Fun Facts We Didn't Need To Know

[gwand]

I think I’ll start a thread called interesting facts we should know.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I think I’ll start a thread called interesting facts we should know.

Go for the full contrast and call it "Dismal Facts you need to know."

 

[GaryE]

I think we're trying to escape from the dismal facts we know by pointing our noses at the interesting stuff. A lot of interesting turns out dismal though. Such is the way of facts.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

There's a creek in Nebraska called "Dismal River." It didn't look particularly depressing to me, but first impressions can deceive.

 

[Uberhoust]

There is a Great Dismal Swamp in Virgina, it is a beautiful place but was likely a pain in the ... for the settlers.

 

[gwand]

Humans have been abusing the ecosystem for a long time.

The evidence is mounting: Humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals

The debate has raged for decades: Was it humans or climate change that led to the extinction of many species of large mammals, birds, and reptiles that have disappeared from Earth over the past 50,000 years?

phys.org

 

[gwand]

Intelligence or instinct?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/science/ant-leg-amputations-scn/index.html

 

[GaryE]

Intelligence or instinct?

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/03/science/ant-leg-amputations-scn/index.html

Interesting stuff. Maybe both?

Whenever I see an ambulance, or pass a hospital, I'm struck at our own species' need to help the injured and sick. It's a wonderful part of who we are. Instinct or intelligence?

 

[gwand]

This finding makes logical sense.

Phylogenomic analyses of all species of swordtail fishes (genus Xiphophorus) show that hybridization preceded speciation - Nature Communications

The phylogenetic and hybridization history of Xiphophorus fish remains contentious, despite their long-standing role as models in evolutionary biology and human disease research. This study presents a complete genome resource that resolves the previously conflicting phylogeny and evolutionary...

www.nature.com

 

[GaryE]

I remember when it was first proven that X. clemenciae was an ancient hybrid. A whole bunch of forum hobbyists started saying that justified hybridizing everything, another bunch said it proved all evolution was the result of hybridization of 'original species' and another bunch already knew natural hybrids were part of the big picture. I was on another forum at the time, and it was pretty entertaining.

 

[JackGulley]

River creature — with ‘large’ nostrils and ‘fleshy’ lips — discovered as new species — Miami Herald

Scientists found fish with “fleshy” lips in rivers of Nguyên Bình District and discovered a new species: Duc’s hillstream loach, study said.

apple.news

Someone call @Magnum Man !

 

[gwand]

I read this on The Spruce Pets website​

Malawi Eye-Biter​

Dimidiochromis compressiceps. A native of Lake Malawi, Africa, this aggressive cichlid is known to bite the eyes out of prey (thus the nickname). It also devours its prey starting with the tail, perhaps the only predator that does this.

 

[GaryE]

One of the pet stores I visited recently had some in stock. None of the other fish seemed to want to give them the eye.

 

[Sir Guppy]

Though small, there is a time delay between our eye processing what we see and sending that to our brains.
Same with our other senses.
Therefore we only see, feel, the past.

 

[Oldspartan]

Though small, there is a time delay between our eye processing what we see and sending that to our brains.
Same with our other senses.
Therefore we only see, feel, the past.

Gives real meaning to living in the past.