There is so much going on in nature, that to try and catalog it all would fill this site. But this is ok because most of it would be boring to us. I know that there are a lot of things that happen that I, along with the rest of you, never give a second thought to. You may not be able to use these facts unless you go on a quiz show but they are interesting to know.

A Lightning Storm
Photo Source: NOAA

The earth is constantly being bombarded with meteorites. They are falling night and day. But have you ever wondered how may hit the Earth? There are almost 5 million tons hitting the Earth every year. Lightning bolts are always hitting the Earth. Thousands of people are injured every year by lightning and more than 100 per year are killed. It is a shame we couldn't harness this energy. I've heard it said that one lightning bolt could furnish enough electric power to keep New York City lit for six months. Hailstones can get quite large and deadly. It is claimed that almost 250 people were killed in India during a Hailstone storm in 1888.

The Saraha Dessert is a sweltering, foreboding place. A person can easily die of thirst if he is not careful. Sunstroke is an ever threatening event. But the Saraha wasn't always like this. Ten thousand years ago it was a fertile plane with a pleasant nature. What happened? Was this caused by Earth's magnetic field changing? No one can really tell for sure but it looks like wahat is now hell was formerly a paradise.

In Tunguska in Siberia, Russia, something happened. The year was 1908 and it was June 30. A blast stronger than a nuclear weapon blew down trees for miles. The shockwave sent a train off the tracks that was over 35 miles away. The light from the explosion was blinding. Some scientists say a meteor hit the earth. But there are many other theories out there. There is a problem with the meteor theory because there is no crater. This looked more like what is known as an air burst. This has led to theories such as a ufo exploding in the air over the site or the site being used for weapons testing by Nikola Tesla, the great electrical genius. Well what ever caused it is still a mystery today.

Tsunamis are huge tidal waves. They can appear without anyone ever knowing what exactly caused them. But things will be different when the tsunami hits that came from the Canary Island of La Palma. A tremendous piece of the volcano on that island has been sliding toward the ocean for over 55 years. What makes this so scary is the fact that when it finally slides into the sea, and nobody knows when, it could cause a tidal wave so huge that it could devastate the east coast of the U.S., southern Europe, western Africa and the Caribbean. It has the potential to kill millions of people. So are we taking care of this problem? No absolutely not, no one is.

Sometime it really rains hard. This is referred to as a downpour. When rain is falling this hard it is traveling about 20 miles per hour.

The Earth itself is moving through space at approximately 43,000 miles per hour so hold on tight. We are zooming toward the constellation of Hercules. But we are part of a galaxy and that galaxy is heading toward the constellation of Leo at the unbelievable speed of 375 miles per second. Is you head beginning to spin yet? Depending on where you stand on the Earth you could be rotating with the Earth at a speed form 665+ mph to 1000 mph. Boy are we really moving in all directions. Yet with all this motion we don't even notice it, but get on a boat which bobs around a little and boy you can get sick.

When lightning bolts flash through the sky they are producing temperatures that are five time hotter than the surface of the sun. For you people with allergies did you know that just one ragweed plant can release over one billion grains of pollen. Makes me sneeze just to think about it. Do you think that the Earth is big, well try and picture this, our sun is just an average sized star but it is still 330,000 times bigger than the earth. A porcupine doesn't have to worry about drowning because it floats.

Giraffes
Photo Source: PD cd

The termite population of the Earth weighs 10 times more than the human population. Moles can really dig well. A mole can dig a 300 foot tunnel in just one night. Over 10,000 birds die every year from flying into windows. So far over 1,000,000 species of animals have been discovered on Earth. A sloth is an animal that is so slow that algae can grow in its fur. The urine of cats will glow with a black light is shinned on it. The common garden slug has four noses. A giraffe has such a long tongue that it can clean its ears with it. The praying mantis can turn its head, no other insect can. When lightning strikes it hits men six times more frequently than women.