|
Subject |
Comments |
Views |
Author |
Date Written |
|
1 |
2867 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
This mammal isn't a hybrid between a giraffe and a zebra
|
view preview
The Okapi is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Despite the zebra-like stripes, it is actually more closely related to giraffes. While okapis travel for the most part by themselves within their home ranges, they still have ways of communicating with others whose ranges overlap. A scent gland on each foot leaves behind a sticky, tar-like substance wherever they have walked, marking their territory. Okapis have a great sense of smell. By checking the ground, an okapi can tell if another okapi has been there. Males also mark their territory by urine spraying. Normally silent, female okapis vocalize only when they are ready to breed. ...
|
|
|
1 |
4671 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Here's what you get when you swallow seawater
|
view preview
This is a single drop of seawater, magnified 25 times. The amazing image shows bacteria, worms, fish eggs, crab larva, diatoms, and much more. Think about THAT next time you swallow a mouthful of seawater.
|
|
|
2 |
2765 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Shark teeth aren't made from bone
|
view preview
It turns out, those infamous teeth are in fact razor-sharp modified placoid scales. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it.
|
|
|
0 |
3250 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
It pays to recycle ... in some countries
|
view preview
Beijing subway owners have begun to offer its passengers the ability to pay their bills with plastic bottles, thus helping to preserve the environment and helping the pocket of every traveller.
|
|
|
1 |
3246 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Sense of smell over eyesight
|
view preview
The most impressive nose in the animal kingdom belongs to the star-nosed mole. The weird-looking animal has 22 fleshy pink tiny tentacles surrounding its nose. These containing a total of 100,000 nerve fibers, that's six times as many touch receptors as on a human hand.
|
|
|
1 |
2302 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
|
0 |
2026 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Drinking seawater to survive
|
view preview
A seagull on a glass roof looking really cute. Seagulls are able to drink seawater to survive thanks to salt glands just above their eyes. These glands eliminate excess salt from the seawater and flush it out of the birds' nostrils in liquid form, an action that's often mistaken for a sneeze.
|
|
|
2 |
1926 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Hammerhead shark or worm?
|
view preview
The hammerhead worm is a master of regeneration. Cut one into eight pieces, and you'll get seven new hammerhead worms. Twice a month they'll reproduce by deliberately sticking their tails to the ground, pulling them off, and that tail will become a new hammerhead worm.
|
|
|
1 |
3435 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Clouds that look like rainbows
|
view preview
'Fire rainbows', also known as iridescent clouds, are a rare phenomenon that only occur when the Sun is higher than 58° above the horizon and its light passes through cirrus clouds made of ice crystals. At the right alignment, the ice crystals act as a prism, and refract the light to look like a rainbow. ...
|
|
|
1 |
2456 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Earth-rise from the moon
|
view preview
This is a breathtaking 'earthrise' viewed from the surface of the moon. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter sees the Earth rise 12 times a day but is usually so busy imaging the moon's surface it doesn't get to capture the moment. This colourised image was taken on 1 February 2014.
|
|
|
0 |
2388 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Firenado!
|
view preview
What's worse than a tornado in your front yard? A firenado. A woman in the US captured this incredible photo of a natural phenomenon known as a firewhirl. First documented by Australian scientists in 2003, firewhirls can grow to 30 metres tall.
|
|
|
0 |
2715 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
World's tiniest comic carved on a human hair!
|
view preview
Advances in technology have given rise to an abundance of ways to share our stories. Created for the Exceptional Hardware Software Meeting (EHSM) in Germany next month, "Juanita Knits the Planet" is the world's smallest comic strip, detailing a day in the life of Juanita, a ten micron-tall girl-turned-robot. Long story short, this is done by blasting a stream of electrons at the surface of the hair, stripping away tiny layers of it. The electrons are directed using a tiny tube.
|
|
|
1 |
2882 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Check out the lyrebird's complex song and dance displays
|
view preview
Lyrebird are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. As well as their extraordinary mimicking ability, lyrebirds are notable because of the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in display; and also because of their courtship display. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds.
|
|
|
0 |
1569 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Professional leaf roller
|
view preview
This leaf-rolling weevil has made the meticulously rolled nest it's standing on without silk or adhesives, simply by using cuts, crimps and creases.
|
|
|
0 |
1595 |
duddy |
9 years ago |