10 mind-blowing facts about the world you live in

With around 200 countries and more than 7.6 billion people, the world is full of interesting, fun, and fascinating people, places, and things. Read on to know ten interesting facts about the world.

Sweden has more islands than any other country.

 

With over 2,21,800 islands, Sweden is thought to have more islands than any other country in the world. But only about 1,000 of them are inhabited.

Canada has over nine per cent of the world's forests.

 

More than half of the world's forests are found in five countries -- Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States and China. Nine per cent or 396.9-million hectares of the total forest area of the entire world is in Canada.

The hottest chilli pepper in the world is so hot it could kill you.

 

The Dragon's Breath chilli pepper is said to be the hottest chilli pepper in the world. Taking one could potentially cause a type of anaphylactic shock, burning the airways and closing them up. So you ask why make such an impractical pepper? This chilli was initially developed to use in medical treatment as an anaesthetic that can numb the skin.

The world's quietest room.

 

Located at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, the lab room measures a background noise of -20.35 dBA, which is 20 decibels below the threshold of human hearing. It is fascinating to know that you can even hear the motion of your head when you turn, and you can hear yourself breathing somewhat loud.

Four babies are born every second.

 

Every single second, we welcome four new babies into our world. That means there are approximately 250 births every minute, and 15,000 in each hour, and 360,000 in each day. In a full year, there are around 131.4 million babies born on Earth. Isn't that an interesting fact?

Nearly two people die each second.

 

Now what's not so interesting is the fact that, while four babies are born on Earth every second, it's estimated that at least two people pass away at the same time. That means that 105 people die each minute, 6,316 people die each hour, 151,600 people die each day, and 55.3 million people die each year.

Japan is the world's most earthquake-prone country.

 

Earthquakes range from minor tremors to building-toppling ground-shakers that cause massive destruction. It's an inevitable part of life for those who live in countries such as Japan, China, Indonesia, Iran, and Turkey, which are some of the most earthquake-prone places on the planet. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Japan records the most earthquakes in the world.

All the ants on Earth weigh about as much as all the humans.

 

The total population of people who are alive on Earth is around 7.6 billion, but at the same time, ten quadrillion individual ants are crawling around at any given time. It is said to be all of those ants would weigh about the same as all of us humans.

All pandas in zoos around the world are from China.

 

The panda at your local zoo may look like it's at home in its cosy sanctuary. But the fact is that every gentle giants in zoos around the world are on loan from China. Yes, they're technically the property of the government of China.

Around one in every 200 men are direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

 

During the lifetime of the leader of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan fathered countless children. And according to a 2003 historical genetics paper scientists believe that around 1 in every 200 men is a direct descendant of him.