Oxygen is very important. Without it people would not be able to live. In fact, everything around us is made up of oxygen. However, there are many more things that you need to know about oxygen. Here are the top 10 interesting facts about oxygen.

Fact #1: Oxygen is an indispensable part of human life. Every human being requires at least 95 – 100% of oxygen in the body. If oxygen goes beyond the normal level, a person may suffer from hyperventilation. However, if the oxygen level goes below 95%, it is considered as relatively low causing a person to suffer from hypoxemia.

Fact  #2: Oxygen poisoning is not a disease. It’s cause by inhaling oxygen at elevated level. It is also known as Paul Bert effect or Lorrain Smith which was discovered during the 19^th century. Its symptoms include muscular twitching, jerky breathing, and shortness of breath.

Fact  #3: Oxygen is coined from the Greek word “oxy genes” which means acid forming. It is the 8^th element in the periodic table located in Group 16 and Period 2. It was also used as the atomic standard for all elements until it was replaced by carbon 12 in 1961. It is known for its symbol “O” and has an atomic number of 8. It’s very lightweight and is more soluble than nitrogen. Otherwise, there would be much lesser oxygen in lakes, rivers, and seas.

Fact  #4: Oxygen was discovered by numerous scientists. In 1772, Swedish scientist Carl Wilhelm Scheele called it a “fire-air” when he discovered some sort of air that supported combustion. In 1774, Joseph Priestly of Wiltshire, England discovered oxygen independently and called it “dephlogisticated” air. However, it was Antoine Lavoisier in 1975, an English-French scientist who made further studies with the discovery and called it oxygen. However while Carl Wilhelm said oxygen helps in combustion, it does not really produce fire. It only aids in producing one but you cannot just light a match and blow up the entire air.

Fact  #5: Oxygen makes up 2/3 of the human body mass though it is basically a lightweight, tasteless, and odorless gas. There is also liquid oxygen which is normally pale blue in color.

Fact  #6: The earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon which is why it is perfect for human beings. It is also the reason why the earth is the only planet with living things. People, however, cannot live in Mars despite the many research. Mars is basically dry, cold, and has very low level of oxygen.

Fact  #7: According to 2007 NASA-funded study, the earth has been oxygenated for about 2.3 to 2.4 billion years. Nevertheless, no one can really tell how and why oxygen becomes an indispensable part of the earth’s atmosphere and the mankind as well.

Fact  #8: The cycle of living things on earth is very interesting. Plants give oxygen for living things to breathe while human beings and animals produce carbon dioxide for plants to live. However, carbon dioxide and oxygen needs to be balance for both living things to survive. If carbon dioxide exceeds the minimum level of oxygen, human beings and animals may suffer and die.

Fact  #9: Oxygen has varying concept in every living thing. For example, mankind can breathe oxygen on land but they cannot breathe it underwater. Underwater animals like fishes can breathe oxygen underwater because they have gills.

Fact #10: Oxygen is also contained in fireworks. They are called oxidizers, help in nitrating and chlorating fireworks so they fly high and burn with colorful lights. In fact, oxygen is also responsible for the bright colors of the aurora borealis.