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Page 150 - Science Facts

Human poop is responsible for killing off a great deal of coral reefs!!

Elkhorn coral in the Caribbean are dying from bacterial infections. The coral reefs are coming into contact with human fecal matter and contracting the same diseases that were affecting human beings. Researchers have discovered that Serratia marcescens, a bacteria that causes respiratory infections and UTI's, is causing a symptom called "white pox" when it infects coral. Septic systems have allowed for sewage to leak into the ocean in the Caribbean and in the Keys, allowing for the coral to come into contact with human diseases.
(source)

The highest point in Florida is lower than many buildings.

Britton Hill in northwestern Florida is the highest point in the entire state. There’s even a monument in Lakewood Park on top of the hill to mark the state’s highest point. However, the hill is only 345 feet high. Many of Florida’s skyscrapers overtake Britton Hill in total height. In fact, Florida’s tallest non-natural point, the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami is 789 feet tall. That’s well over twice as high as Britton Hill.

A rare genetic mutation causes people to have no fingerprints.

The condition that causes babies to be born without fingerprints, known as adermatoglyphia, has only appeared in four families in the world. One of those families agreed to partake in scientific research about the condition. In that family 9 of 16 people had no fingerprints. The researchers were able to isolate the gene that had the relevant mutation, SMARCAD1.

This mutation has been labeled as “immigration-delay disease” because the lack of fingerprints makes it hard to cross borders. Other than the lack of fingerprints and less sweating, immigration-delay disease doesn’t have any other side-effects.
(source)

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You spend 40 minutes every day blind.

It's not that your eyes aren't working. Your mind is actually blocking images all the time, and refusing to process them. Whenever your eyes move, your brain doesn't process what would normally be very dizzying blurry images coming from the retina. To fill in the gaps of time, your brain creates an illusion for a fraction of a second to keep us from noticing. This is called "Saccadic masking" and it keeps us from experiencing motion blur.

Your brain replaces the blurry images with static images of your next object of focus. Whatever you look at after moving your eyes appears to stay still for a long period of time, because it is actually the same image stretched for a longer period of time to cover up the blur. This is called the "stopped-clock illusion", when the first second on a clock after you turn to look at it appears to take longer than all the other seconds.

Fireworks were invented by a cook.

Seems legit...

The original fireworks were just basic gunpowder, a mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulphur, and charcoal. According to Chinese legend, a cook first put this explosive mixture together by accident, 2000 years ago. This makes sense because all of the ingredients were things that could be found in a kitchen back then.
(source)

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