50 Incredible Animal Facts You’ll Want to Share

filed under: Animals
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Arm yourself with trivia from the animal kingdom.

1. TRAINED PIGEONS CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PAINTINGS OF PABLO PICASSO AND CLAUDE MONET.

2. THE PEACOCK MANTIS SHRIMP CAN THROW A PUNCH AT 50 MPH, ACCELERATING QUICKER THAN A .22-CALIBER BULLET.

3. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WILD CHIMPS IN GUINEA DRINK FERMENTED PALM SAP, WHICH CONTAINS ABOUT 3 PERCENT ALCOHOL BY VOLUME.

4. THE CHEVROTAIN IS AN ANIMAL THAT LOOKS LIKE A TINY DEER WITH FANGS. 

5. CAPUCHIN MONKEYS PEE ON THEIR HANDS TO WASH THEIR FEET.

6. ONLY THE MALES ARE CALLED PEACOCKS. FEMALES ARE CALLED PEAHENS.

7. DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES FORM A HEART WITH THEIR TAILS WHEN THEY MATE.

8. BABY ELEPHANTS SUCK THEIR TRUNKS FOR COMFORT.

9. TIGERS HAVE STRIPED SKIN AS WELL. EACH PATTERN IS AS UNIQUE AS A FINGERPRINT.

10. THERE WAS ONCE A TYPE OF CROCODILE THAT COULD GALLOP.

11. A GRIZZLY BEAR’S BITE IS STRONG ENOUGH TO CRUSH A BOWLING BALL.

12. SEA OTTERS HOLD HANDS WHILE THEY’RE SLEEPING SO THEY DON’T DRIFT APART.

13. PRAIRIE DOGS SAY HELLO BY KISSING.

14. ANIMAL BEHAVIORISTS HAVE CONCLUDED THAT CATS DON’T MEOW AS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER. IT’S A METHOD THEY USE FOR GETTING ATTENTION FROM HUMANS.

15. DESPITE THEIR APPEARANCE, ELEPHANT SHREWS ARE MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO ELEPHANTS THAN SHREWS.

16. FLAMINGOS ARE NATURALLY WHITE—THEIR DIET OF BRINE SHRIMP AND ALGAE TURNS THEM PINK.

17. ALBERTA, CANADA IS THE LARGEST RAT-FREE POPULATED AREA IN THE WORLD.

18. RED-EYED TREE FROG EGGS CAN HATCH EARLY IF THEY SENSE DANGER.

19. WHITETAIL DEER CAN SPRINT AT SPEEDS UP TO 30 MILES PER HOUR.

20. BLUE JAYS MIMIC HAWKS’ CALLS TO SCARE AWAY OTHER BIRDS.

21. IN THE UK, THE BRITISH MONARCH LEGALLY OWNS ALL UNMARKED MUTE SWANS IN OPEN WATER.

22. ALL CLOWNFISH ARE BORN MALE—SOME TURN FEMALE TO ENABLE MATING.

23. MORAY EELS HAVE A SECOND SET OF JAWS THAT EXTENDS FROM THEIR THROATS.

24. THE AXOLOTL CAN REGENERATE ITS LIMBS.

25. HARTEBEEST EVADE PREDATORS BY RUNNING IN ZIGZAG PATTERNS.

26. ANTEATERS DON’T HAVE TEETH.

27. FRUIT BATS DON’T USE ECHOLOCATION—THEY HAVE EXCELLENT SENSES OF SIGHT AND SMELL.

28. MALE RING-TAILED LEMURS WILL “STINK FIGHT” BY WAFTING SCENT AT EACH OTHER.

29. LYNX HAVE LARGE FEET THAT ENABLE THEM TO RUN ON VERY DEEP SNOW.

30. IN 1924, A LABRADOR RETRIEVER WAS SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE AT EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY FOR KILLING THE GOVERNOR’S CAT.

31. IN AN AQUATIC TRAFFIC JAM, ALLIGATORS WILL GIVE MANATEES THE RIGHT OF WAY.

32. NINE-BANDED ARMADILLOS ALWAYS GIVE BIRTH TO IDENTICAL QUADRUPLETS.

33. CATS CAN’T TASTE SUGAR. THEY DON’T HAVE SWEET TASTE BUDS.

34. DUCKS LIKE TO SURF. THEY HAVE BEEN OBSERVED RIDING TIDES AND SWIMMING BACK TO RIDE THEM AGAIN.

35. THE AFRICAN PENGUIN IS ALSO COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE “JACKASS PENGUIN” BECAUSE IT MAKES DONKEY-LIKE BRAYING SOUNDS.

36. BIRDS ARE IMMUNE TO THE HEAT OF CHILI PEPPERS.

37. HONEYBEES CAN GET SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES.

38. A NARWHAL TUSK IS ACTUALLY AN EXAGGERATED FRONT LEFT TOOTH, AND UNLIKE MOST TEETH, IT’S SOFT AND SENSITIVE ON THE OUTSIDE WITH A TOUGH INTERIOR.

39. CARIBBEAN SPERM WHALES HAVE THEIR OWN REGIONAL ACCENT.

40. WOMBAT POOP IS CUBE-SHAPED.

41. A BABY PUFFIN IS CALLED A PUFFLING.

42. BALD EAGLES SOUND SO SILLY THAT HOLLYWOOD DUBS THEIR VOICES.

43. ACCORDING TO TIME, THE ANNUAL NUMBER OF WORLDWIDE SHARK BITES IS 10 TIMES LESS THAN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE BITTEN BY OTHER PEOPLE IN NEW YORK.

44. FEMALE BATS GIVE BIRTH WHILE HANGING UPSIDE DOWN, CATCHING THE BABY IN THEIR WINGS AS IT DROPS.

45. TOUCANS CURL INTO LITTLE BALLS WHEN THEY SLEEP.

46. HORSES ARE DISTANTLY RELATED TO RHINOCEROSES AND TAPIRS.

47. SOME CATS ARE ALLERGIC TO HUMANS.

48. DESPITE THEIR LACK OF VISIBLE EARS, PENGUINS HAVE EXCELLENT HEARING.

49. LIONS INHABITED MANY AREAS OF EUROPE UNTIL THEY WERE HUNTED TO EXTINCTION IN THE REGION AROUND 100 BCE.

50. MALE PLATYPUSES HAVE VENOMOUS SPURS.


October 4, 2016 – 8:00am

There is a psychological phenomenon called…

There is a psychological phenomenon called the Backfire Effect. Essentially, the more you try to convince someone they are wrong using facts and figures, the more convinced they become that their preexisting beliefs are correct.

Joseph Weizenbaum, one of the founding fathers…

Joseph Weizenbaum, one of the founding fathers of Artificial Intelligence, later became one of it’s leading critics when he found his secretary getting very emotionally involved with ELIZA, a chatbot that he himself programmed. Driven by a script named DOCTOR, ELIZA was capable of engaging humans in a conversation which bore a striking resemblance to […]

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Kara Kovalchik

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Tuesday, October 4, 2016 – 02:45

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Watch 10 Creatively Topped Pizzas Transform in the Oven

filed under: Food, video, Food

Part of the magic of pizza is that you can put pretty much whatever you want on it. From sweet to savory, your only real limit is what you have in your kitchen. (Crack an egg and you can even have pizza for breakfast.) With that in mind, the people over at Food, People, Places decided to create 10 different pizzas with incredibly creative toppings. It’s deliciously satisfying to watch them all melt and change as they cook. Who knew blackberries could look so good on a pizza? Here’s the full list of what you’re seeing:

The Shrimpy Lemon Pizza
The Parma Ham, Grapes, and Thyme Pizza
The Potato, Rosemary, and Mascarpone Pizza
The Colorful Tomatoes Pizza
The Cauliflower, Figs, and Blue Cheese Pizza
The Blood Sausage and Pears Pizza
The three types of Chilis and Salami Pizza
The Beetroot and Asparagus Pizza
The Mushrooms and Rosemary Pizza
The Ham and Blackberry Pizza

If you want to try a few of these combinations out at home, FP&P say they plan to release some tutorials soon.

[h/t SPLOID]

Primary image courtesy of YouTube.

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.


October 4, 2016 – 6:30am

Morning Cup of Links: The Gates of Hell

filed under: Links
Image credit: 

Peter Andersen via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

11 Hidden Spots to Enter the Underworld. “The Gates of Hell” are found all over the world.  
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Three Nobel Prize Winners Who Went Bonkers. Genius is no safeguard against mental illness.
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Why a Historian Had to Prove the Holocaust Happened in Court. She did it, without having to subject Auschwitz survivors to another ordeal.
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Fake Food. You can thank William A. Mitchell for developing quite a few modern, um, edibles.
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Judd Apatow Commits Career Suicide with Chris Gethard. Feel the tension between the haves and the have-nots.
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What makes someone a ‘person of color’ or ‘white’ in America? Sometimes the divide is a matter of language or religion instead of ancestry or skin tone.
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We can’t even pick our favorite of these knockoff Halloween costumes. Manufacturers go to ridiculous lengths to avoid infringement charges.
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Gruesome Halloween Party Food and Creepy Halloween Party Food. In case you’re throwing the party everyone will be talking about.


October 4, 2016 – 5:00am

From Pollination to Patent: How Farmers Create New Apple Varieties

filed under: Food

You’ve likely seen Golden Delicious, McIntosh, and Cortland apples lining the shelves of your local grocery store, but did you know that more than 7500 varieties of the fruit are grown around the world? Each has its own unique color, taste, and size, and some even have fanciful names like Cosmic Crisp or Pixie Crunch. In the video above, TED-Ed host Theresa Doud explains why—and how—farmers breed new apple types, tracing the lengthy process from pollination to patent.

[h/t The Kid Should See This]

Banner image: iStock

Know of something you think we should cover? Email us at tips@mentalfloss.com.


October 4, 2016 – 3:00am

9 Ingredients for a Successful, Growing Business

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So you have your big idea and you’re ready to go for it. You’re amped up and excited to begin … at least until you realize how much work is ahead of you. How do you get a business going? We can’t do it for you, but we can give you a little push with these nine practical tips.

1. AN UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR MARKET 

Keeping the age, lifestyle, income, buying habits, and interests of your customer in mind will help you create a brand they’ll love. Not sure where to start? Check out the websites and storefronts of your competition and see who’s buying. Online reviews are especially helpful, as they can show you exactly what customers want, in their own words.

2. A GREAT NAME 

You might have come up with the name of your business even before you had a business plan, but that lightbulb moment is just the beginning. Now is the time to check local (or online) business listings to ensure that nobody else has already claimed your clever shop name. Start with an internet search, and see if your name idea is available as a web domain. 

3. A BOOKKEEPING SYSTEM THAT SUITS YOUR NEEDS

Think honestly and hard about your skill with, and interest in, accounting. Do you love it? Find it a cinch? Great. Choose your method and get to work. If you hate it or are worried about your ability to add two and two, don’t despair! You’ve got options. You could take a class or read a book on basic methods. You could choose an easy-to-use program. Or you could outsource the task entirely. Bookkeepers cost money, of course, but the peace of mind (and time saved) might be worth it. 

4. THE RIGHT BUSINESS STRUCTURE 

Think about the financial bones of your company. How many owners or partners are involved? What kind of liability is associated with your products or services? How many employees do you have? How much money do you (realistically) expect to make in your first year? All of these considerations can help you determine if your company is better off as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC), or something else.

5. THE NECESSARY PERMITS AND LICENSES 

You’re gonna need at least a few. Unless you’re your only employee, you’ll want a federal employment identification number. Planning to sell products? Get a seller’s permit. Think about your company premises: Are they zoned for business? If not, you may need a license to work out of your home. You may need some kind of additional insurance as well. Feeling overwhelmed? Take a deep breath. Lots of legal websites offer permit and license checklists for new businesses. 

6. A KNOWLEDGE OF TAX REQUIREMENTS

Set yourself up for success by learning about local and federal tax rules now. Understanding what’s expected will keep your fledgling business above board and prevent you from getting too attached to all that money you’re taking in. Step one: Open a dedicated bank account for your business now. 

7. CLEAR, COMPETITIVE PRICES 

Setting prices for your services may be a little more complicated than it sounds. You’ll need to take into account the cost of materials and supplies, as well as your time and expertise, but you’ve also got to pay attention to what everyone else is charging. You may be able to get away with asking a little more, but only if your product is truly, and demonstrably, superior. Be realistic. It also might be worth it to lower your prices at the beginning to attract new customers or clients. 

8. A WEBSITE 

It doesn’t have to be flashy and complicated; in fact, it shouldn’t be. These days, it’s easy and cheap (or even free) to get a basic website up and running. Your company website should include anything a customer might want to know before patronizing your business: location, phone number, what you do, why you’re the best, and what you charge. Don’t be coy; making it hard to get information will not serve you in the long run. 

9. BUSINESS CARDS

Yes, they’re old fashioned, but they’re also incredibly useful. What’s the first question we ask anyone we meet? “What do you do?” With a stash of business cards in your wallet, that cocktail party has just turned into a marketing opportunity. Don’t be pushy, but keep your information ready. You never know who you’ll meet or how you could benefit one another. 

Allstate agents are small-business owners just like you. Head to Allstate.com to find an agent for advice you need to help you run your business more efficiently.


October 4, 2016 – 2:00am