Here is a fascinating fact that many people don't know:
Bananas are botanically considered berries, but strawberries are not.
This sounds backward, but it all comes down to the scientific definition of a berry.
In botany, a berry is a fleshy fruit that develops from a single flower with one ovary. Based on this precise definition:
- Bananas qualify because they meet all the criteria: they are fleshy, develop from a single flower with one ovary, and (originally) contained multiple seeds (though the commercial bananas we eat have been bred to have only tiny, unnoticeable seeds).
- Strawberries, on the other hand, do not fit the botanical definition. They are what's known as an "aggregate fruit." A strawberry develops from a single flower, but that flower has many separate ovaries. Each tiny "seed" on the outside of a strawberry is actually a separate fruit (called an achene), and the sweet, red part we love to eat is the swollen receptacle holding them all.
So, next time you're having a fruit salad, remember that the "berry" is the banana, and the "strawberry" is... well, an aggregate fruit!
A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time. It's defined as the time it takes for light to travel one centimeter, which is approximately 33.3564 picoseconds.
The shortest war in history lasted only 38 to 45 minutes. The Anglo-Zanzibar War broke out on August 27, 1896, when the Sultan of Zanzibar died and a new ruler was appointed without British approval. The British, who had a colonial interest in Zanzibar, considered this an act of war and issued an ultimatum. When the ultimatum expired, British warships opened fire on the Sultan's palace, and the war was over before most people even knew it had started.