One of the best told tales from the bible, Noah’s Ark, has made its rounds from nurseries to kindergarten, as well as grade school. However, regardless of how old you may be, it’s never a bore to hear the incredible tale of Noah and his Ark, as well as his family. To learn more about them, here are 10 amazing facts about the biblical figure Noah, most famous for being the man chosen by God to build an ark and save the animals and his family from the wrath of the great 40 day and night flood:

Fact 1: The ark was custom designed by the big guy upstairs. God instructed Noah to build the ark with Gopher wood, and to coat every inch of the massive ark, from the interior to the exterior, with pitch. The massive wooden ark spans a staggering 520 feet 8 inches long by 86 feet 9.3 inches wide by 52 feet 0.8 inches high. Instructions for this ark can be found in Gen. 6:14, respectively.

Fact 2: Ever wondered what the biblical word for ‘ark’ was? It’s ‘tebah’, and for your information, it was used approximately 28 times within the Old Testament. Similarly, Egyptians would relate tebah to meaning ‘box’, as it was believed that the riginal purpose of the box was to be a container or vessel that would be able to glide on the water with ease.

Fact 3: Contrary to popular belief, the big old ark could not have been able to hold 70,000 kinds of animals plus food and water supplies, to say the least. An estimated 16,000 animals would have been more than justifiable, and would have allowed space for the food and other means of survival.

Fact 4: Aside from the Gopher wood, some metal were also incorporated in the building of the ark. These two metals were namely Iron and Aluminum. Remains of the ark are just as long as they were specified within the bible, and the wreckage has left the world with the remains of petrified animal dung, some petrified antler, and a certain species of petrified cat as well.

Fact 5: There was only one entry way, passage or door that was created on the entire ark. It was believed having just one entryway signified that there was only one way in, one way out, and only one God. Three stories on the boat, and only one door. Go figure?

Fact 6: Noah didn’t have to go through all that trouble of finding animals and goading them onto the ark. God actually led all the animals to him. You can check out Gen. 6:20 where something along the lines of the animals coming to Noah is said.

Fact 7: The amazing story of Noah and his ark dates back to when God created a flood that would rage on for 40 days and 40 nights, in order to cleanse and renew the Earth. Noah was believed to have been about 600 years old when he step foot on that ark, together with his sons named Shem, Ham, as well as Japheth.

Fact 8: There’s a saying about looking forward to the Rainbow after the storm, and perhaps the people of ancient times did just that. It was believed that God cast a rainbow across the sky to remind the people of His love, and to promise never to subject the world to that sort of rain or flood ever again. To this day, God’s rainbow which symbolized a promise and a covenant is now met with positive connotations, often of the feminine and variety.

Fact 9: Noah’s ancestry is quite impressive, as he is the grandson of the oldest person in the bible, Methuselah, who passed way at the incredible age of 969 during the year of the flood.

Fact 10: Noah had carried on living even after the great flood and his mission aboard the ark. 250 years after the flood, he died at the age of 950. Not bad at al