Technically speaking, the most poisonous animal in the world wouldn’t hurt you if it bit you - but it sure would be bad news if you ate it! Although we often use the terms interchangeably, the word ‘poison’ is primarily used for things that we eat or drink. Venom however is a whole other story and is found in a sting or a bite. So, unless you’re sitting down to lunch, it’s the most venomous animals in the world you should be worried about!

Sharks are a fascinating species, and they are notorious for causing fear in humans. Although many different species of sharks are not considered a danger to humans, there are some that are known for aggressive behavior. Of the 370 of shark species, only around 30 are known for attacking humans. In fact, some sharks are so aggressive they are known to eat one another in their mother’s womb before they are born.

Earthquakes are a natural disaster that occurs because of the sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust. Seismic waves are created and the tremors that are felt can be measured by seismometers. Earthquakes are measured based on their magnitude (the Richter scale). There have only been a couple that registered over a magnitude of 9.0 on the seismometer. An earthquake with a magnitude greater than 9.0 is an extreme natural disaster and are very rare.

Like a monster trash compactor stretching from the ground to the heavens, tornadoes descend with little warning from the planet’s scariest storms, taking just a few minutes to ruin thousands of lives. F5 tornado Elie Manitoba 2007 (Photo credit : Justin-Hobson - Wikipedia) Like any natural disaster worth its salt, tornadoes remind us of how puny we humans and our built structures really are. Here are 12 cool facts about tornadoes to keep you from getting bored as you crouch in a dank, dark cellar hiding from the most violent storm on the planet.

Many types of scenery are beautiful, but few geological features are as dramatic, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring as mountains. Mountains soar high above our heads, astounding us with their heights and features. They make us feel tiny, vulnerable, and fragile, but they also lift us up at the same time, inspiring us to strive for new heights. Here are 10 of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Some of these peaks are famous, while others are not as well known.

Flick/Itamar Grinberg Filling a sunken land at the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea in the Middle East is one of the world’s most fascinating places. It’s an incredible salty lake–one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water, in fact. As a giant solution in which 45 billion tons of salts has been dissolved, it’s about 10 times saltier than ocean water. This is not the kind of salt used to season meals.

If you’re out in the wild, what’s the last creature you want to encounter? A shark? A rattlesnake? A jaguar? There are a lot of different traits which make animals dangerous. Some animals are particularly aggressive. Others are stronger or faster than we are, or have razor-sharp teeth. Still others are venomous, and can poison us with a sting or a bite. Others yet are clever and cunning. Here are the top 10 most dangerous animals in the world.

Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are all considered to be precious gemstones, whereas most other types of gemstones (quartz, tiger’s eye, agate, etc.) are filed under the semi-precious category. The reason that diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are so prized is largely because they are rare, whereas most semi-precious gemstones are relatively common by comparison. The rarer a gemstone is, the more expensive it tends to be. What are the most valuable gems in the world according to both rarity and price?

What do you get when you cross a lion with a tiger? How about a zebra with a horse? Believe it or not these are not the first lines of terrible jokes, but real scientific questions with real living answers. Hybrid animals are the offspring produced when two animals of closely related but different - species breed. The young produced will usually not be fertile, and so hybrid species are not normally seen in the wild.

One of the most spectacular natural sights in the world, the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, have been enthralling travellers for centuries. The Northern Lights are created when solar winds react with the earth’s magnetic fields, which are strongest around the poles, and this reaction is visible as swirling beautiful colored lights in the night sky. September/ October, and February/ March are generally the best time to see northern lights shows in and around the Arctic circle, but there are a large number of external factors affecting their visibility.