WHY is Chanel No. 5 perfume called that?

According to legend, Madame Coco asked Mr. Beaux to create a scent "that would smell like a real woman". Beau was originally from Russia and worked as a perfumer at the tsar's palace, but he had to flee the country after the revolution.

He was experimenting with aldehydes (synthetic floral scents) when Chanel asked him to create a never-before-seen fragrance. As a result, Mademoiselle Coco was faced with ten perfumes. She decided on the fifth one, after which she decided to call it by that simple and memorable number.

Why do cats' eyes glow?

The inner surface of these animals' eyes has a shiny layer, the so-called mirror, which reflects light. The eyes of these nocturnal predators do not produce light as they only reflect the faint light emitted by stars, the Moon, distant light sources that penetrate into the eye and focus on its back surface.

WHY does the voice change with helium?

When you inhale ambient air, your vocal cords vibrate in "normal" mode.

However, helium has a lower density, around 7 times lower than air. As a result, the vocal cords are less strained and vibrate at a higher frequency. The voice becomes higher and more squeaky.

And if you inhale a heavy gas, such as sulfur fluoride, which is five times heavier than air, even a 7-year-old girl will start to speak in a bass.

WHY are the lights dimmed during airplane takeoff?

The reason for this is to get the passengers' eyes used to the darkness, not for comfort but for safety reasons.

If the passengers have to be evacuated immediately, their eyes will be better prepared for the darkness outside 🛫

WHY is blood taken from the ring finger?

The fingertips are easily accessible, hairless, rich in blood vessels, easy to disinfect, and even squeeze if necessary. The skin on the ring finger is thinner than on the thumb, index and middle finger, and contains fewer nerve endings, including pain receptors.

The little finger, on the other hand, is closely connected to the wrist, so if an infection is introduced into a wound on the little finger, it can spread to the bend of the wrist!

WHY do some people only smoke when they're drunk?

Well, there have been various studies on this subject in America. One of them, carried out at a medical center, found that alcohol increases the pleasurable sensation of smoking.

According to another one, performed at a medical university, it was found out that nicotine allows you to drink more alcohol without feeling sleepy.🚬

WHY do we see twinkling stars?

It happens due to the fact that their light, as it flows through the atmosphere, passes through layers with different densities. The refraction is varied, with the layers of air constantly moving in relation to each other.

When the starlight moves from a lower-density layer to a higher-density one, it begins to flicker.✨

WHY is the smell of thunderstorms dangerous?

Have you ever smelled a specific thunderstorm? That's the smell of ozone, an allotropic modification of oxygen. The gas forms as a result of electrical discharges.

Ozone (O₃) is an active substance and an aggressive oxidizing agent. Breathing air with a high concentration of ozone causes respiratory disorders. We can conclude that breathing the smell of thunder is harmful.

Yet, there is the other side of the coin. The ozone layer of the atmosphere protects Earth from cosmic rays.

WHY does white piece go first in chess?

No, racism has nothing to do with it...

Until now, there is no exact answer as to why whites move first. The first mention of the chess game is dated back to 2.5 thousand years ago, the rules of the game gradually evolved over time.

At first the game was called "Chaturanga" and played by 4 people at the same time. The pieces were black, green, yellow and red.

With the passage of time, the number of participants was reduced to two, and the figures were black and yellow. Yellow was soon replaced by white.

Black is thought to be the color of sadness, the color of what is going away. White is the color of life, the color of what is just beginning.

WHY doesn't ice sink?

The only water crystal modification existing under the conditions of our planet is the hexagonal syngony.

❗This chemical structure has a lower density than water as a liquid.

It only occurs under natural conditions. Scientists have already found out that ice has 5 amorphous varieties and 17 crystalline modifications.

WHY do the Germans read numbers backwards?

By the end of the 15th century, Arabic numerals became common in written German. They were recommended to be read from left to right. But when numbers didn't exist, the Germans always wrote units first (one dash for 1, two dashes for 2) and only then - tens (X - 10).

As an example, the notation IXX used to read "one and twenty".

The Germans still have such a peculiarity. Previously, writers and mathematicians were constantly pointing out the problem of the distorted transmission of numbers. But all their attempts to do anything about it were suppressed from above.

WHY you shouldn't drink water with hot pepper?

The alkaloid capsaicin adds spice to peppers. It is insoluble in water. Therefore, it doesn't make sense to "put out" a fire in the mouth with water.

Although it dissolves well in spirits and fats. Meanwhile, alcohol, milk, sour cream, and even ice cream may help.

WHY does the filament in a light bulb not burn out?

Thin metal wire gets so heated by the electric current that it glows. And yet, the wire may last for several years and not burn out.

The reason is that there is no oxygen inside the bulb needed for it to burn. In addition, the bulb is filled with a gas that quenches the flame.

WHY is yawning contagious?

Experts have conducted plenty of studies on this subject and concluded that the most common response to yawning is a sign of sympathy for a person.

As it turns out, the contagiousness of yawning has psychological reasons. It is easier to catch yawning a person who is more prone to making connections with others. Otherwise, the more sociable a person is, the more often he yawns "for the ride".

📌 By the way, indomitable yawning is the most frequent cause of jaw dislocation.

WHY are snails dangerous?

Nearly 10,000 people per year die from interactions with them😱

Ordinary freshwater snails are carriers of schistosomiasis. Such a disease is caused by worms. What's more, it can result in death.

WHY do we like specific smells?

In most cases, the emotions of specific smells (gasoline, paint, solvent, glue) are influenced by our positive memories and associations.

Yet, some chemicals, such as the aromatic hydrocarbons found in gasoline, may cause euphoria when inhaled in small quantities.

WHY cannot you wear sunscreen in Hawaii?

Just imagine, 14,000 tons of sunscreen ends up in the ocean each year❗

That amount of sunscreen causes significant damage to coral reefs in Hawaii and the Caribbean.

The Haereticus Environmental Lab investigated Trunk Bay Beach and found that about 2000-5000 people per year visited the beach and left about 240 kg of sunscreen on the reef. Meanwhile, about 160 kg of sunscreen is settled on the Hanaum Bay reef daily.

WHY does warm milk act as a sleeping pill?

One glass of milk (250 ml) closes the body's need for tryptophan by 50%. The body converts tryptophan (an amino acid) into serotonin, which helps control mood and sleep.

Besides, milk serves as an excellent source of calcium, which regulates the production of melatonin.

📌If you can't fall asleep, drink a glass of milk with a teaspoon of honey. It's a great way to shorten your falling asleep time and improve the quality of your sleep.

WHY do turtles live so long?

On average, turtles live over 200 years😮 Many people assume it is due to their slow movements and rhythm of life; turtles have a slow metabolism and thus they don't age.

In fact, they have unique internal organs that do not wear out.

Their organs, even in old age, remain as functional as they were in their youth.

WHY do the clock hands go from left to right?

📌 The sundial was invented in ancient Egypt nearly five thousand years ago.

The sun on the sundial moved from east to west, so the pointer in the center of the dial moves in a circle from left to right.

WHY does it smell so good after the rain?

Scholars have really given this scent its own name: petrichor.

Some plants secrete oils absorbed by the soil. When it rains, the oil escapes from the soil along with the waste products of actinobacteria. As a result, a distinctive aroma emerges.