What were the moa and what happened to them? The South Island Giant Moa was a 3.6 m tall bird that were hunted to extinction by 1445. The Moa were flightless birds that lived in New Zealand. They were very similar to ostriches, but about a meter taller. When they stretched their necks up, the […]
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Why are people left-handed or right-handed? Because of genetics and environment. There are four types of handedness. People can be right-handed, left-handed, right-handed for some tasks and left-handed for other tasks, and ambidextrous. The majority of the people in the world are right-handed. The number varies from country to country, but it is generally between
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Why can humans throw so fast? Because of several biological changes. To be able to throw, it is necessary to be able to grip the projectile, and then have the elasticity in the muscles to fire it. This rules out all animals that can’t grip a projectile. Some primates have the ability to throw, but
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How does a caterpillar become a butterfly? By dissolving itself and regrowing. Caterpillars start life as an egg. Female butterflies lay eggs on leaves. It varies by species, but a Monarch butterfly lays about 300 to 400 eggs over a two to five week period. Not all of these eggs will survive. Many of them
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Why do we have a coccyx? The coccyx is a series of three, four or five vertebrae at the base of the spine. A coccyx is something we have evolved not to need, but it is a great reminder of our origins. The coccyx is also called the tail bone because that is what it
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Why do the leaves on a tree change color in the autumn (fall)? The leaves on trees change color in the autumn because the tree breaks down its own chlorophyll. Not all trees lose their leaves. Evergreen trees keep their leaves throughout the year. Trees that lose their leaves in the winter are called deciduous
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Why does smoke inhalation kill people? It reduces the amount of oxygen that the lungs can take out of the air and people die of asphyxiation. House fires are obviously dangerous, but most people who are caught in a fire don’t die from burns. In 2019, there were 3,704 deaths caused by fire in the
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Why do our stomachs grumble? Because the muscles in the stomach and small intestines are contracting and there is no food in there to muffle the sound. Our stomachs rumble a lot of the time, but we usually cannot hear it because the food in our stomachs and small intestines soak up the sound. The
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How do mammals keep warm in the winter? They have several different methods. Here are some of them. Many mammals stay warm by putting on more fat. Sea mammals have to cope with very cold ocean water and it is harder to stay warm in water than it is on land. If you are naked
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Why do fish have scales? For protection, for camouflage, and to help them swim faster. There are four basic types of fish scale, but there are many subdivisions within each category. These are the main ones: Placoid scales. They are found on fish such as sharks and manta rays. They are very similar to teeth,
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