Hailstones can reach the size of softballs and fall at speeds over 100 miles per hour.

A single lightning bolt contains about one billion joules of energy but lasts only a fraction of a second.

The Catatumbo lightning over a Venezuelan lake averages 28 lightning strikes per minute — nearly year-round.

Some trees can communicate with each other using underground fungal networks.

You are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a shark.

Tornadoes can rotate at up to 500 km/h — and can travel hundreds of miles.

Altruism challenges purely self-interested models of human nature.

The Banyan tree can spread horizontally indefinitely through aerial roots that become new trunks.

Altruism — acting for others' benefit at a cost to yourself — challenges purely self-interested models of human nature.