Clipmarks | Sheroug's 'animals' clips

Terror and Horror

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:15:26 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Terror and horror, from Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.

Ann Radcliffe wrote: "Terror and horror are so far opposite, that the first expands the soul, and awakens the faculties to a high degree of life; the other contracts, freezes, and nearly annihilates them."

Or, in Devendra Varma's words, "The difference between Terror and Horror is the difference … between the smell of death and stumbling against a corpse."

Turtle Facts

Sun, 18 May 2008 20:53:59 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: www.petplace.com

Testudo, the Latin word for tortoise, shell, arch or vault, was also the name given to a technique used by Roman soldiers in warfare. Standing close together, in the shape of a rectangle, they held their shields flat over their heads, to form a protective dome, allowing them to approach the enemy en masse, unharmed by spears, stones and arrows.

The black soft-shelled turtle figures importantly in Hindu mythology. The animals are believed to represent the souls of long ago sinners, transformed into reptiles by a 13th century saint, are in a tank attached to a temple in Bangladesh. Each animal is considered sacred

The oldest known tortoise may have been a radiated tortoise from Madagascar (Astrochelys radiata), which died in 1965. She was at least 188 years old, having been given to the Tonga royal family, by Captain Cook in 1773 or 1777.

The growth rings on the scutes or scales on a tortoise cannot be used to determine the animal's age with any degree of accuracy

Animal Recordings

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:13:35 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: animalbehaviorarchive.org

Tags: animals, recording

Top 10 Useless Limbs

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:24:36 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Top 10 Useless Limbs (and Other Vestigial Organs)

The Wings on Flightless Birds

Hind Leg Bones in Whales

Despite the apparent uselessness, evolution left traces of hind legs behind, and these vestigial limbs can still be seen in the modern whale.

Erector Pili and Body Hair

The Human Tailbone (Coccyx)

These fused vertebrae are the only vestiges that are left of the tail that other mammals still use for balance, communication, and in some primates, as a prehensile limb.

There have been documented cases of infants born with tails, an extended version of the tailbone that is composed of extra vertebrae.

The Blind Fish Astyanax Mexicanus

The pale fish has eyes, but as it is developing in the egg, the eyes begin to degenerate, and the fish is born with a collapsed remnant of an eye covered by flap of skin.

Wisdom Teeth in Humans

The Sexual Organs of Dandelions

Dandelions reproduce without fertilization; they basically clone themselves, and they are quite successful at it

Tags: useless limbs, body, animals, evolution

Epitaphs

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:32:21 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug
clipper's remarks: Interesting

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Epitaph

Famous epitaphs

[edit] Humourous

I knew if I waited around long enough something like this would happen

— George Bernard Shaw

Pardon me for not getting up

— Ernest Hemingwa y

Dúirt mé leat go raibh mé breoite

(Gaelic for I told you I was ill)

— Spike Milligan, Irish comic, writer, musician

[edit] Self Referential

Here lie the ashes of Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) Humorist, writer, critic, defender of human and civil rights. For her epitaph she suggested "Excuse My Dust". This memorial garden is dedicated to her noble spirit which celebrated the oneness of humankind, and to the bonds of everlasting friendship between black and Jewish people.

Here lies one of the most intelligent animals who ever appeared on the face of the earth.

— Benito Mussolini

3.14159265358979323846264338327950288...

— Ludolph van Ceulen, he was so proud of his achievement, computing π (pi) to 35 digits, that he ordered it to be inscribed on his tombstone.

Tags: epitaph

Interesting Animal Facts

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:11:22 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: sooboth.blogspot.com

Some Interesting Facts

DALMATIONS are the only breed of dog that gets gout (because they are the only mammals, other than humans, which produce uric acid).

SLUGS have four noses - well actually a pair of gills for breathing and a pair of rhinopores (chemosensory organs) used for smelling.

HONEYBEES have hairs on their eyes to help them collect pollen.

The left leg of a CHICKEN is more tender than the right one, which it uses most, therefore increasing muscle development.

The sperm of a MOUSE is longer than the sperm of an elephant.

Mice are highly promiscuous and need particularly large testes to keep up with demand.

Some LIONS can mate more than 50 times a day.

Tags: facts, animals, interesting

On the Parts of Animals

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:17:02 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: classics.mit.edu

On the Parts of Animals

By Aristotle

Written 350 B.C.E

Translated by William Ogle

Book I [62k]
Book II [123k]

Book III [116k]
Book IV [156k]