EARTH
A. The wettest place on earth in India has an annual rainfall of more than 36 feet.
B. Every second around 100 lightning bolts strike the earth.
C. The largest hailstone ever discovered had a circumference similar to a baseball.
C is a lie. The largest hailstone was the size of a soccer ball!
A. The largest call in the world is the ostrich egg.
B. In the human body, thousands of cells die per day.
C. Scientists say that we have 2-5 pounds of bacteria in our bodies.
B is a lie. Each day, about 50-70 million cells die in the human body.
A. Luna moths have mouths, but never eat and always die from starvation.
B. The pig-nosed turtle uses its pig-like snout as a snorkel to breathe underwater.
C. Hippopotamuses have blood sweat that oozes from their skin and acts like sunscreen.
A is a lie. Luna moths don't have mouths. Once they emerge from their cocoon, they have a 7 day lifespan during which they mate and then starve to death.
A. Mrs. Fly has only had 2 "favorite" students in 24 years.
B. Mrs. Fly was never a cheerleader.
C. Mrs. Fly was a salesperson before teaching.
A is a lie. Mrs. Fly has never had a favorite student.
A. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax.
B. The Rubix cube was invented by Erno Rubik.
C. The fidget spinner was invented by Catherine Fidget.
C is a lie. The fidget spinner was invented by Catherine Hettinger in 1993. She never made money on it because she let the patent lapse in 2005, well before the fidget spinner craze.
A. In an area of Japan, poisonous gases rise from the ground forcing residents to wear gas masks.
B. An island in the Caribbean has been named Jack Sparrow from the movie series "Pirates of the Caribbean."
C. The unofficial post office to drop off letters in the Galapagos Islands is a barrel.
B is a lie. There's no island named Jack Sparrow, but the actor Johnny Depp who played Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies owns an island in the Caribbean.
A. The small intestine is about 21 feet and the large intestine (colon) is about 6 feet.
B. The human heart beats 30 million times a year.
C. The surface area of the alveoli in the lungs is about the size of a football field.
C is a lie. The surface area of the alveoli aren't as big as a football field, but they are as big as a tennis court.
A. The largest fungus in the world is a shoestring fungus and it covers 4 square miles.
B. The Chicken of the Woods fungus isn't edible, but is named this due it looking like a rooster.
C. The fastest moving living thing on earth is a fungus called a Dung Cannon.
B is a lie. The Chicken of the Woods fungus is edible and tastes like chicken.
A. Mrs. Fly has "Science Grades 6-8" on her teaching certificate.
B. Mrs. Fly began her education career as a computer typing teacher.
C. Mrs. Fly is certified to teach business classes.
A is a lie. Mrs. Fly never applied for certification in middle grade science. She is certified to teach computer technology, business, and language arts.
A. The faster you move, the heavier you get.
B. Due to the density of the Dead Sea, only the strongest swimmers can swim in it.
C. It takes 250 pounds of pressure for a karate chop to break a 1 inch wooden board.
B is a lie. The Dead Sea has so much salt in it that its density is usually high. Anyone can float in the Dead Sea. You don't even have to know how to swim.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!
A. 68% of earth's fresh water is trapped in glaciers.
B. If all the water vapor in earth's atmosphere fell at once, it would cover the earth with an inch of water.
C. Because plastics usually do not disintegrate and float, every ocean has floating plastic islands.
C is a lie. Only a small percentage of plastics float. Other plastics are within every level of the ocean's water column, and also rest on the seafloor. Many types of plastics are trapped inside Arctic ice or inside ocean animals.
A. Humans have evolved to be the only mammals that face a significant risk of choking on food.
B. Most of the world had blue eyes until about 7,000 to 10,000 years ago.
C. Humans have an equal amount of hair on their body as other primates, including apes, monkeys, and gorillas.
B is a lie. Until a mutation introduced blue eyes around 7,000 to 10,000 years ago, humans had brown eyes. Only 8% of the world's population have blue eyes.
A. Humans have a third eyelid just like birds and reptiles.
B. In the early stages, it is almost impossible to visually see the difference between a kangaroo embryo and a turtle embryo.
C. Whales and dolphins have pelvis (hip) bones even though they do not walk.
A is a lie. Humans do not currently have a third eyelid, but we do have the remains of one from our ancient ancestors. It's the pink portion in the inner corner of your eyes.
A. Mrs. Fly turned down an $80,000 company trainer position in order to stay a teacher.
B. Mrs. Fly was in the top 5% of teachers in Florida with her reading scores.
C. Mrs. Fly's college counselor wanted her to be a math teacher.
B is a lie. Out of over 156,000 public school teachers in Florida who gave the state test, Mrs. Fly was in the top .04%, coming in at number 70.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!
A. The Eiffel Tower in Paris can be up to 6 inches taller in the summer.
B. The longest suspension bridge in the world is over 1 mile long.
C. The presence of skyscrapers in a city cools the city's temperatures due to the dramatic increase in shade.
C is a lie. Materials used to build skyscrapers absorb heat from the sun. At night, the skyscraper's heat dissipates into the surrounding air, warming the city.
A. Earth is a perfect sphere.
B. Earth's atmosphere extends over 6,000 miles into space.
C. Earth's day is less than 24 hours.
A is a lie. Earth is actually an oblate spheroid which is similar to a sphere, but where the poles are flattened and the equator bulges.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!
A. Your genes determine if your pee smells funny after you eat asparagus.
B. The gene for red hair also impacts pain tolerance and sensitivity to spicy foods.
C. If two parents who fold their arms with the left arm on top have a child, that child will naturally fold their arms the same way.
C is a lie. This has been studied and shown that it isn't true.
A. Plants cannot reproduce through sexual reproduction.
B. Clownfish are all born males.
C. Parthenogenesis is when a female species can reproduce without a male.
A is a lie. Plants commonly reproduce by sexual reproduction which requires 2 parent cells.
A. Mrs. Fly hates coffee.
B. Mrs. Fly likes to eat squid.
C. Mrs. Fly likes to eat snails (escargot.)
B is a lie. Squid is too chewy.
A. Electricity in wires travels much slower than light.
B. The ancient Greeks discovered electricity, not Benjamin Franklin.
C. An electric eel generates enough electricity to kill you.
C is a lie. Electric eels generate 600 volts of power which is enough to stun, but not kill you. A person who dies due to a shock from an electric eel actually dies from drowning when stunned, not electricity.
A. The biggest flower in the world is 3 feet across and weighs up to 24 pounds.
B. The Dragon Blood tree has red sap that looks like blood.
C. The "World's Most Resistant Plant" can live up to 200 years and can live without water for 2 years.
C is a lie. The Welwitschia mirabilis plant is thought to have a lifespan of up to 1500 years and can live 5 years without water.
A. The "man's best friend" procedure uses a dog's lung to help regrow a human's lung.
B. A hemicorporectomy removes the lower half of the body.
C. A distraction osteogenesis can help short people grow taller by repeatedly breaking bones.
A is a lie. In 2023, the first xenotransplantation of a genetically modified pig kidney was implanted into a human.
A. Natural substances are always safer for humans than synthetic (man-made) substances.
B. Organic foods have chemicals in them.
C. Many synthetic (man-made) products began their life as natural resources.
A is a lie. Many man-made substances are safer than snake venom, the mineral asbestos, or the drug cocaine - all of which are natural chemicals.
A. Mrs. Fly was previously a bartender.
B. Mrs. Fly was previously a waitress.
C. Mrs. Fly was previously a daycare worker.
C is a lie. Mrs. Fly doesn't prefer babies and younger kids, except her own twins and her granddaughter. She LOVES teaching high school students!
A. The most abundant type of atom in the universe is the hydrogen atom.
B. If an atom were the size of a sports arena, its nucleus would be the size of a pea.
C. Not even the most powerful electron microscope can view atoms.
C is a lie. The $6 million Nion Hermes Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope can see down to the atomic level.