Antimatter is the most expensive substance on Earth. It costs roughly $62.5 trillion per gram or $1.75 quadrillion per ounce.
100 Mind-Blowing Substance Facts
Water is the only substance on Earth that exists naturally in three forms: solid, liquid and gas as ice; water; and water vapor, respectively.
Cacti come in many different colours other than green. Some species of cacti are naturally brown or brown-green. Many will have a waxy substance on the surface which prevents water loss from transpiration.
Dogs should not be fed pear and apple seeds. This is due to the seeds containing traces of cyanide in them. This substance is highly toxic to dogs in high quantities.
The ancient Greeks chewed gum like mastic. Mastic is a substance that comes from the bark of a tree. This bark was believed to be how the Greeks maintained oral health.
Under ultraviolet light, scorpions will glow. Their glow comes from a substance that is found in the hyaline layer. This layer is a thin but tough coating that is a part of the scorpion’s exoskeleton. This exoskeleton is also referred to as a cuticle.
A sound engineer once got accidentally high on LSD while cleaning an old radio. When Eliot Curtis tried to restore an old Buchla Model 100 synthesizer, he ended up tripping on 50-year-old LSD. He only noticed a crystalline substance that had gathered on the radio, which he wiped off. Since he found it in a dark closet at a university, the psychedelic components were preserved. The LSD residue dissolved in his hands and got him into a 9-hour trip. How’s that for wild funny facts?
Nutmeg can be poisonous. Who doesn’t love a little nutmeg in their hot chocolate? It may seem unlikely, but in certain amounts, nutmeg can be fatal to humans. Compared to other plants and herbs, nutmeg contains higher amounts of a narcotic substance called myristicin. Consuming more than 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg at once can cause side effects such as wild hallucinations, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and a syncopated heartbeat. In large amounts, it can also lead to organ failure.
Jelly beans are coated with insect juice. Jelly beans and candy corn are usually coated with shellac, a substance made from the secretions of a Thai species called kerria lacca. However, you probably won’t see this ingredient in the list: the industrial term for it is “confectioner’s glaze.” This secret ingredient gives your favourite confectionery that delicious sheen.
Squirrels can’t burp or vomit, nor can any other rodent, which is why rat poison is so effective; other mammals tend to expel any toxic substance they ingest.
Lima beans have an amazing ability to command wasps as a defence. If insects are eating the lima bean’s leaves, the plant gives off a substance that acts as a signal to parasitic wasps to swoop in and destroy their enemy (i.e. the leaf-eating insects).
Both male and female pigeons produce a substance called crop milk to feed their chicks. Very few birds have this rare ability, just greater flamingos, emperor penguins, pigeons and doves.