- A cat sees about six times better than a human at night because
of the tapetum lucidum , a layer of extra reflecting cells which
absorb light.
- The Pacific Giant Octopus, the largest octopus in the world,
grows from the size of pea to a 150 pound behemoth potentially
30 feet across in only two years, its entire life-span.
- Horseshoe crabs have existed in essentially the same form for
the past 135 million years. Their blood provides a valuable test
for the toxins that cause septic shock, which previously led to
half of all hospital-acquired infections and one-fifth of all
hospital deaths.
- Cats respond better to women than men. One reason this might
be is that women have higher pitched voices than men.
- The cat's brain needs so much energy to function that over twenty
percent of blood that the heart pumps goes immediately to it.
- The male penguin incubates the single egg laid by his mate.
During the two month period he does not eat, and will lose up
to 40% of his body weight.
- A Holstein's spots are like a fingerprint or snowflake. No two
cows have exactly the same pattern of spots.
- A group of herring is called a seige. A group of jelly fish
is called a smack.
- The domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically
while walking. Wild cats hold their tail horizontally, or tucked
between their legs while walking.
- The catgut formerly used as strings in tennis rackets and musical
instruments does not come from cats. Catgut actually comes from
sheep, hogs, and horses.
- Penguins "fly" underwater at up to 25 miles per hour.
- The oceans contain 99 percent of the living space on the planet.
- Both humans and cats have identical regions in the brain responsible
for emotion.
- According to experts, whale songs rhyme.
- Electric light or light from your TV set will make your cat
shed her fur.
- Lewis and Clark traveled with a 150-pound Newfoundland named
"Seaman." This pooch was a respected member of the expedition
team and his antics were included in the extensive diaries of
the famous explorers.
- When a dog licks you with a straight tongue, he's saying "I
Love You."
- Of people with companion animals, 18% sleep with them.
- Only 2 out of 10 kittens born in the U.S. ever find a life-long
home.
- About 22% of the world's catch of tuna goes into cat food in
the United States.
- The penalty for killing a cat 4,000 years ago in Egypt was death.
- It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.
- A duck's quack doesn't echo anywhere, and no one knows why.
- Only full-grown male crickets can chirp.
- The Kiwi, national bird of New Zealand, can't fly. It lives
in a hole in the ground, is almost blind, and lays only one egg
each year. Despite this, it has survived for more than 70 million
years.
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