Texting with words is so passé. To celebrate the emoji’s cultural influence, SFGate reports that fans of the tiny digital images will gather in San Francisco this weekend for Emojicon—which organizers call the world’s first convention dedicated to all things hearts, smiley faces, frowns, and more.
The convention kicks off tonight on November 4 with an emoji-themed costume party (serving foods that have been made into emojis, no less), and runs through Sunday, November 6. Scheduled events include emoji karaoke, an emoji-centric film festival, an emoji spelling bee, and emoji workshops focused on everything from diversity to design. Attendees can even suggest new emoji to members of the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee.
According to Emogi, a real-time emotional marketing platform, “an estimated 4.8 trillion mobile messages will be sent incorporating emoji” by the end of 2016. Due to their ubiquity, some people argue that emojis are no longer just tiny cartoons—they’re a cultural force to be reckoned with.
“Emojis represent so much more than just cute digital characters,” Yvonne Ng, global marketing manager at Chinese web services company Baidu, told SFGate. “They have become a universal language, a form of self-expression and a part of unique cultural identities.” Ng will lead a panel called “Speaking in Kaomoji,” a Japanese emoticon style featuring Japanese characters and grammar punctuations.
Tonight’s opening party will be held at Covo, a co-working space, and the remainder of the conference will take place at Bespoke, a co-working and event space at the Westfield San Francisco Centre. Ticket prices range $10 to $500 and are still available for purchase online. For more information, visit Emojicon’s website.
Rocky Raybell took this stunning double-whammy of an image—a Taurid fireball blasting across a backdrop of Northern Lights—on November 3, 2015, from a road overlooking the San Poil River and Colville Reservation in Washington state.
Image credit: Rocky Raybell via Flickr // CC BY 2.0
When you look up at the night sky tonight, November 4, do not panic. You are not seeing a celestial harbinger of the election on Tuesday. (Probably.) Rather, you are witnessing the sustained bombardment of the planet Earth by the remnants of the comet Encke. The remnants vary in size from dust particles to pebbles, but at 65,000 miles per hour, they create a beautiful glow.
Around midnight, the Southern Taurid meteor shower will peak, and sky watchers can expect to see a few meteors per hour. Quantity isn’t what the Taurids are known for, however. What you’re looking for tonight is quality. The Taurids are all about their breathtaking fireballs: bright, powerful shooting stars slicing across the night sky.
It’s not guaranteed to happen―you need the cooperation of the sky, the ground, and cometary debris. The sky needs to be free of clouds. The ground needs to be free of light (as always, get out of the city). The debris field was created over a span of tens of thousands of years, so those cards are already shuffled, and what happens, happens.
Also―and I don’t want to worry you too much―there might be an explosion with the force of an atomic bomb that is capable of leveling hundreds of square miles of forest. Definitely be on the lookout for that: if you survive, your pictures will be the toast of Instagram.
THE POSSIBLE TAURID-TUNGUSKA CONNECTION
OK, that’s hyperbole. You’ll never be able to purloin Taylor Swift’s adoring Instagram acolytes. And no, there will almost certainly be no catastrophic explosion. But a little more than a century ago, there was, and it might be related to the source comet of the Taurids.
In 1908, a mysterious blast hit an area in Russia near a stretch of the Stony Tunguska River. Its exact cause is still unknown. It might have been an asteroid. It might have been a small black hole that collided with the Earth. (Really!) It might have been a natural gas explosion. Or it might have been a very large fireball that disintegrated in the air, releasing a tremendous amount of thermal energy. One possible culprit for the fireball is the comet Encke. The explosion even corresponds with the Beta Taurid meteor shower in the summer, whose debris was produced by the same comet as the Taurids tonight.
The good news is that if the skies do unleash an apocalyptic fusillade this evening, it won’t even be the worst thing to happen in 2016.
THE TAURIDS COMPLEX
The Taurids consist of two streams: the Southern Taurids―which are reaching a crescendo this weekend―and the Northern Taurids, which peak on November 11. Collectively, they are called the Taurids Complex. And though they’re not dense with activity like the Geminid meteor shower will be next month, assuming you’ve escaped light pollution on the ground, the light from the sky above is doing its part to help. The Moon is waxing crescent and just a shade over a sliver, meaning its light won’t interfere.
An hour or so before midnight, find your way to a clownless field somewhere, lay out a blanket, and let your eyes adjust. (Keep your phone off.) The big show starts around midnight and ends at dawn. If you can’t get out to see them, don’t worry―the Taurids will be around for a bit longer, and when one of their bright meteors decides to make an appearance, you’ll definitely notice.
As a recurring feature, our team combs the Web and shares some amazing Amazon deals we’ve turned up. Here’s what caught our eye today, November 4.
Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers, including Amazon, and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Good luck deal hunting!
Whether it was due to creative differences or illicit substance use, sometimes popular bands and recording artists just hate their own albums. Here are 13 of them.
1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN // BORN TO RUN (1975)
While recording Born To Run in 1975, Bruce Springsteen became so increasingly frustrated with writing and mixing the songs that he grew to hate the album. He hated it so much that he threatened to give up and not release it at all.
“After it was finished? I hated it! I couldn’t stand to listen to it,” Springsteen admitted. “I thought it was the worst piece of garbage I’d ever heard. I told Columbia I wouldn’t release it. I told ‘em I’d just go down to the Bottom Line gig and do all the new songs and make it a live album.”
2. JAY-Z // IN MY LIFETIME, VOL. 1 (1997)
Jay-Z believes his second album, In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, suffered from writing songs for radio play instead of making music he loved.
“I don’t listen to that album because I think I messed it up,” Jay-Z said in 2009. “There’s so many incredible records on there that I think I missed having two classics in a row by trying to get on the radio … I can’t listen to it. When that record comes on it just irks me.” He later called the album “the one that got away.”
3. FOO FIGHTERS // ONE BY ONE (2002)
Foo Fighters’ fourth studio album, One by One, was a commercial and critical success in 2002, even winning the band a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album of the Year. Despite its success, frontman Dave Grohl grew to hate the album because he felt that it was rushed and poorly made.
“I was kinda pissed at myself for the last record,” Dave Grohl told Rolling Stone in 2005. “Four of the songs were good, and the other seven I never played again in my life. We rushed into it, and we rushed out of it.”
4. EMINEM // ENCORE (2004)
Scott Gries/ImageDirect
Eminem had a pretty serious prescription drug problem throughout the 2000s. The albums he released between 2003 and 2008 before he got clean weren’t indicative of his best work, particularly 2004’s Encore.
“Looking back on it now, there was some pretty mediocre things that I was putting out,” Eminem admitted to Vibe. “When I was making Encore, my addiction took on a life of its own. I remember going to L.A., recording with Dre and being in the studio high, taking too many pills, getting in this slap-happy mood and making songs like ‘Big Weenie’ and ‘Rain Man’ and ‘A** Like That.’”
5. WEEZER // PINKERTON (1996)
While Weezer didn’t find commercial or critical success with Pinkerton (Rolling Stone readers considered it one of the worst albums of the year), the sophomore effort from the Los Angeles-based rock band found a cult following over the years. However, when Weezer followed it up after a five-year hiatus with the long-awaited “Green Album” in 2001, frontman Rivers Cuomo grew to resent Pinkerton because fans and critics kept comparing the two albums.
“The most painful thing in my life these days is the cult around Pinkerton,” Cuomo toldEntertainmentWeekly in 2001. “It’s just a sick album, sick in a diseased sort of way. It’s such a source of anxiety because all the fans we have right now have stuck around because of that album. But, honestly, I never want to play those songs again; I never want to hear them again.”
6. MORRISSEY // KILL UNCLE (1991)
Steven Patrick Morrissey is very dismissive of his second solo album, Kill Uncle. He believed that he ran against his limits while writing and recording the 1991 record, which he described as “pale and pasty” and “session-musician embalming fluid” in his 2014 autobiography.
7. OASIS // BE HERE NOW (1997)
Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher considers Be Here Now the band’s worst album. He described it as “The sound of a bunch of guys, on coke, in the studio, not giving a f*ck. All the songs are really long and all the lyrics are sh*t and for every millisecond Liam is not saying a word, there’s a f*cking guitar riff in there in a Wayne’s World style.”
8. DRAKE // THANK ME LATER (2010)
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Although Drake’s debut album, Thank Me Later, was a mainstream hit in 2010, the Canadian rapper believes it wasn’t his best work because it felt incomplete and rushed. He tried to make a better album with his sophomore effort, 2011’s Take Care.
“To be 100 percent honest,” Drake told the Los Angeles Times. “I wasn’t necessarily happy with Thank Me Later. People loved it [but] I just knew what I was capable of with a little more time.”
9. R.E.M. // AROUND THE SUN (2004)
In 2004, R.E.M. released their thirteenth studio album, Around The Sun. It was the band’s first record that failed to reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200 since 1988, and received mixed reviews from music critics. R.E.M. was so ashamed of the album that its songs are usually excluded from live shows.
“It seemed like we’d turned into one of those bands that just book like a million months in the studio and just beat it to death,” said R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. “The last record, for me, just wasn’t really listenable, because it sounds like what it is, a bunch of people that are so bored with the material that they can’t stand it anymore.”
10. THE STROKES // ANGLES (2011)
After The Strokes released their third studio album, First Impressions of Earth, in early 2006, the New York City-based band took an extensive five-year break from recording and touring. They came back together with their long-awaited fourth album, Angles, in 2011. While it was a commercial hit, the record received mixed reviews from music critics.
In an interview with Pitchfork for The Strokes’ 10-year anniversary, frontman and singer Julian Casablancas admitted, “I was going to let things go so there’s a bunch of stuff [on the record] I wouldn’t have done.” Guitarist Nick Valensi mirrored Casablancas’s remarks, saying, “I won’t do the next album we make like this. No way. It was awful—just awful.”
11. LYKKE LI // YOUTH NOVELS (2008)
Swedish singer Lykke Li admitted that she hates her first record, Youth Novels, because it felt so raw and unrefined. In an interview with The Telegraph in 2014, the singer was quite candid with her feelings about her debut. “I cannot stand my first album,” she said bluntly. “It is so bad. I sucked.”
12. THE CLASH // CUT THE CRAP (1985)
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In 1985, The Clash released their sixth and final record, Cut The Crap. At the time, Clash vocalist Joe Strummer was pretty jaded about his band, and was also grieving the death of his parents.
“CBS had paid an advance for it so they had to put it out,” Strummer later explained in 2000. “I just went, ‘Well f*ck this’, and f*cked off to the mountains of Spain to sit sobbing under a palm tree, while Bernie [Rhodes, the band’s manager] had to deliver a record.”
13. AT THE DRIVE-IN // RELATIONSHIP OF COMMAND (2000)
In the year 2000, At The Drive-In released their third and final album, Relationship of Command. Although the hit record brought the El Paso, Texas-based band mainstream success, At The Drive-In broke up shortly after its release due to their growing popularity.
Despite its success, guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López openly bashed At The Drive-In’s final release, telling Alternative Press, “One of my only regrets out of everything I’ve ever done is the way that record was mixed. People think that was a raw and energetic record, but what they’re hearing is nothing compared to what it truly was before it was glossed over and sent through the mixing mill.” He added, “I just find it the most passive, plastic … It’s the one record I still to this day cannot listen to. The mix ruined it for me.”
On this day in 1916, acclaimed broadcaster Walter Cronkite was born. Throughout the course of his nearly 50-year career, during which he was often referred to as “The Most Trusted Man in America,” Cronkite became an indelible part of history as he brought breaking news into the homes of millions of people across the country. Here are some of his biggest news stories.
THE ASSASSINATION OF JOHN F. KENNEDY // 1963
REPORT FROM VIETNAM // 1968
THE ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. // 1968
You know the drill: when the winter coat comes out, so do the pocket packs of tissues.* Cold weather and flu season are pretty much synonymous for most of us. Yet there are plenty of areas in the world that never get cold—and the flu still finds them anyway. Now researchers say changes in humidity could help explain why tropical regions still experience outbreaks of seasonal flu. They published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The flu virus (or viruses, really) is an unfussy traveler and can make itself at home in a number of different climates, but the forces underlying its seasonal cycles have been little understood. Previous studies have shown that both relative and absolute humidity can affect the rate at which droplets travel through the air and thus how fast the flu spreads, while others found that mammals tend to spread the virus faster in cold climates. But all of these studies were performed in laboratories, using guinea pigs and machines. No one could say whether their results would translate to the germ-filled real world.
Figuring that out would require a broad range in expertise, including climate science, epidemiology, preventive medicine, and bioengineering. So researchers at three California institutions formed a sort of interdisciplinary super team, which would allow them to combine both their know-how and their relevant data.
The team decided to use a technique called empirical dynamic modeling, or EDM, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: It combines real-world data with mathematical modeling to study complex, constantly fluctuating systems like our global climate or the ebb and flow of an ecosystem.
Their first dataset came from the World Health Organization’s Global Health Atlas: all worldwide records of laboratory-confirmed influenza A or B diagnoses from 1996 to 2014. Next they turned to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Surface Summary of the Day, which provided week-by-week records of temperature and absolute humidity for the same time period.
By feeding these data into an EDM representation of the planet, the team was able to get a zoomed-out perspective of the interplay between weather and the spread of disease. They found that it was not temperature that drove flu outbreaks, nor humidity—it was the combination of the two. In cold climates, the virus prefers low humidity and dry weather. But when temperatures rise, the flu luxuriates in damp, humid conditions like those in the tropics.
“The analysis allowed us to see what environmental factors were driving influenza,” Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s George Sugihara, a co-author of the study, said in a press statement. “We found that it wasn’t one factor by itself, but temperature and humidity together.”
These findings could have real implications in the global fight against the flu, the authors write. They suggest that setting up humidifiers in cold, dry places and dehumidifiers in the tropics could create environments so unfriendly to viruses that even the flu can’t stick around.
A new LED pendant lamp from Dutch designer Teresa van Dongen likely won’t appeal to germaphobes. That’s because instead of sourcing its power from electricity, sunlight, or salt water, the Spark of Life light runs on electrochemically active bacteria, Dezeen reports.
The stark lamp design consists of four compartments each containing microscopic organisms. An electrode inside the lamp harnesses the faint electrical charges emitted by the life-forms. These currents are then transmitted to LEDs in the light’s core where they provide the lamp with continuous power.
The Spark of Life lamp isn’t completely self-sustaining—the bacteria need to be fed with a teaspoon of acetate every two weeks or so. Van Dongen also recommends replenishing the lamp with fresh tap water, salt, and vitamins once every few months. Cleaning the apparatus doesn’t harm the bacteria, as they will remain safe and sound in the electrode until the lamp is reassembled.
Teresa van Dongen isn’t the first person to look to the Earth’s tiniest organisms as an innovative energy source. Bioluminescent bacteria have been incorporated into lights in the past, by the Paris-based company Glowee and by van Dongen herself. Her latest luminous project doesn’t have the signature blue alien glow of her octopus bacteria lamp, so it feels a bit more like something that could fit in with the decor of most living rooms. Just don’t forget to feed its power source.
The only thing more important than being an informed voter is being a prepared one. November 8 is swiftly approaching, and it’s time to make like Joe Biden and formulate an Election Day strategy. Still figuring out how to cast your ballot next week? Here’s a quick checklist of ways you can prepare to do your civic duty.
– Make sure you’re registered to vote. While the deadline to register has already passed in most places, some states allow residents to register until November 8. If you live in Wyoming, New Hampshire, Colorado, Wisconsin, Maine, or Washington, D.C, you can register in person at your state or local election office up until Election Day. And in North Dakota, you don’t need to register at all. Other allowances and exceptions vary by state, so head to your local election board’s website if you’re unsure.
– Look up your polling place and know how you’re going to get there. Rock the Vote has a “find my polling place” feature, lists the hours your location is open, and provides you with a Google map for finding your way.
– Vote early. If you’re going to be away on November 8, see if your state allows early voting (Rock the Vote compiled a list) or visit Vote.org to learn more about absentee voting.
– Get familiar with your state’s ballot. Facebook has a new feature that allows you to view your local ballot so you can research candidates and measures in advance. It also allows you to email your filled-out ballot to yourself so you can print it and take it with you to use as a cheat sheet when you vote.
– Know if you need an ID. Some states require one, others don’t—and the rules change every year. If you’re not sure, Vote.org compiled a handy list of up-to-date information on voter ID laws.
One last note: We know you want to tell the world you voted, but once you’ve finally made it to the polls, think twice about taking a selfie in a voting booth. That’s illegal in 18 states—and for that matter, other voters might feel weird about making a cameo on your Instagram feed. To be on the safe side, leave your smartphone in your pocket or purse until you’ve reached the parking lot. Then, smile wide and show off that “I Voted” sticker!
Its gnawing, long-lasting bites are incredibly painful, it’s the largest native lizard in the United States, and its venom inspired a popular diabetes 2 medicine. Meet the Gila monster.
1. VENOMOUS LIZARDS LIKE THE GILA MONSTER ARE MORE COMMON THAN WE ONCE THOUGHT.
Our world is home to more than 4600 lizard species. Up until fairly recently, scientists believed that only two of these—the Gila monster and its close relative, the Mexican beaded lizard—produced venom. But it turns out that this talent is fairly widespread. During the mid-2000s, biochemist Bryan Fry identified venom-secreting glands within the mouths of various iguanas, alligator lizards, and monitor lizards. He discovered a terrifying fact: Apparently, the gigantic Komodo dragon (an extra-large monitor) is venomous as well.
2. GETTING BITTEN BY ONE IS AN AGONIZING ORDEAL.
Should you see one of these lizards in the wild, admire it all you like, but give the animal plenty of space. A frightened Gila monster will open its purple-gummed maw and hiss in a theatrical display that clearly says, “Back off!” But some people don’t get the message. When an aggressor fails to retreat, Gila monsters deploy their secret weapon—and the delivery method can be almost as painful as the toxin itself. In general, getting bitten by a venomous snake is a fairly quick process. A few serpents—like rattlers—have hollow fangs that act like syringes, pumping venom into the victim’s bloodstream. Others possess grooves on the sides of their teeth along which droplets of venom flow with surprising efficiency. Both methods allow most venomous snakes to inject their dangerous cocktails in a matter of seconds.
By comparison, a Gila monster’s technique is tortuously long. With its powerful jaws, the lizard will clamp down on the victim and keep its grip for up to 15 minutes at a time. All the while, it gnaws, which draws venom from storage glands situated in the lower jaw. Slowly, this substance moves along tooth grooves and enters the open wound. If you ever get bitten by a Gila monster, the worst thing you could do is lift it up off of the ground—this will only inspire the critter to hang on. Try dunking its head under some water instead.
Although bites are almost never fatal to human beings, they’re intensely painful. Furthermore, according to the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, “Victims may … experience localized swelling, nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, weakness, faintness, excessive perspiration, chills, and fever. Some people have experienced severe reactions resulting in breathing difficulties.” Given the lizards’ passive disposition around people, though, they aren’t likely to lash out unless provoked. Tellingly, most reported bites occur on people’s hands, suggesting that the monster in question was being handled or prodded when it struck.
3. THEY STORE FAT IN THEIR TAILS.
A Gila monster can’t lose and re-grow its tail (as many other lizards do), but the appendage is still very useful. Well-fed individuals maintain fat reserves inside their tails, which—in conjunction with a low resting metabolic rate—enables the venomous critters to survive on as few as three or four large meals per year.
4. YOU WON’T FIND A BIGGER NATIVE LIZARD SPECIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
Adult Gila monsters can measure a respectable 2 feet long and weigh 5 pounds or more. Not too shabby. Such proportions render this species larger than any other indigenous lizard within the U.S. However, Gila monsters would look puny next to invasive green iguanas and Nile monitors. Both animals now inhabit Florida and may grow to be more than 5 feet long.
If you’d like to observe one in its natural habitat, go west. Above the Mexican border, Gilas are most commonly encountered in southern, central, and western Arizona. The reptile most likely takes its name from the Gila River basin, which encompasses much of the Grand Canyon State. You might also find specimens in neighboring regions of California, Utah, Nevada, or New Mexico. In Mexico, meanwhile, Gilas frequent Sonora and western Chihuahua.
5. EGGS RANK AMONG THE GILA MONSTER’S FAVORITE FOODS.
One might think that Gila monster venom makes for a useful hunting tool. But according to many herpetologists, it’s mostly reserved for self-defense purposes—the critters seldom envenomate their prey. That doesn’t keep Gilas from catching and consuming small mammals, birds, and lizards. Another menu option is raw eggs, which the creatures really seem to relish. Smaller eggs are typically swallowed whole. On the other hand, really large ones—like those of desert tortoises—are a bit more challenging to devour. Usually, Gilas crack these eggs open and then lap up the contents with their forked tongues. In pursuit of eggs or hatchlings, the lizards may resort to climbing trees, ascending as high as eight feet off the ground in order to raid a vulnerable nest. Consider yourselves warned, desert birds.
6. THERE MIGHT BE TWO DIFFERENT SUBSPECIES.
Not all Gila monsters look alike. Newborns have a flashy color scheme that consists of alternating bands, half of which are black while the others range anywhere from pink to yellow to orange. Some individuals more or less keep this same pattern as adults. However, over time, other specimens start to adopt a more marbled appearance, with blotches of black haphazardly scattered across a vibrant orange background. The differences might be more than skin-deep: A few herpetologists believe that the two major varieties constitute separate subspecies, which are referred to as banded and reticulated Gila monsters, respectively.
7. MALES WRESTLE.
The mating season for this species spans from April to July. It’s a time when the southwest plays host to grueling displays of strength known as Gila monster wrestling matches. Such contests are intense affairs, to say the least. When two adult males cross paths in late spring or early summer, there’s a good chance that the rivals will entwine their bodies and try to pin each other to the ground. After one of them succeeds, the contestants separate, but this doesn’t mean the fight is over. Daniel D. Beck—the world’s leading authority on Gila monsters—once observed a duel that went on for 13 individual rounds over a period of almost three hours. Such contests rage on until a participating lizard finally backs down.
To the victor go the spoils—namely, a desirable breeding territory. If the winner is especially lucky, his hard-won turf will encompass a fertile female’s shelter. However, she might not accept his advances. The male begins his breeding ritual by lying down alongside his prospective partner. Assuming she doesn’t try to ward off this Casanova by biting at him, the couple proceeds to wrap their tails together. Gila monster sex can last for more than an hour. Pregnant females usually lay one to 12 eggs in late July or August. Their broods hatch around 10 months later.
8. GILA MONSTERS DON’T GET OUT VERY OFTEN.
Out of sight, out of mind. Many people who live in Gila monster country never see one because the lizards rarely exit their shelters. According to Beck’s research, typical Gilas remain underground for more than 95 percent of their lives. Ideal abodes include abandoned mammal burrows, pack rat nests, and crevices beneath large rocks. Every year, they usually spend the equivalent of just three to four weeks on the surface. Such excursions tend to take place at night and occur most frequently in April and May.
9. HISTORICALLY, NUMEROUS MISCONCEPTIONS HAVE SURROUNDED THESE REPTILES.
In 1890, a Scientific American article wrongly claimed that Gilas have killer halitosis. “The breath is very fetid, and its odor can be detected at some little distance from the lizard,” read the piece. “It is supposed that this is one way in which the monster catches the insects and small animals which form a part of its food supply—the foul gas overcoming them.” Back in those days, Gila monsters were said to possess such atrocious breath because they allegedly lacked anuses. Therefore, it was reasoned, regurgitation must be the lizards’ only means of expelling waste, hence the odor. (For the record, that theory, too was mistaken: Gilas do in fact have anuses.) Such myths were commonplace during this period. Another popular yarn, to cite but one example, maintained that when a Gila monster bit someone, it wouldn’t let go until either sundown arrived or a thunderstorm rolled in.
10. SPECIALIZED URINE BLADDERS HELP THEM SURVIVE LONG DROUGHTS.
The desert can be harsh. To cope with their arid environment, Gila monsters have evolved urine bladders that serve as reservoirs, storing up water for later use. During droughts, Gilas empty these organs, allowing the water kept therein to recirculate throughout the body. So far as we know, no other lizard species uses such a mechanism, although it has been found in certain turtles and amphibians. Because of this redistribution system, Gila monsters can go 81 days without drinking. But there is a trade-off: Full bladders often weigh the reptiles down, making them more vulnerable to predators.
11. GILA MONSTER VENOM INSPIRED A DIABETES-FIGHTING DRUG.
Nearly 25 million Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes. Many of them can now say that their lives are a lot more manageable thanks, surprisingly enough, to Gila monster venom. In 1992, endocrinologist John Eng found that this dangerous substance contains a peptide he dubbed exendin-4. When introduced to the human bloodstream, the compound increases the production of insulin. Although our bodies release a similar hormone, enzymes in the blood usually degrade it in less than 2 minutes. On the other hand, exendin-4 can remain functional for hours on end.
Recognizing the peptide’s potential, Eng spearheaded an effort to synthesize exendin-4. Once this was achieved, the compound became the key ingredient in a drug known as Byetta. Approved by the FDA in 2005, Byetta is now a hugely popular medication for those with type 2 diabetes. As you might expect, Eng is now a passionate Gila monster fan. “It really is a beautiful lizard,” he once said. “Like many other animal species, it is under pressure from development and other environmental concerns. The question is, what other animal has something to teach us that can be of future value? And plants, too? We will never know their value if they are gone.”
12. THE MOST ICONIC GILA MONSTER MOVIE OF ALL TIME DIDN’T USE A REAL ONE.
Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 may be familiar with a 1959 drive-in classic titled The Giant Gila Monster. The picture stars a 70-foot Gila monster who roams the countryside gobbling up hitchhikers, truck drivers, and amorous teenagers. Like many giant creature films of yore, The Giant Gila Monster features a real animal—in this case, a lizard—plodding through miniature houses and streets. (Weren’t those the days, huh?) Ironically, the effects team used a Mexican beaded lizard for these scenes instead of an actual Gila. But maybe we should cut the filmmakers a little slack. In their defense, the Mexican beaded lizard is a very close relative of the Gila; both species belong to the same genus, and they have overlapping ranges.
