User:Super Cyclonic Storm Corona/Fun Facts

Did you know...

• The Universe is approximately 94 billion light-years across in diameter.
• The Universe is currently expanding at a rate about 6.643 times faster than the speed of light. This means that the edge of the Universe itself is expanding at about 3.32 times faster than the speed of light. Also, despite the Universe' accelerating expansion rate, the expansion is actually decreasing in terms of the ratio of volume vs. the amount of expansion.
• Literal blue moons actually do occur. They are extremely rare, and it only happens during volcanic eruptions or large wildfires.
• Yellowstone's magma chamber is actually 2.5 times larger than scientists have originally thought. That makes Yellowstone's magma chamber about the same size it was during its last major eruption around 640,000 years ago.
• Scientists discovered the existence of Quadruple helix DNA on March 20, 2013.
• Black holes actually have a limit on how large they could become (theoretically about 50 billion solar masses at this time).
• The Quasar APM 08279+5255 is currently the largest source of water known, with the galaxy containing 100 trillion times the water found in all of Earth's oceans! The central black hole itself has a mass of 23 billion Suns.
• The largest black hole known is the Quasar S5 0014+81, which has a mass of 40 billion solar masses, about 10,000 times more massive than the Milky Way's central black hole. It also has an event horizon with a diameter of 240 billion kilometers (1,600 AU), about 6.3 times the diameter of our Solar System's Heliosheath!!
• Black holes eventually evaporate into planck-sized objects once they are no longer able to absorb any new material. When this happens, the black hole releases a large amount of energy in an explosion.
• Continent-size hurricanes, known as Hypercanes used to ravage the Earth (especially during the Paleocene Epoch). Those storms had winds at 500 mph, a central minimum pressure of around 700 millibars (21 inHg), and lasted for weeks on average. In fact, many cave systems and canyons exist today because of the erosion caused by these Hypercanes.
• California is currently overdue for a Megastorm. If such a storm occurs, much of Central Valley will be submerged under 10 feet of water, and the event will result in at least $750 billion (2011 USD) in damages.
• San Diego is actually overdue for a hurricane. Southern California actually has a history of being directly impacted by Tropical cyclones and hurricane-remnants, but it has been over 150 years since Southern California has actually been directly impacted by a hurricane.
• The United States is currently $19.428 Trillion (2016 USD) in debt, despite what politicians say. About $6.324 trillion dollars of that debt belongs to foreign countries, of which $1.181 trillion belongs to China. This is actually the worst period of national debt America has ever seen in its entire history.
• Wikipedia is actually more reliable than most people believe. In fact, Wikipedia is one of the fastest-growing encyclopedias, with a higher correction rate than many other online encyclopedias. Despite the large amount of vandalism in many different areas, these are handled through administrative actions involving blocks.
• The United States has at least 400 Neo-Nazis. (Yes, sadly, there are Nazis in the United States) As a matter of fact, after the failure of disciplinary action for many of the "lesser" Nazis during the Nuremberg trials, most of them went on to found various Neo-Nazi movements. Neo-Nazis in America have also founded their own institute, which exists even today and continues to deny the Holocaust. Additionally, despite the differences between the views of the various Neo-Nazi factions, most of the hardcore groups plan to: 1. Gain power in Germany and acquire Nuclear weapons. 2.) Use their new nuclear weapons to force the world to surrender and create a global Fourth Reich. 3.) Complete the elimination of all "inferior races" (well, you already know who the Nazis are going to target). 4.) Genetically engineer future "Aryan" generations into "perfect Superhumans" capable of unimaginable tasks. And finally, colonizing planets in the entire Milky Way Galaxy with their "Super-Aryans" to create a Galactic Reich.
• American pharmaceuticals have a rather nasty habit of blowing up the prices of medical drugs by anywhere from ten times, to thousands of times, despite the fact that there is no economic or cost-related reasons for doing so. This has led to a domino effect in which millions of Americans have ended up falling into bankruptcy, suffering worsening medical problems (due to the inability to purchase their drugs), giving up college educations and other goals, among other life crises. This is also a major factor that is severely straining the U.S. healthcare industry. Despite the repeated scandals and bursts of outrage in the public, the vast majority of major pharmaceuticals have refused to change their practices, even stealthily continuing to jack up costs in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for lower drug prices.
• Genetic engineering can actually cure cancer and other genetic diseases once and for all. The problem is, the treatments haven't been completely perfected for all of the diseases (even though cancer treatments in this field have almost been nailed), and there is still quite a lot of opposition in varying places to this kind of technology.
• Prions are misfolded proteins that actually cause any proteins they come into contact with to become new prions. Mad Cow Disease is actually caused by a prion. Prions cause the rapid degeneration of nervous tissue due to cellular destruction, until death occurs. Due to their small size, the body has no immune response to it, but scientists are currently working on a treatment to eliminate prions. Since the destruction prions cause start out slow, no symptoms are visible for the first several years, but by the time symptoms can be identified, it is already too late for the patient. For reasons scientists still do not understand, all known prions only target Nervous Cells.
• Allergies and other autoimmune diseases cannot be transmitted to another person (except through genetic inheritance from parents to their children). This is because such diseases are genetic diseases meaning that they are not contagious because it is impossible for a person to acquire another person's genetic disease through normal means (unless the affected person somehow inserts their disease-causing gene into the other person's entire genome, which is impossible). Additionally, most people in the United States have some form of allergies. There is no cure at present for allergies or any autoimmune diseases; only drugs (and herbs) are available, which treat the symptoms of the diseases.
• Many geniuses and inventors had some kind of mental disability (including Autism), or displayed erratic behavior. This includes many famous people who we recognize today, including Albert Einstein.
• Contrary to popular belief, many kids in the younger generations of Americans are actually becoming shorter, most notably for guys.
• Certain drugs and vaccinations had toxic chemicals that eventually lead to cancer and/or Alzheimers, following repeated exposure.
• Many food companies/restaurants use MSG as a flavor enhancer to open up your appetite, without ever telling you that it's there (including ingredient lists on food products). Despite this, studies have shown that continued exposure to MSG leads to cancer and brain damage.
• Superstring theory has been the only possible candidate so far for a Theory of everything. String Theory, if proven, would effectively unite General relativity and Quantum mechanics, the 2 major fields encompassing all of the laws of physics. String Theory would also bridge the gap between Gravity and the other 3 Fundamental Forces, in addition to explaining its behavior. Although the M-theory (the most likely candidate for String Theory) requires 11 dimensions to work, it is most likely that we don't see the other 8 dimensions (including Time) because we are simply unable to perceive anything beyond three dimensions. Thus, an 11-dimensional object would appear 3D to us.
• There are many scientific and mathematical anomalies that scientists currently are unable to explain.
• UY Scuti, the largest known star (at 1,708 Solar Radii), would extent beyond the orbit of Saturn if it was placed in the Sun's position. It is also not the most massive star.
• R136a1, the most massive star known, is a Wolf–Rayet Blue Hypergiant with an estimated mass of 265 Suns. Tt is also the most luminous star known, at 8,700,000 times the luminosity of the Sun.
• Quadruple Rainbows can form under extremely rare conditions. Rainbow clouds are also a rarity, as are clouds in the shape of Double Helixes (such as the cloud structure in Typhoon Tip's eye while it was at peak intensity).
• Fire tornadoes (also known as Firenadoes) actually form under extreme conditions present only in powerful wildfires.
• Contrary to the popular (and ridiculous) assumption of some people, al-Qaeda is actually active and very much alive. Although its leadership has been driven into hiding, the current leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has ordered his subordinates to launch an attack on America. Their possible targets include Los Angeles, among other major U.S. cities. Their attacks were planned to avenge the death of their former leader, Osama bin Laden. In addition, al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, Tahrir al-Sham (formerly known as the al-Nusra Front) has become the most powerful anti-Assad fighting force in Syria.
• We (Americans) actually helped the Taliban rise to power when the U.S. Government send aid to Islamic resistance groups to help topple Afghanistan's Communist regime. As such, the United States does have a responsibility to make sure that the Taliban goes down and stays down.
• Unlike what most people believe, everyone is constantly being surveyed by the government in public, no matter where they go (specifically, the governments of developed countries). Soon, with the new development of advanced drones, this surveillance may eventually intrude into the private lives of citizens without their knowing or consent.
• Studies have proven that billions of humans could survive a Nuclear war. People will survive, even if some countries do not.
• Russia has more nuclear missiles (as well as much more powerful ones) than the United States. Even though the United States has more allies (and more nuclear powers on their side), Russia still has the most powerful nukes, as of now.
• Most people reject things/people that "stand out" by habit, even if they refuse to acknowledge it. They also snub and shun people/groups who do things differently, even to an alarming degree (including abuse of power in the workplace). Additionally, most people give in to social conformity in order to "blend in", and they are also heavily addicted to electronics because they refuse to take their time off such devices and try to spend their time building real social relationships. As a result, modern generations are becoming more ignorant and socially deficient. There is psychological evidence backing the existence of this phenomenon; unfortunately, it stifles diversity and social/technological advancements.
• Yellowstone actually experienced a smaller eruption about 174,000 years ago. That eruption generated the West Thumb portion of Yellowstone Lake.
• Both Russia and the United States have developed laser defenses against potential nuclear attacks. Conventional laser weapons actually aren't all that far off.
• In the past, Quasars used to be bunched up close together. A recent discovery in January 2007 found a Quasar Triplet near the visible edge of the Universe.
• Scientists were recently able to map the Gravitational shockwaves of the universe. This could also be proof of the existence of Gravitons, the yet undiscovered particles responsible for Gravity.
• On September 5, 2013, scientists discovered that Tamu Massif was actually the single largest volcano on Earth. It is about 14,620 feet high from its base, and 120,000 square miles across (around the size of New Mexico). The volcano is approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan. The volcano is also so large, its size rivals that of Olympus Mons.
• In late March 2014, scientists discovered 10199 Chariklo, the first known asteroid to have rings.
• IC 1101 is the largest known galaxy in existence. It is a supergiant Elliptical galaxy at the heart of the Abell 2029 Galaxy cluster. It is about 1.07 billion light-years away, in the constellation of Virgo. IC 1101 is an Elliptical Lenticular Galaxy that measures 2.8 million light-years across. The second-largest galaxy, NGC 262 (an unusually large Spiral Galaxy, measures about 2.6 million light-years across.
• In April 2014, scientists discovered the largest meteor impact ever known on the Earth, near the Barberton greenstone belt. The asteroid was approximately 5 times larger than the one responsible for the Chicxulub crater, around 23 miles (47 km) wide in diameter. The crater caused by the Barberton asteroid is estimated to be approximately 297 miles (487 km) across in diameter, though subsequent erosion and tectonic activity have largely erased the crater itself.
• The Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall is the largest observable object in the Universe! It is a galaxy filament that measures approximately 10 billion light-years across!
• There is currently an effective treatment for HIV. It's a drug named Truvada, which prevents the HIV virus from replicating, effectively curbing viral growth and allowing the human immune system to destroy the virus before it is able to reproduce. The only problem is that most people at risk/infected are not taking this drug (and it is also quite expensive).
• That ZMapp is one of the few possible effective treatments for the 2014 Ebola virus. ZMapp successfully saved the lives of 2 missionaries infected with Ebola in West Africa in June 2014, when they decided to try out the drug as an experimental trial; however, the drug is still experiment and has yet to be widely tested by major companies.
• In 2014, scientists discovered that the Transition Zone in the Earth's mantle contains 3 times the amount of water present in all of the Earth's oceans, at a depth between 410 and 660 kilometers (255 to 410 miles). This water is contained within a type of blue colored rock called ringwoodite, which is a type of olivine. This subterranean source of water is where the Earth's oceans actually came from. The rare Blue diamonds also form around this level, at a depth of about 660 kilometers (410 miles) beneath the surface of the Earth.
• That the largest known diamond in the universe is actually the partially-crystallized core of the white dwarf BPM 37093, also nicknamed "Diamond Lucy". The white dwarf has a diameter of 2,500-mile (4,000 km), and about 90% of its carbon core is estimated to have already crystallized. Scientists believe that this kind of crystallization also happens in the cores of other white dwarfs, meaning that gigantic diamonds are probably a common occurrence in the universe.
• On the gas giant HAT-P-7b, it rains rubies and sapphires. Additionally, it rains solid diamonds on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
• That ASASSN-15lh is the most luminous Hypernova ever spotted by astronomers. It was first spotted in May 2015, shining 570 times brighter than the Sun, and 20 times brighter than the total light emitted by the Milky Way, though it was in another galaxy. If this hypernova had exploded in the Milky Way Galaxy, it would have outshone the full moon in the night sky.
• Great Britain used to be connected to France via a large land bridge, thousands of years ago, until the land bridge was destroyed by megafloods that came from the seawater that was previously held back by the land bridge. (The very first geological Brexit. :))
• On Sunday, April 8, 2012, a meteorite exploded over Sutter's Mill, generating loud sonic booms and a bright flash of light across much of California and Nevada.
• The supernova star iPTF14hls has repeatedly defied death. This star went supernova over 60 years ago, in 1954, before going supernova again with even greater intensity in 2014. As of 2017, the star has still been exploding (for over 3 years now), and is still in the process of undergoing a supernova. The supernova star iPTF14hls has generated some of the most unusual supernovae ever observed.