Clear, trustworthy articles on science, health, technology, history, money and more. We explain things as they are, without the jargon.
Why do people float in the Dead Sea? What makes it so salty, and why is it shrinking? Amazing facts about the lowest point on land, plus tips for a safe swim.
Short facts ready for class and school assemblies, by subject and stage.
Water boils at 100 °C at sea level and freezes at 0 °C.
Sound cannot travel through a vacuum, so space is completely silent.
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe.
Plants make their own food from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide, in a process called photosynthesis.
Any number multiplied by zero equals zero.
2 is the only even prime number.
Maths lovers celebrate Pi Day on 14 March, because the date is written 3/14.
The angles of any triangle add up to 180 degrees.
The Arabic alphabet has 28 letters.
Around 400 million people speak Arabic, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
The oldest known Arabic dictionary is "Kitab al-Ayn" by al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi.
World Arabic Language Day is celebrated every year on 18 December.
The most common letter in English is E.
The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the English alphabet.
Many English words have Arabic roots, such as "algebra", "algorithm" and "coffee".
The English alphabet has 26 letters, including 5 vowel letters: A, E, I, O and U.
The Nabataeans carved the city of Petra in Jordan out of rose-coloured rock more than 2,000 years ago.
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built about 4,500 years ago and is the only surviving wonder of the ancient world.
Johannes Gutenberg developed the movable-type printing press in Europe around 1440.
The first person to walk on the Moon was Neil Armstrong, in 1969.
Asia is the largest continent by both area and population.
The Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world, at about 6,650 kilometres.
The Sahara is the largest hot desert, but the largest desert of all is Antarctica, because it is so dry.
The Pacific is the largest and deepest ocean in the world.
The Sun is a star, and it is the closest star to Earth.
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system; more than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.
The International Space Station orbits the Earth about once every 90 minutes.
There are eight planets in the solar system orbiting the Sun.
The skin is the largest organ of the human body.
The liver is the largest internal organ in the human body.
The human brain contains about 86 billion nerve cells (neurons).
The thigh bone (femur) is the longest bone in the human body.
An easy basbousa recipe with semolina and yogurt and no eggs, plus the right way to make the syrup, tips for success, and fixes for dry or hard basbousa.
What is climate change? A clear guide to its causes, the greenhouse effect and its impacts, why Jordan and the Arab region are among the most affected, and what can be done.
How do you handle a stubborn or angry teenager without shouting? Why teens' behaviour changes, 10 practical parenting tips to build trust and respect, and when to seek professional help.
The study methods that research shows actually work: active recall, spaced repetition, the Pomodoro technique and more, plus tips to focus and how to study the night before an exam.
Does it really take 21 days to form a habit? What research says about how long habits take, how the habit loop works in the brain, and practical steps to build habits that last.
Sunlight reaches Earth in about 8 minutes and 20 seconds. See how scientists calculate it, why it changes during the year, and why we always see the past.