Real Fact #234: Great Falls, Montana, is the windiest city in the U.S.
Located in Cascade County, Great Falls boasts a population of over 58,950 (as of 2011 census). It is located in western Montana, towards the north, and is situated just east of the Rocky Mountains. Keep driving east from this city and you will discover why Montana is called "Big Sky Country." The climate is considered cold and semi-arid. Average temperatures in the summer reach into the eighties and fall as low as the teens during the winter, especially in January and February. Extreme freezes have been known to take place every month of the year, except July. (Wikipedia)
Great Falls has been known for its wind, at least within the state. I know multiple people from the area, and they have explained how windy the area can get. And yet, as my friends tell me, it is illegal to fly a kite within city limits. Yet Great Falls being the windiest city in the United States? I did a little research, and found there actually isn't a concrete answer...
According to CurrentResults.com, Boston is the windiest city, with average wind speed clocking in at 12.3 mph.
Ask.com, who I will mention rarely seems to be right in these searches, claims that while it varies on a monthly bases, Boston, Buffalo, Oklahoma City, and San Francisco are the windiest, depending on the year.
The website www.city-data.com has a list of the 101 cities with the highest average wind speeds. Great Falls did make the list...at #12 with an average wind speed of 12.5mph. Notice how that is higher than the CurrentResults declaration. Who beat out Great Falls on the list? Let's see...
1. Brockton, MA (14.3mph)
2. Framingham, MA (13.6mph)
3. Amarillo, TX (13.3mph)
4. Weymouth, MA (13.2mph)
5. Fort Collins, CO (12.8mph)
6. Newton, MA (12.7mph)
7. Waltham, MA (12.6mph)
8. Loveland, CO (12.6mph)
9. Quincy, MA (12.5mph)
10. Greeley, CO (12.5mph)
11. Rochester, MN (12.5mph)
This list also tells me that Massachusetts is a very windy state! And while I have been to Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley in my Colorado travels I do not recall any of those cities to be particularly windy.
At Education.Randmcnally.com, while Chicago holds the title of the Windy City. Yet according to their research on the topic, Dodge City, Kansas holds the title of the true windiest city. They attribute their research to a chart from the National Climatic Data Center.
I checked out NCDC myself, at ncdc.noaa.gov myself. They have a chart about all the most extreme climates in the U.S. Here are their results for windiest locations in the United States, along with average wind speeds:
1. Mount Washington, NH (35.1mph)
2. Blue Hill, MA (15.2mph)
3. Dodge City, KS (13.9mph)
4. Amarillo, TX (13.5mph)
5. Cheyenne, WY (12.9mph)
6. Rochester, MN (12.8mph)
7. Casper, WY (12.7mph)
8. Goodland, KS (12.5mph)
9. Great Falls, MT (12.5mph)
10. Boston, MA (12.4mph)
Great Falls made the list! However as you can see it made the list at #9. According to all the above research, Great Falls, while very windy, is not the windiest city in the country.
Now, maybe at one point, Great Falls did hold that claim. Weather patterns can change. I also like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps at one time each source listed above was correct, although I still doubt that Ask.com is all that accurate (one too many times finding incorrect information on that site). And as one site even sources NCDC, who is one of the experts in this field, what they got at the time was probably right. Dodge City still ranks in the top three.
So...Snapple...Get your facts checked.
Many who know me can attribute that yes, I have been to Great Falls. I attended a rodeo there in January of 2012 with two friends (who, I am proud to say, later married and now have a bouncing baby boy!). But the main reason I have been there was not by choice. Don't panic...this is the shortest version of the story I will probably ever give.
In January 2009 I was in a sledding accident and rushed to the hospital in Helena where I attended college. Discovering that my back was broken, the staff knew they could not care for me, and so sent me north to Great Falls for better treatment. I was there for eight days in recovery and occupational therapy. So my big experience of Great Falls is not exactly one of pleasant memories. Technically, I didn't even see the city. I was brought in at midnight and while my room had a window it faced another part of the building. So I saw nothing until I left in my parents' rental car and that was brief at best. The rodeo experience was much better, although I still would never know my way around that place.
Great Falls is indeed windy, and a place worth checking out if you ever find yourself in that part of Montana. There are lots of sights around the town, including several waterfalls. But it does not hold the record of the windiest city in the country at this time. Sorry, Great Falls...looks like your claim to fame will need to come from someplace else!
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Fact #17
Real Fact #17: A hummingbird weighs less than a penny.
The hummingbird is one of nature's most beautiful, delicate, and bizarre creatures rolled into one.
Hummingbirds draw attention with their gorgeous colors and quick movements. There are many species across the United States and they have enough of a fan base to have their own website! Hummingbirds.net contains a wealth of information about these tiny birds, and is my primary resource for this blog.
There are over a dozen different species of hummingbird in the U.S. While all are fascinating to read about, I will quickly discuss specifics about hummingbirds that are native to my current region; namely, Colorado. Out of the 17 species I found, 6 have been known to take up residence in this state!
The black-chinned hummingbird can be found in 25 states plus western Canada. Known as the "least colorful" of United States hummingbirds, they are rather plain looking. The male has a brown green crest with a purple throat band. Males weigh 3.09 grams, while the larger female can weigh 3.42 grams.
The blue-throated hummingbird is a large one, with males tipping your gram scale at 8.4 grams. Largely observed in southern states but found as north as Utah, these birds are homely as females while the males are a grey-ish color and have a blue gorget and tail.
The broad-billed hummingbird looks quite attractive, with its iridescently green body (well, the males anyway). These birds have been observed across the U.S. in a smattering of states and weigh a 3.4 to 3.72 grams, depending on gender.
The calliope hummingbird prefers high mountain regions, having been seen at elevations extending over 11,000 feet high. While it may like mountains, it may not particular to where it lives: this bird has been seen in 31 states! Maybe not the most attractive hummingbird out there, it comes in slightly smaller than the previously mentioned species at 2.5 to 2.83 grams. In this species, the female is bigger.
The magnificent hummingbird, I am sad to say, doesn't exactly look it. The second-largest hummingbird in the country, these birds weigh 6.4 to 7.7 grams, depending on gender. They can be found largely in the southern U.S., although there are exceptions. This bird has been spotted in Minnesota.
The rufous hummingbird could be described as feisty. A bully at feeders, it usually out-maneuvers other species to get what it wants. It doesn't seem to care about location. Seen in every state except Hawaii, this bird weighs in at 3.22 to 3.41 grams, with the females outweighing the males by a fraction.
Now that I have thrown all these facts at you, the question remains: do these birds weight the same as a penny? As the weight between the species ranges from 2.5 to 8.4 grams, it is safe to say that not every bird weighs the same as a penny. As someone on a very tight budget, I have plenty of pennies lying around. Yet while I have one scale in the bathroom and one in the kitchen, neither are sensitive enough to weigh one. So I turned to the U.S. Mint.
According to usmint.gov, the penny is made of copper-plated zinc. They are 1.52mm thick, have plain edges, and are 0.75 inches in diameter. Here's the real kicker: a penny weighs 2.5 grams. So Snapple is right, in a sense...the calliope hummingbird can weigh the same as a penny. All other species that I researched weight at least a gram more. Maybe they just need to be more specific. And perhaps there are other breeds in the U.S. and around the world that are smaller than a penny. Again, I only looked at birds observed in Colorado, mostly for the sake of time and to keep this blog from becoming 20 pages long. Check your facts, Snapple!
Hummingbirds make me think of childhood. I have mentioned my family's cabin previously. Well the area it's based in has hummingbirds in the summer. They dart and zip around, seemingly never landing...ever. Since I was a tot, my mom and grandma would hang a hummingbird feeder right outside the kitchen window. Every so often you would look up from a meal and see a green and white hummer hovering over an opening of the bright red feeder, his little beak buried deep in the hole, sucking up sugar water.
Having flipped through the species photos I have found, I think this was a female rofous hummingbird. They tend to hang out an drink for a minute or two, then take off to wherever they came from. When I was really little, we also fed duck and other birds leftover bread edges (we finicky kids refused to eat bread crusts). However the park in which the cabin sits put out a law forbidding the feeding of any animals. Makes sense...when we quit feeding the birds the raccoons left too (I remember Grandma sweeping them off the porch with a broom!). However hummingbird feeders must not have been part of that jurisdiction.
As I have grown up, fewer and fewer hummers have paid that feeder a visit. As I have not been to the cabin since 2011 (SOB!) I have no idea if my family still hangs it outside the window. I hope they do. Hummers are fascinating to watch! Some species are also struggling and I think it would be best if they stuck around on planet Earth for quite some time to come.
References:
Chambers, Lanny. "." Humminbirds.net. Lanny Chambers, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html>.
"Coin Specifiactions." United States Mint. United States Mint, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/index.cfm?action=Coin_specifications>.
The hummingbird is one of nature's most beautiful, delicate, and bizarre creatures rolled into one.
Hummingbirds draw attention with their gorgeous colors and quick movements. There are many species across the United States and they have enough of a fan base to have their own website! Hummingbirds.net contains a wealth of information about these tiny birds, and is my primary resource for this blog.
There are over a dozen different species of hummingbird in the U.S. While all are fascinating to read about, I will quickly discuss specifics about hummingbirds that are native to my current region; namely, Colorado. Out of the 17 species I found, 6 have been known to take up residence in this state!
 |
| Male black-chinned hummingbird, (c) Dan True |
The blue-throated hummingbird is a large one, with males tipping your gram scale at 8.4 grams. Largely observed in southern states but found as north as Utah, these birds are homely as females while the males are a grey-ish color and have a blue gorget and tail.
 |
| Male blue-throated hummingbird, (c) Dan True |
The broad-billed hummingbird looks quite attractive, with its iridescently green body (well, the males anyway). These birds have been observed across the U.S. in a smattering of states and weigh a 3.4 to 3.72 grams, depending on gender.
 |
| Male broad-billed hummingbird, (c) Dan True |
The calliope hummingbird prefers high mountain regions, having been seen at elevations extending over 11,000 feet high. While it may like mountains, it may not particular to where it lives: this bird has been seen in 31 states! Maybe not the most attractive hummingbird out there, it comes in slightly smaller than the previously mentioned species at 2.5 to 2.83 grams. In this species, the female is bigger.
 |
| Male calliope hummingbird, (c) Dan True |
 |
| Male magnificent hummingbird, (c) Dan True |
The rufous hummingbird could be described as feisty. A bully at feeders, it usually out-maneuvers other species to get what it wants. It doesn't seem to care about location. Seen in every state except Hawaii, this bird weighs in at 3.22 to 3.41 grams, with the females outweighing the males by a fraction.
 |
| Male rufous hummingbird, (c) Dan True |
 |
| "Head" of a penny. Courtesy of marshu.com |
According to usmint.gov, the penny is made of copper-plated zinc. They are 1.52mm thick, have plain edges, and are 0.75 inches in diameter. Here's the real kicker: a penny weighs 2.5 grams. So Snapple is right, in a sense...the calliope hummingbird can weigh the same as a penny. All other species that I researched weight at least a gram more. Maybe they just need to be more specific. And perhaps there are other breeds in the U.S. and around the world that are smaller than a penny. Again, I only looked at birds observed in Colorado, mostly for the sake of time and to keep this blog from becoming 20 pages long. Check your facts, Snapple!
Hummingbirds make me think of childhood. I have mentioned my family's cabin previously. Well the area it's based in has hummingbirds in the summer. They dart and zip around, seemingly never landing...ever. Since I was a tot, my mom and grandma would hang a hummingbird feeder right outside the kitchen window. Every so often you would look up from a meal and see a green and white hummer hovering over an opening of the bright red feeder, his little beak buried deep in the hole, sucking up sugar water.
 |
| Hummingbird using the family feeder, (c) Allison, 2009 |
As I have grown up, fewer and fewer hummers have paid that feeder a visit. As I have not been to the cabin since 2011 (SOB!) I have no idea if my family still hangs it outside the window. I hope they do. Hummers are fascinating to watch! Some species are also struggling and I think it would be best if they stuck around on planet Earth for quite some time to come.
References:
Chambers, Lanny. "." Humminbirds.net. Lanny Chambers, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.hummingbirds.net/index.html>.
"Coin Specifiactions." United States Mint. United States Mint, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. <http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/index.cfm?action=Coin_specifications>.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Fact #793
Real Fact #793: Broadway is one of the longest streets in the world. It is 150 miles long.
Well, the Broadway in Denver isn't that long. I will assume this is Broadway, New York. :-)
Sorry, Snapple. You need to check your facts on this one. The only site that even mentions Broadway (WikiAnswers) says it's 400 miles long. However, it is not called Broadway the entire stretch of the road. Is it just me, or would that be cheating?
As there is (to my knowledge) no list of the longest streets in the world, I cannot say one way or another that this is true. What I can tell you are some of the other long streets/roads out there.
The Pan American road (Also known as Highway 101) is the longest road according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It runs down pretty much the entirety of the West Coast of North America. There are parts closed at times and some places the pavement disappears and you drive on dirt instead (both largely in Central/South America) but it is one continuous road.
Yonge Street in Canada has been sighted as the longest road, and still is on Wikipedia (somebody update that, please). Pan American has it beat, however. Guinness removed it after only a few weeks.
Locals here in Colorado say Colfax is the longest continuous street (as in it doesn't change names) in the United States. I have yet to verify this one. As Pan American is a highway instead of a city street, I can accept it as fact, for now. However I know one thing for sure...I never plan on driving it from end to end to find out, especially at night.
There also various roads in other continents, like the Silk Road, that rival what we have here in the U.S. for length. Again, I wish I could find a reputable list somewhere, but I have yet to do so. Sorry.
I am happy that I have been on parts of the longest road in the world. My family's cabin is off Highway 101 on the Washington State peninsula. On the request of my family, I cannot publish specifics (other than that the cabin is off of Lake Crescent), but here is the view from the cabin itself...
(Photo from my personal collection, taken June 2010)
I have not been to my family's piece of paradise since 2011. And I want to go back very, very badly.
If you ever have the chance to drive the ol' 101, take your time and enjoy the sights. There is so much to see: beaches, forests, and hidden gems like what you see above. If you gotta be somewhere, just make sure you take the time to stop and smell the roses. You never know what you will find off 101!
Well, the Broadway in Denver isn't that long. I will assume this is Broadway, New York. :-)
Sorry, Snapple. You need to check your facts on this one. The only site that even mentions Broadway (WikiAnswers) says it's 400 miles long. However, it is not called Broadway the entire stretch of the road. Is it just me, or would that be cheating?
As there is (to my knowledge) no list of the longest streets in the world, I cannot say one way or another that this is true. What I can tell you are some of the other long streets/roads out there.
The Pan American road (Also known as Highway 101) is the longest road according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It runs down pretty much the entirety of the West Coast of North America. There are parts closed at times and some places the pavement disappears and you drive on dirt instead (both largely in Central/South America) but it is one continuous road.
Yonge Street in Canada has been sighted as the longest road, and still is on Wikipedia (somebody update that, please). Pan American has it beat, however. Guinness removed it after only a few weeks.
Locals here in Colorado say Colfax is the longest continuous street (as in it doesn't change names) in the United States. I have yet to verify this one. As Pan American is a highway instead of a city street, I can accept it as fact, for now. However I know one thing for sure...I never plan on driving it from end to end to find out, especially at night.
There also various roads in other continents, like the Silk Road, that rival what we have here in the U.S. for length. Again, I wish I could find a reputable list somewhere, but I have yet to do so. Sorry.
I am happy that I have been on parts of the longest road in the world. My family's cabin is off Highway 101 on the Washington State peninsula. On the request of my family, I cannot publish specifics (other than that the cabin is off of Lake Crescent), but here is the view from the cabin itself...
I have not been to my family's piece of paradise since 2011. And I want to go back very, very badly.
If you ever have the chance to drive the ol' 101, take your time and enjoy the sights. There is so much to see: beaches, forests, and hidden gems like what you see above. If you gotta be somewhere, just make sure you take the time to stop and smell the roses. You never know what you will find off 101!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Fact #262
Real Fact #262: The act of chewing an apple is a more efficient way to stay awake than caffeine.
A wonderful tidbit of information about one of my favorite fruits!
In my ever-continuous search for the truth, I saw right off that bat that there are entire blogs devoted to this topic, most likely in health blogs of some kind. I also saw that WikiAnswers and Ask.com both claim yes, this is true. Ask even says that the natural sugars that come in an apple are the cause of this. But I shall dig deeper than a one minute Google browse.
(Image from designlap.com)
The natural sugar found in an apple (and other fruits too, but not to the same extent) is fructose. This is a very good sugar. Fructose can "wake you up naturally and help keep you going. It also moves slowly through the body, reaching areas where you may not wake up immediately, but once an apple [is] in your system it'll wake you up and keep you awake. There's no crash either" (Burgett). Apples also contain fiber and good carbs that your body needs to stay moving.
Reference.com backs Burgett up while adding more facts. Apples do not contain caffeine and the amount of sugar in an apple is actually less than most people put in their morning coffee (13 grams). The natural sugar in apples (which also contains glucose, by the way) is far easier for the body to digest than the artificial sweeteners we tend to put into so many foods and drinks today. Apples come loaded with Vitamin C and other nutrients, which will give the body an overall daily boost. The high vitamin content of an apple
There's no doubt that apples are better for you than coffee, and now there's another reason to love this multipurpose fruit.
I love apples. I ought to...I grew up in the apple state (aka Washington) where my family has an apple tree in the backyard. Apple pie just doesn't taste the same when the pie hasn't been made with your own apples picked fresh that day and been made with my mom's perfect pie crust recipe. Apples are the only fruit I will eat whole. Call me a picky eater if you want, but most fruits taste great to me...I just struggle with texture. So smoothies are my friends. Unless they contain peaches. I can't do peaches.
There's one part of apples I don't like. I miss caramel apples.
(Image from myrecipes.com)
Yes, those treats look amazing. I'm drooling over this picture. Yet I may never eat one as along as I live. No, I don't have an allergy to any ingredients (I'm only allergic to fish, and now's not the time to talk about it). There isn't an ingredient I don't like (if I ever dislike chocolate, may the M&M characters come to my home and beat me senseless with Snickers bars). It's actually a small dental issue.
Many people who know me well know I have a history of dental procedures. We discovered that when my adult teeth grew in my adult incisors (my "two front teeth") have abnormally short roots. That means if I bite into something extremely hard I could wrench a tooth loose. On either side of those teeth I have dental implants (I have no upper adult laterals, so we had to put fake ones in surgically). Because the area is so fragile, whole apples are off the menu. If I really need a caramel and apple fix though, I can slice up an apple and use some dip. Works just as well.
While I like my apples, I also like my coffee. I picked up the "joe habit" in college because it was freely available and I could put all the cream and sugar into it I wanted without a parent standing over me chiding "you want a little coffee with your sugar?" I drank it so much that one year I gave it up for Lent and had headaches for over two weeks. Whoops!
(Image from theproscons.com)
Now I drink coffee on work mornings. As of the day I posted this blog entry, no job exists. So right now I drink coffee...never. It's a treat that will return when the paycheck does. And yes, I have drank it to wake up. But it's more than the caffeine...it's the taste, the smell, and the cup of something warm between your fingers when driving to work on a dark, frozen Colorado morning. I'm not picky about my beans...as long as it's coffee (and I can put cream and sugar in it) I'll drink it.
I may love my coffee, but when I need to get up in the morning, I will give the apple trick a try. After all, apples are better for you than coffee, won't make you crash, and are cheaper (apples here in Colorado run about $1.99 per pound while a tall mocha from Starbucks can run you double that). So if you're looking for a healthy way to wake up, want to change your morning routine, or are just curious, give it a try! You never know...it may be the best part of waking up. ;-)
References:
Burgett, Joe. "10 Things That Can Wake You Up Better Than Coffee." Oddee. Oddee, 28 Feb 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <http://www.oddee.com/item_98510.asp&xgt;.>
F., Isabella. "Can Eating Apples Keep You Awake."Reference.com Answers. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 11 Apr 2014. <http://www.reference.com/motif/health/can-eating-apples-keep-you-awake>.
A wonderful tidbit of information about one of my favorite fruits!
In my ever-continuous search for the truth, I saw right off that bat that there are entire blogs devoted to this topic, most likely in health blogs of some kind. I also saw that WikiAnswers and Ask.com both claim yes, this is true. Ask even says that the natural sugars that come in an apple are the cause of this. But I shall dig deeper than a one minute Google browse.
The natural sugar found in an apple (and other fruits too, but not to the same extent) is fructose. This is a very good sugar. Fructose can "wake you up naturally and help keep you going. It also moves slowly through the body, reaching areas where you may not wake up immediately, but once an apple [is] in your system it'll wake you up and keep you awake. There's no crash either" (Burgett). Apples also contain fiber and good carbs that your body needs to stay moving.
Reference.com backs Burgett up while adding more facts. Apples do not contain caffeine and the amount of sugar in an apple is actually less than most people put in their morning coffee (13 grams). The natural sugar in apples (which also contains glucose, by the way) is far easier for the body to digest than the artificial sweeteners we tend to put into so many foods and drinks today. Apples come loaded with Vitamin C and other nutrients, which will give the body an overall daily boost. The high vitamin content of an apple
also helps increase alertness. The vitamins are absorbed slowly and increase the energy levels slowly. There is no jolt of energy as there is with coffee, but the energy is more lasting.There are several other aspects of the apple that help wake people up. First of all, the crunch really helps increase alertness. The feel of crunching on an apple and the sound that it makes helps wake people up in the morning. The scent is also said to help one wake up. It is gently, sweet and lingering. All in all, the apple is a great choice for a morning meal and should leave one feeling refreshed and ready to face the day (Refernce.com).
There's no doubt that apples are better for you than coffee, and now there's another reason to love this multipurpose fruit.
I love apples. I ought to...I grew up in the apple state (aka Washington) where my family has an apple tree in the backyard. Apple pie just doesn't taste the same when the pie hasn't been made with your own apples picked fresh that day and been made with my mom's perfect pie crust recipe. Apples are the only fruit I will eat whole. Call me a picky eater if you want, but most fruits taste great to me...I just struggle with texture. So smoothies are my friends. Unless they contain peaches. I can't do peaches.
There's one part of apples I don't like. I miss caramel apples.
Yes, those treats look amazing. I'm drooling over this picture. Yet I may never eat one as along as I live. No, I don't have an allergy to any ingredients (I'm only allergic to fish, and now's not the time to talk about it). There isn't an ingredient I don't like (if I ever dislike chocolate, may the M&M characters come to my home and beat me senseless with Snickers bars). It's actually a small dental issue.
Many people who know me well know I have a history of dental procedures. We discovered that when my adult teeth grew in my adult incisors (my "two front teeth") have abnormally short roots. That means if I bite into something extremely hard I could wrench a tooth loose. On either side of those teeth I have dental implants (I have no upper adult laterals, so we had to put fake ones in surgically). Because the area is so fragile, whole apples are off the menu. If I really need a caramel and apple fix though, I can slice up an apple and use some dip. Works just as well.
While I like my apples, I also like my coffee. I picked up the "joe habit" in college because it was freely available and I could put all the cream and sugar into it I wanted without a parent standing over me chiding "you want a little coffee with your sugar?" I drank it so much that one year I gave it up for Lent and had headaches for over two weeks. Whoops!
Now I drink coffee on work mornings. As of the day I posted this blog entry, no job exists. So right now I drink coffee...never. It's a treat that will return when the paycheck does. And yes, I have drank it to wake up. But it's more than the caffeine...it's the taste, the smell, and the cup of something warm between your fingers when driving to work on a dark, frozen Colorado morning. I'm not picky about my beans...as long as it's coffee (and I can put cream and sugar in it) I'll drink it.
I may love my coffee, but when I need to get up in the morning, I will give the apple trick a try. After all, apples are better for you than coffee, won't make you crash, and are cheaper (apples here in Colorado run about $1.99 per pound while a tall mocha from Starbucks can run you double that). So if you're looking for a healthy way to wake up, want to change your morning routine, or are just curious, give it a try! You never know...it may be the best part of waking up. ;-)
References:
Burgett, Joe. "10 Things That Can Wake You Up Better Than Coffee." Oddee. Oddee, 28 Feb 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. <http://www.oddee.com/item_98510.asp&xgt;.>
F., Isabella. "Can Eating Apples Keep You Awake."Reference.com Answers. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 11 Apr 2014. <http://www.reference.com/motif/health/can-eating-apples-keep-you-awake>.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Fact #432
Real Fact #432: Antarctica holds 90% of the world's fresh water.
And it's all locked up in ice.
I have heard so many different statistics about how much of our fresh water is held down south. It's hard to know who's right!
Snapple: 90%
ScienceDaily: 90%
WikiAnswers: 70%
Wikipedia: 61%
Ask.com: 99%
Will Steger Foundation: 80%
DiscoveringAntarctica.org: 70%
There are also several numbers concerning how much of the world's ice is held down there...
Planet Earth TV Series: 90%
WikiAnswers: 90%
Ask.com: 90%
Will Steger Foundation: 85%
Based on these percentages I think we can safely assume that about 90% of the ice on our planet is found in Antarctica. This makes sense. The ice on the land mass itself is several miles thick, while the north pole ice melts significantly each year.
But I digress. After all, this is a post about freshwater in general, not just ice. Or maybe not. You would not find liquid fresh water in the poles, because it's always freezing there. Salt water does not freeze at the same temperature as fresh water, hence the ocean staying largely liquid year round. So any fresh water in Antarctica is going to be frozen solid.
I have a theory: the numbers vary because of the time of year percentage may have been researched. There is a lot more ice around the poles during their perspective winters. So, if you measure the ice amount on the planet in late September, there will be a heck of a lot more ice around the south pole than there would be up north. If you were taking measurements, say, now (early April), the reverse would be true.
The amount of ice on our planet is constantly changing because of respective climates, seasons, and sadly, global warming. Having a concrete statistic on how much freshwater is where is nearly impossible. The best we can do is take an educated guess.
That would have to be a lot of water down there. Anyone who has visited a large lake or river has probably had the thought, "That's a lot of water!" Now think about how that gigantic lake is less than one percent of the earth's fresh water. Wow.
All this talk about fresh water is making me thirsty. I think it's time for a glass of cool, refreshing fresh water with a few ice cubes in it...
And it's all locked up in ice.
I have heard so many different statistics about how much of our fresh water is held down south. It's hard to know who's right!
Snapple: 90%
ScienceDaily: 90%
WikiAnswers: 70%
Wikipedia: 61%
Ask.com: 99%
Will Steger Foundation: 80%
DiscoveringAntarctica.org: 70%
There are also several numbers concerning how much of the world's ice is held down there...
Planet Earth TV Series: 90%
WikiAnswers: 90%
Ask.com: 90%
Will Steger Foundation: 85%
Based on these percentages I think we can safely assume that about 90% of the ice on our planet is found in Antarctica. This makes sense. The ice on the land mass itself is several miles thick, while the north pole ice melts significantly each year.
But I digress. After all, this is a post about freshwater in general, not just ice. Or maybe not. You would not find liquid fresh water in the poles, because it's always freezing there. Salt water does not freeze at the same temperature as fresh water, hence the ocean staying largely liquid year round. So any fresh water in Antarctica is going to be frozen solid.
I have a theory: the numbers vary because of the time of year percentage may have been researched. There is a lot more ice around the poles during their perspective winters. So, if you measure the ice amount on the planet in late September, there will be a heck of a lot more ice around the south pole than there would be up north. If you were taking measurements, say, now (early April), the reverse would be true.
The amount of ice on our planet is constantly changing because of respective climates, seasons, and sadly, global warming. Having a concrete statistic on how much freshwater is where is nearly impossible. The best we can do is take an educated guess.
That would have to be a lot of water down there. Anyone who has visited a large lake or river has probably had the thought, "That's a lot of water!" Now think about how that gigantic lake is less than one percent of the earth's fresh water. Wow.
All this talk about fresh water is making me thirsty. I think it's time for a glass of cool, refreshing fresh water with a few ice cubes in it...
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