Cuisine varies greatly around the world, but the basic ingredients that sustain humans are pretty similar. We eat a lot of corn, wheat, rice and other simple crops. Read on to find out which foods top the list of most important worldwide, listed by annual production and average yield in 2008.
Howler monkeys are widely considered to be the loudest land animal. According to Guinness Book of World Records, their vocalizations can be heard clearly for 3 mi (4.8 km). The function of howling is thought to relate to intergroup spacing and territory protection, as well as possibly to mate-guarding.
The water boatman (Micronecta scholtzi), above, is only 0.8 inches long but is the loudest animal ever to be recorded, relative to its body size, outperforming all marine and terrestrial species. A tiny water-dwelling insect has the loudest song for its size in the world, researchers find â a mating call it probably makes with its genitals. Discovering how such a little insect makes such a big sound could have sonar and other acoustic applications, scientists noted. The creature in question is the water boatman, Micronecta scholtzi, an insect commonly found in rivers and lakes in France.