Category:
Animals
Animals
Defense Mechanisms
Strange forms of defensive behavior, from the animal kingdom. Camponotus Saundersi is a species of Malaysian ant that can cause itself to explode at will. It does so by contracting its abdominal muscles, which ruptures its body and sprays poison in all directions. This ability is known as autothysis. [wikipedia]Then there's the horned lizard found in the southwest United States. When threatened, it increases the pressure in its sinus cavities until the blood vessels in the corners of its eyes burst. This causes blood to squirt at its attacker. Check out the National Geographic video. I don't understand why coyotes would be deterred by the squirting blood, but apparently it works.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 31, 2009 -
Comments (10)
Category: Animals
The Chipettes
How did I never know till now that Alvin & the Chipmunks had female analogues in The Chipettes? Here, they sing one of my favorite songs--and I don't half mind their rendition!
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 28, 2009 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Music, Cartoons, 1980s
Otherkin
Otherkin is a name used to describe people who believe they are "something other than human." That something other might be an elf, angel, dragon, or vampire.The Otherkin Wiki explores topics such as Differences from humans, Identifying your species, and, of course, the dreaded Wannabes who try to infiltrate the Otherkin community:
It's hard to detect wannabes...they can become enmeshed in the community and be quite active, or perhaps they eventually figure out that they were wrong and leave -- the realization is probably due to some type of disillusionment...
There is also some measure of fan-culture around some mythological archetypes -- such as Elves in the wake of the Lord of the Rings movies, Vampires after Buffy:TVS and so on. Due to the prevalence of these archetypes in popular media, the community does attract some people who "Wanna be" elves, vampires, etc. even though they know that they aren't. Some of them hang out for a while before realizing that we're by far an unromantic and rather boring community as a whole. They also probably leave disillusioned.
There is also some measure of fan-culture around some mythological archetypes -- such as Elves in the wake of the Lord of the Rings movies, Vampires after Buffy:TVS and so on. Due to the prevalence of these archetypes in popular media, the community does attract some people who "Wanna be" elves, vampires, etc. even though they know that they aren't. Some of them hang out for a while before realizing that we're by far an unromantic and rather boring community as a whole. They also probably leave disillusioned.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 25, 2009 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Psychology
Dolphin High Jump
Most sources I've looked at maintain their capacity is five meters, or sixteen feet.
The performance in the video below is posted twice on YouTube, by different folks. And one poster claimed the rope was set at twenty meters. That would be over sixty feet, or as high as a five-story building.
I don't think so. They might have meant twenty feet.
But if we look at the photo to the right (from the Life archives of a Marineland performance from 1958), we see that the dolphin has jumped about three body-lengths out of the water for its treat. (Unless of course it's been lifted up there by humans and nailed by the snout to the pole.) According to Wikipedia, dolphin species vary from four feet to thirty feet long. If we assume this dolphin is ten feet long, then it's jumped thirty feet straight up!
Amazing!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 18, 2009 -
Comments (11)
Category: Animals, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, 1950s, Natural Wonders
Extreme Shepherding
This is pretty cool until the very end, when it's revealed that it's a corporate-produced viral video, which means the entire thing is probably fake.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 18, 2009 -
Comments (7)
Category: Animals, Video
Dog Armor
Custom-made dog armor. For the times when you plan to take your dog into combat. I wonder if I could order a suit for my parents' 200 lb great dane.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 17, 2009 -
Comments (19)
Category: Animals, Pets, Dogs, War
Bird of Paradise Mating Dance
The Coolest Bird On The Planet. - video powered by Metacafe
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 14, 2009 -
Comments (9)
Category: Animals, Sexuality, Dance, Natural Wonders
Turtle Loves Shoe
In the past, biologists have recorded examples of animals attempting to mate with "biologically inappropriate objects". Konrad Lorenz observed a parakeet who grew frisky with a "small celluloid ball." During the 1950s researchers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center witnessed a hypersexual cat who attempted to mate with a dog, a female rhesus monkey, and an old hen. And here we have a turtle with a shoe fetish:
Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 11, 2009 -
Comments (8)
Category: Animals, Fetishes
Co-ed Pig Wrestling
As Mr. Skip Peterson tells us: "This is an annual fund raiser held in Buffalo, Wyoming, for a local gymnastics team. Contestants have one minute to get the greased hog, butt first into the barrel. The coed team must also dip their hands into a bucket of Crisco before the game begins. The winning time this year was 7.45 seconds. Every team had a freash pig and each pig was only allowed to participate one time. Enjoy!"2008 Coed Pig Wrestling Championships from skip peterson on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 08, 2009 -
Comments (15)
Category: Agriculture, Animals, Education, Entertainment, Exercise and Fitness, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, Sports, Men, Women
Ostrich Racing
Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 05, 2009 -
Comments (5)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Parades and Festivals, 1950s
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |