THE MINI MASK MAN AND COOL STUFF!!!

Fact 175 does Beyoncé have a horse fly named after her? The answer is yes there is a horse fly named after her and it is called Scaptia beyonceae, because of Beyoncé. The beyoncé horses fly was first discovered in 1981 but not scientifically described 2011, and wasn't named until, 2012 by Dr Bryan Lessard, a Entomologist (someone who study insect) and researcher from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, is the person who officially described and named the horse fly, Scaptia beyonceae.

Fact 174: Does Taylor Swift have an animal named after her? The answer is yes (because otherwise, this would be a very short fact) there is a millipede named after Taylor Swift, the scientific name is Nannaria swiftae the common name (none scientific name) for the millipede is the Swift twisted-claw millipede or Taylor Swift's millipede. The Taylor Swift's millipede eats decaying leaves and trees. The people who chose to name the millipede after Taylor Swift was Derek Hennen and his team at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia (USA). Derek Hennen said "I'm a big fan of her music, so I wanted to show my appreciation by naming this new species from Tennessee after her. A high honour!" Taylor Swift lived in Tennessee because When she was 13 her family moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee, so she could have a career in country music in Nashville, it worked because in 2004, at aged 14, Taylor Swift signed a music publishing deal with Sony/ATV.  The Swift twisted-claw m

Fact 173: Does Leonardo DiCaprio have a tree named after him? The answer is yes there is a tree called Uvariopsis DiCaprio its scientific name is Uvariopsis DiCaprio, and it is commonly called and known as the DiCaprio tree, Uvariopsis DiCaprio tree is found only in the Ebo forest in Cameroon, one of the largest intact rainforests in Africa. The name is to honour Leonardo DiCaprio's role in campaigning to protect the Cameroonian rainforest habitat and Leonardo DiCaprio's efforts to make home a national park and, his efforts to raise awareness of the threat of logging in the area. The Uvariopsis DiCaprio tree was one the first new species of 2022.

Fact 172: How many plant species are named after Lady Gaga? Surprisingly my fact was going to be has anything been named after Lady Gaga, I wasn't expecting there to be many things named after Lady Gaga, especially not a scientific genus for some fern planets, basically, researchers at Duke University in North Carolina (USA) have given 19 different species of fern the genus "Gaga" after the famous American singer Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta. Interestingly 2 of the 19 species are newly discovered species.  One of the species also resembles a costume that Lady Gaga once wore during a performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards. The two newly discovered species are Gaga monstraparva because Lady Gaga's fans are called monsters Gaga Germanotta because Lady Gaga's real surname is Germanotta, and interestingly their (and only their) DNA sequence spells GAGA (this was a complete coincidence).

Fact 171: What is the single oldest living thing on earth? * equals more information lower down. The answer is the Great basin bristlecone pine, The oldest living Great basin bristlecone pine is called Methuselah the tree is named after *Methuselah a person in the bible, who lived for 969 years and the tree is 4,765 years old. It lives in a secret location in the White Mountain range of eastern California. This tree is about 1,000 years older than any other bristlecone trees still alive today and when it was just started sprouting stone Heng was just starting to be built. The Great Basin bristlecone pine, is so old that they are gnarled, gnarled means twisted due to ageing the gnarled look is caused by the tree slightly die slowly in parts so it can stay alive and this is normally due to the tree being at a high elevation or altitude (being high up). The Great Basin bristlecone pine's scientific name is Pinus longaeva.  According to (National Park Utah &) The Natural Park Serv

Fact 170: How many sherlock holmes stories did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle write?  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels and fifty-six short stories that featured sherlock holmes. Sherlock holmes first appeared in a short story called, “A Study in Scarlet,” which was published in Beeton's Christmas Annual in 1887 and later sherlock holmes starred, in a series of Holmes stories printed in The Strand magazine in 1891. 

Fact 169: Who painted The Fighting Temeraire? The answer is J.M.W. Turner, who's full name is Joseph Mallord William Turner. The The Fighting Temeraire, full name, The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, was painted in 1838 it is an Oil on canvas. J.M.W. Turner, referred and nicknamed the painting ‘Darling’ (according to the Natural Gallery) The Fighting Temeraire was never sold instead J.M.W. Turner, disided to gift it to the Natural Gallery in London after he died. The Fighting Temeraire (and one of Turner's self-portraits) is the design on the £20 note. J.M.W. Turner, was born in Maiden Lane, London England on 23rd April 1775 and died in London on 19 December 1851. J.M.W. Turner father, William Turner was a barber and wig-maker in Covent Garden and at a young age J.M.W. Turner, would display his (early water colours) art works in his father's barber shop with a price tag (chosen by his father) of three-shillings.  Natural Gallery talking about th

Fact 168: Who painted The Son of Man painting? The answer is, René Magritte, René Magritte was born on the 21st of November 1898 and died on the 15th of August 1967. René Magritte is a famous Belgian surrealist artist. René Magritte full name René François Ghislain Magritte, painted The Son of Man, painting in 1964, The Son of Man painting is one with the apple in front of a man's face wearing a bowler hat. The Son of Man is one of only four oil paintings that René Magritte confirmed were actually self-portraits so, in fact, the man behind the apple is in fact, René Magritte. I recreated The Son of Man

Fact 167: Who painted the scream painting? The scream painting is a painting, that was painted using different styles and materials including: oil paints, oil paints thickened with beeswax (wax made by bees) and oil crayons containing beeswax and also Japan wax, as well as casein pastels, a paraffin wax crayon and at least one gum-bound oil paints and oil paints that were thickened with beeswax and also oil crayons containing beeswax and Japan wax, as well as casein pastels, a paraffin wax crayon and at least one gum-bound paint, 4 (2 pastels and 2 oils) versions of scream are by Edvard Munch a Norwegian painter in 1893.

Fact 166: Has the Mona Lisa ever been stolen? The answer is yes, the Mona Lisa which was painted by the Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century sometime between 1503 and 1519 has been stolen once by an Italian Louvre employee called Vincenzo Peruggia. Vincenzo Peruggia didn't steal the Mona Lisa for money instead in the hope of returning the painting to Italy (Florence) so in fact he did it in an act of Italian patriotism and this is why he decided to steal the painting on the 21st August 1911. Vincenzo Peruggia brought the Mona Lisa to Florence however he got caught in Florence (Italy), (unsurprisingly because the painting is still, to this day is hanging on a wall in the Louvre gallery in Paris) the painting was returned to the Louvre gallery on the 12th December 1913. 

Fact 165: Who painted the Mona Lisa? The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century the Louvre. The Mona Lisa is hanging in the Louvre gallery in Paris (France). Mona Lisa fact (has the Mona Lisa ever been stolen)

Fact 164: Who painted the first self-portrait? The oldest and believed by many to be the first self-portrait is by (and of) Jan van Eyck, the painting was called Portrait of a Man, it was painted in 1433 and it is an Oil on oak, located somewhere in the Natural Gallery London (I think I have seen it because I have seen all the paintings in the Natural Gallery).  Jan van Eyck (1390 or 1380 -1441 A.D) was a Netherlandish Renaissance painter. Jan van Eyck's most famous painting is, The Arnolfini Portrait, I have also seen it in the Natural Gallery (in London).

Fact 163: Where does the Xingu River Ray live? The Xingu River Ray, is not only a good animal to know if someone asks you if they is an animal beginning with the letter X, it is also interesting because it is a type of fresh water stingray that is only found in Brazil (in the wild) in the Xingu River which is where it gets it's name from.  The scientific name for the Xingu River Ray Is Potamotrygon leopoldi, the Xingu River Ray is also known as the white-blotched river stingray and polka-dot stingray. An adult (mature) Xingu River Ray,  length is about two feet, a width of 11.8 (29.972 cm) to 30 inches (76.2 cm). A group of stingrays is called a fever. The Xingu River Basin is the fourth largest tributary of the amazon river (the amazon river flows into the Xingú river), the Xingu River is 507,000 km2, this it is nearly the size of France.

Fact 162: What is a Utonagan? It is a breed of dog from the uk developed by Edwina Harrison during the 1980s, Edwina was probably trying to create a friendly wolf-like a non working dog pet. Edwina Harrison using a Siberian Husky, an Alaskan Malamute, a German Shepherd, and five other rescue dogs or unknown origin to create the Utonagan dog breed.  The name Utonagans is is Native American for "Spirit of the wolf".

Fact 161: Why does the slow Loris have big eyes and markings on its face and back? The reason why the slow Loris has big eyes and markings on its face and back is to imitate the spectacled cobras, the slow lorises can even move rhythmically in a cobra-like way while hanging upside down by pointing their head up in the air with their snout (nose) looks unbelievably like the head of a spectacled cobra and their back has a line (marking) which resembles the cobra's body and tail, the eyes look like the markings on a spectacled cobras (neck) hood.  The reason the slow Loris mimics the spectacled cobra is that it is a defence mechanism to protect it from predators and because the slow Loris and the spectacled cobra live in the same habits in the same parts of Asia.  Another reason this also really works as a defence mechanism is because the slow Loris is nocturnal and the spectacled cobra is active during the day and night. 

Fact 160: How fast was the Lunar rover designed to travel? The Lunar rovers are the buggies that were driven on the moon and designed by Ferenc Pavlics and built by Boeing (they make planes) and Nasa. The top speed that the Lunar rover was designed to travel isn't the fastest it has travelled, basically, Nasa designed them all to have a top speed of 8 mph however the Apollo 17 mission (model) recorded a top speed of 11.2 mph when driven by Eugene Cernan.  Four lunar rovers were built, one for each of these missions, Apollos 15, 16, and 17, however, one was dismantled and used for spare parts after the cancellation of the Apollo 18 missions.

I watched Qi Live 

Fact 159: what did Fredric John Baur create? Fredric John Baur created Pringles, the pringles packaging, taste and design and the shape of pringles,  the shape of a pringle is a hyperbolic paraboloid. The tube was chosen for the packaging because you get more than if it was in a packet and less air is needed and the hyperbolic paraboloid, (the shape) was chosen because it is ideal for stacking and doesn't break in a tube. The first stage of the pringles development process started in 1975 (it took seven years to create the product). In, 1968 Pringles premiered in Evansville, (Indiana U.S.A). 

Fact 158: Where does the name of the Uinta Ground Squirrel come from? The Uinta Ground Squirrel is also known as a chiseler or potgut, the name Uinta Ground Squirrel comes from the fact that it lives in the Uinta Mountains (Within the Uinta Mountain range, there are 136 named mountains) in the USA. The Uinta Ground Squirrels are burrowing rodents found in mountainous meadows and bushes and are mostly found in Yellowstone National Park (also in the Uinta Mountains). The Uinta Ground Squirrel is mostly a Herbivore however it has been observed to eat earthworms.

Fact 157: How much does the Uinta Ground Squirrel weigh? Uinta Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus armatus). The weight of one Uinta ground squirrel is about 210 grams which is equivalent to 210 paper clips (1 paper clip weighs 1 gram, and 210g is also equivalent to 21 Graphite Pencils (1 graphite Pencil weighs 10 grams).

Fact 156: What animal is an Unau? The answer is a sloth more pacifically it is a Linnaeus's two-toed sloth also known as the two-toed sloth and the southern two toed-sloth.  The Unau's scientific name is Choloepodidae didactylus. The word Unau comes from a *Tupí word, unaü or uná meaning lazy.  The most interesting thing I have found out about this sloth (that I didn't already know) is like all sloths it has three toes on its back legs, and this sloth has two toes on its front legs. The top speed of the southern two-toed sloth is 0.17mph this is slow compared to the fact that the slow Walking speed for most adults is around 3 mph and a fast walking speed is 4-5 mph.  When the Unau is swimming its speed is about 13.5 meters per minute (44 feet per minute) and when a human is swimming its speed on average is about 53.645 meters per minute (176.000656 feet per minute). The reason that sloths are very slow is due to low metabolism which is linked to the fact that it can take up

Fact 155: The first Umbrella was used to protect people from what? Now, this may surprise you to know that, the umbrella was first used to protect people from the sun. First invented in Egypt around 1000 BC, they were first made out of leather or leaves or stretched papyrus and attached to a stick.   The waterproof umbrella wasn't invented until the 11th century (1001 -1100 AD) in China. The waterproof umbrella was made out of paper that was coated in wax with normally a bamboo or mulberry bark frame connected in the middle to a bamboo stick.

Fact 154: Where does the word Umbrella come from? The word umbrella derives from the Italian word “ombrella”, which originated from the Latin word umbella which comes from another Latin word umbra, this word means shade or shadow.

Fact 153: Is there an English word that doesn't have a Q followed by a U? The answer is yes, otherwise this would be a very short fact, the word is QWERTY and it is a name given to the standard UK keyboard this is because the first six letters are Q, W, E, R, T and Y the keyboard layout was designed by the American inventor, Christopher Latham Sholes. Christopher Latham Sholes invented the first practical typewriter and the order he chose for the first 6 letters were QWERTY and so the keyboard is called a QWERTY keyboard.   Sholes was the first inventor to create a practical typewriter. Sholes invented his typewriter in September 1867, however, the patent was only issued in June 1868. Sholes' first commercial model was manufactured in 1873 and was mounted on a sewing machine stand made by Remington & Sons (their surname is Glidden) who were at the time known for manufacturing sewing machines, Sholes and, Remington & sons began production of Sholes a & Glidden typewr

Fact 152: What is the name of the number that is 1 followed by 36 zeros? Now, yes this is slightly useless information, however the number group is called undecillion, and 1 followed by 36 zeros is called one undecillion. The smallest undecillion number is 1 followed by 36 zeros, and the largest undecillion number is 9 followed by 36 nines. The original British (and UK) usage of the word undecillion was originally 1 followed by 66 zeros.

Fact 151: Where do groundhogs spend most of their time? This answer may surprise you to know that groundhogs spend most of their time in elaborate underground burrows which are anywhere between 8 feet and 66 feet (20.117 metres) long. The burrows are a complex system of tunnels with multiple exits and several chambers or 'rooms' with different purposes such as for sleeping and for raising their young. Groundhogs are also known as woodchucks.  Groundhogs will block off all of their burrows entrances before hibernating through winter. Groundhogs hibernate from October through until February.

Fact 150: What did the traditional Medieval Unicorn look like? * = additional information. Now, typically when you think of a Unicorn it is a horse with a pointy horn however a traditional *medieval Unicorn was depicted with as a slim horse with a lions tail and goat hooves and a billy-goat beard and obviously the alicorn, this is the Unicorn signature spiraled horn and often the horse are depicted with small heads. *Medieval times also known as the Middle Ages began in 476 A.D and ended sometime between 1400 A.D and 1450.

Fact 149: What is the Zambian mole rat the best at doing in the animal kingdom? The answer is building underground tunnels? One Zambian mole rat colonies underground tunnels can go on for 2.8 kilometres. To put this into context for people in the UK (like me) 2.8km is the distance between Westminster Bridge to St Pauls Cathedral this is known as the Queens walk in London!

Fact 148: What unusual item of clothing worn by Queen Victoria was sold for £12,090 in 2015 and £16,250 in 2016? The answer is a pair of Queen Victoria's cotton underwear, with a 114cm waistband, this means that the underwear are 57 cm wide. In 2015 a pair was sold for £12,090 at auction and In 2016, her underwear was sold for £16,250 at auction.

Fact 147: Who was the first country to host the FIFA world cup in 1930 and who won? The answer for which country won the 1930 FIFA World Cup was Uruguay, against Argentina the score was 4-2, Uruguay also was the first country to host the FIFA World Cup in 1930.

Fact 146: What was the name of the French Astronomer who calculated the position of Neptune before it had been discovered or named? The answer is Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier who was a French astronomer who started to calculate Neptune's existence in June 1845 until 1846.  Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier who predicted the existence of Neptune and calculated where Neptune was before it was discovered and he was only 1° off form Neptunes actual possession! He was a French astronomer and mathematician, basically this was done all because he (and other astronomer) observed that the motion of Uranus was unusual and his thought and his explanation for Uranus unusual motion was due to another planet that had not yet been discovered (or observed) and he was right! Neptune Fact!

Fact 145: How many moons does Neptune have? The answer (at the moment) is 14  And because Neptune was named for the Roman god of the sea, the 14 moons are interestingly named after various lesser known sea gods and mythical creatures frome Greek mythology. For example the latest moon orbiting Neptune is called Triton (moon) after the Greek god of the sea Triton.   Neptune Fact!