National Geographic Kids Weird But True! 5: 300 Outrageous Facts

National Geographic Kids Weird But True!  5: 300 Outrageous Facts           Paperback Book:  206 pages    

Back again,  can’t help it, I am addicted to this series.    So much information here you will be utterly amazed at this series.    Some of the things you will learn in this book: a group of hippos is called a bloat,  some police officers in Cairo patrol the pyramids on camelback (hmm…pursuits ought to be interesting), the world’s largest bat has a wingspan as wide as a sofa – that would be like a vampire sighting!   Whales have belly buttons (born not hatched),  a hot drink can sometimes cool you down faster than a cold one, in 16th century weddings in England it was considered good luck to throw shoes at the bride and groom – not good luck for the person losing the shoes – they were pretty dear back then I should think and not good luck for the bride and groom –getting hit with a shoe could leave some nasty bruises!   Beavers have a set of clear eyelids to see under water.   A pineapple is actually made up of a bunch of berries.   There is a jellyfish that can change from an adult back into a baby –  whoa!  Fountain of Youth or illusion?   More research required.   A Buzz Lightyear action figure spent 15 months on the International Space Station – man, can you imagine what that would go for on Ebay?    The Peacock Mantis Shrimp has claws strong enough to punch through an aquarium’s glass walls –that would put you off shrimp cocktails.   Nighttime rainbows are common at Yosemite National Park in California (how would you see them?), an albatross can glide thousands of miles without flapping its wings.   Yak hair was used to make the wigs for characters in The Hobbit film, half of the pigs in the world live in China – I would not have thought that,  75,000 pounds of meat sank on the Titanic,  Nepal is the only country in the world that doesn’t have a rectangular flag,  bees once made blue and green honey after picking up colorful waster from an M&M’s factory, grass looks greener to females than it does to males.   All kinds of good stuff to be found in this series – it’s like magic – you can amaze your friends with all the stuff you will learn and never be without conversation in any situation,  “Did you know that Air Force One has never landed more than 3 seconds off its scheduled arrival time?”    Love it!