Random Daily Facts @RandomIQbuilder

Television relies on the photoelectric effect-the emission of electrons by a substance when struck by photons of light. Light-sensitive photocells in cameras work like this. Whenever electrons hit the screen, the screen glows as its coating of phosphors heats up. #IQ

Giraffes are the tallest mammals, growing to more than 5 m. Their height allows them to reach and eat the leaves, twigs and fruit at the tops of trees. Although the are the worlds tallest animals, they are five times as light as elephants. #IQ

Air pollution come mainly car, bus and truck exhausts, waste burners, factories, power stations and the burning of oil, coal and gas in homes. Breathing the air in Mexico City is thought to be as harmful as smoking 40 cigarettes a day. #IQ

Hydrogen is the lightest of all gases and elements. A large swimming pool of hydrogen would weigh just 1 kg. It’s the most common substance in the Universe, making up over 90% of the Universes weight. Under extreme pressure hydrogen becomes a metal. #IQ

Your eyes are tough balls filled with a jelly-like substance called vitreous humour. The back of the eye is lined with millions of light-sensitive cells. This lining is called the retina, & it registers the picture & sends signals to the brain via the optic nerve. #IQ

The first workable submarine was a rowing boat covered with waterproof skins, built by Dutch scientist Cornelius Van Drebbel in 1620. Attack subs have guided missiles for attacking ships. Ballistic subs have missiles with nuclear warheads for firing at targets on land. #IQ

The Sun is a medium sized star measuring 1,392,000 km across, 100 times the diameter of the Earth. Its interior is heated by nuclear reactions to temperatures of 15 million C. Each centimetre of the Suns surface burns with the brightness of 250,000 candles. #IQ

Otters are small hunting mammals which are related to weasels. They are one of the 65 species of mustelid, along with stoats, skunks and badgers. They can close off their nostrils and ears, allowing them to remain underwater for 4 or 5 minuets. #IQ

In 1890 Frenchman Emile Levassor made the first real car, with an engine at the front. He laughed, saying, Ćest brutal, mais ca marche(‘Its rough, but it goes’). The Duryea brothers made the first successful American car in 1893. #IQ

Wheat grows over more farmland than any other crop and is the basic food for 35% of the worlds population. It was one of the first crops ever grown, planted by the first farmers some 11,000 yrs ago. #IQ

Trucks or Lorries can weigh 40 tonnes or more - maybe as much as 50 cars. In Australia one truck may pull several trailers in a road train. The longest truck is the Artic Snow Train, first made for the US army. 174 meters long and has 54 wheels. #IQ

Stephen Hawking (b.1942) is a British physicist who is famous for his ideas on space and time. He suffers from the paralysing nerve disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. He cannot move any more than a few hand and face muscles. #IQ

Laser light is a bright artificial light. It creates an intense beam that can punch a hole in steel. A laser beam is so straight and narrow that it can hit a mirror on the Moon. The name Laser stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. #IQ

The Gran Chaco is a vast area of tropical grassland in Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. It covers over 720,00 sq km, and is home to many wild animals, including Pumas, tapir, Rheas and giant Armadillos. #IQ

Some scientists claim that we humans are the only living things that are conscious - we alone are actually aware that we are thinking. No one knows how consciousness works - it’s one of sciences last great mysteries. #IQ

There are 3 kinds of spacecraft - artificial satellites, unmanned probes & manned spacecraft. The weightlessness of space means that most astronauts sleep floating in the air, held in place by a few straps. #IQ

Mushrooms are umbrella-shaped fungi, many of which are edible. Poisonous mushrooms are called toadstools, and they all feed off either living or decaying plants. The biggest mushrooms have caps up to 50cm across and grow up to 40cm tall. #IQ

There are well over 21,000 species of fish, from the 8-mm long Pygmy goby to the 12-m long whale shark. They are cold blooded and let gas in and out of their swim bladders to float at particular depths. #IQ

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, built the worlds first successful plane, the Flyer. On December 17 1903 they made the first powered, long and controlled airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, USA. #IQ

Rome is the Capital of Italy, and its biggest city, with a population of almost 3 million. Its known as the Eternal City because of its importance within the Roman Empire. #IQ