Why can't humans breathe underwater?

When we go swimming, we hold our breath under the water. It is just a habit that we all do but why can't we breathe? Water has oxygen in it as it is H2O so surely it could go round our bodies like air. Also, water is just another state of air and the molecules are a bit further apart. But apparently this makes a big difference on what we can and can't breathe.

Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen gas. The reason that we can't breathe water is is because the oxygen is bonded together with 2 atoms of hydrogen and the oxygen is then useless to our lungs in this form. Also, humans can't breathe underwater because our lungs don't have enough surface area to absorb enough oxygen from water as there is not that much in it. The lining of our lungs, also is adapted to handle air rather than water. However, scientists have done experiments where they make humans breathe other liquids like fluorocarbons. Fluorocarbons can dissolve enough oxygen so that we can breathe.

That's all for today and see you next week! I hope you enjoyed this post and please comment! Also, if you have any questions that you would like me to answer, go to the top of the main page and click on the tab that says 'questions that you want me to answer'. You can comment on this page and I may answer your question in my next post! Thank you!

Are chickens really related to dinosaurs?

I've heard that chickens are related to dinosaurs but I don't really understand how that is possible! They look COMPLETELY different! First of all, chickens have feathers and have beaks and also, chickens are much smaller! I have done some research on why scientists believe that they are related and here is what I've found:

Scientists believe that birds evolve from dinosaurs because of the architecture of the bones. Also, extracts of  T. rex's bones reacted with antibodies to chicken collagen which is a further suggesting the presence of birdlike protein in dinosaur bones.

Scientists still don't know if this theory is correct as it is very difficult to discover.  Dinosaurs, as you all know, are extinct which means that scientists can't do any tests on them to see if they are correct.

 I think that it may be possible for this to be true but it must have happened over billions of years. As we evolved from monkeys, chickens could have evolved from dinosaurs. If you look at the picture above, you can see how dinosaurs began to look like chickens. Although it is a bit odd for it to shrink in size, you can see the resemblance between the pictures.

Please comment on this post and put any questions that you would like me to answer on the special page that I made! (Look at the top of the main page and click on the tab that says 'questions that you want me to answer')

Thank you and see you next week!

Why do clouds change colour?

Have you noticed that clouds change colour over time? They start off as white and fluffy and then turn to heavy, dull, grey clouds. Isn't it strange?! There are a few different ideas on this and here are some of them!

WHY?! HOW?!

Some people say that the heavier the cloud is, the darker it gets. This may be because the sun can't get through the heaviest clouds so makes them darker. After evaporation occurs, water drops form around dust and when they get heavy enough, it rains! This happens everywhere around the world but a lot more often in some places *cough*England*cough*.

Other people say that clouds look grey when we are directly underneath them. This might be because the sunlight doesn't shine directly on the bottom of clouds, but through the top of the clouds. 

The sunlight has to travel a very long way to get to our eyes. As the light travels through a thick cloud, the light will get scattered and reflected off things so when the light eventually reaches us, it will look different.

If all the colours in the spectrum are there (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) then the colour of the light is white. If none of the colours of the spectrum are there, the colour is black. This may also be why clouds look different colours. It just depends what colours can get through the clouds!

What did it look like before the big bang?

Science is such an amazing subject and you can learn so much from it. But first you have to get your head around it all! This question is beyond anyone's mind but I keep asking it to myself. What was it like before the big bang? What colour was it? Was it white or black? Or maybe even pink? It can't have been see-through because there would have to be something BEHIND that... It is beyond anyone's imagination...

This shows what scientists have discovered about the big bang so far. It is so advanced but amazing how they could find this out from hardly anything!

Scientists believe that the universe was a teeny-tiny speck of dust which then exploded. But how is that possible? I still don't understand how people have found this out though... It must have taken YEARS of research!

The universe is also expanding as we speak but into what? It is travelling so fast but where to? There has to be SOMETHING outside of it... Maybe another world like one of my previous posts or maybe it looks like what it did billions of years ago before the big bang happened.

I wonder if anyone or anything was alive to witness the big bang... But that isn't possible is it? And even if someone WAS there, they would have died in the bang...

There is no true answer to this mystery so I'll just have to leave it there. Thank you for reading this post and please explore the new pages that I have put at the top of the page. There is a whole page for questions you want me to answer so please comment! I would love to hear your opinions too and you can comment on this post! See you next week!

Why do some men go bald and others don't?

This question was asked to me by The Apologist. I give a very special thank you to The Apologist and you have been a great reader. I hope you like the answer!

Some scientists say that going bald has something to do with your sexual hormones and one way to ensure against hair loss is to sacrifice something else. For example, during the Middle Ages and nearly into the 1800s, certain choir boys with very beautiful voices were castrated before reaching puberty to avoid the change of voice. Scientists say that these boys didn't go bald and it makes it clear that sexual hormones play a role in hair loss.

I don't think you should sacrifice something like that just to keep your hair on your head. People look just as good without hair and besides, if you DO keep your hair, it will eventually turn grey and not many people want that...!

Hair loss probably also gets passed down to your children so if your grandpa has no hair, then you probably won't have any when you are his age as well! But you never know, you might not have that gene!

Thank you everyone and please comment with your opinions and questions that you have been wanting the answer for. See you next week!

Why do flamingos stand on one leg but have two?

Humphrey Cushion asked me this question and I am going to try and answer it. Thank you Humphrey Cushion and please check out her blog at: 
http://the-pop-corn-page.blogspot.co.uk/

This is a very strange question and I think there probably is an answer. Scientists say that there may not be a simple answer but there are still some theories.

Flamingoes stand on one leg mostly when they are in the water. This may be because they are trying to conserve body heat. If they put both their feet in the water then they would get much colder than if they stand on one leg, they would also get very cold because they spend a lot of time in the water. Flamingos regularly change what leg they stand on in the water so that one foot doesn't get too cold. It's quite clever really!

Flamingos stand on both legs when they eat, but one leg to sleep. This sounds quite strange as you would think that sleeping would require both legs on the ground for balance. Especially as they are practically unconscious when they are asleep!

Fun fact: The colour that a flamingo is comes from the food they eat, including shrimp, which is full of carotenoid pigments (the same thing that makes carrots orange!)

Please comment with questions that you have on your mind and your opinions on this post. Don't forget to vote on the poll! Thank you once again and see you next week for another 'a world away' post!

What happens after you die?

Starburst196 asked me this question and I am going to try and answer it. Thank you Starburst196 and please check out her blog at: http://theinternationalfiles.blogspot.co.uk

This is a very interesting question to think about and the truth is, no one knows... It's very hard to imagine what it would be like because you don't think anything and you don't know what is going on around you. I don't really know what to think about life after death so I am going to include different peoples opinions too.

Person 1 - female age 10

"You don't exist anymore. It's like before you're born; you don't know anything, you can't feel anything, you're not really there."

Person 2 - male age 49

"I want to believe that there is an afterlife. I would like to believe that if you do good things in life that there is a sort of heaven. Our brains work on electricity and I would like to think that the energy would go somewhere else. But there is no evidence of it. So it might just be that when we die, we are just gone."

By listening to these opinions, I can tell that there are many different ways people think about life after death. If someone close to you has died then you might WANT to believe that there is an afterlife but deep down, you know that there may not be one.

I hope you enjoyed this post and please comment, vote on my poll and share any questions that you have on your minds. Thank you for reading my blog and I hope you like it!

Halloween Special: Are ghosts real?

Ghosts... what are they? Do they look like cartoons? Do they look like the person or animal that they were? Can you see them? ARE THEY REAL?

Lots of people ask questions about ghosts but no one can really answer them. Kids get scared of ghosts as they see them in movies and they are interpreted as scary but if they do exist then they may be nice! Ghosts may be scared of us and that may be why we can't see them, they might stay hidden!

In movies, ghosts are used to scare people. I think they are quite scary because they are 'The living dead' and can move things without you seeing them doing it. It makes some people feel unsettled thinking that there is someone near them that they can't see, touch, taste or smell (you may be able to hear them) and they can't really do anything about it. However, some people enjoy seeing horror movies with ghosts in them. This may be because they enjoy being frightened. They might find it fun or exciting, it just depends on your personality really!

Thank you again and please keep reading! I am very happy that I have now got over 1000 views so thank you to everyone who has spread the word!

Keep commenting! 

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Can you tickle yourself?

Many people say that they can tickle themselves but the truth is, YOU CAN'T!!! You tickle mostly because of surprise. Even if you know that you're about to be tickled, you might not know where, so you react by being ticklish. When you try and tickle yourself, it doesn't usually work because your brain already knows when and where you are going to do it. You can't surprise yourself so you can't tickle yourself! Some people say that they can tickle themselves but that may just say that because they are scratching themselves, which you can feel, instead of tickling themselves as it is quite difficult to get your hands in the right position because you don't know when they are in the right position as you don't laugh!

Funny fact: 

The only place that you can tickle yourself is the top of your mouth! Try it! This may be because the roof of your mouth is not used to being touched like this and it surprises you.

Tell me what you think and please ask me some of your questions! Don't forget to vote on my poll and please comment below! 
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Do pets like living with us?

Lots of people have dogs, cats, rabbits etc. as pets, but do they like living with us? I have a dog and a cat and they seem to like it but do they really? Maybe my dog gets too tired and doesn't like waking up early for her walks; just like we don't like waking up early for school or work. Maybe my cat feels left out because I am always playing with my dog. No one knows... What if  our pets don't like the food that we give them? What can they do? They can't tell us!

I know that cats have more freedom than dogs but why? Surely dogs are responsible enough too? Dogs may be jealous of cats as dogs have to do what their owners tell them too;  just like siblings are jealous of each other because the older one can do more things.

Overall, I think that our pets like living with us but also may get frustrated sometimes. Our pets get food, water and a nice shelter to stay in and they have a loving family to spend time with. They may get hungry a lot as we don't really know when they like to eat and dogs might not want to go on walks when we do.

Watch this video of a kitten having a nightmare. It's so cute and it shows you what cats can actually do!

I hope you liked this post and please keep commenting and tell everyone you know about it!

THANK YOU FOR READING MY BLOG!!!

Why do we dream? Do they have a meaning?

Dreaming is a thing that we all do and don't really think about. You often hear people telling each other their strange, funny, scary, sad or happy dreams and them trying to explain it but its too difficult. When little kids wake up in the middle of the night crying about a bad dream, their parents comfort them and they fall back asleep and the dreams are never heard of again.
I know that I remember some of my dreams from when I was about 7 and I will never forget them but I'm not sure if that happens to anyone else. I'm sure certain dreams stick with people for the rest of their lives but which ones?
Our dreams are often beyond our imaginations and we can only see them in our heads. We can't really draw or explain them very well and even if we can the person that we are telling it to has a different picture in their head from what you saw.
But no one knows if they have a meaning. They could pretty much mean anything. If you have a dream of a beautiful girl then you might think you are ugly and you might be jealous of someone. If you dream of food it might mean that you are hungry. But if you have a dream of a burning candle then it might mean that your life is burning away. There is no way of telling.

Thank you again and keep commenting!!!

Another world?

Have you ever thought about there being another world somewhere out there with another species that we don't know about? I know it sounds strange but we may never know if there really is a parallel universe. There might be another planet millions of light years away that is just like ours or maybe even more advanced, trying to look for other life forms like us. There is no way of telling what they look like, they may not even exist but scientists are still looking for them. The creatures living there could look like us or even completely different, beyond our imaginations. They may have 9 legs, 6 arms and 1 eye or each strand of their hair a different colour and ears the size of our hands. It sounds like they would look very funny but it would be normal for them!

Please comment with your opinions and questions that you would like me to answer. Thanks for reading my blog and keep spreading the word!!!!

Can you cry underwater?

Lots of people have attempted to answer this question but no one has got it yet. It seems quite strange when you think about it but I think you can. No one would be able to see you crying which may be quite nice as it won't look like you have been crying, your face will be wet anyway and if you open your eyes underwater they will go red like when you cry. I suppose it depends how deep you are, if you are really deep in the ocean, the pressure may be too high for you to be able to cry and the tears may not be able to come out. You would run out of breath very easily if you try and do this as you breath a lot when you cry. You would have to come up quite a bit so that you get enough oxygen.

Please comment with your own opinions! Thanks!

What 'A World Away' is about

You may be wondering what my blog is about. Well, I am going to ask and answer questions that no one knows the answer to and that gets people's heads in a muddle. I will have a question of the week and I'll leave space for you to write your opinions. As you can see, I have a poll in the top right hand corner. If you want, you can vote on what you would like me to do, in this case it is either ask you impossible questions (and then you can answer them with your own opinion) or for me to answer your impossible questions (you can ask me questions and I will answer them with my opinion). At the end of the poll I will see which one has been voted the best and I will do that! There will be a few of these polls so keep your eye out! Thank you so much for following my blog and please spread the word!