Last week across Ireland we had ‘Science Week’. It marked its twentieth year of celebrating the fascinating worlds of science, technology, engineering and maths. Lot of different events were held to mark science week and particularly at school level. In our school at Col√°iste Pobaill Bheanntra√≠ (Bantry Community College) there were science quizzes, science information talks and ‘did you know’ posters throughout the school. Here are some of the ‘did you know’s’ and many are a gentle reminder on the miracle of life and how we take a lot of it for granted:

Most people blink about 17,000 times a day
There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in every human person
Dolphins sleep with one eye open
Your sense of smell is around 10,000 times more sensitive than your taste
In your lifetime you will shed 40 pounds of skin
We share 70% of our DNA with a slug
No matter what its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times
An elephant needs to drink about 210 litres of water a day
Butterflies taste food by standing on it. Their taste receptors are on their feet
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months 2 rats could have a million descendants
Sneezing with your eyes open is impossible
Sound travels 4 times faster in water than it does through the air
It takes 70% less energy to produce a ton of paper from recycled paper than it does from trees
A hippopotamus may be huge but it can still run faster than a human
Your nose and ears continue to grow throughout your life
The Pacific Ocean contains around 25,000 different islands, more than any other ocean and finally ants do not sleep!