8 Fascinating Facts For Eight-Year-Olds

Welcome to the world of weird and fascinating facts! At eight, kids seem ready to learn about the stranger aspects of the world we live in. In fact, one interesting fact involves a square, and another one is all about an odd digestive system. Here is a list of eight of the most interesting and engaging facts about Planet Earth.

1. The Square Poop Mystery

Did you know that in Australia, an animal known as a wombat sits all alone in the world when it comes to pooping facts? Incredibly, they poop out squarish cubes. You reckon no? Well, it’s totally true.

In fact, scientists spent years wondering how a round bottom could make a square shape. Eventually, they discovered that wombat intestines have stretchy and stiff parts that mold the waste into blocks.

But why? Well, like many other animals, wombats mark their territory. So, if they’re square, then it seems less likely that they’ll roll away down the hill like the iconic meatball.

2. Space Makes You a Giant

If you’re a smallish person hoping to grow big super fast, then you’d need to get hold of a rocket ship. Did you know that in space, astronauts can grow up to two inches taller?

Without the heavy pull of Earth’s gravity, the discs in their spines stretch out. Don’t get too excited, though, because when they come back to Earth, they shrink again because our gravity squishes them back down. How’s that for a few fascinating facts

3. The Half-Awake Bird

Imagine if you could play video games with one eye while the other eye took a nap. In fact, many birds do just that. They can sleep with one eye open. So, one half of their brain rests while the other half helps their eyes stay peeled for predators like cats.

Imagine if you could do that? Doze through class while still being aware of what’s going on. 

4. A Fruit That Floats

Maybe at a birthday party, you played a game where you tried catching a floating apple with your mouth. Did you ever wonder why apples float? The same goes for watermelons: not that you could catch one in your mouth, anyway.

Well, the reason for apples surviving floods is because they contain a lot of air. In fact, the fascinating fact is that 25 percent of the fruit is simply air.

Naturally, because they’re not as dense as the water, they float on the surface. Don’t believe us? Well, you could grab an apple right now and try it in the kitchen.

5. Eyes Bigger Than Brains

Even if you have big eyes, they simply won’t ever be bigger than your brain. However, in Africa, there’s a large flightless bird called an ostrich. They have quite large eyes to see predators coming from far away. But even those large eyes are actually smaller than their brains.

While they might not be the brightest creatures on the planet, they can run very fast and kick a human, or a lion, if necessary, and cause bad injuries.

6. How Hot Is Lightning?

Here’s a fascinating fact that eight-year-olds might have already learned at school. But if you haven’t gotten there yet, you should know that lightning is much more than just a bright flash.

A single bolt of lightning can reach temperatures five times hotter than the surface of the sun! So no, you don’t want to be out there playing around when thunderstorms roll in.

Naturally, it’s also a very good reason why, when lightning strikes trees, they might burst into flame.

7. The Cow’s Four-Room Tummy

Cows eat a lot of grass, but grass isn’t exactly easy to digest. So, they come equipped with one stomach. However, inside, it’s divided up into four separate sections. Did you notice that cows stand and chew a lot, then swallow and resume chewing?

Well, that’s because each time they chew their food and swallow it, they bring it up again from one of their stomachs and chew it all again.

Gross, yeah we know. But, it takes a lot of effort to turn low-energy food into high-energy milk.

8. The Lake You Can’t Sink In

Probably, you heard about the Dead Sea. It’s found in Western Asia, and countries that border it include Palestine, Jordan, and Israel.

Here’s one fascinating fact: it’s so low down in the Jordan Rift Valley that it’s actually about 481 yards below sea level.

Furthermore, it’s not a sea at all. Instead, it’s a big salty lake: so salty, that you can try to sink in it, but you just keep on floating. In places, it goes down for up to 978 feet.

What do you think of those fascinating facts? Shout out in the comments below, and come back here often for all your news about kids and parenting.