Surprising Facts You Didn't Know!

Why Are They Called Walnuts?
Walnuts go way back to the time of the Babylonian Empire. Back then, only kings and nobles were allowed to eat them. Regular people weren’t even allowed to touch them! These nuts were considered very special and fancy. In Hebrew, they’re called egozei melech (אגוזי מלך), which means “king’s nuts”—a name that reminds us they were once only for royalty.

Why Do Turtles Go Back to the Same Beach?
Mother turtles lay their eggs on the beach. After the baby turtles hatch, they make their way to the sea and travel far. But when they grow up, the females come back sometimes years later to lay eggs on the exact same beach! This happens with some kinds of fish too.

What’s Causing the Earth to Get Warmer?
The main gas behind global warming is carbon dioxide (CO2). It stays in the Earth’s atmosphere and traps heat. In recent years, we’ve created more and more of it through factories, cars, power plants, and heating systems.

What Are Runestones?
Runestones are old stones carved with words in the runic alphabet, which the Vikings used. These stones help us learn about Scandinavian history and even show that the Vikings reached North America before Columbus!

What’s a Palindrome?
A palindrome is a word, phrase, or number that reads the same forwards and backwards. Some fun examples are the word “level,” the name “Hannah,” or the number 12321. In Jewish tradition, palindromes have been used as well. Rabbi Yehonatan Eibeschitz created a well-known one that is still remembered for its cleverness.

Who Cleans the Hippo?
Hippos get help from cleaner fish! These little fish eat the parasites and dirt off the hippo’s skin. It’s a win-win, the hippo gets clean, and the fish get food.

Why Do Scars Form?
When we get hurt, our bodies start an incredible healing process. Hashem created it so that billions of tiny cells work together to fix the skin and make new tissue. But the repair isn’t always perfect, and that’s how scars form.