Animal Olympics: World Records

Like humans, certain animal species hold world records as well. The following lists information regarding some world records held birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and invertebrates.

Fastest Animals on Earth:
Land Animal: Cheetah (70 miles per hour)
Water Mammal: Dall Porpoises (35 miles per hour)
Fish: Sailfish (68 miles per hour)
Bird in the Sky: Peregrine Falcon (Can dive towards the ground at 200 miles per hour)
Bird on Land: North African Ostrich (45 miles per hour)
Insect: Dragonfly (36 miles per hour)

Largest Animals on Earth:
Largest Animal in the World: Blue Whale (100+ tons)
Largest Animal on Land: African Elephant (13,000 pounds)
Tallest Animal on Land: Giraffes (18 feet tall)
Longest Snake: Reticulated Python (Averages 20.5 feet, Longest is 32 ft 9.5 in)
Longest Worm: Boot Lace Worm (More than 180 feet long in 1864)

Other Unique Animal Records:
Oldest Animal: Tortoises (Known to have lived as long as 188 years.)
Smallest Bird: Bee Humingbirds (Adults weigh 2 grams)
Loudest Animal: Blue Whale (188 decibels which can be heard 500 miles away.)
Most Venemous Animal: Sea Wasp (Enough poison to kill 60 humans.)

Ever wonder what the most dangerous animal in America is? Find out.

Add comment January 9th, 2008

Moon Moving Away from Earth

The moon is slowly creeping away from Earth. It’s a nearly insignificant displacement but it moves 3.8 cm further into space every year. This has been determined since the 1970’s using laser ranging measurements.

When the moves 14,600 miles into space, we will no longer see a total eclipse of the sun. Don’t worry about that though because it’s going to take 500 million years until that happens.

1 comment January 6th, 2008