Of the nearly 10,000 species of birds, about 19% (1,850 species) are considered to be migratory. While there are a few species that traverse long distances, the 13-15 inch, 3.5 ounce Arctic Tern takes the prize for the longest migration. Just how far do they fly? Try an astounding 44,000 miles (71,000 km) annually on average. Thanks to recent technological […]
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In 1964, a new avant-garde artist was introduced to the art scene in the Swedish city of Gōteborg. The fresh new artist was Pierre Brassau and his work received rave reviews from critics and art fans alike. Brassau featured four paintings in the 1964 exhibition at Gallerie Christinae, and even sold one “masterpiece” to a collector named Bertil Eklöt for […]
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On April 15, 1912, the legendary, ill-fated ship RMS Titanic sank. It remains, to this day, the most famous disaster in maritime history. There were approximately 2,223 passengers aboard the ship, of which 1,502 perished. (Some sources site the figures at 2,228, with 1,503 dying.) Besides humans, a dozen dogs were aboard the ship on its luckless maiden voyage. Just […]
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All three animals come under the class of reptiles, in the taxonomic order of Testudines or Chelonia (which comes from the Greek word ‘kelone’, meaning interlocking shields or armor). They all have the major characteristics of reptiles as they are cold-blooded (eco-therms), have scales, breathe air, and lay eggs on land. The distinction between them comes mainly from what living habitat […]
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The (Carcharodon) Megalodon is thought to have looked something like a Great White Shark, only a bit more stocky and overall bigger… much bigger, with an average adult Megalodon estimated to have weighed around 70-100 tons (about 30 times that of a Great White Shark which full grown tend to be about 2.5-3 tons). The Megalodon is estimated to have […]
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“Murderous” Mary was a 5 ton Asian Elephant in the Sparks World Famous Shows Circus. Her downfall began with the hiring of an assistant elephant trainer who had no experience working with elephants and possibly no professional experience even working with animals. This worker was Red Eldridge, who before getting the gig generally was a drifter and most immediately before […]
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Lina asks: How do shellfish have sex? Shellfishly? *crickets* They don’t have any trendy, happening nightclubs. They don’t have flowers, jewelry, or boxes of chocolates. They have no Viagra, stiff drinks, or cheesy pickup lines. But that doesn’t mean shellfish aren’t getting lucky. Oysters, mussels, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and thousands of other varieties of shellfish have their own unique mating […]
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Today I found out the Colossal Squid, which is the largest known squid in terms of mass on Earth, has a doughnut shaped brain with their esophagus running through the hole in the center. This hole through their brain isn’t very large at all with their esophagus diameter at just around 10 mm (.39 inches). Their brain itself isn’t that […]
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Myth: Mice love cheese and it makes a great bait for mouse traps. In fact, as any pest exterminator or pet shop owner knows, mice don’t really like cheese at all and they’ll even actively shy away from certain types of cheese (they have a very sensitive sense of smell and certain cheeses give off odors that are repulsive to […]
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Today I found out the male White-fronted Parrot will vomit in the female’s mouth during their mating ritual White-fronted Parrots, also known as “White-fronted Amazons” or “Spectacled Amazon Parrots”, begin their mating season around February and it lasts through June or July. (Although, this varies based on region. In some regions, their breeding season doesn’t even start until November.) After […]
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Today I found out the difference between a donkey and a mule. Put simply, a donkey is the descendant of the African wild ass (of which there are only about 500 left in the wild today). Donkeys are a different species than a horse, but in the same family. They were originally bred in Egypt or Mesopotamia around 5,000 years […]
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Today I found out male giraffes take a mouthful of the female’s urine to determine if she’d be a good mate. This is known as the “Flehmen sequence”, where the male giraffe will approach the female and then rub against her backside until she pees. When/if she does, he’ll taste it to tell whether she’s in heat or not. If […]
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Today I found out crocodiles really do shed tears when they eat. It has been known for centuries that crocodiles weep while eating. One of the earliest references to this comes from the 14th century bestseller The Voyage and Travel of Sir John Madeville, where the author writes In that country and by all Inde be great plenty of cockodrills, […]
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Today I found out how Honey bees keep their hives warm even though they are cold blooded. Up until only a few years ago, it was thought by many scientists that Honey bee hives were kept warm by pupae in the brood and that the bees would often congregate there to warm themselves up from the pupae. Recently, this was […]
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Today I found out some ants are used as living food storage vessels by their colony. While honey bees will collect and store their food in combs, certain species of ants take a different route, using the bodies of some of their fellow ants, often the larger bodied ants of the colony called “majors”, to store what they need. Worker […]
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Today I found out all snakes can swim. If you’re one of those people who are afraid to swim in lakes, rivers, and the like, here’s another reason for you to stay out of the water: all snakes can swim. Thus, all snakes are technically “water snakes”, even though only some are given that designation, usually due to their propensity […]
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Today I found out there is an octopus with a detachable penis. Known as the Argonaut, this male mollusc has a very sacrificial way of impregnating their female counterparts. The male has one arm longer than his others, known as a hectocotylus, which is used to transfer sperm to the female. The arm stores up the sperm, and when the […]
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Today I found out squirrels can purr. In September 2010 a baby squirrel named Rocky fell out of his nest in Mississippi. The family who found poor Rocky decided that their nursing cat, Emmy, would be the perfect mother for the little rodent. Rocky quickly became one of the litter and began to purr along with the other kittens. This […]
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