Did you know crazy facts about science

Top 10 crazy science facts you didn't know:

Albert Einstein. Now there's a man who knew some facts. Source: Supplied

SCIENTISTS have a happy habit of stumbling upon crazy facts. You could even say it's their job.

But it's hard for people with regular IQs - us, for example - to keep up with every amazing discovery.

So we've compiled a list with ten of the more surprising facts uncovered by science in recent years.

1. PLANTS HAVE FAMILIES

They have no memory, but plants can recognise their close relatives and work alongside them. Plants grow less aggressively when surrounded by "family members", helping each other instead of competing fiercely as they would with "strangers".

Sadly, this one’s a bit of a loner. Source: News Limited

2. YOUR BODY IS A POWER SOURCE

The average human produces about 100 watts of power while resting, and that number can rise to 2000 watts during intense exercise. Some of this energy is wasted, escaping the body as heat. Scientists have been working on a way to harness that energy for a while, and they're making some strides, so stay tuned.

We could be powering light bulbs with your body before you know it. Pic: Getty Source: Getty Images

3. MALE SEAHORSES CAN GET PREGNANT

Seahorse sex is the ultimate role reversal. The males have "brood pouches", where females deposit their eggs before leaving the guys to give birth. We reckon a few human men would benefit from a pregnancy or two as well.

The seahorse on the right is a guy. And he’s pregnant. Photo: AP/Matt Houston Source: AAP

Related: Funny pictures of science

4. A HANDSHAKE TRANSFERS MORE GERMS THAN A KISS

Noble boyfriends and girlfriends, take note. There's no point in refusing to kiss your partner when you have a cold unless you keep your hands away from them as well. "People avoid kissing each other when they have a cold, but in fact they are more likely to pass on an infection by shaking someone's hand," hygiene expert Professor Sally Bloomfield says.

All seems a bit pointless with those masks in the way. Pic: Thinkstock Source: ThinkStock

5. THIS JELLYFISH IS IMMORTAL

If the Turritopsis nutricula is injured, it turns itself into a blob and starts a process called transdifferentiation. The creature's cells revert to their earliest form and grow again, effectively regenerating. The jellyfish can be killed by predators, but otherwise it won't die.

This puny jellyfish will outlive you. How embarrassing. Source: Supplied

6. WE'RE CLOSELY RELATED TO MUSHROOMS

Humans share a common ancestor with practically everything, but it turns out we're more closely related to mushrooms than we used to think. Think of the difference between sharing a grandfather and sharing a great-great-grandfather. Surprisingly, mushrooms are more closely related to humans than they are to plants.

You can totally see the resemblance to humans. Source: News Limited

7. THE UNIVERSE IS 13.82 BILLION YEARS OLD

Say you live to the ripe old age of 100. Multiply that lifespan by 138,200,000 and you'll get the age of the universe, give or take a hundred million years. Makes you feel pretty young, doesn't it? Incidentally, Earth is a spritely 4.54 billion years old.

This isn’t the whole universe. The whole universe would’t quite fit in one shot. Source: Supplied

8. YOUR HAIR CAN SUPPORT 12 TONNES

Well, not if you're half bald. But a full head of hair can hold the weight of two elephants combined. We'd advise against trying to test that theory at home though. Stick to a Rapunzel re-enactment.

Her hair is stronger than your biceps. Pic: Thinkstock Source: Supplied

9. CHICKENS DON'T NEED THEIR HEADS

Don't take this the wrong way. Chickens would much prefer to keep their heads. But one famous chook managed to live for 18 months after having his lopped off. "Mike the Headless Chicken" retained enough of his brain stem to keep going, and he ended up touring the United States. What a star.

Mike the headless chicken in all his glory. Source: Supplied

10. OUR SUN WILL BECOME A HUGE DIAMOND

The blandly named star BPM 37093, otherwise known as "Lucy", puts every engagement ring on the planet to shame. It's basically a massive diamond of 10 billion trillion trillion carats, according to the BBC. Scientists expect our sun to crystallise into a diamond itself in about seven billion years.

You call that a diamond? Ha! Pic: Thinkstock Source: ThinkStock

Check out more interesting facts about science

Light works

Here is the ways light works. Let's see

Light is at once both obvious and mysterious. We are bathed in yellow warmth every day and stave off the darkness with incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. But what exactly is light? We catch glimpses of its nature when a sunbeam angles through a dust-filled room, when a rainbow appears after a storm or when a drinking straw in a glass of water looks disjointed. These glimpses, however, only lead to more questions. Does light travel as a wave, a ray or a stream of particles? Is it a single color or many colors mixed together? Does it have a frequency like sound? And what are some of the common properties of light, such as absorption, reflection, refraction and diffraction?

See more: amazing science facts

You might think scientists know all the answers, but light continues to surprise them. Here's an example: We've always taken for granted thatlight travels faster than anything in the universe. Then, in 1999, researchers at Harvard University were able to slow a beam of light down to 38 miles an hour (61 kilometers per hour) by passing it through a state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate. That's almost 18 million times slower than normal! No one would have thought such a feat possible just a few years ago, yet this is the capricious way of light. Just when you think you have it figured out, it defies your efforts and seems to change its nature.

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