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People Share The Best Animal Facts They Know


Brook Mitchell / Stringer via Getty Images

The animal kingdom is fascinating, fam. Animals are capable of stuff that humans can sometimes literally not even imagine. Quick, think of a new color you've never seen before. Your mind can't do it; but lots of animals with broader visual spectrums see colors like that all the time.

Some jellyfish pull a Benjamin Button and age in reverse. Platypus are venemous. Don't even get us started on the list of animals (other than your roommate) that go out and get drunk and/or high for fun...

Reddit user IronMech233 asked:

What is an animal fact that not everyone knows but they should?

Listen, we could do this all day every day for a while and still not cover all the cool things there are to know about animals, so consider this a sort of appetizer sampler of animal awesomeness.

You're welcome.

Hedgehog Happenings

Hedgehogs are known as "the gardener's friend."

This is because they will eat slugs, beetles, caterpillars, etc., and do no harm - only good.

- Back2Bach


When a hedgehog encounters a new smell, it will bite and lick the source of the smell to form a white foam in its mouth with the smell and then proceeds to smear it on its quills, this behavior is called self anointing. No one is really sure why they do it though, some people say that it's to make their quills more irritating to the touch and others say it's to hide their own smell.

- _will_o_wisp_

Generational Grudges

Pigeons, crows, and ravens can recognize humans and remember faces.

They also have been observed holding a grudge against humans that were mean to them.

- BobSacramanto

Crows can even tell their offspring specifically about details about ppl they have a grudge on or find dangerous. There was a huge experiment/documentation about this.

- NathCim

Fish Don't Belong In Fishbowls

Goldfish should NOT be kept in little bowls. They produce a huge amount of waste for their size and so they need a very powerful filtration system. Pet shop workers will tell you they grow to fit the size of their tank. This is not true - if the tank isn't big enough for them, they die young. With enough space and decent filtration, a goldfish can live for decades. All the rubbish you hear in some pet shops is just because they know they'll sell a lot less fish if you actually knew what it takes to look after them.

- MerylSquirrel


To add to this, betta fish don't belong in bowls ether! There's a horrible misconception that they get stressed out by large tanks, but they only get stress when they're super exposed. They are more than happy a large tank so long as there's plenty of hiding spaces and plants!

Also, they do not live in puddles in the wild! They are native to Vietnam, where they live in very very long, but shallow rice paddies. Speaking of their native habitat, they come from warm waters, so they need a tank that is around 80°F. Bettas need 5 gallon tanks, heated and filtered!

- IDontCareAtThisPoint

Koala Villain

The fingerprints of a koala are so indistinguishable from humans that they have on occasion been confused at a crime scene.

Waiting for an evil Koala as a Disney movie villain. Also, if anyone from Disney is reading this and goes ahead with this, I will take 5% of total sales as commission, thanks.

- batmanzazzles

Spider Chef

The buckspoor spider in the Namib desert preys on ants by hiding in the sand and grasping one limb of a passing ant. It pins the ant to the hot desert sand until it cooks to death.

- AnusEinstein

Sharks V Trees

Sharks have been around since before trees (450 million years vs 385 million years)

- crocoraptor

Addicted

The reason dogs like being scratched behind their ears is that when that area is stimulated, it releases endorphins, giving your dog a natural high. You heard it here first folks, your dog is an addict.

- orcb01g

Cousin Dimetrodon

Dimetrodon is technically more related to you than it is to dinosaurs.

So please, for the love of god, stop calling Dimetrodon a dinosaur.

- Kilogren

Giraffes

I heard once biologists believed giraffes couldn't make sound at all for a long time.

Eventually, they were found to be able to make some sounds, but their vocal cords are so weak it's just about impossible to hear it unless you get lucky.

- SuddenTerrible_Haiku


Other giraffe facts:

  • They use their tongues to scratch itches because no fingers. They can lick their own eyeball.
  • They can kill lions with their kick.
  • Giraffes see trouble coming before everyone else. If other animals see giraffes running, they'll run, too.
  • Giraffes have the same amount of vertebrae as humans. Theirs are much, much larger.
- SchmoopiePoopie

Exchanging Crabs

Giphy

When finding a shell that is too big for their size, a hermit crab will sit and wait at that shell for up to 8 hours. If other crabs join in, they form a queue, arranging themselves from biggest to smallest. When the biggest crab is sizeable enough to fit in the new shell, the queue of crabs exchange shells--all moving up a size. It's fascinating.

- GummiPatch

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People Explain Which Small Things Immediately Make Them Dislike A Stranger

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

There's something seeing a person litter that drives me up the wall. I remember being a kid and being explicitly told to hold on to my trash and not just throw it in the street. As a kid, I distinctly remember being made fun of for not just throwing the bag of chips I'd just eaten or an empty soda bottle into the gutter.

I can't imagine doing that. Why?! We truly treat this planet as if we have somewhere else to go.

After Redditor pnrddt asked the online community, "What small action immediately makes you dislike a stranger?" people shared their observations.

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Doctors Share The Weirdest Facts About The Human Body

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When you're in the market for a slew of very specific facts that all fall under the same general theme, the internet really delivers.

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Working in a doctor's office means helping people when they're at their lowest. Sometimes, that leads to wonderful moments when the patient is thankful for all the advice and care you provided. Other times, it means taking something out of someone's bum.

Turns out, that second one happens a lot more than you might think.

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People Break Down Subtle Red Flags That A Movie May Not Be Worth Watching

Image by Sammy-Williams from Pixabay

I love movies. The cinema has long been a savior of mine and has given me some of my greatest inspirations. But being an avid film watcher has also made me quite the critic. I can always tell when a movie is worth the money to see in theaters or wait until it's on basic cable with commercials. The signs of mediocrity abound, and sometimes they aren't that difficult to spot.

Redditor u/fjv08kl wanted to know what is obvious about mediocre cinema by asking.... What are some subtle 'red flags' that tell you a movie is not worth watching?
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