is the windiest planet in the solar system. It has eight satellites and...

Facts of Nature & Space – 5 131. In England, vraic is a seaweed used for fuel and as a fertilizer. It is found in the Channel Islands. 132. The entire plant life on earth absorbs around 3,960 crore tons of carbon dioxide per year and converts it into about 2702 crore tons of carbohydrate. 133. Of all the potatoes grown in the United States of America, only eight per cent...

Facts of Nature & Space – 4 121. A certain flower found in the jungles of Africa changes its colour seven times in one minute. It is locally known as the ‘rainbow’. 122. Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. 123. An astronaut cannot eat beans before going into space because passing wind in a space suit could damage. It. 124. An astronaut cannot shed tears in space even...

Facts of Nature & Space – 3 111. The lettuce contains phosphorous, lime, potash and vitamins A, B and C, besides iron. 112. The fig contains vitamin B, potash, sodium, lime, phosphorous and magnesium. It serves as a toxic and a laxative. 113. The banana is rich in protein, carbohydrates and vitamin B. 114. The vanilla flavour is obtained from the unripe fruit of a tall fragrant plant called vanilla plan...

Facts of Nature & Space – 2 101. The biggest flower in the world is the ‘raflesia’. Its diameter is about a meter and it weighs about 11 kgs. 102. The orange contains plenty of vitamin C, protein, fat and calcium. 103. The strawberry has more vitamin C than the orange. 104. A tree gets only 10 per cent of its nutrition from the soil. It gets the rest form the...