These are random musings of my life journey, the people, animals, places, and events which have woven, and continue to weave, a tapestry that is me. We all know there is no real destination, only the ongoing experiences which blend together, creating the trail. Each step gives a glimpse of what is to come, without allowing me to see the end result. It is exciting. I have a home base that is mine, that gives me a place to rest. This is it. This is where my heart is, no matter where I journey...................

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday Trivia

I haven't done Tuesday Trivia in nearly a month. What is wrong with me??

I don't want you to think I'm off the subject of my dog-family, so in keeping with the theme, here is a collection of trivia about ..... CRITTERS!!


ABOUT ANIMALS/CRITTERS IN GENERAL:
  • Despite its hefty weight, a black rhinoceros is very agile and can gallop at 30 mph (48 km/h).
  • Tarantula hawks are named for the fact that they hunt tarantulas as food for their larvae. It's sting is rated as one of the most painful in the world. One researcher described the sting as causing immediate, excruciating pain that simply shuts down one's ability to do anything, except, perhaps, scream. The Tarantula Hawk is the official state insect of New Mexico. (and if you mess with us, we'll sic one on ya!!)
  • The Deathstalker is a species of scorpion that is highly dangerous because of its venom. The venom is actually a powerful mixture of neurotoxins. Although, the poison would not kill a healthy adult, it could be fatal to kids and the elderly. Ironically, a component of the venom has the potential to cure human brain tumors while the other toxins may help against diabetes.
  • A bite from a Bullet ant will not kill you, but you will never forget it. The Bullet ant (thus named because a bite feels like being shot) inflicts the most painful bite of any creature known to man. It is described as causing waves of burning, throbbing, all-consuming pain that continues unabated for up to 24 hours.
  • No one has ever been able to domesticate the African elephant. Only the Indian elephant can be trained by man.
  • Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper.
  • Vampire and fruit bats can hear pitch as high as 210,000 hertz, ten times higher than humans. The dolphin's hearing is even more sensitive, with an acuity of 280,000 hertz.
  • A goldfish has a memory span of about 3 seconds.
  • The blue whale can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. This is the loudest sound produced by a living animal and has been detected as far away as 530 miles.
  • "Eat like a bird" is a popular saying meaning to eat very little. However, many birds eat twice their weight in food a day.
  • The ancient Egyptians often named their children after animals-such as Gazelle, Monkey or Wolf.
  • Ninety-nine percent of all lobsters die a few weeks after hatching. In fact, the odds are 10,000 to 1 against any larval lobster living long enough to end up as a lobster dinner.
  • The dog on the Cracker Jack package is named Bingo.
  • Beaver teeth are so sharp that Native Americans once used them as knife blades.
  • An albatross can sleep while it flies. It apparently dozes while cruising at 25 mph.

ABOUT BEES:
  • Between 20,000 and 60,000 bees live in a single hive. The queen bee lays 1,500 eggs a day and lives for up to 2 years. The drone, whose only job it is to mate with the queen bee, has a lifespan of around 24 days - they have no stinger. Worker bees - all sterile females - usually work themselves to death within 40 days in summer, collecting pollen and nectar. Worker bees fly up to 14km (9 miles) to find pollen and nectar, flying at 24km/h (15 mph).
  • A worker bee communicates her floral findings by performing a dance on the honeycomb. The orientation of her movements and the frequency of her vibrations indicate the direction and distance of the flowers.
  • Flowers are pollinated mostly by bees; up to one third of all plant pollination on earth are by bees. In short, this means that one in every three spoons of food you put in your mouth was a direct result of the work done by bees.
  • Bees do not have ears, but they have an excellent sense of smell with chemoreceptors in their antennae. Bees see colors differently than we do. They are insensitive to red but detects ultraviolet light which is invisible to us.
  • The worker bees defend the hive. The muscular barbed stinger quickly saw into the skin of the invader and the venom pouch begins to contract rhythmically to pump venom into the intruder.
  • Bees can be used to detect landmines. Tiny radio plates the size of a rice grain will be attached to honey bees to detect antipersonnel landmines, of which there are about 100 million in 70 war-torn countries. The tiny radio plates are engraved with serial numbers to keep track of the bees, which are being conditioned to develop a preference in addition to nectar, in this case TNT, or any other material that releases metamphenamine. Special spectrometers that can "smell" TNT are placed in movable beehives to indicate landmines in specific areas. Bees that "smell" of explosives can then be tracked to the landmine. The bees won't detonate the landmines.

Whew! Lotsa stuff to make your mind whirl! Now go back to work and slow the brain down to its normal speed!! LOL!

9 comments:

  1. You have 4 puppies! I need to keep an eye on things. They are so cute. I am so happy to hear that they are all getting along. Who is the alpha dog? That is so funny finding out the she is actually a "he." I will be on top of things now that company has left. My oldest son will always have drama in his life since all of his "exes" live in Washington and I just need to learn to deal with it.

    Have a great day and enjoy your family. Can't wait to read more of your adventures.

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  2. Hey, Pepper, good to have you back! I'm the alpha dog! Next in line is probably Ali, but he's becoming inactive (not ineffective) in the pack. He still rules who is allowed on the bed which is shere he spends most of his time, and it seems the new kids get that; beyond that, he is so "removed."

    I've read about your son's challenges. Stinks, doesn't it, when children wind up in the middle.

    Stay tuned! There sill most certainly be more adventures!

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  3. "What's wrong with me"....

    That's kind of a loaded question. :)

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  4. hehe-what fun trivia. I can't belive aligators eat rocks and that the albatross sleep-flys.

    huh

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  5. I could have spell checked before I sent that.

    Sorry

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  6. Wow!! I feel much smarter now!!!

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  7. You definitely have your hands full with the pupsters!!!!

    Uh I think somehow I am a goldfish. Sad.

    Missed you! I saw a little girl with a pink Ruidoso NM shirt on and thought "She's been to Lynilu Land"!!!

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  8. thanks for the info on the bees. i worry that we won't have bees much longer. i hear reports that they are disappearing

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  9. Caroline,I know where you live, girl!!!! LOL!

    Beans, those are the two that surprised me most, also!

    Cheryl, LOL! Well, I'm glad I could help!

    Patti, I have a goldfish memory, too.

    Lynilu Land, eh?? LOL! Yes, it's mine .... ALL MINE!!! :D

    M, disappearing bees are a real concern. The reports that tell how the loss of bees will affect the ecology are rather concerning, too, aren't they?

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If you have something to say about it, just stick out your thumb, and I'll slow down so you can hop aboard! But hang on, 'cause I'm movin' on down the road!!! No time to waste!!!