THE WORLD IS an amazing place for a curious mind.

All around us are seemingly ordinary things that we might take for granted at first glance, breath-taking facts just waiting to be unearthed. Eason’s have created a new interactive creative space in their O’Connell Street flagship store to do just that. Easonology offers children, teens and adults a place where they can explore and interact with books, games and technology. To get the ball rolling, here are some facts about nature, science and the world around us that might just blow your mind.

(Psst – To test yourself, why not try and see how many of our facts you knew already?)

Think you know the tallest mountain on Earth?

Everest? Nope. Think again.

The tallest mountain on Earth is actually under the sea. The million-year-old Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. However, much of Mauna Kea is below sea level, with only the some of it visible on the island. When measured from its base under the ocean, its height is 33,100 ft – more than double Mount Everest’s base-to-peak height.

Source: Arabia Weather

Not only that, but an estimated 50-85% of life on Earth is found in the ocean.

It’s all relative

We share 50% of our human DNA with the humble banana.

Source: Roflolpix

Batteries included

Did you know you can make a battery out of lemons, a nail and a cent coin? Find out how below.

Some like it hot

When lightning strikes, it can reach up to 30,000 degrees Celsius. Some scientists believe that lightning might have played a part in the evolution of living things, because the immense heat and energy given off has been known to convert elements within organisms into compounds.

An eruption of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia sparks volcanic lightning Source: Wikimedia Commons

Talk about changeable weather

NASA has a warehouse so big that it has its own weather systems. The Vehicle Assembly Building (or VAB) was used to assemble American manned launch vehicles for NASA until 2011. It is the largest single-storey building in the world. Its four entrances also boast the four largest doors in the world.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

And yes, VAB is so vast that it has its own weather – including rain clouds forming inside below the ceiling on particularly humid days.

A spoonful of soil helps the medicine…

There are more individual living organisms in a tablespoon of soil than there are people on Earth. And almost all of the antibiotics we take to help fight infections were obtained from soil micro-organisms.

It takes nature 100 years to create one inch of trusty topsoil.

Source: Shutterstock

What’s your favourite piece of little-known knowledge? Let us know in the comments or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #Easonology.

And while you’re at it, make sure to discover, create and challenge lots more yourself at the Easonology area at Eason’s on O’Connell Street.