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Curious Facts

"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." Albert Einstein

This section features a selection of miscellaneous, curious facts, many of which are counter-intuitive and may therefore be considered paradoxical in the broadest sense of the word.

There is no particular order or pattern to the facts. They are added (to the end of the list) as they are brought to our attention. The only criteria for entry is for a fact to be in keeping with the spirit of the site.

Readers' suggestions are most welcome. Please email (Relevant sources are appreciated, wherever possible.)

Either scroll down this page, select a page number from below or use the search box to search for facts containing key words.

Page 1

  • There are more ways of arranging a pack of ordinary playing cards than there have been seconds since the universe began.

    [Proof.]

  • A Gallup poll in 2001 showed that 45 per cent of Americans still believe that "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so." Scienitsts maintain that life in its simplest form first appeared on Earth 3.9 billion (3,900,000,000) years ago and has been evolving ever since.

    [See "The Gradual Illumination of the Mind", Scientific American.]

  • One cubic centimetre of neutron star material (the size of a sugar cube) has the mass of approximately one billion (1000,000,000) elephants.

    [Source:The Five Ages of The Universe, Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin.]

  • A black hole the size of a baseball has a mass approximately 5 times that of Earth.

    [Source: The Five Ages of The Universe, Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin.]

  • Less massive white dwarfs have larger radii than those of greater mass. In other words, the greater their mass the smaller they are (upto a maximum mass of 1.4 solar masses, at which point it collapses, initiating a supernova explosion).

    [Source: The Five Ages of The Universe, Fred Adams and Greg Laughlin.]

  • After each players has made 3 moves in a game of chess, the peices could form any one of over 9 million different positions.

    [Source: Usbourse Guide to Advanced Chess.]

  • There are more possible games of chess lasting 40 moves than there are atoms in the entire universe.

    [Source: Usbourse Guide to Advanced Chess.]

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