11 Questions about the world around you

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The world around us surprises both in childhood and in adulthood. Looking at familiar things, we often think about why it looks and works exactly like that. For example, why does not electrocute birds on wires, firefighters have buckets in the shape of a cone, old books smell in a special way, and animals cannot talk.

If you have long wanted to know the answers to these and other questions, read the article.

1. Why does not fish freeze in frosts?

With severe frosts, reservoirs freeze, but how do fish feel?

Firstly, lakes, rivers, seas do not freeze through. An ice crust of a certain thickness forms on their surface, and the water at a depth remains even warmer than the air outside.

Secondly, fish easily adapt to different temperatures, so they don't feel cold.

Thirdly, in terms of its properties, fish blood resembles antifreeze. Protein compounds in its composition do not allow fish to freeze even at record minus marks.

2. Why worms do not start in grapes?

You've probably noticed that grapes can be infested with midges, but at the same time there is not a single worm in it. Why is that? The fact is that the larvae in their secluded places need oxygen, which usually comes through the gnawed tunnels. However, the grapes are so juicy that they would immediately flood the passage, and the worms would remain trapped. That is why they choose fruits with a dense texture like apples, cherries, pears.

3. Why is “reanimation” written the other way around in the ambulance?

It would seem, why complicate things so much, but such a technique performs an important function - it allows drivers of other cars to read the correct spelling of a word in the side window. As you know, objects are reflected in mirrors, therefore, thanks to the mirrored outline, it is easier to identify an ambulance and let it pass.

4. Why do old books have a specific smell?

It is difficult to describe what a familiar scent smells like, but you know exactly how to distinguish a new book from an old one by smell. The fact is that paper is composed of cellulose and lignin, which degrade over time. Because of this, books are starting to publish a fragrance reminiscent of an earthy smoky vanilla combination. The older the edition, the more pronounced the smell.

5. Why don't wet penguins stick to the ice?

If a person grabs the ice with a wet hand, and even at -20 … -30, skin adhesion cannot be avoided. But the penguins calmly emerge from the cold water and continue their way along the ice floe. Nature has rewarded flightless birds with a special blood circulation that does not allow their feet to freeze. Venous cold blood rises from the legs and heats up when moving upward, while arterial warm blood descends from above and cools downward.

It turns out that the feet of penguins always remain ice, and therefore they do not freeze to ice.

6. Why do firefighters have cone-shaped buckets instead of regular ones?

Firstly, it is easier to scoop up liquid from open reservoirs with a bucket of this shape, and water splashes less, plus it is easier to break frozen ice or sand with a cone. Secondly, cone-shaped objects are completely unsuitable for everyday life, so the likelihood of theft of equipment from the fire shield is reduced to zero.

7. Why can't animals talk?

Of course, animals have their own ways of communicating, but physiologically they cannot talk like humans. In animals, the speech apparatus is arranged differently, and the brain is not able to master speech. Scientists suggest that people began to communicate with sounds due to the appearance of tools. Hands became busy, so communication with gestures became more complicated and I had to look for an alternative communication option.

This is how the first sounds appeared in ancient people, which were then transformed into words. It was more important for animals to develop vision, smell and hearing.

8. Why is the dust black on a white background and white on a black one?

The dust is so nasty that it is visible on both light and dark surfaces. At the same time, it is almost impossible to determine its real shade due to its microscopic size. Plus our vision is limited in color sensitivity, so we only notice the contrast between dust and background. In reality, the grains of dust are gray.

9. Why do bananas turn black?

Black dots on the banana peel indicate tissue dying, because the fruits are plucked and deprived of access to the tree's nutrients. The process is triggered at the genetic level of the cells themselves, so darkening gradually appears on the entire surface. However, you should not be afraid, since it is not dangerous for people.

10. Why do flies rub their paws insidiously?

It seems that insects are plotting something unkind? Not at all. So the flies are cleaned, starting with the wings, backs, and at the end they carefully rub their paws, paying special attention to them. Along the edges of the legs of insects are two claws and mini-suckers with hairs that secrete a sticky substance. If dust or dirt gets clogged there, it becomes more problematic for flies to move on inclined surfaces and feel tastes. That is why they clean their paws so diligently.

11. Why does not the birds on the wires get electrocuted?

The truth is that it hits, but only under certain conditions. If the bird sits on the wire and does not come into contact with any neighboring objects, everything is in order. There is no potential difference between the cable and, for example, a sparrow, so the current does not go to the bird. However, if a sparrow touches a nearby wire with its wing, it will immediately receive a shock.

12. Why do zebras have stripes?

Scientists believed that black and white color helps cloven-hoofed animals to camouflage themselves from predators, but recent studies by British biologists have disproved this theory. It turned out that the stripes on the skin save zebras from annoying insects. Horseflies and flies find it more difficult to navigate and sit on an animal, so they are less disturbing to zebras.