221 Facts Tell Me What

Pyramids are triangular buildings found in Egypt. They are tombs. Ancient Egypt is famous for its spectacular and majestic pyramids. They have been believed to be in existence since around 2900 BCE. The ancient Egyptian kings believed that their future life would depend on how well their bodies were preserved. After embalming the dead kings, […]

Cryptography is the art of creating and deciphering codes that allow information to be kept secret. It is a way of storing data in concise form and sending it so that nobody other than whom it is meant for may read or understand it. In the present computer-based world, concealing is done by changing plain

The word ‘utopia’ is used for an imaginary state of perfection. It means ‘a good place’. Utopia symbolizes people’s hopes and dreams. The origin of this word comes from Sir Thomas More’s book ‘Utopia’. This book was published in 1516, in which he talks about a fictional land which is ideal in every way. Some

Diamonds are the hardest substances that are known to man. They are very precious because they are rare. A diamond is one of the most expensive minerals, till date. If reflects light rays in a unique way, due to which it appears like a sparkling crystal. In their natural form, diamonds are not beautiful; rather,

When a river or a stream suddenly ends at the edge of a cliff and gushes down over the side or wall of a rock, it is known as a waterfall. Waterfalls are commonly formed in the upper course of a river in steep mountains. A huge waterfall is known as a cataract. A small

Marble is a metamorphic rock formed from limestone. Hundreds of years ago, deep inside the Earth, huge masses of molten rock called limestone were present. In this high temperature and under extreme pressure, limestone got turned into hard marble. Marble is a beautiful rock. It is white in its purest form. However, presence of certain

The oldest musical instruments ever are flutes made from mammoth-ivory and bird-bone. In most likelihood, a flute made of a vulture-bone found in a cave in Europe is the oldest identifiable musical instrument. The time period may have been around 40,000 years ago. Mammoth-ivory flute fragments have also been found. Flute makers must have used

Money is used for buying things. The history of money is very interesting. Thousands of years ago, instead of using money, people used the barter system, exchange of things, to get the things they needed. Later, grains, cows, salt, etc., were accepted as money. Eventually, gold and silver took the place of grain, cattle, salt,

In ancient times, priests and medicine men of Greece, Egypt, and Rome used charms and mystic words to do things out of the ordinary and convince people that they had magical powers. But today, magic is used for entertainment. Robert Houdin, a French magician, is believed to be the father of modern magic. He was

The Leaning tower of Pisa is one of the most famous historical icons of the world. It is located in Pisa, Italy. This tower is not straight. It leans over by 5 metres. Even though, nobody really knows why the tower of Pisa leans; a possible explanation is that the foundation of this tower was

Acid is a sour-tasting chemical substance. It is present in sour fruits like orange, sweet lime, gooseberry, etc. It is soluble in water and can neutralise alkalis or bases. It can dissolve some metals and turn blue litmus red. There are two kinds of acids: strong and weak. Hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, etc., are some

Paper is made from the pulp of wood or from naturally occurring plant fibres called ‘cellulose.’ The earliest paper was papyrus, made from reeds by the ancient Egyptians. Nowadays, in the paper making process, first, the wood is shredded and made into pulp, by mixing it with water. It further goes through many steps like

Chalk is used, all over the world, by teachers and children to write with on blackboards. Chalk is a soft and porous sedimentary rock that is a form of limestone. It is composed of calcium carbonate, also known as a mineral, calcite. Originally, chalk was an ‘animal’. Many kinds of tiny plants and animals cover

Rubber is an elastic substance which can be stretched easily. There are two types of rubbers: natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is a sticky, elastic substance obtained from latex, a milky liquid. Latex is found in a few tropical plants (natural rubber), like shrubs, vines and trees of various kinds. Mostly, it is

Crystal is a type of hard substance that has special molecular arrangement. Crystals are highly transparent and have a geometrically regular shape. Some crystals are precious. For example, emerald and diamond while some commonly occur like ice crystals, salt, sugar crystals, etc. Crystal can be differentiated from glass by the fact that crystal contains lead