Did you know the coldest temperature on Earth was recorded at the North Pole That lightning can strike in a clear blue sky That throwing stones into the ocean can cause waves and storms miles away Or do they This book is full of supurb certainties and tall tales and it’s up to you to decipher which is which From facts about geology the ocean and even outer space you will have a great time testing your knowledge while learning some astonishing truths and uncovering some large lies along the way Then check out the shocking facts that follow to see if your lie-detecting skills are up to snuff IT’S UP TO YOU Here’s how it works Each section contains a list of facts On a separate sheet of paper write down your answers Then find out your grand total on a separate sheet of paper by adding up how many of these facts you got right So what are you waiting for Grab a pencil and see if you can spot the twisted truths Why not test your family and friends to see if they know the facts You never know You may surprise them with some of the stranger than-fiction truths waiting to amaze you on these fun-packed pages Introduction
QUIZ Find out if you’re the smartest by spotting the truths about the highest deepest longest fastest hottest coldest driest things on the planet On a separate sheet of paper choose which seem to ring true and which seem totally unreal TRUE FALSE THE FACTS 1 Everest is the planet’s highest mountain 2 The amount of water flowing over Victoria Falls every hour would flush 5 million toilets 3 The Empire State Building would fill the Earth’s deepest trench 4 The fastest glacier moves 41,339 feet 12,600 m every year 5 The coldest temperature on Earth ever recorded was at the North Pole 6 The hottest place on Earth has an average annual temperature of 94ºF 35ºC 7 The driest place on Earth is the Sahara Desert Chapter One HIGHEST HOTTEST DEEPEST FASTEST
1 MT EVEREST IS THE PLANET’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN FALSE At 29,035 feet 8,850 m Mount Everest is the highest mountain above sea level but if you include mountains that are partially beneath the sea Hawaii’s Mauna Kea is much taller at 33,480 feet 10,205 m A mere 13,796 feet 4,205 m of the mountain is above sea level 2 THE AMOUNT OF WATER FLOWING OVER VICTORIA FALLS EVERY HOUR WOULD FLUSH 5 MILLION TOILETS TRUE Victoria Falls which is located on the Zambezi River in Africa is a staggering 354 feet 108 m high and 5,604 feet 1,708 m wide The falls aren’t the highest in the world but the water that flows over them forms the largest sheet of falling water in the world The water thun dering over the falls would flush 83,692 toilets per second or 5 million per hour 3 THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING WOULD FILL THE EARTH’S DEEPEST TRENCH FALSE The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is as far as scientists know the deepest point on Earth Within the trench lies Challenger Deep the bot tom of which is an incredible 35,837 feet 10,923 m below the ocean’s surface It is so deep that it would take almost 29 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other to reach the surface Now that’s deep It Can Rain Frogs and Fish
HIGHEST HOTTEST DEEPEST FASTEST 4 THE FASTEST GLACIER MOVES 41,339 FEET 12,600 M EVERY YEAR TRUE A glacier is a thick sheet of ice that forms over thousands of years as snow falls and presses together into a huge mass The sheer size and weight of a glacier makes it flow downhill like a very slow river In 2003 scientists measured the speed of the world’s fastest moving gla cier Jakobshavn Isbræ in Greenland at 41,339 feet 12,600 m per year Where a glacier meets the sea it often cracks and pieces break off falling into the sea as icebergs When glaciers and icebergs melt the water released makes the sea levels rise Many scientists believe that global warming is increasing the speeds of glaciers and their melt rates 5 THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE ON EARTH EVER RECORDED WAS AT THE NORTH POLE FALSE The continent of Antarctica is much colder than the North Pole On July 21 1983 at a Russian research center called Vostok Station a re cord low of 128ºF 89ºC was documented Winter temperatures in Antarctica tend to be a lot colder because it is much higher above sea level than the North Pole
