To conserve oxygen, blue whales can slow their heart rate down to 4 beats per minute.

Why don’t they just breathe?  Are they really that busy?

The “fact” that a sleeping person will swallow 8 spiders a year is completely false.   The “fact” was invented in 1993 by Lisa Holst as a way to prove how people will believe anything they read on the internet.

People like her really make it hard for me to keep lying to you all.

Unlike nocturnal creatures, which are active at night, or diurnal creatures, which are active during the day, crepuscular creatures are active at dawn and at dusk.  Ferrets, dogs, cats, rabbits, and old people are all crepuscular.

Opossums don’t actually play dead.  They just get too excited and pass out.

Opossums just got more worthless. 

In addition to striped fur, tigers also have striped skin.

This was the hardest fact of the year for me.

Have you ever tried to shave a tiger?

The eagle feather law states that only people of certifiable Native American ancestry can obtain an eagle feather, as it’s important for religious or spiritual use.  For a non-Native American, an individual could be fined $25,000 for possessing an eagle or “eagle parts.”

My religion says I don’t have to pay for fines.  I hope that works.

It is rare for a Venus flytrap to catch more than three prey in its lifetime.

I’ve been living in fear for nothing!

8 out of every 10 people killed by lightning are men.

Guys rule!!!!!

Because wasps don’t make wax like bees, they have to make their nests out of other materials.  Often times wasp nests are created with a paper-like substance made from wood pulp.  Wasps gather fibers from weathered wood and then soften it by chewing it and mixing it with saliva.  This is the same way my father built our house.

Along with the Kodiak bear, the polar bear is the largest land predator.  As we’ve seen in documentaries and at Hollywood award shows, polar bears are not handling global warming so well.  Polar bears typically have up to 4 inches of blubber for insulation, so they start to overheat when temperatures rise above 50F (10C).  Their insulation is so intense that they are basically invisible under infrared photography.

This fact has taught me two things.

1. Global warming isn’t killing polar bears.  Polar bear obesity is killing polar bears.  If they lost some weight they wouldn’t be so hot all the time.

2. Polar bears join my growing list of animals that would make perfect criminals.

Civilizations have been using carrier pigeons to send messages for thousands of years. A lot of research has been done to figure out why these homing pigeons possess the ability to consistently navigate their way home.  We now know that different kinds of pigeons respond to different environmental cues.  Some pigeons navigate by sensing changes in earth’s magnetic field.  Some pigeons travel through olfactory navigation (sensing differences and changes in atmospheric odors).  And some pigeons even use man-made constructions such as roads and buildings to navigate.

I really want a carrier pigeon.  Someone needs to figure out how to get me one.  Then I can stop using this website and just have my carrier pigeons send these posts to everyone personally.  All 8 of you.

Why do we say “knock on wood” when we try not to jinx ourselves? I don’t know.  I’ve tried to find out why, but I can’t really find any convincing reasons.  I did learn that back in the 1800s we said “stomp on wood.”  This originated from the early settlers who would stomp on the floor of their log cabins to avoid bad luck.  That still really doesn’t explain why stomping on the floor would thwart bad luck.  This was the closest I got:  way back in the day, some people believed that wood and trees had good spirits.  It was good luck to tap trees to let the wood spirits within know you were there.

I hate wood spirits.  They’re so dang mysterious.

Generally, in the United States, a hill becomes a mountain once it reaches 2000 feet (~610 meters).  Ultimately, though, it depends on who you ask.  If you ask me, I will tell you 2000 feet is the cut-off between a hill and a mountain…. as I have already told you.

I’ve read way too much about horses today.  I hate when I do that.  Anyway,  I knew the height of a horse was measured in hands, but I never knew a hand was equivalent to 4 inches.  Maybe dwarfs primarily measured horses back in the day.  I also learned that the only truly wild species of horses that still exists is the Przewalski’s Horse, although it’s currently listed as an endangered species.  I’m sure environmentalists could rally a little more with a name change, though.   A “Save The Whales” bumper sticker is a little catchier than “Save The Przewalski’s Horses”.

Geese and some other migratory birds fly in a V formation for a couple main reasons.  First, the V formation reduces the drag force that each bird encounters compared to the force he would feel flying solo.  In one study, the heart rates of pelicans was monitored.  It was found that a flock of 25 birds in formation can fly 70% farther than a single bird using the same amount of energy.  The second benefit of the V is communication.  All the birds can keep track of their fellow travelers.  This is the reason why I will train my family to move in a V formation when we go to amusement parks, airports or other crowded places.  Not to mention the benefits I will get from drafting off of my family members.  I will be able to walk 70% farther than if I was at Disneyland by myself.  And it would be 70% less depressing than being at Disneyland by myself.