
The African Wildcat is the primary ancestor of modern house cats.

Groundhogs are not only land animals, they're also capable swimmers.
When Facebook introduced the News Feed in 2006, people freaked out. TIME called it “Gen Y’s first official revolution.”

Emperor penguins can stay underwater for about 20 minutes at a time.

There are about 40,000 species of spiders crawling around the globe. They live on every continent expect Antarctica.

Venus rotates so slowly on its axis that its day is longer than its year.

During his magic shows, Harry Houdini escaped from submerged packing crates, mail bags, and even the belly of a whale.

The Golden Gate Bridge is about four times taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Kjeragbolten boulder on Norway's Kjerag mountain was left in a crevasse during the last ice age. It's now a popular spot for BASE jumpers.

In the 1719 novel "Robinson Crusoe", one of the main characters is named Friday. He's named for the day he first appears.

Porpoises can reach speeds up to 34 miles per hour.

Hummingbirds can fly forwards, backwards, upside down, and hover in place. To perform these amazing feats, they beat their wings 70 to 200 times per second.