They say that no two are exactly alike. Either way these beautiful crystals fall from the sky every winter to transform the landscape into a wonderland. They can also cause great disasters when their power is accumulated such as in blizzards or avalanches. Are any two alike? Read more and you will find out. Here are some interesting facts about snowflakes.

Fact 1: Snowflakes are not white. They are clear, but the many crystal faces make them appear white in color.

Fact 2: Nobody is really sure why snowflakes stick. Some theories are that the crystal arms interlock. Other ideas are static attraction or a special liquid on the snowflake’s surface.

Fact 3: Nearly all snow that falls in flake form contains flakes that have six arms or points.

Fact 4: In 1885 Wilson Alwyn Bentley photographed thousands of snowflakes with a microscope in an attempt to find two identical flakes. This work gave us knowledge about all the different snowflakes we know about today.

Fact 5: The largest snowflakes ever recorded were in Fort Keogh, Montana in January of 1887. The Guinness Book of World Records states the largest flake was 15 inches (38 cm) in diameter.

Fact 6: The average snowflake is made up of 10 quintillion (that’s 10 followed by 10 zeros) water molecules.

Fact 7: Snowflake study and research is going on at Penn State University, Hokkaido University in Japan, the University of Utah and Yale University.

Fact 8: Most snowflakes are not perfectly symmetrical.

Fact 9: When a snowflake melts and refreezes it does not go back to the same shape.

Fact 10: Are any two really alike? Yes and no. Simple snow crystals can appear identical. The chances of complex ice crystals, or six armed flakes, being identical is nearly zero.