Deep blue facts

You won't believe what they found in the Pacific: 10 incredible sea facts

Image: Isabel Noschka

As you probably know, the oceans cover about 70% of the Earth's surface. That's huge! However, humans have explored only about 5% of the ocean. Just imagine what fascinating—and possibly terrifying—creatures might be hiding down there! If you're ready to learn 10 little-known facts about the ocean, keep reading.

Image: Fernando Jorge

If you think the Andes are the longest mountain range on the planet, you're only partially right! At about 5,500 miles long, the Andes are the longest mountain range on Earth’s surface. However, the ocean hides a giant over 40,000 miles long. That’s right—the Mid-Ocean Ridge, which lies entirely underwater, is actually the longest mountain range on Earth!

Image: Vincent Camacho

In the Pacific Ocean, about 124 miles east of the Mariana Islands, lies the famous Mariana Trench. It's more than just a trench—it's the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. In fact, it's even deeper than Mount Everest is tall! You might be thinking, "Wait, what?" Well, Everest rises an impressive 29,032 feet above sea level, but the deepest point of the Mariana Trench, known as the Challenger Deep, plunges to about 36,000 feet below sea level.

Image: nadhem benmbarek

If you say "older than dinosaurs" to refer to something that happened a long, long time ago, you could also say "as old as sea sponges." That’s because sea sponges—simple, invertebrate sea creatures—have existed on this planet since before the dinosaurs, and they’re still here! As some of the first multicellular organisms on Earth, they’ve been around for about 600 million years!

Image: James Thornton

We all know that trees and plants give us oxygen through photosynthesis. But did you know that land-based plants contribute only about 20 to 30% of the Earth's oxygen? That’s right—the majority, around 70%, comes from the ocean! This oxygen is produced through photosynthesis by marine organisms like phytoplankton, algae, and cyanobacteria.

Image: Mikhail Preobrazhenskiy

Frogfish aren’t particularly distinguished by their beauty, but their eccentric appearance is not the only strange thing about them. When it comes to eating, they have a really hard time! Why? It happens that these creatures are carnivorous and feed mainly on other fish and crustaceans. But here's the thing: they don't have teeth! So, they have no choice but to swallow their prey whole.

Image: Thomas Vimare

Despite being teeming with life, even containing thousands of species that humans have yet to discover, the ocean also has areas where there’s virtually nothing. What do we mean? We're talking about the so-called "dead zones" of the ocean—those parts where the amount of oxygen is so low that almost no form of life can survive!

Image: Veronica Reverse

Among the many surprises that can be found under the sea is the Great Barrier Reef, recognized as the largest living structure on the planet.

Located off the coast of Australia, it stretches over 1,400 miles—that's about the same distance as between New York City and Dallas! In fact, it’s so large that it can even be seen from space. Amazing, isn’t it?

Image: Heidi Bruce

The ocean is home to incredible creatures, and among the most fascinating is the mimic octopus. As its name suggests, this extraordinary animal has the ability to adopt a wide variety of shapes.

The mimic octopus can change its color, texture, and form to blend in with its surroundings, imitating different surfaces. But what’s even more surprising is its ability to mimic not just the appearance, but also the behaviors of other marine animals!

Image: Matt Paul Catalano

Water is incredibly powerful—and surprisingly fast! It has been proven that tsunamis—those giant waves caused by underwater earthquakes—can travel at speeds of 500 to 600 miles per hour, roughly the same speed as a jet plane. That’s why tsunamis are so dangerous and destructive when they reach land.

Image: Kris-Mikael Krister

Do you know what nudibranchs are? These creatures are soft-bodied marine mollusks are known for their stunning colors. But their appearance isn’t the only amazing thing about them—some types of nudibranchs are even solar-powered! What does that mean? Well, these incredible creatures can harness the sun’s rays to produce energy, much like plants do.

Some names stick around

From Table Tap Joe to Ziggy Stardust: Who are the best song characters?

Sometimes, a character is the perfect alter-ego to write a song about oneself without self-referencing so much. Other times, a character is just a character. Over the years, musicians have come up with lonely dreamers, fearless heroes, mysterious strangers, and even supernatural villains who have become just as famous as the songs themselves. Some were inspired by real people, others sprang entirely from imagination, but all of them left a lasting mark on music history. Which of these 12 do you remember?

Tom Waits has always had a soft spot for society's oddballs, and few are even stranger than Table Top Joe. Introduced on the 2002 album Alice, Joe is born with only a head and hands, yet grows into a brilliant piano player whose extraordinary talent earns him fame despite the odds stacked against him.

The song unfolds like a forgotten American folk tale, complete with references to Coney Island's legendary Dreamland amusement park and composer Igor Stravinsky. Although many listeners assume the story is based on an old carnival legend, Table Top Joe is entirely Tom Waits' own creation.

Few fictional musicians have ever become as famous as Ziggy Stardust. Introduced in 1972, Ziggy is an alien rock star sent to Earth shortly before humanity's end, only to be consumed by the very fame that makes him a savior to millions.

David Bowie blurred the line between fiction and reality by performing as Ziggy onstage for more than a year. When he unexpectedly announced Ziggy's retirement during a concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973, many fans believed the character, and perhaps Bowie himself, had truly reached the end of the story.

Tommy Walker isn't just the hero of a song, he's the central figure of one of rock music's first great operas. After witnessing a traumatic event as a child, Tommy becomes deaf, mute, and blind, yet somehow develops astonishing pinball skills that transform him into an unlikely celebrity.

Pete Townshend built an entire musical world around Tommy, exploring themes of trauma, faith, and redemption. First released in 1969, Tommy later became a hit film, a Broadway production, and one of the most influential concept albums ever recorded.

Johnny B. Goode is every aspiring musician's dream. Growing up in rural Louisiana with little more than a guitar and natural talent, he plays so brilliantly that listeners predict "his name will be in lights."

Chuck Berry based the character partly on himself and partly on pianist Johnnie Johnson. Originally described as a "colored boy," Johnny became a "country boy" in the final lyrics, making the song more likely to receive airplay during the segregation era. Nearly two decades later, Johnny's anthem would even travel into space aboard NASA's Voyager Golden Record.

Few fictional characters have captured loneliness as powerfully as Eleanor Rigby. She quietly moves through life unnoticed, while Father McKenzie delivers sermons that no one hears, creating one of popular music's saddest portraits of isolation.

Paul McCartney later explained that Eleanor's name came from actress Eleanor Bron and the Liverpool shop Rigby & Evens. The discovery of an actual Eleanor Rigby gravestone in Liverpool only deepened the song's mystique, though McCartney maintained the coincidence was unintentional.

Billie Jean may be one of pop music's most famous women, yet Michael Jackson insisted she wasn't a real person. Instead, she represented several women who falsely claimed that he had fathered their children during the height of the Jackson 5's fame.

Released in 1983 as part of Thriller, the song became a global phenomenon. It also provided the stage for Jackson's legendary moonwalk during Motown 25.

Unlike many legendary song characters, Stagger Lee actually existed. His real name was Lee Shelton, a St. Louis criminal who murdered Billy Lyons during an argument over a hat on Christmas Eve in 1895.

The shocking crime quickly entered American folklore through countless folk songs before Lloyd Price transformed it into a chart-topping hit in 1958. More than a century later, Stagger Lee remains one of the most enduring antiheroes in American music.

Tom Dooley was inspired by Thomas Dula, a Confederate veteran executed in North Carolina in 1868 after being convicted of murdering Laura Foster. His surname was locally pronounced "Dooley," giving the ballad its familiar title.

The Kingston Trio revived the old Appalachian folk song in 1958, turning it into an international hit and helping launch America's folk music revival.

When the narrator of "Lola" meets an intriguing stranger in a Soho nightclub, expectations quickly give way to surprise. Ray Davies crafted one of rock's earliest mainstream stories exploring gender ambiguity, decades before the topic entered popular conversation.

The recording rarely reached British radio. Because BBC rules prohibited commercial product names, Davies had to interrupt a U.S. tour and fly back to London simply to replace the lyric "Coca-Cola" with the now-famous "cherry cola."

Unlike most famous song characters, the Piano Man is really Billy Joel himself. Before becoming a superstar, Joel spent six months in 1972 and 1973 performing under the pseudonym Bill Martin at the Executive Room, a piano bar in Los Angeles, after becoming trapped in a bad recording contract. The song transforms those experiences into a bittersweet portrait of ordinary people searching for escape at the end of another week.

Joel has said that virtually every character in the song was based on a real person, from bartender John to "Paul, the real estate novelist" and Davy, who really was in the Navy. Yet the Piano Man himself became the story's most enduring character: a quiet observer who offers music as a brief refuge for dreamers, lonely souls, and regulars alike. More than fifty years after its 1973 release, "Piano Man" remains Billy Joel's signature song, and its title has effectively become his lifelong nickname.

Standing nearly seven feet tall and missing an arm, Amos Moses roams the Louisiana swamps hunting alligators. Jerry Reed filled the song with colorful Southern expressions and exaggerated storytelling that make Amos feel like an authentic folk legend.

Although fictional, Amos embodies the larger-than-life heroes found throughout American tall tales. His adventures turned the song into one of Reed's biggest crossover hits and secured Amos a permanent place among country music's greatest characters.

Big Bad John hardly says a word, but he doesn't have to. The towering coal miner earns everyone's respect through quiet strength before sacrificing his own life to save fellow workers when a mine collapses.

Jimmy Dean's 1961 ballad became a smash hit, winning a Grammy and inspiring several sequel songs. More than sixty years later, Big Bad John still stands as one of country music's defining working-class heroes.