Interesting Facts

According to the Office of National Statistics, today's solar eclipse, could cost the UK economy £625m. CC-Source OU (With millions of Brits expected to watch the eclipse, FirstCare, the UK’s largest absence monitoring firm, has warned of a 10 per cent increase in absenteeism, and an additional 6 per cent fall in morning staff numbers as workers slack off and pull sickies. I say go for it.  There won't be another eclipse in the UK until August 2026, so this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.)

Reflected light cast by a building in London is allegedly so intense that it has melted parked cars. (According to City AM newspaper, the 37-storey tower known as the Walkie Talkie in the financial district, casts a beam of light at certain times of day that has melted parts of cars. It was designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Vinoly, Mr Vinoly probably thought the sun never shines in the UK.)

One of the biggest solar flares in years is on its way to Earth and there is a good chance that the protection our magnetic shield offers will break down in the next 24 hours, leading to a geomagnetic storm.  The most likely effect will probably be on SatNav systems.  (Take a map.)

The Kepler space telescope has confirmed its first-ever planet in a habitable zone outside our solar system. ( Spinning around its (sun like) star about 600 light years away, Kepler-22b is 2.4 times the size of the Earth, putting it in a class known as "super-Earths", and has a year of 290 days.   The near-surface temperature is presumed to be about 22 degrees Celsius, but don't pack your bags just yet, as scientists do not know whether the planet is rocky, gaseous or liquid, so you wouldn't know what to pack - diving gear, climbing gear or breathing apparatus. Kepler is NASA's first mission in search of Earth-like planets orbiting suns similar to ours, and cost the US space agency about $US600 million, but it has already uncovered 1,094 more potential planets.   They aren't the only ones looking of course, French astronomers this year confirmed the first rocky exoplanet to meet key requirements for sustaining life.  To infinity and beyond!  Co...

The umbrella was invented to block the sun, not the rain. (It is also called a parasol, brolly, rainshade, sunshade, gamp or bumbershoot. The last one should be pronounced very carefully.)

Albino horses have to use sun lotion to prevent their skin blistering in hot weather. (Now you'd think that wouldn't be a problem in the UK, but you'd be wrong: During a heatwave (yes we get heatwaves), a police horse, called Sunny, got through 10 bottles of factor 50 sun cream a week, and that was just to protect his back, hips and nose. It's an expensive business, but a kind chemist donated five gallons of sun lotion to keep Sunny safe in the sun. In fact any pets with white fur can get sunburnt. It is important to put sun cream on any parts that might catch the sun - the tips of the ears are especially important, as these can burn easily.)

Tiny chemical differences in how our skin reacts to ultraviolet light could explain why redheads are more likely to suffer skin cancer. (Slap on that sunscreen!)