10 Random Facts About All Sorts of Stuff for You to Ponder

We’re serving up some good facts for you here today!

So sit back, relax, and let’s learn about a bunch of different subjects together.

Start now!

1. Do you know anyone who might need this?

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2. That makes sense…

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3. Placebo sleep.

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4. I’ve always wondered about that…

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5. This can’t be real!

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6. You’re not alone, fruit flies…

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7. Two kinds of nostalgia.

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8. I love this!

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9. I did not know that!

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10. Please don’t tell me this.

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Nothing like a good fact set. NOTHING.

Please feel free to share with your family and friends…it might do them some good.

The post 10 Random Facts About All Sorts of Stuff for You to Ponder appeared first on UberFacts.

The Roaming Charges on Eagles’ GPS Trackers Bankrupt Russian Researcher Team

Now, this is certainly interesting.

Some steppe eagles got into trouble with their researchers for sending text messages that resulted in huge cell phone bills.

Bad, bad birds!

Researchers at the Russian Raptors Research and Conservation Network were studying the steppe eagles to learn more about their summer migratory patterns. To track the eagles, researchers tagged the birds with GPS monitors that would send their locations via text.

Photo Credit: Needpix

The idea was that the eagles would fly around all summer in a virtually cell tower-less region of Kazakhstan, banking up texts of their GPS coordinates that would eventually get sent when they returned to cell service.

So, yes, the plan worked…almost.

The birds spent the majority of their time in the area researchers assumed they would. And the researchers received texts whenever the eagles hit a network in other parts of Kazakhstan and Russia.

What the researchers didn’t anticipate were the odd trips into Iran, where there is oodles of cell phone coverage. Unfortunately, the researchers’ cell phone plan didn’t cover that service.

The eagles weren’t only soaring, they were roaming.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

Everyone knows– except steppe eagles, evidently – that sending text messages without an international calling plan is like throwing money out the window.

What do birds think? That money grows on trees?

The researchers were charged about $0.77 per text, at four per bird per day.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

In the eagles’ defense, they may have decided to vacay in Iran due to the loss of some of their traditional Kazakh breeding grounds to farmland. At any rate, they literally bankrupted the scientists, who had to turn to social media for fundraising.

Friends and fans of steppe eagles stepped up and covered the birds’ bills (and more) so the research could continue.

Cell phone roaming charges are…for the birds.

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10 Simple Ways You Can Help out the Environment

There are always little things you can do to help out the environment. Even if they seem inconsequential to you, taking small steps adds up – especially when countless other people are out there doing the same thing.

So try to implement these habits into your daily lives, and we’ll all be better for it in the long run.

Cause we’ve got a crisis on our hands, and every little bit helps.

1. Turn down the brightness on your monitor.

Desk Upgrade

You can save up to 20% of your monitor’s energy just by adjusting your brightness from 100% to 70%. Go on and do it now…I’ll wait.

2. Think about your music streaming.

Headphones

A study says that today’s music streaming might produce up to double the greenhouse gas emissions as compared to music streaming in the early part of this century. Consider downloading music instead of streaming and do a little research about which streaming companies use cleaner energy.

3. Streaming devices are important, too.

RCS_7989 - IPad - Game Changer

A gaming console might use 30 to 45 times as much power to stream a movie than a regular media player.

4. Order more.

Package

If you buy things online, order more than one item at a time. This cuts down on delivery and packaging in the long run.

5. Search engines matter.

Search engine optimization

Different search engines give back to the environment in different ways. For instance, Ecosia donates ad revenue to plant trees and, according to their website, they run net carbon negative. Do some research and see which ones are doing green work.

6. Unplug it.

Apple...Unplugged

When you’re not using your charger, unplug it. Simple as that. Phone and laptop chargers draw electricity even if you’re not actively charging a device, so give those breakers…a break.

7. Or use a surge protector.

Surge protector

Surge protectors with an On/Off switch are a good option too for those hard-to-reach plugs.

8. Get on that bike.

Kamilah on a Bike

Biking may actually be faster than driving a car in some American cities, so hop on that bicycle of yours to get to where you’re headed.

9. Spam is bad.

email-spam

Roughly 62 TRILLION spam emails are sent each year. Something you may not think about often: sending email actually has a carbon footprint from servers working. Which means those spam emails equal about 20 tons of CO2 each year. So go ahead and hit the “Unsubscribe” button, please.

10. Buy used and vintage clothes.

Thrift Store

According to The Economist, “From the pesticides poured on cotton fields to the washes in which denim is dunked, making 1kg of fabric generates 23kg of greenhouse gases on average.” Seems like kind of a waste, doesn’t it? So consider heading to the thrift store instead of grabbing a new flannel.

 

Give us some of your tips as well in the comments!

We’re in this together, so let’s all do our part, okay?

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Priest Brings Stray Dogs into His Church so They Can Find Loving Homes

Bless this man.

Those are people who talk the talk, and then there are those who walk the walk. And a priest in Brazil named Father João Paulo Araujo Gomes definitely falls into the latter category.

Father Gomes heads a parish in the city of Gravatá, and he allows stray dogs to come into his church during mass. Why, you ask? So the dogs can hopefully find homes with his parishioners.

Posted by PadreJoao Paulo Araujo Gomes on Thursday, August 8, 2019

Any dogs who wander the street are given ample opportunity to participate in mass so guests can get a look at them and decide if they’d like to give these forgotten pooches permanent homes. Father Gomes says, “They will always be able to enter, sleep, eat, drink their water and find shelter and protection, for this house is of God and they are of God.”

Father Gomes has taken the dogs into his rectory and during services they wander around, sleep, and sometimes even get in on the action, looking to be petted by the priest and his flock.

Der Priester Juan Pablo aus Brasilien fängt streunende Hunde ein, badet und versorgt sie und empfiehlt sie dann der…

Posted by Winfried Niederer on Friday, August 23, 2019

Because of Father Gomes’ charity and kindness, dozens of stray dogs have found forever homes in Gravatá – the kind-hearted priest has even adopted some of the dogs himself. He said, “I helped several dogs with serious health problems. Some of them I brought to the parish house, and they were later adopted. Three of them stayed with me. Today, they are my children and sleep in my bed.”

Posted by PadreJoao Paulo Araujo Gomes on Monday, March 11, 2019

Be sure to follow Father Gomes on Facebook to keep up with all of these beautiful animals and their adventures.

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Take a Look at This Cat Shrine with a Cat Monk in Japan

If you love cats, you know that our fuzzy feline friends have a lot of personality and they like to play by their own rules. Well, in Japan, there’s a shrine where the cats are in charge and us mere humans are just there to admire them…and pet them, if they are so inclined.

I have a feeling that if more people knew about a place, called Nyan Nyan Ji, they’d go there in a heartbeat. Nyan Nyan Ji actually translates to “Meow Meow Shrine,” so you already know the place is amazing. It’s a shrine in Northern Kyoto with a cat monk and cat assistants…and no I’m not messing with you.

Cats are meant to be worshipped, so this makes total sense. The shrine was opened by Toru Kaya, a shrine and temple painter. The head cat monk is named Koyuki, and by all accounts, he loves to mingle with visitors. There are other cat priests and cat assistants, as well.

There’s a cat cafe on the grounds where visitors can even enjoy cat-themed food. And, of course, there is also a gift shop where guests can purchase cat-related items. I’d call this a very spiritual destination, wouldn’t you?

Here are some of the reviews, in case you need a little convincing:

“Super adorable with a relaxing and fantastic atmosphere.”

“A cute cat is a chief priest. I’m healed.”

Be sure to follow Koyuki on Instagram and follow the shrine on Facebook.

Am I dreaming? This sounds like paradise!

The post Take a Look at This Cat Shrine with a Cat Monk in Japan appeared first on UberFacts.

This Horse Doesn’t like Being Ridden, so He Plays Dead Until Riders Go Away

I might not know much at all about horses, but I never imagined they could be total drama queens.

Like this horse, who goes to great, Oscar-worthy lengths to avoid carrying people on his back.

 

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Of course, horses can be irritable. There are plenty of ill-tempered horses who aren’t the best at for riding. But Jingang really takes the cake.

He doesn’t buck or bite when someone gets on his back. Oh no…

Image Credit: Facebook

He just collapses and pretends that he’s died. Because, as everyone knows, you can’t ride a dead horse.

Image Credit: Facebook

Owner Frasisco Zalasar made a video compilation of Jingang avoiding work with his dramatic deaths, and the video has amassed a lot of views.

El caballo que se hace el muerto para que no le montén 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Posted by Frasisco Zalasar on Friday, October 4, 2019

I bet these views and likes spike on Monday mornings, when we can all identify with Jingang.

Image Credit: Facebook

Horses like this one must be how the phrase “horsing around” came to be – they’re quite good at it!

The post This Horse Doesn’t like Being Ridden, so He Plays Dead Until Riders Go Away appeared first on UberFacts.

15 Silly Dogs That Should Make You LOL and Smile

What do you do with your spare time? I’ll tell you how I spend mine: looking at dog videos and dog pictures.

Am I alone in this endeavor? I don’t think so.

Here are 15 photos of silly/funny/hilarious/goofy dogs that should turn your frown upside down.

Enjoy!

1. Too cool for school.

2. Best costume ever?

3. All dolled up.

4. I’m thinking this is an Ewok…

5. Care for a hot dog?

View this post on Instagram

Izzy: living that lazy hot dog life. 🌭 #Halloween

A post shared by Donna Scott (@donnascottprod) on

6. Hello out there!

7. Had a few too many drinks.

8. All tuckered out from reading literature.

9. Finally got a toupee.

10. Harley Quinn FTW.

11. Extreme close up.

12. Tongue flappin’ in the wind.

13. A Star Wars fanatic.

14. Gee, thanks for the present!

15. In need of a cerveza.

Let’s not beat around the bush: you and I both know that you have hilarious photos of your furry friends.

Share them in the comments, por favor!

The post 15 Silly Dogs That Should Make You LOL and Smile appeared first on UberFacts.

15 Dogs with Really Impressive Halloween Costumes

What is the only thing better than Halloween? Dogs during Halloween!

I’m gonna go on the record here and say I get much more enjoyment out of seeing dogs in costume than seeing kids. Am I a terrible person? Probably, but I’m learning to deal with it.

Anyway, enough about me and my many psychological problems, let’s see these dogs in costume!

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

1. The Lion King.

2. Can’t go wrong with LaCroix.

View this post on Instagram

Thirsty? 🍋 #halloween #tbt @lacroixwater

A post shared by Lord Bernard (@lord_bernard_) on

3. He’s having a good time.

View this post on Instagram

#tbt This Saturday Jensen will be attending his 6th Spooky Pooch Howl-o-ween Celebration at @hillwoodmuseum. Swipe 👉 to see his costumes to date…⁣ ⁣ Jensen and I look forward to this event every year. He always has so much fun so I really didn't want him to miss it. I got special permission from his vet so he could attend (I just have to get there a few minutes early to get a good parking spot so he doesn't have to walk too far).⁣ ⁣ This contest is the reason I started making Jensen costumes in the first place. That first year we went, in 2014, Jensen had an adorable store bought turtle costume he got from his grandma. I bought orange fleece and made legs cuffs and a belt so he could be Michelangelo the Ninja Turtle (I even tried to teach him to carry nunchucks in his mouth but that didn't work 😂). He looked cute but we got killed in the competition – there were so many adorable DIY costumes we just couldn't compete.⁣ ⁣ I vowed then and there to make his costume for the following year and my competitive drive for DIY dog Halloween costumes was born 😂. ⁣ ⁣ 2015 I made him spaghetti ⁣ ⁣ 2016 I made him cotton candy (which was cute but the hat really made the costume – sadly a few minutes before we stepped on stage a gust of wind caught his hat and ripped in apart) ⁣ ⁣ 2017 Jensen and I were gumball machines ⁣ ⁣ 2018 was the disasterous sushi costumes we won't even discuss⁣ ⁣ And that brings us to this year – we've got paws crossed this year's costume can bring home theTop Dog prize for our first non-food related costume! And hoping the boys don't get themselves or each other too tangled up when walking across the stage!⁣ ⁣ #wethedogsdc #dcdogmoms #hillwoodestate #spookypooch #diyhalloweencostume #senioristhenewpuppy #seniordog #seniorcocker #halloween2019 #diyhalloweencostume2019 #tinydogsofdc #petsypets #dogsofbark #dcluckydog #hillwooddc #hillwoodmuseumandgardens #tbt #throwbackthursday

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4. No puedo esperar para Halloween.

5. The chef is here.

6. Pink Ladies on the prowl.

View this post on Instagram

#wcw to our sweet friend @rositameanspink 💕💍💖 also congrats on winning @laweenies costume contest! You looked awesome! ⠀ .⠀ “Rosita was a rescue. Her Maltese mama and doxie daddy were given up to a rescue center and I got lucky to get one of the pups. When they say a dog truly also rescues you, it’s absolutely the truth. Rosita is the angel I didn’t know I needed here on earth. Because of all she brings to my life, I try to give her the best life possible. Besides warm hugs, kisses and fashion for days, she eats as healthy and yummy as momma can find for her! A healthy pup makes a happy pup!”⠀ .⠀ .⠀ Go check out her page and see all of her cuteness for yourself! 📸: @rositameanspink⠀ .⠀ #prettyinpink #rositameanspink #pink #dogmom #winning #dogrescue #dachshundrescue #halloweenie #halloween #doxies #dachshundpuppy #dachshundlove #dachshundsofinstagram #cutedachshundsclub #puppycostume #doggyhalloween #doggycostumes #laweenies #doxiemix #wienerdog #doxiefever #dachshundsunited

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7. Beware of Pennywise.

8. This might be the best costume ever.

9. Batdog to the rescue.

10. And then there’s Spiderdog.

11. This is dead on.

12. A real-life Beanie Baby.

13. OMG, this is fantastic.

14. I’ll take all the kisses you can handle.

15. And, for a grand finale, we have Yoda.

View this post on Instagram

it’s FRIYAYYYYYYY!!!! 🥳 today mawma has a day off so we are going to spend our day playing & she even said a possible walk might be in my future 🤭 • what’s everyone’s plans for the weekend? • my mawma got me this weird costume that makes me look like yoda from star wars…… :/ i don’t really like the way i look but she says i’m the most handsome pup 🥰 what is everyone else being for halloween? 👻 🎃 – – – #goldendoodle #goldenretriever #goldendoodle_daily #goldendoodlesofinstagram #goldendoodlepuppy #goldenretrieverpuppy #doodles #poodlesofinstagram #doodlesofinstagram #doodlesrule #poodles #puppy #puppylove #puppytraining #dogsofinstagram #dogs #doggo #monday #dogsofkansas #puppiesofinstagram #puppiesofkansas #kansaspup #puppy #puppycostume #doodle #dogcostume #dogcostumes

A post shared by B O S C H E E 🐾 (@boscheethedood) on

Please do us a HUGE favor…

Share your photos of your pets in Halloween costumes in the comments!

We can’t get enough!

The post 15 Dogs with Really Impressive Halloween Costumes appeared first on UberFacts.

Take a Look at This Bizarre Crayfish Species of All Females Who Clone Themselves by the Hundreds

Whoa…

The marbled crayfish looks like a regular crayfish. They live in fresh waterways, rivers and streams like regular crayfish. But they are so much more creepy.

The Procambarus virginalis is a crayfish with an ominous ability. First, they are all female.

Also, they clone themselves.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

German biologist Frank Lyco was the first to notice something amiss about the extra large crayfish. An aquarium enthusiast told him he picked up the creature he called a Texas crayfish (aka a marmokreb) at a pet shop in 1995.

The man told Lyco the crayfish just kept laying eggs. He had so many live crayfish, he started giving them away to friends. It wasn’t too long before they could be found in aquarium and pet stores across Europe.

But the strangest part was that all the crayfish were female. They laid hundreds and hundreds of eggs with no males for fertilization, but the eggs still hatched hundreds and hundreds of crayfish—all females and all exact clones of the mother.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

The females, once matured, would in turn lay her hundreds of eggs…

Yikes (that’s a scientific term).

Aquarium owners reported having hundreds of offspring from one crayfish. In 2003, biologists sequenced the crayfish DNA and confirmed the animals were exact clones.

Twenty-five years ago, these crayfish didn’t exist. Now, they number in the millions, thriving in the wild, throughout Europe, Japan and Madagascar.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

As aquarium hobbyists are finding out, even the largest tanks will fill with marbled crayfish fast. Extra animals often get dumped into rivers, but the dump-ees are hardy and can walk for hundreds of yards to fresh water… where they clone themselves to the contentment of their hearts.

So, where did the first weirdo come from?

Lyco and his team sequenced the marbled crayfish genome and discovered this new crustacean was a result of a major mutation in the form of a copied chromosome in a slough crayfish from the Saltilla River in Florida and Georgia. This mutation meant that there were two of each chromosome in its sex cells instead of the usual one. About 30 years ago, the mutated slough crayfish mated. The offspring was super hardy and had three copies of chromosomes in their sex cells.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

And they could reproduce themselves.

Now what?

Well, Lyco told The New York Times the crayfish could thrive for a hundred thousand years, which is not all that long evolution-wise. Or, because there’s no genetic variation in the clones, one pathogen could bring the whole species down.

So there’s that.

But for the blip in time in which we now live, we’re sharing our space with mutant, self-cloning crayfish.

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Thousands of Tarantulas Are Roaming the San Francisco Area Searching for Mates

Attention: people of San Francisco, don’t freak out—but there are thousands of tarantulas casually roaming your city right now.

The tarantulas are out and about throughout the entire San Francisco Bay Area. They’re making a show not for Halloween, but because the weather has been drier and warmer than usual, causing male Bay Area blond tarantulas, the only tarantulas that are native to the region, to come out and look for a mate.

Residents have been spotting the creatures on trails, roads, and parks.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

After the males successfully mate, they die. “They’re not returning home,” Cameron Morrison, supervising state park peace officer for Mount Diablo State Park, explained to ABC News. “That’s their final voyage, basically.”

The male tarantulas are up to 4 inches in length, while females are the size of a nickel. But experts say not to fear them—they are “gentle giants,” Cameron says. “They’re very reluctant to bite you. I’ve never had someone say that they were bitten by a tarantula.” Also, if one did bite you for some reason, it would be less severe than a bee sting (even though their fangs are quite large). Their hairs can cause skin irritation, though, so it’s not a good idea to handle them.

Photo Credit: iStock

Usually, by this time of year, the male tarantulas have already done their mating and died. But thanks to seasonal weather changes, they’re still on the prowl. Lucky California!

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