Chapter 11

Random Odd Stuff:

The last letter added to the English alphabet was ‘J’. The letter dates back to 1524, and before that the letter ‘i’ was used for both the ‘i’ and ‘j’ sounds.

Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable. They’re technically considered a single-seeded berry, believe it or not.

The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer, due to thermal expansion meaning the iron heats up, the particles gain kinetic energy and take up more space.

Trypophobia is the fear of closely-packed holes. Or more specifically, “an aversion to the sight of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps.” (How many holes to fill the Albert Hall?)

Australia is wider than the moon. The moon sits at 3400km in diameter, while Australia’s diameter from east to west is almost 4000km.

‘Mellifluous’ is a sound that is pleasingly smooth and musical to hear.

It’s illegal to own just one guinea pig in Switzerland. It’s considered animal abuse because they’re social beings and get lonely.

The heart of a shrimp is located in its head. They also have an open circulatory system, which means they have no arteries, and their organs float directly in blood.

“X” is probably used more in Mathematics than in English.

If we could see air, we wouldn’t be able to see anything.

Venus is the only planet to spin clockwise. It orbits the sun once every 225 Earth days but it rotates clockwise once every 243 days.

Nutmeg is a hallucinogen. The spice contains myristicin, a natural compound that has mind-altering effects if ingested in large doses.

A chef’s hat has 100 pleats. Apparently, it’s meant to represent the 100 ways you can cook an egg. (Seriously?) Wondering if Gordon Ramsay knows that.