In a fourth grade science unit, I can remember my teacher telling the class that making and using tools was one of the most significant things that set human beings apart from all the other animals on the planet. But that was before YouTube (or even the Internet, for that matter!). Now, thanks to such [...]
Posts under ‘Fun facts’
Send in the Crows
Three animal or plant species are going extinct every hour, according to a report presented by Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international treaty that is part of the United Nations Environment Programme. Most of them are quickly disappearing because of human activities: clearing of land for farms or cities; [...]
There’s An App for That
A quick count of the field guides lined up on the bookshelves in my office currently numbers about 25 tomes. Some are quite hefty at several hundred pages, and some are nothing more than large-format, laminated sheets.
If I look in the glove compartment of my car, I could probably dig up a few more, which [...]
The Inventor Wore Feathers: Animal Designers
Dogs never lie. I suspect it’s because they have tails. Happy or sad, a canine instantly communicates his feelings by the aspect of his tail. I’ve often wondered why we don’t invent such a backside appendage for ourselves that could connect to our nerve endings, much as some prosthetic arms and legs do. That way [...]
Giant Plant Eats Rodents
From the news of the wild comes this story from the Philippines about a pitcher plant (similar to the infamous Venus Fly Trap) that actually devours small rodents–and any other living thing unfortunate enough to fall into its chlorophyll maw. We’re used to plants giving us the occasional itchy rash or embedding their thorns into [...]
