Fun facts you probably didn't know

Nothing is more fun than starting a conversation about some strange, little known facts. Here's some I found particularly amusing...

ᴿᴹ During the industrial revolution in England, there was a profession called the 'knocker up' or the 'knocker upper' which involved waking people up by knocking on windows using a long stick. This was the first form of an alarm clock. The profession came to an end in the 1920s.

ᴿᴹ The Fitzroy river turtle, a turtle that is native to Australia, breath through their bums. The bums, called the cloaca contain a sack called the bursae and this is what the turtles use to pump air in and out of their bodies.

ᴿᴹ Carrots used to be purple in colour. In the 17th Century, Dutch farmers decided to cultivate them and make them orange. They found that the orange carrots were more flavourful and popular amongst the people. Orange carrots are also healthier than its ancestor, the purple carrot.

ᴿᴹ Shrek was based on the real life person, Maurice Tillet, who was a Russian born French-American wrestler. Tillet was dubbed the 'French Angel due to his angelic face. However, at age 17, Tillet was diagnosed with acromegaly where a tumour in the pituitary glands caused an over growth of his bones and he ended up looking a lot like Shrek. Tillet has been described as a sweet-natured, gentle person.

ᴿᴹ NASA has discovered that in Saturn and Jupiter, it rains diamonds. It's predicted to be the most common form of precipitation where an estimated 1000 tonnes are produced each year. High carbon in the atmosphere is the reason behind this.