10 facts you never knew… by Rosalie

1. The hottest chilli pepper is so hot it could kill you. The Carolina Reaper receives an average of 1,569,300 Scoville heat units (SHU) whereas, by comparison, an everyday Jalapeño pepper receives between 2,500 and 8,000 SHU.

2. Australia is wider than the moon. Australia measures up to roughly just under 4,000 km, whereas the moon is about 3,500 km.

3. A single bolt of lightning has enough energy to toast 100,000 slices of bread.

4. The average person spends six months of their life waiting at traffic lights. If most people live to around 72, you would spend just under 10 minutes a day waiting for red lights to go green.

5. Tomato sauce was sold in the 1800s as medicine.

6. The Eiffel Tower can be 15cm taller in summer. This is due to thermal expansion when an object’s particles heat up, gain more energy and take up more space.

7. Human teeth are the only part of the body that cannot repair themselves. They are coated in enamel which is not a living tissue.

8. It is illegal to own a single guinea pig in Switzerland. They are social animals and it is classed as animal cruelty for them not to have a friend.

9. The Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland. In Celtic mythology it is a symbol of power, innocence and purity.

10. The Japanese words ‘Kuchi zamishi’ is the act of eating when you are not hungry but your mouth is lonely.