9 Scientific Facts That Are Surprisingly True

1. Can you identify good paintings? Well, pigeons can. One Japanese study showed that trained pigeons can distinguish between "good" and "bad" pictures. Scientists have found that birds use color, texture, and pattern to decide if a painting is beautiful (according to humans). Of course, we are not talking about advanced skills, but pigeons, if trained, can acquire the ability to judge beauty.

2. Recent studies have shown that sheep are much smarter than we think. They have advanced facial recognition abilities similar to primates. Thus, sheep are able to recognize familiar and unfamiliar human faces, and it may be interesting in the future to see if they can recognize different human expressions.

3. If you ask yourself where our teeth began to develop, you will not guess that this happened under water. However, scientists believe that this is most likely the case. They discovered the teeth of one of the most ancient fish, which used to be located in the jaw bones. And, apparently, their jaws bear enough resemblance to the jaws of modern man, so it is believed that they are the direct ancestors of ours.

4. One of the most incredible underwater animals is the octopus. They have 3 hearts, 9 brains and blue blood. Why so many, you ask? In fact, each of the 8 tentacles has its own brain, connected to the central, ninth. Thanks to this, all tentacles can work independently of each other, but in harmony. Octopuses also have 3 hearts due to their structure: 2 hearts pump blood to the gills, and the third, the largest, is responsible for circulating blood to the rest of the body

5. A fairly new study has brought incredible knowledge: our tongues can not only taste food, but also smell it. Scientists have discovered that the taste cells of the tongue contain some of the same molecules as the olfactory receptors in our nose. Such research was inspired by snakes, whose tongues can sniff the air.

6. In the underwater kingdom, some males can give birth, and not just females. This "modest" list includes only 3 species: seahorses, sea needles and sea dragons. Male skates, for example, during the mating season swim up to the females and stick to them, and at this moment the male opens his pocket wide, and the female throws several eggs into it. In the future, the offspring of seahorses is carried by the male.

7. Since we all know that water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius, it may seem strange to hear that hot water freezes faster than cold water. But this is true, and this phenomenon is called the "Mpemba effect". Why is it so? In fact, there are more than 10 possible explanations for the effect, and scientists have yet to come to a consensus on the specific causes.

8. Grasshoppers are unique insects that, among other unusual features, have ears located on the abdomen, hidden under the wings. The ear organ allows grasshoppers to hear the songs of their fellow friends.

9. Although people considered this boiling river a myth, such a river exists deep in the Peruvian Amazon. In fact, the river does not boil, but its temperature is very close to this mark, and it is still very hot.