Super Facts – Page 2

EVs are Replacing the Internal Combustion Engine

Superfact 107: Electric vehicles are rapidly replacing the internal combustion engine (ICE cars) and are becoming commonplace around the world. It is analogous to how cars once replaced the horse and buggy.

In Norway close to 100% of all new cars sold in 2025 were electric vehicles. Around the world a substantial percentage of new cars sold in 2025 were electric vehicles. This phenomenon is not as visible here in the US, where I live, but if you travel, you’ll notice.

The graphs below show that the share of new cars that were sold in 2025 that were EVs was substantial, but more importantly there is a sharp upward slope of the curve(s). The share of new cars sold in 2025 that were electric was in respective region or country: Norway 97%, Denmark 71%, China 53%, European Union 27%, World 25%, the United States 10%. The graphs are taken from this page on the Our World in Data web page. I encourage you to play around with the interactive graphs. You can read more about new cars sales in Norway here.

EVs are Replacing the Internal Combustion Engine

It should be noted that electric cars include fully battery-electric and plug-in hybrids. With battery-electric cars is meant cars or other vehicles that are powered entirely by an electric motor and battery, instead of an internal combustion engine. With plug-in hybrid is meant cars or other vehicles that have a rechargeable battery and electric motor, and an internal combustion engine. The battery in plug-in hybrids is smaller and has a shorter range than battery-electric cars, so over longer distances, the car starts running on gasoline once the battery has run out.

This is a fact that is important, and that likely comes as a surprise to people living in countries that are lagging in this transition, such as the United States. Therefore, I consider it a super fact.

The Share of EVs

The sharp increase in the sale of electric cars is a recent phenomenon and therefore there are still a lot of ICE cars on the roads. Therefore, there is a significant difference between the share of electric vehicles on the road and the share of new cars sales being EVs. The share of electric cars on the roads in 2024 was in the United States 2.7%, in the world 4.5%, in China 11%, in Sweden 13% and in Norway 32%. See the graph below.

The graph shows the share of cars currently in use that are electric for the world, the United States, China, Sweden and Norway. — Share of cars currently in use that are electric, 2010 to 2024. Data source: International Energy Agency Global EV Outlook 2025. OurWorldinData.org/energy | CC BY

The graph below illustrates the sales of fully battery-electric cars versus plug-in hybrids.

The bar graph below is an alternative illustration showing the share of new cars sold that are electric in 2024 for the world and 8 countries.

The bar graph shows the share of new cars sold that are electric in 2024 for the world and 8 countries. The numbers are India 2.1%, the United States 10%, Germany 19%, European Union 21%, United Kingdom 28%, China 48%. Sweden 58%, Norway 92%, and the World 22% — Share of new cars sold that are electric, 2024. Electric cars include fully battery-electric and plug-in hybrids. Data source: International Energy Agency Global EV Outlook 2025. OurWorldinData.org | CC BY

This article states that there are now more new electric cars sold in the EU than ICEs. However, it should be noted that they include hybrids (non-plug-in) in this number.

Are EVs cleaner than ICE cars ?

Yes, they are, for the most part. EV Cars emit less pollution than Internal Combustion Engine Cars, even considering manufacturing, disposal and EV Cars being charged by dirty grids. Basically, this is because burning oil to move a vehicle creates significantly more heat than motion.

It all depends on how dirty the grid is. This map shows the average EV as a gasoline MPG equivalent for the different grid networks in the United States in 2020. As you can see an average EV corresponds to a 76 mpg gas car in Texas (with the ERCOT) grid, which is much cleaner than almost any gasoline car. Also, the ERCOT grid has become cleaner since 2020. The average for the United States is 91 mpg. There are a couple of grids for which owning an EV may not be cleaner. I created another super fact post that explains the details called: super fact (29) EV Cars Indeed Emit Less Carbon Pollution. You can read more here.

There are concerns about the mining of minerals for EV cars, such as cobalt and lithium, which has an environmental impact. However, this environmental impact should be compared to the environmental impact caused by the drilling and transport of oil (and the burning of gas/oil). In general, the environmental impact of EVs is considered much less. In addition, EV batteries last a long time, and 95% to 98% of the valuable materials in EV batteries (lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper.) can be recycled/recovered. You can read about other EV myths here. However, this is probably a topic for a future super-fact.

Craigavad a scientist and fellow blogger, wrote a very well balanced and insightful article on the issue of the carbon cost of electric vehicles. I encourage you to read it : “The Carbon Cost of Electric Cars: are they worth it?”

To see the other Super Facts click here

The Sun is White but the Sky steals its Blue

Superfact 105: The Sun is white, but the Sky steals its Blue is a poetic way of saying that the sun’s light is scattered by the atmosphere giving the Sun a yellowish tint as well as giving us our blue sky. From space the sun looks completely white.

Viewed from space the sun is entirely white. White light consists of a mix of all the colors of the rainbow. However, viewed from earth the sun has a yellow tint, which gets more pronounced, it even dips into orange, as the sun nears sunset. That does not happen in space as can be seen below in the one minute sunset timelapse video taken from the International Space Station.

Sunset Timelapse from the International Space Station

On earth the sunset looks more like something in the picture below.

The sun is setting over distant mountains. There are some clouds, a forest, and field in the foreground. The sun has a yellow tint; the clouds are slightly yellow-orange and sky above is blue. | The Sun is White but the Sky steals its Blue — The sky dusk has a dramatic background featuring a summer season golden sunset landscape. The light is at the horizon is an orange and yellow color with blue sky above. Shutterstock asset id: 2670235703 by Nature Peaceful

The sun is a so called yellow dwarf star, or a G-type main-sequence star. The term yellow dwarf is a bit of a misnomer, because they range in color from white, for more luminous G-types like the Sun, to only very slightly yellowish for less massive and less luminous G-type main-sequence stars. The sun emits all the colors of the rainbow simultaneously, but the most dominant color is green. However, this looks white to us.

When sunlight enters Earth’s atmosphere, tiny air molecules scatter shorter, blue wavelengths of light in all directions. This scattering is what makes the sky look blue. This is called Rayleigh scattering. Because much of the blue light is removed, the remaining wavelengths of light that reach your eyes combine to make the sun appear yellow. This is a super fact because it is a basic but surprising fact, and we know it is true.

Rayleigh Scattering

The blue color of the sky is caused by Rayleigh scattering of sunlight by the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. The image below shows the degree to which Rayleigh scattering occurs at different wavelengths / frequencies of light. Blue has the shortest wavelength (highest frequency) for visible light and red the longest (lowest frequency). The curve shows that blue light scatters more than red light. It should be noted that UV light (not shown) scatter even more. The scattering curve shown is calculated for sunlight passing vertically through the atmosphere.

The graph shows the amount of scattering going from shorter wavelengths (higher frequences) on the left, to longer wavelengths (lower frequences) on the right. Blue has shorter wavelengths and red has longer wavelengths. The graph shows that blue scatter the most. — Figure showing the greater proportion of blue light scattered by the atmosphere relative to red light. Robert A. Rohde derivative work:KES47 (talk) (converted to SVG)., CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons.

To see the Other Super Facts click here

The Evolution of Eyes is Convergent

Superfact 104: The evolution of eyes is convergent, meaning different, unrelated animal species independently evolved similar types of eyes. Biologists estimate that eyes have evolved independently between 40 to over 65 different times across various lineages. An example is the evolution of Cephalopod eyes (like squid and octopus) and vertebra eyes.

Esther’s writing prompt: May 20, 2026: Eyes

Click here to join in.

First of all, eyes evolved. Creationists often say that eyes are too complex too have evolved. That is because the eye is composed of many interdependent, finely tuned parts, for example, the cornea, iris, retina and lens. And that it cannot function without all those components already evolved. This is referred to as the argument for irreducible complexity.

The problem with that argument is that evolution is not linear. The various intermediate steps may not have functioned as the final product but could still have provided evolutionary advantage. There are many intermediate “eyes” existing today in nature. As you can see in the picture below the evolution of the vertebra eye did not start with all the current parts.

The picture shows six stages of the evolution of the vertebra eye. First a region of photosensitive cells and nerve fibers. Second a depressed/folded area that allows limited directional sensitivity. Thirdly, a “Pinhole” eye that allows finer directional sensitivity and limited imaging. Fourth, a transparent humor develops in an enclosed chamber. Fifth, a distinct lens develops. Sixth, Iris and separate cornea develop. | The Evolution of Eyes is Convergent — Major stages in the evolution of the eye in vertebrates. Matticus78 at the English-language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons.

In addition, the evolution of eyes is largely convergent. Biologists estimate that eyes have evolved independently between 40 to over 65 different times across various lineages. The cephalopods (like octopuses and squid) and vertebrates (like humans, mammals, birds and fish) evolved their camera-style eyes completely independently. This is one of nature’s most famous examples of convergent evolution, where two unrelated species arrive at the exact same biological solution to survive in their environments.

The fact that eyes evolved and that the irreducible complexity argument does not work comes as a surprise to creationists. That the various kinds of eyes in nature evolved separately but converged on similar complex structures is in general an amazing fact. It is a kind of an important fact that is true. Therefore, it is a super-fact in my opinion.

Eyes Are not an Example of Irreducible Complexity

The evidence that the complexity of eyes is not an example of irreducible complexity is strong. We can trace lineages via DNA and sub-optimality. We can also simulate the evolution of the eye using computers. In a simulation based on mutations and natural selection it took 363,992 generations to evolve an eye from an eyespot (light-sensing organelle) to a complex camera type eye, which probably corresponds to around half a million years. See The Evidence for Evolution by Alan R. Rogers.

I can add a personal anecdote. In my job as a software engineer trying to find better algorithms for sorting mail using the photos of the mail, including the address block, I tried using genetic algorithms. Genetic algorithms is a type of Artificial Intelligence that simulates evolution to create better systems (better algorithms and software). The genes corresponding to the best algorithms were allowed to propagate, recombine and mutate. That was the natural selection component.

What I saw was that the genetic algorithm could evolve the system into a complex and effective system of interdependent complex components that did not exist at the beginning. Several complex components working together did not require that components/parts evolve one after another. They can go through several formats from primitive to advanced and they can have different functions along the way. Some parts might evolve and then disappear and new kinds of parts pop up, as the total algorithm kept evolving. There is no reason to believe that irreducible complexity even exists.

The Vertebra Eye versus the Cephalopod Eye

The cephalopod eye on the right is very similar to the vertebra eye on the left, except it does not have a blind spot. — 1 is the retina and 2 the nerve fibers. 3 is the optic nerve. 4 is the vertebrate blind spot. Caerbannog, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons.

While both eyes share features like a cornea, iris, lens, and retina, they were built from different starting materials and possess some structural differences. In vertebrate eyes, the nerve fibers route before the retina, blocking some light and creating a blind spot where the fibers pass through the retina. In cephalopod eyes, the nerve fibers route behind the retina, and do not block light or disrupt the retina. In other words, the cephalopod eyes not having a blind spot are more perfect than our eyes.

Close up of squid with its eye at the center. | The Evolution of Eyes is Convergent — Look into the loving eyes of the squid. He does not have a blind spot. Atlantic Ocean squid macro photo. Shutterstock asset id: 1859007028 by Rui Palma

My Other Responses to Esther’s Prompts

Prompt : Small : Small Microscopic Subatomic and Strings
Prompt : Kind : Leonbergers Are Kind Dogs
Prompt : Window : What Does Rollo See Out His Window
Prompt : Charge : Electric Charge is not the only type of Fundamental Charge
Prompt : Promises : Promises To My Dog
Prompt : Shade : A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade
Prompt : Money : Ten Money Facts
Prompt : Edge : The Edge of the Observable Universe is 46.5 billion Light Years Away
Prompt : Fish : Ten Amazing Fish Facts
Prompt : Promise : I Promise Not to Post AI Generated Comments
Prompt : Respect : Respect your Dog
Prompt : Giving : Leonbergers Giving Gifts to Pugs
Prompt : Family : Dogs Are Family
Prompt : Snow : Snow and Ice in Norrland
Prompt : Red : The Universe has a Redshift and its Increasing
Prompt: Shapes : Conic Sections are the Shapes that Shape Our World
Prompt: Flying : 10 Wind Blowing Facts About Birds
Prompt: Drive : Letting Your Dog Drive the Car
Prompt: Memories: False Memories Strange Memories Unpleasant Memories and Amnesia
Prompt: Magic: Magic In New Orleans a Travel Overview
Prompt: Vision: Human Vision Only Detects a Sliver of the EM Spectrum
Prompt: Flower: Leonberger Dogs with Flowers
Prompt: Capture: Carbon Capture and Storage an Unfulfilled Promise

To see the Other Super Facts click here

The Moon has a Far Side but not a Dark Side

Super fact 103: The moon is always turning the same side towards us. This side is often referred to as the near side of the moon. The back side, which we can’t see from Earth, is often referred to as the far side of the moon. However, there is no side of the moon that is always dark. The near side of the moon and the far side of the moon both have day and night (in a 29.5 day cycle). Another interesting fact is that even though the near side and the far side of the moon get the same amount of light they are very different.

Below is a youTube video showing an animation composed of actual satellite photos by NASA. It shows the far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun, as it crosses between the DSCOVR spacecraft’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) and telescope, and the Earth – one million miles away.

The video has frequently been shown on social media, and I’ve seen many comments stating that it is fake because the back side / far side of the moon is not dark in the video. However, the sun is behind us in the video and shining on both Earth and the far side of the moon. The far side is not always dark.

This is a super fact because many people mistakenly think there is a permanently dark side of the moon, which we know is incorrect and understanding the basics about the moon, the most prominent celestial object in the sky, aside from the sun, is kind of important.

Moon Photos

This is a close up photo of the near side of the moon. It is a full moon. Free picture from Pexels by Jay Brand.

A close up photo of the near side of the moon, but it is a crescent. — This is also a close up photo of the near side of the moon, but it is a crescent moon, which means that the far side, or the back side, is the side that is mostly lit up. In other words, the far side of the moon has day. Free picture from Pexels by Sevde.

I took the photo below with my phone a few minutes ago this evening. The little dot on the left (it is not twinkling) is the planet Venus. The moon is currently a crescent, which means that at the moment of my writing this the back side / far side of the moon has day. The sun is shining down on the far side, and it is reflecting light back into space. The back side / far side is almost a full moon right now, but we can’t see that from Earth.

It is a dark photo with a bright dot on the left and the moon crescent on the right. | The Moon has a Far Side but not a Dark Side — The dot on the left is Venus. On the right is the crescent moon. This photo is taken with my phone a few minutes ago (as of this posting).

Venus and the crescent moon are in the lower right corner and Jupiter in the upper left corner. — This is a zoomed out photo taken at the same time as the photo above. I zoomed out to capture a second dot up in the left corner. That’s another planet, the planet Jupiter (also not twinkling).

Interesting Moon Facts

I thought I might as well mention a few interesting facts about the moon.

On the left is the near side of the moon, and you can see the flat-lying basins called maria. On the right is the far side of the moon, and it does not have the maria. | The Moon has a Far Side but not a Dark Side — The Moon’s nearside and farside Image: NASA LRO / Jatan Mehta

The far side of the moon is different. As you can see in the YouTube video and photo above, the far side looks different from the nearside and it is different in appearance and terrain. The near side of the moon has large, dark, flat-lying basins called maria. They look like oceans. The far side is a lot more rugged and covered by lots of craters. Another difference is that the far side of the moon has a much thicker crust compared to the near side.

The sun is 400 times wider than the moon. They appear to be roughly be the same size in the sky because the moon is 400 times closer.

The moon is drifting away from earth at about 3.8 centimeters per year. The moon is moving away from earth due to the gravitational forces between the moon and earth, which also causes tidal bulges in the Earth’s oceans and the moon. Back in high school I took a difficult physics test for a competition and one of the questions was to show that the moon was moving away from earth due to gravitational forces and calculate by how much. I did not solve that one.

The moon was likely created by a celestial collision. The most widely accepted explanation for the existence of the moon is that the Moon was created when a planet-like object, the size of Mars slammed into Earth, soon after the solar system began forming. That was about 4.5 billion years ago.

NASA found water on the moon. In 2020, NASA announced the discovery of water on the surface of the Moon. The NASA video below features more interesting facts about the moon.

If you visit this link you’ll find an interactive 3D animation using the NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD) technology. By using your mouse, you can view the moon from many different angles and positions (both the near side and the far side of course).

To see the other Super Facts click here

Stars Twinkle but Planets Do Not

Super fact 102: Stars twinkle but planets do not. Planets reflect sunlight, like the moon, whereas stars emit intense light like the sun. However, stars are thousands of times further away.

The Sun and the Moon appear to have roughly the same sized disk in the sky, about 0.5 degrees of arc, because the Sun is roughly 400 times wider than the Moon but also about 400 times farther away. However, the moon, which reflects sunlight but does that emit any, is much fainter than the sun in our sky. The Sun provides approximately 400,000 times more light to Earth than the full Moon. If you were to move the sun farther away until it provided the same amount of light as the moon you would have to move the sun 632 times farther away until it became a tiny point in comparison to the moon.

The planets in our solar system, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, etc., appear in the sky as small discs reflecting light whereas the stars appear as intense points of light with a disc diameter that is thousands of times smaller than that of the planets. However, we can’t see the difference with the naked eye. Both planets and stars appear like points of lights to us, but the difference in disc size in the sky is very big.

The picture shows a big bright star (but much smaller than the sun) shining down on planet Earth lighting up the planet a bit. The light from the star is intense. | Stars Twinkle but Planets Do Not — Planets reflect light whereas the stars appear as intense points. Shutterstock asset id: 2709145593 by buradaki

Because stars are tiny intense points of light Earth’s atmosphere can easily refract (bend) their light. This is known as scintillation. I can add that the light from stars that are low in sky go through more atmosphere and therefore twinkle more. Since planets appear as tiny discs rather than tiny points, planets create a steadier beam of light, which averages out atmospheric turbulence. In addition, dust particles in space and in the atmosphere can more easily block the light from stars compared to that of planets, because the planets have much larger discs in the sky (thousands of times larger).

In the picture there is a disc representing a planet and a little yellow star and a small piece of space dust. The text says, “In a telescope the planet looks like a little disc whilst the star is still a bright point. However, to the naked eye both look like a star. Guess which one the space dust can make to twinkle by passing in front of it.” — To the naked eye a planet and a star point look light points of light. In a telescope the planet will turn into a disc, but the star will remain a bright point of light. For example, a piece of space dust can easily make the star twinkle by moving in front of it but won’t do that to the planet. Note: planets are much smaller than stars, but they are much closer and can look bigger.

Since this fact is not scientifically under question, a lot of people don’t know it, and it is kind of important to anyone interested in the night sky, I consider it a super fact. I should say that I borrowed this super fact from Jacqui Murray’s blog worddreams.

Planets Reflect Light like the Moon

Planets reflect light. They don’t shine and emit light like the sun or the stars.