Animals
Drunken Hog Pile
Intoxicated animals is a favorite WU theme, going back, I think, to entries in Chuck Shepherd's NOTW.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 16, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Inebriation and Intoxicants, 1960s, Alcohol
RIP Pigcasso
The artist's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Mar 08, 2024 -
Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Art, Obituaries, Africa, Natural Wonders
Funeral March on the Death of a Parrot
Read about the eccentric, parrot-loving composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (and his equally eccentric son) here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Feb 08, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Eccentrics, Music, Europe, Nineteenth Century
Anti-Bear Flamethrower
David Girag of Glendale, CA recently was granted a patent (11,877,572) for a "portable flame propelling device" to deter an attack by an animal "such as a bear, lion, dog, or human."I think this would just anger a bear, and then cause a forest fire.
Posted By: Alex - Tue Jan 30, 2024 -
Comments (3)
Category: Animals, Fireworks and Pyrotechnics, Patents, Weapons
The Highwaymen, “The Bird Man”
For our category of Actors Who Unwisely Attempt "Singing"
Posted By: Paul - Tue Jan 30, 2024 -
Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Crime, Movies, Music, 1960s
Anting
A strange behavior engaged in by birds. From wikipedia:
Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 27, 2024 -
Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Insects and Spiders
Pigeon Drones
Read all about the wartime practice of mounting cameras on pigeons.At Wikipedia.
And at Public Domain Review, where there are more pictures.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jan 17, 2024 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Inventions, Photography and Photographers, War, Twentieth Century
Follies of the Madmen #579
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 25, 2023 -
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Category: Animals, Anthropomorphism, Bad Habits, Neuroses and Psychoses, Advertising, Coffee and other Legal Stimulants, 1980s
Female mate avoidance behaviors in the European common frog
We posted recently about "misdirected amplexus," which is the phenomenon of male frogs attempting to mate with inappropriate objects (different species, fish, inanimate objects, etc.).Turns out that the weird frog sex behaviors don't end there. Male frogs, in their excitement, will occasionally form "mating balls" — "several male frogs cling to a single female – often killing her in the process."
Some German researchers have now found that female frogs, in turn, have developed defense strategies to protect themselves from over-excited males. They rotate to try to escape the male's grasp; they emit "release calls"; and if those strategies fail to work, they play dead:
More info: "Drop dead! Female mate avoidance in an explosively breeding frog" – technologynetworks.com
(Thanks to Gerald Sacks)
Posted By: Alex - Fri Oct 13, 2023 -
Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Nature, Science, Sex
Ultrasonic Postejaculatory Song of the Male Rat
We posted recently about some odd sexual behavior demonstrated by frogs (their frequent attempts to mate with inappropriate objects). Male rats also display an odd behavior. When they need to rest from mating, they sing an ultrasonic "leave me alone" song.More info: PubMed
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 07, 2023 -
Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Nature, Science, Sex
| 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 |