STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

1. 🌍 Geography

🌊 Atlantic Ocean expands 2 cm/day

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge pushes tectonic plates apart, causing the Atlantic Ocean to grow by 2 cm daily. Magma rises and forms new ocean crust. This is part of seafloor spreading, a key process in plate tectonics that slowly reshapes Earth’s continents and ocean basins over millions of years.

🏴‍UK drifts 2.5 cm from Europe annually

The UK is drifting away from mainland Europe at 2.5 cm per year due to tectonic plate movement. It lies near the boundary of the Eurasian and North American plates. Though unnoticeable to people, satellites can measure this slow shift, which is part of Earth’s dynamic crust.

🌍The Diomede Islands

Between Alaska and Russia lie the Diomede Islands—Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (USA). Though only 2 miles apart, they’re divided by the U.S.–Russia border and the International Date Line. Big Diomede is militarized; Little Diomede hosts a small Inupiat village. Time difference: nearly one full day (20–21 hours).

🌍 Nile is longest, Amazon has more water

The Nile River is the longest on Earth, but the Amazon carries more water. While the Nile flows through dry regions, the Amazon supports a vast rainforest with high rainfall and many tributaries. Both rivers are vital to ecosystems, but the Amazon dominates in water volume and biodiversity.

🏜️ Gobi — largest cold desert

The Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China is the largest cold desert, with extreme seasonal temperatures. It has rocky terrain, little rain, and strong winds. Unlike hot deserts, it snows in winter. The Gobi is also famous for fossil finds and was part of the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

2. 🛠️ Engineering

🏙️ Burj Khalifa’s Power Usage

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, consumes a huge amount of electricity—enough to power small neighborhoods. Its energy demand comes from elevators, lighting, air conditioning, and water systems. Managing power efficiently in such skyscrapers is a major engineering challenge in modern urban development.

🤖 The First Robots by Hero of Alexandria

In the 4th century BCE, Hero of Alexandria built early robotic devices powered by steam and mechanical systems. His inventions included automatic doors and theater machines. Though simple, they showed an understanding of automation, laying the foundation for robotics and mechanical engineering as we know them today.

🌊 The Possibility of Floating Cities

With enough funding and proper design, building floating cities is now technically feasible. These structures could adapt to rising sea levels and overcrowded urban areas. Engineers are exploring eco-friendly, resilient materials and energy systems to make sustainable, ocean-based living a reality in the near future.

3. 🔬 Natural Science

The empty space inside an atom’s nucleus
Atoms are mostly empty space. The nucleus is incredibly small compared to the whole atom, and the space between particles makes up 99.9999999% of the universe. This means matter is not as solid as it appears — if you removed this emptiness, all humans could fit in a sugar cube.

⚛️We are made of stardust

Many atoms in your body — like carbon, calcium, and iron — were forged inside massive stars and scattered across space by supernova explosions. This cosmic recycling created the elements that formed our planet and life itself. Literally, you are made of stardust born from dying stars.

⛓️100 lightning bolts strike Earth every second

At any given moment, there are about 100 lightning strikes happening somewhere on Earth. That’s over 8 million strikes every day. These powerful electrical discharges are caused by charge imbalances in storm clouds and play a role in the nitrogen cycle essential for life on Earth.

🧿Graphene is the strongest natural material 
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern. It is about 200 times stronger than steel, yet incredibly light and flexible. Unlike diamond, graphene conducts electricity and heat efficiently, making it one of the most promising materials for future nanotechnology and electronics.

4. 🩺 Medicine

🦠100 trillion bacteria in the body

Your body hosts over 100 trillion bacteria — 10 times more than your human cells. Most of them live in your gut, supporting digestion, immunity, and even mental health. This vast ecosystem is called the microbiome and is essential to overall health and disease prevention.

💞 The heart beats 100,000 times daily 

The human heart beats about 100,000 times every day, pumping around 7,600 liters of blood. This keeps oxygen and nutrients circulating to all parts of the body. Despite its size, the heart is one of the most hard-working and vital organs in the human system.

🧠Brain differences in men and women

Studies show female brains have more connections between neurons, enhancing multitasking and emotional processing. Male brains tend to be more specialized in connecting different brain regions, supporting spatial tasks and focused activity. Both designs reflect evolutionary adaptations, not superiority of one over the other.

5. 📜 History

👑Genghis Khan’s Empire – 33 million km²

Genghis Khan established the largest contiguous empire in world history, spanning about 33 million square kilometers. It stretched from Korea to Eastern Europe and included many cultures. His leadership reshaped global trade, communication, and politics, laying the foundation for a more interconnected world.

⏳Ancient scripts still undeciphered

Humans developed writing systems over 3,000 years ago to record trade, laws, and history. However, about 90% of these ancient scripts — like Linear A or Rongorongo — remain undeciphered. They hold secrets about lost civilizations that we still cannot fully understand today.

🔱Maya and the concept of zero

The Maya civilization was among the first to use the concept of zero (0) in mathematics, around the 4th century AD. This advanced idea helped them develop precise calendars and complex calculations — centuries before it appeared in Europe or Asia.

🔱 Xiongnu inscriptions in Mongolia

Inscriptions from the Xiongnu (Hunnu) Empire have been discovered in Mongolia, dating back over 2,000 years. Some were written using ancient Tibetan script, indicating early cultural exchanges across Central Asia. These findings help trace the roots of Mongolian statehood and script history.