Want to spark your child’s curiosity about the ocean? These 10 facts are guaranteed to produce at least one ‘WHOA!’ at the dinner table.
1. The Ocean Is Deeper Than Mount Everest Is Tall
The deepest point in the ocean — the Mariana Trench — is about 36,000 feet deep. Mount Everest is about 29,000 feet tall. If you put Everest at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, there would still be over a mile of water above it.
2. Jellyfish Have Been Around Longer Than Dinosaurs
Jellyfish have been swimming in Earth’s oceans for over 500 million years. That’s about 250 million years before the first dinosaurs appeared. And they don’t even have brains!
3. The Blue Whale’s Heart Is the Size of a Small Car
A blue whale’s heart weighs about 400 pounds and is roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. A human child could crawl through its arteries.
4. We’ve Explored Less Than 5% of the Ocean
We’ve mapped more of the surface of Mars than we have of our own ocean floor. The deep ocean remains one of the least explored places on Earth — which means there are still millions of species waiting to be discovered.