15-Minute Books

What did scientists first think Uranus was? What are the names of Uranus’ moons named after? Is Uranus bigger or smaller than Earth? What is strange about the way Uranus spins? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. In the middle of the galaxy is Uranus, one of the four gas planets in the Solar System. Here are some fun facts about Uranus.

Does Neptune have a lot of winds? What is at the core or center of Neptune? Neptune is slowly turning itself into what precious mineral? What is the coldest place in our solar system? (Hint: It isn’t the planet,) Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. Amaze your family and friends with these fun facts.

Comets often streak across the night sky. They are fascinating flashes of light, but how much do we really know about them? Here are some things that scientists do know. Find out: What the name comet means. How comets are named. When the earliest comets were recorded. How scientists predict when a comet will return. What a comet’s tail is made of.

Pluto was once considered the smallest planet in our galaxy. As more was discovered about the other planets, and about other objects in our galaxy, Pluto fell into debate, but many people still like to consider it a planet. How much do you really know about Pluto? Why do scientists say Pluto was “discovered by mistake”? How big is Pluto compared to the United States? Find out in this book!

You see it every night in the night sky, but how much do you really know about the moon? But how much do you know about it? What one thing is different about our moon from every other moon we have found? What kind of atmosphere is there on the moon? How many sides of the moon do we see? What happened to the footprints of the astronauts that stood on the moon? Find out in this book.

We see stars as pretty, twinkling objects, but what exactly are they? A lot of the things we find out about stars, helps us understand other objects; pulsars, quasars, galaxies – even the origin of our universe. Here are some fun facts about stars. Do stars twinkle? What are stars made of? Do we know more about the inside of stars or the inside of Earth? Find out in this book!

The Grand Canyon was cut into the Arizona landscape millions of years ago. It is one of the greatest natural wonders of the world. How much do you know about the Grand Canyon? How does the canyon tell us the history of life on Earth? How was the canyon formed? The canyon should have been twice as deep as it is. Why isn’t it? Learn more about the Grand Canyon with these fun facts.

Our sun is an average star in our galaxy: a sphere of burning gas that provides light and heat. So how much do you know about this glowing mass that controls our world. Do you know: What is the sun made up of? How long does it take the sun to orbit the center of our galaxy? How many layers of atmosphere does the sun have? Learn more about the Sun and amaze your friends with these fun facts.

Yellowstone Park is full of hot springs, geysers and grizzly bears. It also has stone forests, glass cliffs, a glacial lake and colorful canyons created by rivers and waterfalls. All of this is fuelled by a supervolcano that could erupt, killing millions of people and devastating the world’s climate for years. So how much do you know about this fantastic place?Discover some fun facts in this book.

You may think the Solar System consists of the sun and the eight planets that orbit around it. However, there are other things out there. There are comets, moons, asteroids, meteors, dust, ice, rock and much more. Plus there is a whole lot of man made junk. How much do you know about the solar system? Find out more in this fun fact-filled book!

What is a Space Shuttle? How can something that can’t fly go into space? Do astronauts get space sick? This book answers all these questions and more, plus everyone’s favorite: How do astronauts go to the toilet? This book was written in 2007, prior to the end of the space shuttle program. While the program no longer exists, this book is still of interest to those interested in space travel.

As the Ice Age retreated, the Sierra Nevada mountain range and Yosemite were left uncovered. How much do you know about Yosemite? Do you know: What was the longest glacier in Yosemite? Are there any glaciers in Yosemite today? How many meadows does Yosemite have? What plant is among the largest and oldest living things on earth? What is frazil ice? Find out more in this book.

Lying between Mars and Jupiter, The Main Asteroid Belt was once thought to be the remnants of an exploded planet or the beginnings of a planet that never formed. How much do you know about asteroids? Do you know: Where is The Main Asteroid Belt? What was the first asteroid discovered? How much mass does The Main Asteroid Belt have? Find out the answer to these questions and more.

The Nile River has amazed people for thousands of years. It runs opposite from most river systems. It floods for miles, pushing back the desert and providing farming lands for civilizations to thrive. It fills a massive swamp and has canyons and waterfalls. Most of its course is through the desert, yet it never runs dry. Learn more about this amazing river in this fun, short book.

Our eyes are round objects that sit at the halfway point of our head. They are about one inch (25 mm) in diameter and come in a variety of colors. They allow us to see all the wonders of the world and beyond. We still don’t understand exactly how they work in transforming light into color and objects, but they do, and it’s amazing. Learn more about eyes in this fun, fact-filled book!

Noses are wonderful. They help us breathe. They are lined with mucous and hairs called cilia, which trap germs and tiny particles that can make us sick. They generate quarts (litres) of snot. They let us smell flowers and freshly baked foods. They also warn us of dangers from fires, rotten food or last week’s gym bag. Learn more about this wonderful part of your body in this fun, fact-filled book.

The River Thames has a colorful history. It was a river highway before railways and roads were built. It brought flood, disease and death to thousands of Londoners. Today it contains over 80 islands, 200 bridges, 20 tunnels, 45 locks, six public ferries and one ford. Yet it still reminds us of its history with an average of one body a week being found in its waters. Find out more in this fun book.

The Yangtze River is known by many names. From its headwaters in the glaciers of Tibet, it drops nearly 16,000 feet (5000 metres) on its journey to the East China Sea. For millions of years it has cut its path through mountains and deep gorges and along broad, flat valley plains, taking water from thousands of rivers and lakes. Here are some fun facts about this magnificent river.

More space objects have been found beyond Pluto, in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. In 2003, Eris was discovered and found to be larger than Pluto. It was put forward as a tenth planet. This caused much debate among astronomers. Are there more, larger objects in our solar system? How many? Are they all to be considered planets? Find out more about dwarf planets and how they came to be.

It was once thought that our solar system ended at Saturn. Then the first telescopes revealed Uranus and Neptune. Differences in the calculations of the gravity of these giants set off another search and Pluto was discovered. Pluto was then thought to be the last planet of our solar system. Beyond it was empty space – until astronomers started looking at comets. That's when they discovered more!

The Danube is a romantic river. It begins in the Black Forest of Germany, slashes gorges through the mountains and meanders along broad plains. Many castles and palaces have been built along its banks. Many cities have been built, destroyed and rebuilt. A truly international river, it is a source of travel and trade for many European countries. Discover some fun facts about this fascinating river.

Ears sit on opposite sides of our head. They are flappy bits of skin that stick out. Sometimes we decorate them with piercings. Ears are our own little satellite dishes. They pick up sound waves and send them through the ear canal, where the tiniest bones and muscles in our body pick up the vibrations and send them further into our ears. Find out 14 Fun Facts about your ears in this book.

Eclipses have amazed and terrified people for thousands of years. The sky grows dark. Daytime animals go to sleep and nocturnal animals wake up. Roosters crow and cows come in for milking. The sun is slowly covered by some mysterious celestial object. Sometimes it is blocked out completely. What had the people done wrong? Find out more about eclipses and amaze your friends with these 14 fun facts.

Washington DC is our nation’s capitol. It is where many of our laws are made. What happens here affects our lives in many ways, but how much do you know about this place? Do you know: By law, how large is Washington DC allowed to be? Is it larger or smaller than it was when it was first formed? What happened to many buildings 15 years after the city was formed? Fout out this and more in this book.

Insects are all over, and there are many different kinds. But no matter how many there are, all insects have some things in common. Here are some fun facts about those little things that you find crawling around everywhere. Do you know: What does the word insect mean? How many insects are there in the world? Are there insects in the Arctic and the Antarctic? Find out the answers in this fun book.