7 In 1850, a man named Thomas Austin released 24 rabbits into the wild for sport hunting in Australia. Less than 70 years later, the rabbit population grew to a staggering 10 billion.
The rabbits were reproducing at a rate of 18 to 30 per single female rabbit per year. The reason for this could also be that Australia is the ideal place for rabbits. With mild winters, no threat of predators, natural low vegetation and an abundance of land, Australia proved to be the perfect home for the then new and invasive species.(source)
8 A clever 18-year-old freshman crowdfunded his education by asking 2.8 million people for one penny.
In 1987, chemistry freshman Mike Hayes wrote to Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene, asking him to request that each of his readers send Hayes a penny.
Soon, the ‘Many Pennies for Mike’ campaign had the equivalent of 2.3 million pennies to its name. Mike was able to finance his college education, thanks to this quirky scheme, and graduated from the University of Illinois.(source)
The supraorbital gland in penguins allows them to drink salt water. The gland performs the function of a filter, which lets them separate the salt from the water.
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10 Looking to amp up your walking routine? Not swinging your arms when you walk increases the effort of walking by 12%, the equivalent of walking 20% faster or carrying a 10 kg backpack. Feel those calories melt away!
11 Bill Haast, the ‘Snake Man‘, was bitten by snakes at least 173 times over the course of his 100-year-old life. The secret to his survival was that he injected himself with snake venom every single day for 60 years and built up an immunity to the poison.
However, this did not come easy. He was bitten fatally about 20 times. His hands were disfigured and mangled after close encounters with these poisonous predators.
Over the years, Bill Haast saved many lives. He traveled around the world and donated his antibody-rich blood to 21 snake bite victims.(source)
12 If all the observable stars in the universe were divided up among our population, everyone would have 44.1 trillion stars. Just the thought of that makes me happy.
