Photograph by Timothy Hogan
250 microns: the thickness of the microtissues printed out by the first commercial 3-D bioprinter, which will soon help biochemists test new drugs
100 miles: the distance the Galileo space probe made it into Jupiter's atmosphere in 1995 before being vaporized (could a stronger spacecraft fly straight through the gas planet?)
1,000: the number of times per second the floating mirror on the Magellan telescope can change its shape in order to capture the sharpest images of space ever
30 μL: the volume of photographic bacteria you need to grow your own photo
10,000: the rough number ytterbium atoms used to keep time in the world's most precise clock
4 grams: the amount of a reusable, spongy, bacteria-killing gel needed to purify a half a liter of water
37 miles per hour: the top speed of a new electric car prototype that can fold itself in half to park
6 percent: the difference in brain size between urban animals and their rural counterparts (bet you can guess which critters are smarter)
$230: the price of a cup of civet poop coffee
1866: the year the U.S. Army adopted primitive, hand-crank machine guns
56: the number of people sent to the emergency room with eye problems after a recent foam party in Florida
8 percent: the portion of the world's helium use that went to party balloons in 2012 (more stats about Earth's helium supply, visualized)
258,048: the number of parabolic mirrors on the world's largest operational concentrated solar plant, which is kind of tricky to keep clean
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