The goal of this blog is to create a list of super facts. Important facts that are true with very high certainty and yet surprising, misunderstood, or disputed by many. This blog aims to be challenging, educational, and fun, without it being clickbait. I determine veracity using evidence, data from reputable sources and longstanding scientific consensus. Prepare to be challenged (I am). Intentionally seek the truth not confirmation of your belief.
About two weeks ago I published a super fact post titled “100 trillion Ghostly Particles Passes Through Your Body Every Second” The exact super fact is below. Little did I know that the Nobel Prize in Physics would be given to Neutrino research. The announcement happened today and I almost missed it.
Super fact 132 : An estimated 100 trillion ghostly elementary particles, called neutrinos, pass through your body every second, which is 237 sextillion particles in 75 years. Despite that fact the chance that even a single neutrino will interact with an atom in your body during your entire life is about 1 in 4. These extremely abundant particles pass right through you as well as planets without interactions, like ghosts.
100 trillion neutrinos, almost entirely undetectable elementary particles, pass right through your body every second, without touching a single atom in your body, as if you don’t exist. I generated the picture with the help of ChatGPT.
Neutrinos with extremely high energies are created in the same environments as other types of particles. However, unlike other particles, neutrinos reach us without changing direction or losing energy. This means they can provide information that is not available in any other way. As an example, an average photon (light particle) is absorbed and re-emitted roughly billions of trillions of times before escaping the Sun. This process takes ten thousands and even hundreds of thousands of years. Once in open space the photon takes just 8 minutes to reach us, but it is certainly not the “original”, if I put it that way. A neutrino on the other is the original.
You can read more about neutrinos here, and here, here, or here. This is an article from the Scientific American about neutrinos and the discovery of neutrinos coming from the Milky Way.
Super fact 131 : There is no absolute reference point. All motion is relative. Since everything is in motion compared to something else, that means that everything is in motion. In addition, all material objects consist of particles that are in motion, and all objects with mass move through time.
I previously made a post on this topic called “Everything is in Motion – Stream of Consciousness”. For a Stream of Consciousness post you are supposed to write whatever comes to mind without editing, except for typos. Stream of Consciousness is a fun concept. However, it is not fit for a super fact post because a super fact post requires fact checking and linking to reputable sources and it needs to be well organized and well explained, and all that is editing. After writing Everything is in Motion – Stream of Consciousness I realized that “Everything is in Motion” is a super fact. It is an important observation and a fact that is far from obvious. With this post I am rewriting “Everything is in Motion – Stream of Consciousness” into a super-fact I call “Everything is in Motion”.
All Motion is Relative
All motion is relative and everything moves in comparison to something else. You may be sitting in your chair completely still thinking that you are not moving but you are. Earth rotates around its axis at 1,040 miles per hour at the equator, and at 733 miles per hour at latitude 45 degrees. Latitude 45 degrees goes through New York and other northern States, as well as Europe. Sitting at the geographic north Pole won’t help you either because Earth is also wobbling and it is rotating around the sun at roughly 67,000 miles per hour or 107,000 kilometers per hour.
Man thinking he is sitting still drawn with the help of ChatGPT
The picture below shows Earth’s three main orbital cycles. I used this picture in another context for super-fact #122 “Orbital Cycles are not the Cause of the current Global Warming”. In that context I wanted to point out that Earth’s orbital cycles are too slow (100,000 years, 41,000 years, and 26,000 years) to explain the sudden rapid rise in global temperatures that we are witnessing now. The orbital cycles are also currently slowly cooling Earth, not warming it. However, in this context I am using the picture for a different purpose, and that is to point out that even if you sit at the north pole (or anywhere else on Earth) you will be moving.
In addition, the sun is rotating around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way at 514,000 to 560,000 miles per hour or 792,000 to 828,000 kilometer per hour, and our galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy are approaching each other at the speed of 110 kilometers per second, which is 396,000 kilometers per hour, or 246,000 miles per hour. Whether it is the Andromeda galaxy that is approaching us or our galaxy that is approaching the Andromeda galaxy is just a point of view. We are also moving at millions and billions of miles of hour compared to some other galaxies.
As mentioned, motion is not absolute. It is always relative to something else. The universe has no center, no ether to compare with, there is no absolute reference point. It is not possible to declare anything as truly standing still. Understanding this is the first step towards understanding the theories of relativity. According to the theories of relativity the speed of light, or the speed of light in vacuum if you will, is a universal constant c = 299,792,458. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers regardless of their speed and the direction in which they are going. In other words, you are moving at the speed of c = 299,792,458 compared to all light.
Four rockets, A, B, C, and D, are traveling along a light (laser) beam. No matter how fast they travel along the light beam, the light beam will always travel c = 299,792,458 meters per second faster than they do. I generated this picture with the help of ChatGPT.
In addition, c = 299,792,458 is not a speed in a regular sense, but a conversion factor between space and time. All particles/objects without mass (light particles called photons, gluons and gravity waves) must always travel at this speed, whilst all objects that have mass can only travel slower than c = 299,792,458 (compared to other objects with mass).
Mass is energy and vice versa, a direct result of the way time and space are related. Stock Photo ID: 2163111377 by Aree_S
You could say that compared to the reference frame of my choosing, which happens to be the chair I am sitting in, I am sitting still. I am not sure that would be fair but according to the theories of relativity you are also moving through time at the speed of c = 299,792,458. Well, that is assuming you have mass. For mass-less particles, like photons, time does not exist. Anyway, the fact that you are always moving kind sneaks in, no matter what you try.
Billions of photons coming into the eye. For them time does not exist. Shutterstock asset id: 2629068895 by muratart.
You could raise a couple of objections to some of the claims in the last paragraphs. Very far away, beyond the limit of the visible Universe, galaxies can move away from us faster than the speed of light. However, they are not moving faster than the speed of light compared to the space where they are. What is going on is that space and time are stretching fast due to the expansion of the Universe.
Another objection might be that light can move slower than c = 299,792,458 through transparent materials such as glass and water. So, how can the claim that all massless particles must always move at exactly the speed of light in vacuum be true? The answer to that is that the light particles (photons) in those materials are being absorbed and re-emitted as new photons by the atoms. However, in between the atoms the photons move exactly at the speed c = 299,792,458, or more correctly at the time-space conversion factor c = 299,792,458.
From ground state to excited state, absorption and emission of a photon in an atom. Shutterstock asset id: 2180385419 by rktz.
All Matter Consist of Molecules and Atoms that move
But wait, we are not done. Another fact is that everything is made of atoms and molecules that are never completely still. Temperature is a measure of their average kinetic energy (energy of motion). Even at the temperature absolute zero molecules and atoms are still moving. Yes, even at the lowest possible temperature they are still moving. It is impossible for atoms and molecules to stand completely still, just like children.
Thermal vibration of a segment of a protein’s alpha helix. Its amplitude increases with temperature. User:Greg_L on English wikipedia, uploaded to commons by User:Frokor, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons.
Super fact 129 : Most fundamental forces of nature, gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force, become weaker as the distance between the objects with the charges increase, except for the strong nuclear force, which grows stronger, not weaker, when the distance between the quarks increases. The strong nuclear force is strange in other ways too. Unlike the electric force which has two forms of charges, positive and negative, the strong nuclear force has three forms of charge denoted red, blue, and green. It has actually six kinds of charges if you count anti-red, anti-blue, and anti-green. I can add that the strong nuclear force is the strongest fundamental force in nature.
As you may know, atoms consist of particles. Electrons surround the nucleus of the atom. The nucleus of the atom is in the middle of the atom, and it consists of protons and neutrons. Electrons have a negative charge. Protons have a positive charge. Neutrons do not have an electrical charge. Electrons are so called elementary particles. They are not composed of other particles. Protons and Neutrons, on the other hand, are not elementary particles. They are composite particles consisting of quarks, gluons and quark pairs called mesons.
Quarks have electric charges, just like an electron and a positron, which is why a proton has an electric charge, a positive electric charge. However, as mentioned, in addition quarks have something called color charge. Unlike electric charges, which come in two forms, negative and positive, they come in three forms red, green and blue. In addition, there are also anti-red, anti-green, and anti-blue charges, making it six forms of charges. I should say that the color charges, red, green and blue, are not real colors. They are just names. Just like electric charges are associated with electric forces; color charges are associated with the nuclear strong force.
The proton and neutron each consist of three quarks. Protons consist of two up quarks and one down quark. Neutrons consist of two down quarks and one up quark. Both protons and neutrons have a net white charge. The yellow squiggly lines are gluons transporting color charge between the quarks. Asset id: 2333679305 by KRPD.
If you take an equal amount of positive and negative electric charges you get something that is electrically neutral. If you take an equal amount of red, green and blue you get what is called white, or neutral. If you take an equal amount of red and anti-red you also get white. Any other mix gives you a net color charge. As mentioned, unlike, for example, gravity or electromagnetism, which get weaker as objects move apart, the strong force grows stronger as quarks are pulled apart and weaker when they are squeezed together. This strange feature is referred to as Asymptotic Freedom.
As you separate a quark further and further from another the attractive strong force grows stronger and stronger until it becomes super strong, and at about 10,000 Newtons, which is more than one hundred billion times stronger than the force between an electron and a proton in a hydrogen atom it will finally quickly dimmish as if it was a rubber band that snapped. This event will create new particles and quarks, but not free quarks. 10,000 Newtons correspond to a weight of 2,200 pounds, like a small car. However, remember that we are talking about objects that are a trillion times smaller (in diameter) than one millimeter.
Not only is the nuclear strong force increasing with distance until it snaps, which is kind of strange, but by the time it snaps the force is shockingly gigantic for such a small particle. Therefore, this is a fact that is mind-blowing and kind of important to our understanding of the Universe and therefore I think it is a super-fact. With these kinds of forces inside the atomic nucleus no wonder we can blow up large cities using small amounts of the right matter.
The Other Fundamental Forces Become Weaker with Distance
As mentioned, the other fundamental forces gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak nuclear force get weaker as objects move apart. You may say what about friction, pressure, pulling a rope, and attraction between atoms in a molecule? Well, they are not fundamental forces and composed of electromagnetic forces at the bottom. Also, electric and magnetic forces are combined into electromagnetism because they are fundamentally the same thing.
Gravity gets Weaker as Masses Move Apart
The force of gravity gets weaker as masses such as planet Earth, the moon, and the sun are separated further. Newtons law of gravity states that every object in the universe attracts every other object with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
This diagram describes the mechanisms of Newton’s law of universal gravitation; A point mass m1 attracts another point mass m2 by a force F2 pointing along the line intersecting both points. The force is proportional to the product of the two masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) between the point masses. Dennis Nilsson, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe force field lines demonstrate how gravity gets weaker as the gravitational field spreads out in space. I generated this picture using ChatGPT.Even if you use the more modern model of gravity, Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, you can see how the curvature of space becomes less further away from Earth. I generated this picture using ChatGPT.
This does not happen with the strong nuclear force.
The Electromagnetic Force gets Weaker as Objects Move Apart
The electric force gets weaker as the charges are separated further. Coulombs law is similar to Newtons law of gravity. The force between them is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers.
The magnitude of the electrostatic force F between two point charges q1 and q2 is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Like charges repel each other, and unlike charges attract each other. File:CoulombsLaw.svg: User:Dna-Dennis / *derivative work RJB1, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.The force field lines demonstrate how the electric force gets weaker as the electric field spreads out in space. I generated this picture using ChatGPT.Same thing with a magnetic dipole. The field lines are spreading out in space so the magnetic force (field) become weaker further away from the dipole. I generated this picture using ChatGPT.
Again, this does not happen with the strong nuclear force. It is different. The strong nuclear force is strange and very strong.
What is a Quark?
You can learn more about Quarks and the strong force by watching this 10 minute video below. The strong nuclear force is discussed towards the end of the video.
Superfact 125: Volcanoes emit about 0.2 to 0.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year globally. Our burning of fossil fuels and industrial activities release more than 35 billion metric tons annually. Human emissions are roughly 60 to 100 times greater than all global volcanic output combined. Thus, volcanoes are not the cause of the current rapid global warming.
Volcano – An active volcano that erupts lava. Stock Illustration ID: 2497156167 by MERT1995
Have you ever seen claims on social media such as “a single volcanic eruption release as much CO2 as all of humanity has to date? Or 100 times as much? Or 10,000 times as much? As Snopes explains this is of course nonsense. I’ve seen this kind of claim many times and I’ve seen in the comment sections that a lot of people fall for them. That makes me wonder about people’s critical thinking skills as well as Facebook’s alleged fact checking.
Human carbon missions (green line) vs. emissions from volcanic eruptions (purple line). Data from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Burton et al., 2013.
The graph above compares human carbon emissions (green line) with carbon emissions from volcanic eruptions (purple line). Human carbon emissions (the burning of fossil fuels and cement production) correspond to 35 billion metric tons annually while volcanic emissions are less than one ton annually. The graph is based on data from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Burton et al., 2013.
Since so many people so quickly believe the disinformation, this fact should be surprising to a lot of people, and it is kind of important. Therefore, I consider it a super fact.
How do Volcanoes Affect Climate?
The emissions from volcanoes and their effect on climate are complicated. A large volcanic eruption can result in a lot of carbon emissions during a short period of time, but that typically does add up to being substantial in comparison to our annual anthropogenic carbon emissions. However, volcanic emissions include other gases that are not greenhouse gases, particularly Sulphur dioxide, which acts like an aerosol reflecting sunlight. This results in a more noticeable effect, but it is not a warming effect, but a cooling effect.
Long story short, when a volcano has a massive explosion, it shoots sulfur dioxide gas high up into the stratosphere, it mixes with water to make tiny liquid drops that reflect sunlight away from Earth. This causes global temperatures to drop for one to three years. In addition, to some global cooling volcanic eruptions can deplete Earth’s Ozone layer. However, as mentioned the amount of carbon dioxide released from volcanic eruptions is negligible compared to our emissions from burning fossil fuels.
Schematic of volcanic eruption. cflm, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Schematic taken from this page.
How did Volcanoes Affect Climate in the past?
It has been proposed that intense volcanic release of carbon dioxide in the deep geologic past did cause global warming back then, and possibly some mass extinctions. This is a topic of scientific debate. However, whether these eruptions caused global warming or not, their intensity and the circumstances under which they happened were much different from today.
The video below from NASA is a bit longer, 13 minutes, but it gives a more detailed overview. Click here to see the page from where this is coming from.
Conclusion
This is my third post in the series about natural causes of climate change that we know are not the cause of the current rapid global warming / climate change (I use both words interchangeably). The fact that no known natural cause for climate change can explain the current rapid global warming is just one small piece of the evidence. However, it is a piece that people tend to get stuck on a lot. You often hear claims such as “climate has always changed”. “I think it is a natural cause”.
Unlike the sun and orbital cycles carbon emissions from erupting volcanoes would warm the lower atmosphere while cooling the upper atmosphere, just like our burning of fossil fuels does, and the warming would distribute in time and geography in a similar way. However, we know that the carbon emissions from volcanoes are relatively tiny compared to the emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
I started this blog, superfactful, in August of 2024. The goal of my blog is to create a list of facts that are important, not trivia, and that are known to be true yet surprising, shocking or disputed by large segments of the public. I determine what is true by evaluating the evidence I find in reliable reputable sources and if a longstanding scientific consensus is available that certainly helps. In some cases, I have expertise in the subject myself, which also helps. Whether a fact is important and surprising or disputed is a judgment call. In some cases, there are polls to help me determine how surprising or disputed the fact is. I am trying to avoid trivia and click bait, and I am only focusing on what is true, important and mindboggling.
It is a project I hope to learn a lot from, and I hope others will also learn something from reading it. We are all drowning in misinformation, false beliefs and unsubstantiated assumptions. We often know and understand less than we think. I have been bamboozled in the past and I am pretty sure you have too. If this blog can spread a little bit of light, I am happy.
In 2024 I posted 25 super facts and in 2025 I posted 53. I am hoping to one day to have collected 200 super facts. I have also made 64 other kinds of posts on this blog such as book reviews for educational books as well as other fact related posts. Below are ten selected super facts from 2025. To read the full post click the links.
That Earth is round was well known long before Columbus
Super fact 28: That Earth is round, or spherical (or closely spherical) had been known for at least a couple of thousand years by the time Columbus set sail. Columbus did not set sail to prove that earth was round, and he knew it was round.
I’ve realized that this comes as a surprise to some. To read the post click here.
Columbus thought earth was smaller. He did not know about the Pacific Ocean. Earth Pacific Ocean view Stock Illustration ID: 1617553012 by Matis75
EV Cars Indeed Emit Less Carbon Pollution
Super fact 29: EV Cars emit less pollution than Internal Combustion Engine, even considering manufacturing, disposal and EV Cars being charged by dirty grids.
There is a lot of misinformation about EVs including that EVs are not better for the environment. To read the post click here.
Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions comparison of average gasoline car and 300 mile range EV. Feedstock and fuel include the generation of electricity for EVs.
Scientists Agree that Global Warming is happening and that we are the Cause
Super fact 34: Climate Scientists agree that Global Warming or if you call it Climate Change is happening, and that it is caused by us primarily because of our burning of fossil fuels. There is a long-standing scientific consensus on these two facts because the evidence is conclusive. Typically, studies show an agreement of at least 97% or 98% among climate scientists.
Polls show that most American are unaware of the consensus among climate scientists. To read the post click here.
There is almost total agreement among climate scientists that global warming, or climate change, is happening and is caused by us. To understand why, you need to know a little bit about the impressive evidence, which for all practical purposes is conclusive. Take a look at this post “Global Warming is Happening and is Caused by us”
The green graph corresponds to “most scientists think global warming is happening (%).” The black graph corresponds to “there is a lot of disagreement among scientists (%)”. The yellow graph corresponds to “Most scientists think global warming is NOT happening (%)”. Graph taken from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
Time Dilation Goes Both Ways
Super fact 38 : If two observers are moving compared to each other both will observe the other’s time as being slower. In other words, both observers will observe the other’s clocks as ticking slower. Time slowing down is referred to as Time Dilation.
Clocks slow down as you travel at high speeds. However, the person travelling think they are standing still. It is the other person who is travelling. This is confusing. To understand it click here.
In this picture Amy is traveling past Alan in a rocket. Both have a laser. Both measure the speed of both laser beams to be c = 299,792,458 meters per second. The speed of light is a universal constant.
Emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by 99 Percent
Super fact 41 : Largely thanks to the Montreal Protocol in 1987 the emissions of ozone-depleting gases have fallen by more than 99%, 99.7% to be exact, according to Our World in Data. This has resulted in halting the expansion of the ozone holes and the reduction in emissions of ozone-depleting gases is saving millions of lives every year.
A gigantic victory for the environment that few are aware of. To read the post click here.
The phase out of six ozone depleting gases. Data source UN Environment Program (2023).
Sulfur dioxide pollution has fallen by 95 percent in the US
Super fact 44 : Sulfur dioxide pollution in the US has fallen by approximately 95% since the 1970s. This significant reduction is primarily due to regulations like the Clean Air Act. Global sulfur dioxide pollution has also fallen but not as much.
Another big victory for the environment that we seldom hear of. To read the post click here.
US sulfur dioxide pollution since 1800. Data Source: Hoesly et al (2024) – Community Emissions Data System (CEDS). This graph is taken this page in Our World In Data. US Emissions peaked in 1973.
I should mention that by clicking this link you can visit the graph above Our World in Data and select different countries and regions and play around with the settings.
We Exploded Thousands of Nuclear Bombs
Super fact 48 : Since 1945 we have set off more than 2,000 Nuclear Bombs corresponding to a yield of an estimated 42,000 times that of the Hiroshima Bomb.
That we have exploded these many nuclear bombs was a surprise to me and perhaps to you too. To read the post click here.
This is an illustration of the Tsar Bomba explosion by by mbafai Shutterstock Asset id: 2208486661. To see a photo of the actual Tsar Bomba explosion click here (it is copyrighted).
The Euler Number Math Magic
Super fact 53 : The Euler number denoted e, is an irrational number, which like the number pi is extremely important in mathematics. In addition, the relationship between the Euler number and pi; seemingly unrelated numbers, is quite amazing, especially if you throw the imaginary number: i = square root of -1 into the mix. Euler’s formula e^ix = cos(x) + isin(x), where x is degrees expressed in radians, is mind blowing to say the least. Radians means that 180 degrees is replaced by pi, and 90 degrees is replaced by pi/2, etc. A simpler special case, but equally amazing is Euler’s identity e^ix = -1, or e^ix + 1 =0. This is amazing math assuming you understand it.
One of the most amazing math facts explained. To read the post click here.
Euler’s formula in cyber space with grid 3d illustration, Asset id: 1636161301 by Giggle2000
The Bermuda Triangle the Big Non-Mystery
Super fact 56 : The Bermuda Triangle mystery is a myth. There is not a higher risk of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle. To be specific, disappearances do not occur in the so-called Bermuda Triangle, or Devils Triangle, with any higher frequency than in other comparable regions of the ocean. The “mystery” of the Bermuda Triangle is largely a manufactured one, perpetuated by sensationalized accounts that often misrepresent the facts and downplay the role of natural hazards like storms.
A surprise to the people who are convinced that there really is a mystery. To read the post click here.
The Bermuda Triangle: It is approximately defined as a triangle Florida, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. There is no exact definition. Alphaiosderivative work: -Majestic-, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Evolution is a Fact
Super fact 63 : Evolution is both a fact and a scientific theory. It is a fact that life has changed over time. This is supported by overwhelming evidence, while the theory of evolution provides a comprehensive scientific explanation for these changes, using processes like natural selection.
Yes, there are scientific facts, and that evolution is happening is an observed scientific fact. To read the post click here.
The fossil record is a lot more solid and much less problematic than the creationist books I have read claimed. Shutter Stock Photo ID: 1323000239 by Alizada Studios
