Surprising Facts about the Earth and Oceans

Approximately 900 bird species are found in South Africa alone, which represents 10% of the worlds total bird species. #Birds #Species #SouthAfrica

Pietermaritzburg's city hall is the largest red brick building in the Southern Hemisphere. #Pietermaritzburg #SouthAfrica #Facts

Hippos are susceptible to sunburn, and spend most of their days with just their noses out of water. Their noses have special flaps that close when submerged, and they can stay under water for 25 minutes. #Hippos #InterestingFacts

South Africa has the oldest wine industry outside of Europe and the Mediterranean, featuring Chardonnays, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cinsault, Riesling, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinotage varietals. #Wine #InterestingFacts #SouthAfrica

You would still be hurling through space at 67000 miles per hour though. #InterestingFacts #EarthFacts #Space

Rock found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is around 2 billion years old. #DidYouKnow #Interesting #Facts

Did you know? Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is the second brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. #Interesting #Venus #DidYouKnow

The speed of sound in water is 1,435 m/sec - nearly five times faster than the speed of sound in air. #Interesting #facts #sound

The rocks you are standing on get recycled. Volcanoes spit them out as magma, they dry, harden, and after a very long time either get sucked down again by plate tectonics or get pushed towards Earth's core by a fresh layer of rocks above. #Facts #earth #Rocks

The ribbon eel has a unique appearance: trumpetlike nostrils and a lower jaw with three tentacles. But even more amazing than this eel’s physiology is its signature behavior—a propensity for sex change. Functioning males regularly become females and change colors as well, adopting a nearly yellow hue that apparently suits their more feminine side. #Ocean #Animals #RibbonEel

Do you know that life in the ocean varies as we go deep! Many fish living 3000 meter down in the dark ocean waters,have their own lights. #Fish #Light #Ocean

The yeti crab is so unusual that a whole new family of animal had to be created to classify it. Kiwa hirsuta was found on the floor of the 2,300-meter-deep Pacific Ocean some 1,500 kilometers south of Easter Island. Its hairy pincer arms host colonies of bacteria, which it may cultivate for food, for protection from toxic fluids issuing from nearby volcanic vents, or as “sensors” that help the blind animal find a mate. #Ocean #Animals #Unusual

If you could evaporate all the water out of all the oceans and spread the resulting salt over the Earth, you would have a 500 -ft layer covering everything! #Salt #Facts #Ocean

It is possible for a mature dolphin to eat up to 30 pounds of fish daily. #30Pounds #Dolphins #mature

Earth is gradually slowing down. Every few years, an extra second is added to make up for lost time. Millions of years ago, a day on Earth will have been 20 hours long. It is believed that, in millions of years time, a day on Earth will be 27 hours long. #SlowingDown #Time #Fact