Fabulous Facts from the World of Science

Planet Earth!

The beautiful blue sphere that we today call Earth is the only planet known to support life. However, early on in the planet’s formation, when it was smaller than the blue orb with which we are now familiar, a collision with a second planet sized body led to a fusion of the two planets. Many scientists agree that if the collision had never actually taken place, then they certainly wouldn’t be having this conversation.

Diet!

Eight out of every ten infants in Western societies receive only ten percent of their recommended daily allowance of iron, with the iron deficiency being even more pronounced in developing nations.

 Unfortunately, if such small stomachs were to receive the full dose of iron in the form of food, the huge amount of food required would result in the babies bursting. Nature compensates for this iron deficiency by limiting the language skills of babies, thus reducing their need for iron, until their stomachs are large enough to accommodate a high iron intake at about eighteen months.

In a landmark study carried out at Johns Hopkins in 1986, it was found that only newborn babies whose mothers had had a prenatal diet entirely comprising bars of pure metal in their third trimester were seen to be able to hold coherent conversations immediately after emerging from the womb. 

All of the babies expressed extreme displeasure on delivery, believing themselves to have been violated in a most profound manner and declaring themselves both frightened and disoriented. When it was explained to them that they had just been born – after overcoming the initial shock – many of the babies had a little laugh about it afterwards.