Did You Know...

We scoured high and low finding fun and interesting facts about magnets, something most people take for granted. After reading these interesting facts you'll be sure to see just how valuable magnets are to everyday life!

• Hammering or heating a magnet in a hot flame will cause it to loose its magnetic properties. In both scenarios the molecules lose their north-south alignment and get arranged in random directions.
• All magnets have a north and south pole, including all of our custom promotional magnets. Opposite poles attract while the same poles repel each other.
• Many scientists believe the Earth's magnetic field helps to guide migrating birds.
• Over 80% off all households in the US have promotional magnets on their refrigerator.
• The worlds largest magnet is planet Earth. Earths hot liquid core contains iron which, as it moves, creates an electric current that generates a magnetic field around the planet.
• Neodymium magnets (a type of very strong rare-earth magnets) are known to repel sharks. While we don't currently sell neodymium magnets we do have a large collection of super strong magnets.
• Today's high speed trains use magnets to float each car, reducing friction and allowing the train to run very efficiently.
• Magnets can be found in many common household items such as telephones, computers, stereos, refrigerators, TVs, and VCRs.
• A coil of wire with an electric current flowing through it becomes magnetized.
• The pull of a magnet is strongest at the north and south pole.
• Rare-earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made.
• Legend has it that magnets were first discovered around 4,000 years ago when a shepherd named Magnes got the nails in the sole of his shoe stuck to a magnetic rock, later called magnetite.
• Magnets are usually made of steel or iron. Special alloys of iron, nickel, copper, cobalt, and aluminum can also be made into magnets.
• Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus are the only planets in our solar system with magnetic fields.