I learned this today. Whales make use of sound in the water because they cannot use their other senses. It is not possible to use light to see underwater because the water scatters it too much. Plus, some whales dive over 2,000m and light doesn’t really penetrate much farther than 1,000m. They also cannot rely […]
#81 Why do whales make sounds? Read More »
I learned this today. Dogs can probably smell cancer in people. Dogs have a phenomenal sense of smell. They have 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses. We have about 6 million. On top of this, the part of their brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is about 40 times larger than ours. It
#79 Can dogs smell cancer? Read More »
I learned this today. When dogs were domesticated, their temperaments changed, their skulls, teeth, and paws shrank, their ears flopped, they became docile, their coats changed color, and they learned to read human expressions. Nobody really knows where dogs were first domesticated. There is some evidence that it was in China over 30,000 years ago.
#77 How did dogs change when they were domesticated? Read More »
I learned this today. Whales can hold their breath for so long because they can store oxygen in their blood and muscles. On average, whales can hold their breath for about 60 minutes. The sperm whale can hold its breath for about 90 minutes and the Cuvier’s Beaked Whale can hold its breath for 138
#72 How can whales hold their breath for so long? Read More »
I learned this today. Jellyfish don’t have a brain. They also don’t have a stomach, lungs, or a heart. They just have two separate nervous systems. Jellyfish are not fish. They are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa. They are in the group of sea creatures called cnidaria. This also contains
#71 How do jellyfish survive without a brain? Read More »
I learned this today. There are different ways that animals can change their colors. Some of the ways take days and some of them take seconds. Let’s look at the slow way first. Some animals change their color very slowly. Some do it by completely shedding their fur. These are mostly mammals or birds that
#70 How do animals change color? Read More »
I learned this today. Bats can sleep hanging upside down because they need to use muscles to open their claws but not to keep them closed. The main reason that bats sleep hanging upside down is because they are not very good at taking off from the ground. In order to fly, bats have to
#65 How can bats sleep hanging upside down? Read More »
I learned this today. Antlers are made of bone and can grow up to 1 inch (2.5cm) a day. Antlers are grown by the males (mostly) of the deer family. Deer are hoofed ruminants that have two large and two small hooves on each foot. There are 43 different species of deer. The smallest species
#61 How do antlers grow? Read More »
I learned this today. Birds migrate because of declining food sources and not because of the temperature drop over winter. Birds migrate along a north south channel. They generally use a route that gives them the most opportunities for rest and food on the way. Their paths are usually dictated by natural landmarks like mountains
#60 Why do birds migrate? Read More »
I learned this today. Cats can jump up to 6 times their length because of their powerful hind legs and their flexible joints and vertebrae. Cats can jump 6 times their length, approximately 180cm. It is obviously not fair to make a straight comparison, but a human would have to jump a little over 10m
#54 Why can cats jump so high? Read More »
