Goo
d morning, ladies and gentlemen. Today, I am here to share with you something we all love - knowledge. But not just any knowledge; I'm talking about some cool, interesting, and lesser-known facts that will leave you amazed. Firstly, did you know that the shortest war in history lasted only 38 minutes? On August 27, 1896, the sultan of Zanzibar declared war on the British Empire, but after just 38 minutes of the exchange of artillery, the sultan surrendered, making it the shortest war ever fought. Next, have you ever heard of the clathrate gun hypothesis? It refers to an event in which frozen methane - which is found in the deep seafloor - gets released into the atmosphere, causing a sudden and catastrophic global warming. Scientists believe it has happened before, causing mass extinction, and it may occur again in the future. Did you know that the largest organism on Earth is a fungus? It's called Armillaria ostoyae and it covers an area of almost 4 sq miles in Oregon's Blue Mountains. It's also one of the oldest organisms, estimated to be over 2,400 years old. Now, here's something that'll make you appreciate the human eye. Did you know that our eyes can distinguish about 10 million different colors? That's a lot more than any camera sensor can capture. Have you ever observed that glorious and colorful display of light in the sky? Yes, I'm talking about the aurora borealis or northern lights. But did you know that similar phenomena exist in the south pole and are known as aurora australis or southern lights? The science behind them is quite fascinating and involves charged particles from the sun, the Earth's magnetic field, and interactions with gases in the atmosphere. Finally, here's a fact that'll make your stomach churn. Did you know that the average mattress doubles in weight in ten years from the accumulation of dust mites, dead skin cells, and sweat? So, when was the last time you changed your mattress? These are just a few examples of the many amazing and lesser-known facts that exist in the world. Exploring and learning about them can be fun and mind-boggling. So, let's continue to broaden our horizons and get pleasure from the little things that life has to offer. Thank you.