The world is a big, wonderful place full of facts we never thought possible. For instance, if a pregnant mouse has a sudden medical issue, the fetus will send stem cells to heal the mother, increasing its chances of survival as well. Fetal stem cells have been found in human mothers as well, dubbed by science as microchimerism.
Bright Side dug up some more marvelous facts about nature and its creations, upholding our yearly resolutions to spread knowledge and joy.
1. The heart slows when your face touches water.
As mammals, we can’t breathe underwater, so as part of the mammalian dive reflex, our heart rate goes down in the water — more so if we go underwater. Even splashing the face with water makes the heart slow down, making it a great way to calm down.
2. Fungus can break down plastic in weeks.
It is said that in the future, there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This is why the plastic-eating fungus is great news, and there are around 50 new species of such fungi discovered already. One of the fungi discovered can digest plastic within 2 months, so there’s hope for us yet.
3. Newborn babies can support their own weight.
Newborn babies are strong — strong enough to be able to grasp things in their tiny fists and even support their weight as shown by an experiment done in the nineteenth century. Louis Robinson witnessed babies able to hang from a walking stick, from 10 seconds to 2 minutes and 35 seconds.
4. Koala fingerprints have been mistaken for human ones.
We’ve been told that our fingerprints are unique, and they are. But the fact remains that even though we share a common ancestor with the koala that was alive 100 million years ago, koala fingerprints look very similar to human fingerprints, as do chimpanzee fingerprints for that matter.
5. Snails can sleep for 3 years.
If you thought bears had it good with hibernation, meet the snail. Snails can sleep rather than hibernate for 3 years at a time without needing food. Of course, this is with some snail species, not all of them. Meanwhile, bears usually hibernate for just 4-8 months.
6. Sloths need 2 weeks to digest food.
Sloths don’t only move in slow motion — even their insides move slowly, ostensibly to preserve energy, which is why a sloth’s digestive system takes 2 weeks to process the food it ate. Plus, most of what it eats is indigestible, giving it very little energy from each slowly chewed mouthful.
On the other end of the spectrum lies the shrew, whose digestion takes mere minutes and is done so fast, not much of it is fully digested. This is the reason why shrews eat their own feces. They can die of starvation in a matter of hours if they don’t eat.
7. Your brain ignores seeing your nose.
We can see our nose all the time, it’s just that the brain tends to ignore it because it’s a constant visual stimulus. It’s the same with people who wear glasses. After a while, they simply stop noticing them.
8. Your forearm is the same length as your foot.
If you don’t have the time to try on a shoe, measure it from your elbow crease to your wrist. If it fits or is just a little smaller, it would fit your foot because the length of your forearm is the same as your foot. And this is just one of many human body ratios that are a marvel in themselves, including the fact that your femur bone is one-quarter your height.
9. You can “see” your white blood cells.
If you look up at a cloudless, bright blue sky and see some wiggly things at the periphery of your vision, you’ve just experienced the blue field entoptic phenomenon. The wiggly things are white blood cells moving in the fine blood vessels moving in front of the retina, at the back of the eye.
10. Human beings have striped skin, but only cats can see it.
Human beings have stripes and patterns on the skin too, and they are called Lines of Blaschko, name eponymously by the scientist who discovered them, Dr. Alfred Blaschko. These are closer to tiger stripes, forming more of a V-pattern fanning out from the center to the extremities. These lines are visible under UV light, a spectrum that cats can see too, which is why cats can see you as a striped being as well.
Which of these facts turned out to be a revelation for you? Share your extreme nature facts with us and blow us away.
Preview photo credit Shutterstock.com, Shutterstock.com
Rod Stewart’s wife Penny Lancaster blasted online at 53, fans say tiny bikini unflattering
Penny Lancaster, the spouse of Rod Stewart, has been subjected to a barrage of criticism following her discovery aboard a yacht off the coast of Sardinia, Italy, sporting an incredibly little bikini.
The stunning blonde appears to be “sagging” and “drooping” in the swimsuit, according to some fans, while others argue that the 53-year-old model isn’t particularly amazing and that there’s “no need for name calling.”
Discover why fans are enamored with Lancaster’s beachy appearance by reading on!
Rod Stewart took some of his huge clan to Sardinia, Italy, to spend much-needed family time with his wife Penny Lancaster, despite his hectic tour schedule.
Lancaster, who wed the celebrity in 2007, posts on Instagram, “Another amazing family holiday together (a few were sadly missed) in the [Mediterranean] bonding, healing, love and laughter.” A picture of the 79-year-old “Maggie May” singer with her daughters, Kimberly, 44, and Ruby, 37, and sons, Aiden, 13, and Alastair, 18, is attached to the post.
There were also his two sons-in-law, Adam Sumner and Jake Alick, and his grandson, Otis, who is little over a year old.
In a July 2024 interview, Lancaster says to Hello!, “We like to take every opportunity to bring the family, children, and grandchildren together.” “The whole clan gets together at least twice or three times a year, but it takes a lot of planning because part of the family lives in America and part in England.”
“Incorrect bikini top”
The patriarch and his spouse were seen enjoying the sun on a $65 million super yacht in Porto Cervo, an Italian seaside town in northern Sardinia, Italy, prior to taking off again for his residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
Stewart, the singer of “Tonight’s the Night,” is seen wearing a lemon-colored button-down short-sleeved shirt and shielded his face from the blazing sun with a towel.
When the singer “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” first met Lancaster in 1999, the model Rachel Hunter was still his wife, and Lancaster wasn’t afraid to flaunt her stunning 53-year-old figure.
The devoted wife was spotted lounging on the deck of the opulent yacht or playing in the pristine blue waters while sporting a little black bikini with a ponytail.
Some followers commented on Lancaster’s appearance on social media, saying the mother of two should reconsider her clothing selections.
“After noticing the drooping, sagging, and wrinkled mammary sack barley that was being restrained by being stretched to its highest limit…It would be more along the lines of Ewwwwww,” a critic tweets.
“Incorrect bikini top,” says a second. A third observes, “For a woman who was famous for wearing clothes for a living, she is sorely letting the side down,” in reference to Lancaster’s modeling career. She should understand that “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” in addition to the fact that she needs a stylist before stepping out in public.
One person defends her while acknowledging the critiques, writing, “The swimsuit is not flattering.” Put an end to the criticism; she is in her 50s. She is not amazing, but there’s no need to call her names.
Another person snipes, “Leave her alone, they are on vacation on their yacht not a public beach.”
Style icon
The musician, who was born in London, teased his return to Caesars Palace on July 12 by posting a picture of himself seated on the yacht and dressed in a short suit with black and white stripes.
In his letter, he states, “I’m all decked up for the holidays and excited to visit Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from July 24 to August 7.”
The ensemble is a modern take on the one he donned in 1973, one of many “anything but subtle” ensembles that made him a “fashion icon” according to Vogue.
How do you feel about Lancaster’s swimsuit selection? Please let us know what you think!
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