1. Marcus Chown (marcuschown.com ) is cool.
2. The entire human race would fit into the volume of a sugar cube if all the empty space in our atoms were removed.
3. Slime mould has 13 sexes. I think it was 13. Lots more than two anyway.
4. There’s a DNA sequence common to every living cell.
5. Time passes more slowly the closer you get to a strong gravitational force.
6. If the nuclei of a mosquito’s atoms were forced together by removing all its electrons, the energy release would be equivalent to a global extinction-level event. (No mosquitos were harmed during the revelation of this fact).
7. The sun has been imaged at night. Through the planet. Using nutrinos.
8. Sex doesn’t make sense. In terms of energy efficiency. Or reliability.
9. If the sun were made of bananas, it’d make little difference.
10. RNA used to do everything before DNA showed up.
11. Rockets are steam powered.
12. Babies are rocket powered.
13. There’s yet another book I have to buy: What a Wonderful World: One Man’s Attempt to Explain the Big Stuff
14. The difference that made humans win out over neanderthals? Sewing!
15. We’re doomed. In about a billion years.
