Animals »
A Murder of Crows And the Exploding Toad Epidemic
In the spring of 2005 during their mating season, toads in Germany and Denmark began exploding. Spewing guts, blood and skin for nearly a yard in every direction; the disturbing phenomenon at first baffled
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Five War Heroes Who Also Happened to Be Dogs
Heroes come in many forms; some are even furry and four-legged. Due in part to their superior ability to sniff and hear trouble, dogs have long been a fantastic ally and a great
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Why Deer Freeze in Headlights
D. Peterson asks: Why do deer always seem to freeze in headlights instead of keep running? Less a function of fear than bewilderment, simply put, deer freeze in headlights because they can’t see. Deer
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Spiders and Webs – Why Don’t They Get Stuck?
Moths, beetles and flies all get caught in spider webs, but you almost never see a spider unable to extricate herself from one. Here’s why. The Web When a spider makes an orb web,
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The Skin of an African Elephant
When you consider their size and how much they have to keep under wraps, African elephants have surprisingly thin skin, relatively speaking. Holding Everything In Across most of their bodies, an African elephant’s skin
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The “Kill It With Fire” Asian Giant Hornet
At nearly twice the size of its nearest relatives and holding enough venom to kill a man, the Asian Giant Hornet is a menace to people, bees and wasps alike. Eusocial, like other stinging
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Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way to Navigate
Today I found out that dung beetles use the Milky Way to navigate. Dung beetles have long surprised scientists with their remarkable navigation abilities, despite the relatively small sizes of their brains. Scientists have
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The Eleven Thousand Year Old Contagious Cancer Still Multiplying Today
Eleven thousand years ago, one saucy canine got busy and, as can happen with unprotected sex, gave its partner a venereal disease, although uniquely, this VD was cancerous. Over the course of the intervening
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Where Do Insects Go in Winter?
Michael asks: Where do insects disappear to in the winter time? As cold-blooded creatures, insects are particularly susceptible to winter’s freezing temperatures. To survive, this class of animals has developed a wide variety of
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Frogs and Milk- How to Keep Milk from Spoiling Without Refrigeration
For centuries, before refrigeration, an old Russian practice was to drop a frog into a bucket of milk to keep the milk from spoiling. In modern times, many believed that this was nothing more
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All About Bees, Wasps, and Hornets
Mike A. asks: What is the difference between bees, wasps, and hornets? There are many similarities and differences between our little wing-whipping friends. For starters, all can sting you. That said, you may derive
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Do Cow Farts Really Significantly Contribute to Global Warming?
Shawn asks: Do cow farts really significantly contribute to global warming? There are currently approximately 1.3 to 1.5 billion cows grazing, sleeping, and chewing their cud at any given time on planet Earth. And
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When a New York Yankee Beat an Ostrich in a Spaghetti-Eating Contest
The date was April 3, 1919. The location was the South Side Pavilion in sunny Jacksonville, Florida. The occasion was a much-hyped competition of gastronomical strength between Ping Bodie, the five foot eight and
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Disordered Hyperuniformity – The State of Matter Found in a Chicken’s Eye
Despite what you learned in grammar school, there are way more than four states of matter. One possible new one, disordered hyperuniformity, was recently found in the weirdest place – the eyes of chickens.
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The Differences Between Rabbits and Hares
Scott asks: What’s the difference between hares and rabbits? Is it just two names for the same thing? Rabbits and hares are often confused for one another, so much so that to many the
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The Horses of World War I
When you think of World War I, you probably think of the technology that made this war so deadly: tanks, machine guns, gas attacks, and bombs. With so many deadly weapons at their disposal,
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Sergeant Stubby: The Most Decorated Dog of WWI
Today I found out about Sergeant Stubby, the most decorated war dog of WWI. When he was a puppy in 1917, Stubby was wandering around the fields of Yale University. Private Robert J. Conroy
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From Billions to Zero in 50 Years: The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon
Martha was a very lonely bird. She had once been part of a pair, with her male counterpart George, but he had died several years before. So, for the final years of her life,
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