Today, I learned:
We have four nostrils!
Who really was the first to discover that the Earth is round!
Humans have four nostrils not two
Despite our external nostrils, we also have another pair of internal nostrils called "choanae". They connect our throat with the nose and are necessary for breathing. They are also quite hairy - each choana contains roughly 1000 strands of hair. Choanae can be found in many mammals, birds, amphibians and reptilians. According to the research, these posterior nostrils have evolved from the early species of fish that were ancestors of land animals. In that early fish they were located around the mouth but after hundreds of millions of years of evolution they migrated towards inside of the head in extant tetrapods.
Who was the first to discover that the Earth is round?
The honey bee!!!
Honey bees have developed very sophisticated system of communication which allows them to track the sources of nectar.
They use position of the sun to navigate, even on overcast days. Their spatial memory works like in-built navigation system.
They are also very sensitive to polarization of the sky and our planet's magnetic field. When you place a magnet next to their hive, their start to build unusually shaped honeycomb.
And all that despite having brains much smaller than humans - honey bee's brain have about 1 million neurons while average human brain has about 100 billion neurons.
Honey bees evolved in Early Cretaceous period so they have known that the Earth is round for 25 million years!
Sources (not included under hyperlinks):
Wikipedia - "Posterior nasal apertures".
Wise Geek - "What are choanae".
Wikipedia - "Bee".
Guildford Beekeepers - "FAQ".
-logic