1.In spite of covering just 7% of the Earth's land, rain forests are home to more than 50% of all the plant and animal species on the planet.
2.Rain forests act as the world's thermostat by regulating temperatures and weather patterns.
3.Rain forests worldwide are home to an estimated 50 million indigenous people.
4.Less than 1 % of the light that strikes the top of the forest penetrates to the forest floor.
5.The trees of a tropical rain forest are so densely packed that rain falling on the canopy can take as long as 10 minutes to reach the ground.
6.Some of the vines found in rain forests are as thick as grown men's thighs. That's pretty thick.
7.Every day the massive plants of bamboo in rain forests shoot up by nine inches. What if humans grew that fast?
8.1 out of 4 ingredients in our medicine is from rain forest plants.
9.And 70% of the plants useful in cancer treatment identified by the National Cancer Institute are found only in the rain forest.
10.Rain forests are the most diverse ecosystems on the planet containing more species of plants and animals than all the earth's other ecosystems combined. It's an estimated 30-40 million species.
11.Rain forests have given us chemicals to treat or cure inflammation, rheumatism, diabetes, muscle tension, surgical complications, malaria, heart conditions, skin diseases, arthritis, glaucoma and hundreds more.
12.In the rain forest, you can find over 1,500 insects in a single tree.
13.Goliath birdeaters, a type of spider that EATS BIRDS, is found in the rain forest.
14.There are bearded pigs in rain forests. PIGS WITH BEARDS.
15.In the moist rain forests of South America, sloths move so slowly that algae are able to grow in their fur.
16.Flying animals of Asian rain forests include frogs, squirrels and snakes.
17.Finally, without rain forests, there would be no chocolate.
