Genetics

In the 1920s, Soviet biologist Ilya Ivanov tried to create a "Humanzee," a human-chimpanzee hybrid. All experiments in Africa and the Soviet Union failed. Modern genetics confirmed this is impossible: humans have 23 chromosome pairs, chimpanzees 24.

According to a genetics study, about 8% of Asian men share an identical Y chromosome, amounting to roughly 16 million men—0.5% of the world's male population. Based on the time period and region where this chromosome originated, the most likely candidate is Genghis Khan.

Wild peaches were only 25mm long with a flesh-to-pit ratio of just 3:2—essentially an almond with a thin layer of flesh. Peaches and almonds are very closely related species, and if you look closely at a peach pit, you can see it resembles an almond.

Corn's ancestor is teosinte, a plant resembling foxtail grass with almost nothing edible. Humans spent centuries on selective breeding, picking the best mutations, to create modern corn. Today, a single corn kernel has more nutrition than an entire ear of ancient teosinte.

The genetic difference between dogs and wolves is about the same as the genetic difference between Koreans and Chinese.