My upcoming book shares fun facts and trivia about many of the wonders in our world we often don’t appreciate or even consider. So, in honor of the book’s official launch on August 12th, (holy crap – that’s only a week away!), here are a few gems from the various chapters.
Today’s Trivia is Devoted to Awesome Animals
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. Their stripes are unique to each individual, similar to fingerprints in humans.
Animals can recognize and respond to the emotions of others, both within their own species and in other species.
Social Weaver birds build communal nests in high canopies of trees or on telephone poles that can be over 20 feet in diameter and weigh over 2,000 pounds. A single nest can support as many as 300 birds.
A group of flamingos is called a “flamboyance.”
Animals such as elephants, hippos, giraffes, and tortoises are unable to jump due to their body size or anatomical structures.
Penguins’ unique black and white plumage is used as camouflage to escape predators while in the water. Their dark backs blend with darker waters beneath them, and their white underbellies match well with light from the sky.
Like fingerprints in humans, the spot patterns on a giraffe are never the same as those on another.
Honeybees can recognize human faces.
Elephants exhibit empathy, cooperation, and communication within their groups.
Cows have best friends and can become stressed when separated from them.
Adult female mayflies live for only five minutes—just enough time to mate and lay eggs before dying.
A rhinoceros beetle can lift objects over 850 times its body weight, equivalent to a human lifting 65 tons.
Fireflies light up at night due to the chemical reaction of air mixing with an organic compound—luciferin—found in their abdomens. They use this for mating, safety, and attracting prey.
Bats can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour.
Oysters can change their sex depending on environmental factors such as population dynamics and food availability.
Polar bears have black skin under their white fur to absorb heat.
Spider silk is known for its remarkable strength-to-weight ratio, surpassing that of steel.
Lyrebirds can imitate a wide range of natural and artificial sounds, including the calls of other birds, chainsaws, camera shutters, car alarms, and human speech.
Kangaroos can’t walk backward.
The fingerprints of a koala are nearly identical to those of humans. They are almost indistinguishable, even under a microscope.
Sea otters hold hands while sleeping to avoid drifting apart.
Turtles can breathe through their butts.
Sloths poop only once a week.
Dragonflies have six legs but cannot walk.
Wombat poop is cube shaped.
A reindeer’s eyes change color from gold in the summer to blue in the winter to help it see better in the dark.
Because of their height, the blood pressure of giraffes is twice that of humans.
Cats, dogs, and a few other animals exhibit sleepwalking behaviors. Like humans, they may wander aimlessly or engage in repetitive movements during certain stages of sleep.
Dolphins have names for each other.
The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car.
Rats laugh when tickled.
Dolphins sleep with one eye open.
An elephant’s trunk contains more than 40,000 muscles.
A blue whale’s tongue can weigh as much as 6,000 pounds, approximately the weight of an adult female African elephant.
Cows can walk upstairs, but they can’t walk downstairs.
A male blue whale has the largest penis of any animal; it can be up to 10 feet long.
Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animal in the world. More than 725,000 humans die each year from mosquito-carried diseases such as malaria, Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, yellow fever, and dengue fever.
Tomorrow’s Trivia: Wonders of Plants.
Have a great day.
Pam
