Portal:Science/Did you know

...that the endangered golden lion tamarin (pictured) has a long, but not prehensile, tail?
...that the Witch's hat is the common name of a colourful orange-red toadstool?
...that Grandi's series 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 + • • • is divergent and appears to equal 0, yet in some sense "sums" to ¹⁄₂ — a paradox once linked to the creation ex nihilo of the universe?
...that Derek Freeman was an anthropologist whose refutation of Margaret Mead's work "ignited controversy of a scale, visibility, and ferocity never before seen in anthropology"?
...that the New Year's Eve snowstorm of 1963/1964 dropped over 17 inches of snow at Huntsville, Alabama, simultaneously setting new snowfall records for any day, week, or month in their history?

More did you know facts

List of all DYKs

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Did you know 1

...that space artist Jon Lomberg (artwork pictured) was Carl Sagan's principal artistic collaborator on many projects such as Cosmos and the Voyager Golden Record?
...that NASA astronaut Stephen Robinson has logged 497 hours in space?
...that Othniel Charles Marsh named two species of the dinosaur Coelurus from the same quarry, not knowing that the bones belonged to the same skeleton?
...that the type specimen of Dromicosuchus had damage to its jaw and neck that may have been inflicted by the teeth of the large carnivore it was found underneath?
...that the scientific name of the common Australian garden fungus Aseroë rubra means 'red disgusting juice'?

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Did you know 2

...that in recent years Mediterranean alcoholic beverages (pictured) have been subject of intense scientific study?
...that the supermassive black hole at the center of the quasar OJ287 has been measured as weighing 18 billion times the mass of the Sun, six times heavier than the previous record holder?
...that the origins of Castle Lake (pictured) in California date to the Pleistocene Era (more than 10,000 years ago) when a glacier carved a basin in the location of the current lake?
...that 2002's Hurricane Elida was the first hurricane to be observed by the MERIS sensor aboard the ESA's satellite Envisat?
...that for a pure wave motion in fluid dynamics, the Stokes drift velocity is the average velocity when following a specific fluid parcel as it travels with the fluid flow?

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Did you know 3

...that silica aerogel (pictured) holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records for material properties, including best insulator and lowest-density solid?
...that acoustic levitation is a method for suspending matter in a fluid by using acoustic radiation pressure from intense sound waves in the medium?
...that the genus Entomocorus includes a catfish species that lives only one year?
...that a successful experimental system must be stable and reproducible enough for scientists to make sense of the system's behavior, but unpredictable enough that it can produce useful results?
...that Abbott Lawrence Rotch established the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory in 1885, which maintains the longest-running meteorological record of any observation site in the United States?

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Did you know 4

...that a laser harp (pictured) is an electronic musical instrument consisting of several laser beams that are blocked to produce sound?
...that Terminonatator ponteixensis is the type and only species described for Terminonatator, a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur from Late Cretaceous of Saskatchewan, Canada?
...necrotizing fasciitis is a rare infection of subcutaneous tissues that results in the necrosis of the flesh?
...Napalm-B, used in the Vietnam War, was synthesized with only three ingredients: polystyrene, gasoline, and benzene?
...Active noise canceling headphones, use circuitry to produce destructive wave interference to attenuate background sound?

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Did you know 5

...that Scientists and Engineers for America is an organization focused on promoting sound science in government, and backing political candidates who support science and its applications?
...that the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm was the most significant snow event for South Texas since 1895?
...that Stanford professor Kate Lorig developed a peer-led chronic disease self management course which is the basis of the Expert Patient Programme of the British National Health Service?
...that walking fish can actually skip, crawl, slither, and even climb trees?
...that the Thanksgiving 1984 Nor'easter deposited a 197-foot Venezuelan freighter in the backyard of a Palm Beach, Florida socialite, where it remained for several months?

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Did you know 6

...that the endangered golden lion tamarin (pictured) has a long, but not prehensile, tail?
...that the Witch's hat is the common name of a colourful orange-red toadstool?
...that Grandi's series 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 + • • • is divergent and appears to equal 0, yet in some sense "sums" to ¹⁄₂ — a paradox once linked to the creation ex nihilo of the universe?
...that Derek Freeman was an anthropologist whose refutation of Margaret Mead's work "ignited controversy of a scale, visibility, and ferocity never before seen in anthropology"?
...that the New Year's Eve snowstorm of 1963/1964 dropped over 17 inches of snow at Huntsville, Alabama, simultaneously setting new snowfall records for any day, week, or month in their history?

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Did you know 7

...that coloration is a property of loudspeakers that causes the speaker to continue to emit sound when an electrical signal stops?
...that light in a plasma display is created by phosphors excited by the ultraviolet radiation emitted by a plasma discharge between two flat panels of glass?
...that the Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950 led to wind gusts in excess of 100 mph/87 knots across New York, New Jersey, and New England?
...that the two human atria do not have valves at their inlets?

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Did you know 8

...that the gestation period of the ring-tailed lemur (pictured) is approximately 146 days?
...that the Late November 2006 Nor'easter caused winds up to 80 mph (70 knots) in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the earliest snowfall on record for Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, as well as Charleston, South Carolina's only occurrence of thundersnow on record?
...that the Rufous-crowned Sparrow, a medium-sized sparrow of the southwestern United States and Mexico, has a subspecies endemic to the Todos Santos Islands that has not been seen since the 1970s?
...that the Christmas 1994 Nor'easter led to wind gusts of 99 mph/86 knots in Massachusetts, and briefly formed an eye?
...that the Northern Red-legged Frog is a near-threatened species, whose male defends breeding pond territory with nocturnal displays?