Fact #47

Real Fact #47: Giraffes have no vocal chords.

Giraffes are peculiar creatures. Standing up to 19 feet tall, with super long necks and legs, reaching high into the treetops for acacia leaves, this is one of those creatures that makes you wonder what the heck God was thinking when He created it.

Giraffes are herbivores, eating leaves at the tops of trees that most animals cannot reach. They live on most of the African continent (and yes, you see them in almost every zoo around the world). Giraffes are the tallest terrestrial mammal - their legs alone are over six feet long, which is taller than most humans.

(This photo from my personal collection, taken at the Denver Zoo in Spring 2013)

Even their tongues appear to have been on the rack. The average giraffe tongue is 21 inches long, and bluish in color. These flexible leaf grabbers help giraffes grab food from thorny branches or large amounts of hay, as you can see in the picture above.

Having long legs and along neck also allows a giraffe to spot and flee from predators, such as lions. A giraffe can sprint at 35 mph and with such amazing height they can spot something coming. Chances are you will not see this in the wild:

(Photo from pintrest.com. Cartoon by Gary Larson)

There is a big downside to this height. A giraffe has a lot of trouble drinking at a water hole. Their heart is specially formulated to pump massive amounts blood all the way up to the head, and the giraffe can have a blood rush when its head lowers. To properly drink water, giraffes must spread their legs apart to reach the water hole, and are very vulnerable at this time. It also takes a giraffe a very long time to get up from the ground, should it lie down. This makes it a sitting target. Thankfully, they only need one drink of water every few days - they get the rest of the moisture
they needs from their food. Yikes, that makes me thirsty even just thinking about it!

(Picture from my own personal collection, taken at the Denver Zoo Spring of 2013)

Thank you to animals.nationalgeographic.com for the giraffe facts.

But, do they have vocal chords? It's true that in the many, many times I have visited a zoo, the giraffe barn is probably the quietest place in the whole menagerie, and I have never heard giraffes utter a peep. Like other animals, giraffes only have seven cervical vertebrae, although they are much longer, of course. But are there any vocal chords in there?

According to the San Diego Zoo, yes! Here is what their website has to say:
"Although they do possess vocal chords, giraffes vocalize much less than [their closest relative] Okapi" (Apfelbach, et al).

Some vocalizations that have been observed include:
-an "alarm snort"
-mewing (bleating) from calves
-a "roaring bellow" from females looking for lost young
-males making a "raucous cough" during courtship
-various snoring, hissing, moaning, and flutelike sounds (Apfelbach, et al).

So in essence, Snapple does not have their facts straight on this one. You will find arguments for either side all over the internet, yet I am more willing to believe zoological sites over places like ask.com.

As a kid, I tired to imagine what it would be like to ride a giraffe. I had a toy giraffe I played with and I would make my dolls ride it (still have the giraffe, ditched dolls pretty early on in life). For all the time I have spent at zoos, giraffes have never been my favorite exhibit. First off, the barns stink to high heaven. keep in mind I am someone who is not bothered by the smell of horse manure! Second, giraffes typically don't move much. With those long legs, I am not sure I would either. I have always had a bigger interest in horses or anything that resembles them. Elephants, dolphins, penguins, seals, and otters always seem to grab my attention more. Yet there was this one time that that they really grabbed my attention.

It was 2010, my last summer living with my family, and my mom and I took a trip to the zoo. While we were there, the giraffes were being moved from their outdoor pasture to the barn. To do this, keepers must block off the path with gates and usher them through, either with treats or just good training. A picture of the process is below:

(Photo from my personal collection, taken at the Woodland Park Zoo, Summer 2010)

Once in the barn enclosure the giraffes found bunches of leaves tied to the fencing, so they would get a little enrichment, along with a snack. While the zoo guests could not get super close to the fence, it was closer than any of us had been before. I was about four feet from the giraffes while they snacked, and that is about as close as a visitor to this zoo can come (the outdoor enclosure is a large pit with lots of fencing and ravines between the people and the animals. You can only see the animals from a great distance). There was something about being so close to these normally silent beauties that just gave the area a sense of peace. Something about giraffes seems very calming.

Resources:

Apfelbach, , Coe, Estes, Fennessy et al, Guggisberg , Innis, Le Pendu et al., and Leuthold & Leuthold. "Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis." San Diego Zoo Global. San Diego Zoo Global, n.d. Web. 27 Feb 2014. <http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/giraffe/giraffe.htm>.

"Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis." National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 27 Feb 2014. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/giraffe/>.

Fact #899

Real Fact #899: The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

(Picture from www.123rf.com, with arrows added for clarification)

Those things have a name? I would like to say I have heard that somewhere before. When in doubt, go to the dictionary!

Here is what I found: "1 : the plain or ornamental tag covering the ends of a lace or point   2 : any of various ornamental studs, cords, or pins worn on clothing" ("Aglet" 23).

My print dictionary may be a little on the old side, but what the heck. I don't think that definition has changed much.

This seems like one of those random factoids that after reading it, you think (with sarcasm, of course) "Well now that I know THAT, is my life any different?" I know mine isn't any different for that knowledge. Maybe it will serve me well in trivia someday.

So according to this definition the term "aglet" also applies to the plastic coverings on the ends of drawstrings on sweatshirts. As a hoodie sweatshirt lover, I began to just take those string out. Not that they weren't useful, as a natural busybody I began chewing on them in classes, at home, in the car, etc when I was a kid. Anyone else guilty of this bad habit?

No, I never did that to shoelaces. No, I don't do this as an adult. The habit was kicked as a teen, yet I still remove the strings if they come out. I just never have a reason to use them, even in the rugged Rocky Mountain weather. I like to be able to see so I use a hat instead. Plus, I have some of the thickest hair around. It makes a great scarf, as weird as that may sound.


Reference: "Aglet." Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Springfield: 1997.

Fact #831

Real Fact #831: Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

We've all heard it: we need to laugh more. Laughter is the best medicine. It takes more muscles to frown than smile. Smiling actually burns calories. And on and on. I am not going to even research this one. The numbers here almost don't matter. We all need to laugh more. Why take life so seriously? No one makes it out alive anyway.

In honor of us all (including myself) needing to laugh more, this post is full of cartoons, pictures, and jokes that I have compiled over the years. I cannot verify where the pictures come from, as most were given to me via friends on Facebook. The text jokes are mostly from Readers' Digest. Enjoy! And laugh lots!

"Last night I played a blank tape at full blast.  The mime next door went nuts."

"What’s the last thing you usually hear before a redneck dies? 

                'Hey, y’all!  Watch this!'"

"How many quarters does it take to play the new Lord of the Rings pinball game?  None.  It only takes Tolkiens."

"It was a really hot day.  The drunk decided that maybe he should lay off the alcohol, so he went to a vending machine to buy a soda.  He popped some coins in the machine and a can rolled out.  Excited, he continued to feed the machine.  A line started to form behind him and a woman shouted, 'Hurry up!  We’re all hot and thirsty!'  'Not yet,' the drunk replied, 'I’m still winning!'"

"Lawyers are leaving their mark everywhere.  Today I went to the aquarium and saw a sign that said Alleged Killer Whale."

"These guys, one a pessimist and the other an eternal optimist, had been friends for years.  The optimist was always trying to get his pal to see the bright side of things.  The optimist found a dog that could walk on water.  This is perfect, he thought.  There’s no way that darn cynic can say anything negative about this.  He took his friend duck hunting so he could see the dog in action.  Mid-morning, they finally downed a bird.  It fell on the other side of the lake, so the optimist sent the dog to retrieve it.  The animal trotted across the water, grabbed the duck in his mouth, and ran back.  'Isn’t that amazing?'  'Hmph,' the cynic replied.  'That dog can’t swim, can it?'"

"A pollster was working outside the United Nations building.  He approached a Texan, a Californian, and a New Yorker.  'Excuse me,' he said, 'I would like your opinion on the current meat shortage.'  The Texan replied, 'Pardon, but what is a shortage?'  The Californian asked, 'Sorry, but what is meat?'  The New Yorker asked, 'What is ‘Excuse me’?'"

“'Daddy, do all fairy tales begin with the words ‘Once upon a time’?' the little girl asked.  'No,' he replied.  'A whole lot of them begin with the words, ‘If elected, I promise.''”

"How do you get a man to do sit ups?  Put the remote control between his feet."

"Through the pitch-black night, the captain sees a light dead ahead on a collision course with his ship.  He sends a signal: 'Change your course 10 degrees west.'  The light signals back, 'Change yours, 10 degrees west.'  Angry, the captain sends, 'I’m a navy captain!  Change your course, sir!'  'I’m a seaman, second class,' comes the reply, 'change your course, sir.'  Now the captain is furious.  'I’m a battleship!  I’m not changing my course!'  There’s one last reply.  'I’m a lighthouse.  Your call.'”

"You can always spot an employee who’s playing golf with his boss.  He’s the fellow who gets a hole in one and says, 'Oops!'”

"Did you hear about the desperado who tried to hijack a bus full of Japanese tourists?  Fortunately, police had 5,000 photographs of the suspect."

"Phone-answering machines for the rich and famous:

·         Silvester Stalone – 'Yo. You.  Message.  Now.'

·         Sally Field – 'If you like me – if you really like me – leave your name and number after the beep.'

·         Clint Eastwood – 'Go ahead, leave a message.  Make my day.'

Shirley MacLaine – 'I already know who you are and what you’re calling about.  Simply leave a brief description of your present incarnation.'”

Fact #112

Real Fact #112: At birth, a Dalmatian is always pure white.

Yes, that's true. You can read about it in any dog breed book. Here is an example, taken from www.jlsdals.com:

Spots tend to show up within a few weeks or so, and sometimes you can even see slight pigment before then.

Aww, aren't they adorable?

Anyone who has seen "101 Dalmatians" also know this is true. In the Disney animated version, Cruella De Vil arrives right after the birth to purchase the puppies for her coat but is disgusted that they have no spots.

(Image from www.hdwpapers.com)

In the live version, we actually see the puppies right after birth and sure enough they are white. Now, I guess that you could argue that there could be some CGI involved, but I highly doubt it.

I adore dogs and puppies. I have always been a dog over cats kind of person (nothing against cats, mind you. I just like dogs better). I have known several dogs in my life, most of them the dogs of friends or family members. There was Morgan, the Golden Retriever that taught my brother that not all dogs are scary. There was Rosie (pronounced "Rozz-ie") that made my brother scared of dogs in the first place. There is Mogul, a linebacker of a lab who dives off docks into the water to fetch a tennis ball and can ride in a kayak. There's my family's neighbors' dog Frodo, who is dumb enough to run into the side of a moving car yet smart enough to pick apples from the trees. There were/are my friends' dogs, like Razor, Roxy, Daisy, Iris, and many others. Then there were Hoss & Chance, the dogs my best friend/old roomie Teri trained in college. I almost adopted Chance.

Then...there was Sadie:

(my own personal photo, taken ~2002)

Sadie was the first (and thus far, only) dog I owned. Okay, she was technically the family dog, but she was primarily my responsibility. She arrived in the family of June 2001, as a three month old puppy. A mutt of dubious lineage, she was plenty happy to go for walks or just hang out all day. Never a big fetcher...you had to bribe her with treats. As my grandfather battled dementia, she was always able to bring a smile to his face. Sadie saw me through some very rough times in my life, and was always at the door to greet me with her vocal antics and a fiercely wagging tail.

In fall of 2012, Sadie began to lose weight. At first, nothing seemed wrong...she was an older dog after all. However blood tests confirmed there was something wrong with her liver. Sadie was peacefully put to sleep in late January 2012 due to suspected liver cancer. I was in college and unable to come home to say good-bye, but the vet saved her ashes, which stay with me today in an urn I made for her in ceramics class. Someday another wonderful dog will come into my life. As a side note, my grandfather passed away nine months later, and I am sure the two of them are having a blast together in heaven.

I have never owned a Dalmatian, but I did meet one as a kid. It was my grandmother's birthday (she was born on Leap Day, so we had to have a big party every four years, and this was one of them). Some friends came over with Jasmine, a young Dalmatian. While I do not recall most of this party (I was probably between 4-7 years old), I do remember sitting on the front porch petting Jasmine. There is a photo floating around of little me and Jasmine on that porch. I wish I had an electronic copy of it, so I can show you. I never saw Jasmine after that party, but she was an early indication to my family that they had a dog lover on their hands :) .

Fact #184

Real Fact #184: The most used letters in the English language are E, T, A, O, I, and N.

Wow...did someone actually go through a Mirriam-Webster and count every single letter? How do you figure something like this out?

According to Wikipedia, E is most commonly believed to be the most common letter used. I suppose that is true. Feel free to count the number of E's in this post (or past posts) versus other letters to figure out if this is the case. I am not going to count myself, but just by looking at what I have written thus far I can believe it.

I actually found a table listing the frequency of all the letter sin a 40,000 word sample. Now, I never saw the word sample. I would like to in order to rule out bias. That being said, the order of the letters I listed above is the frequency order in this table. (to see the table yourself, go to http://www.math.cornell.edu/~mec/2003-2004/cryptography/subs/frequencies.html).

I guess Scrabble had to base its amount of letters off of something. There are several more E's in that burgundy bag than any other. Versus Q or Z...when do those letters get used much? Hey, they make word searches pretty easy when actually included in a word.

So I guess this is probably true, even if I cannot find more concrete info about it. If anyone finds different stats, I am happy to update this blog.

Just in closing, for the heck of it:

(This was given to me electronically by a friend. I did not make it, nor do I hold any rights to it)

Fact #363

Real Fact # 363: Pearls dissolve in vinegar.

As I think pearls are pretty and a nice piece of jewelry, I have never tried it. Once again I turned to the internet. WikiAnswers, backed by other various sites as well, claim this is true. But why?

It turns out that pearls are mostly made of calcium carbonate. Most of us have heard that term before. after all it's what your antacids are made of. Vinegar will dissolve such materials. Some people claim that pearls "melt" in the vinegar. Not so. Vinegar is acidic, not a solution which produces heat. If you have a random pearl lying around at home that you don't want anymore, go ahead and try it!

(This photo from Wikipedia)

Some more fast facts about pearls (loosely taken from Wikipedia and my own brain):

Pearls are formed when a microscopic irritant, such as a grain of sand or something even smaller, gets inside the mantle of a shelled mollusk, such as an oyster. The animal's response to the irritant is to build up calcium carbonate in an attempt to protect itself. What results is a typically round item that we use as jewelry. Depending on the species of mollusk, where it lives, the temperature of the water, etc, pearls come in a variety of shapes and colors instead of just the typical round, white ones.

This photo, from michaelspearls.com, shows just a small sample of the variety of shapes, colors, and sizes you can find.

Today companies make synthetic pearls. Lovers of the the TV show "M*A*S*H*" may remember an episode where Frank buys two pearl necklaces: one real and one fake. He intends to send the real one home to his wife and give the fake pearls to Margaret. When Margaret receives the pearls she rubs them against her teeth to see if they are fake. They are, but she claims they feel "real." Guilt-ridden, Frank secretly swaps the necklaces and takes the fake one back to his tent to determine this for himself.

It's been a while since I saw that episode, so I cannot remember if the pearls felt rough that they were fake or real. One type felt smooth, one type felt rough. I can't remember.

Anyway, pearls are also the gemstone for the month of June. So if you know anyone with a June birthday, this could be a good gift idea. Here's a chart showing all the gemstones of the months:

This photo from bestevergifts.info.

As a casual, "country-at-heart" kind of person, I have never really been into gemstones, especially pearls. Plus I have always preferred sapphire, as that's my birthstone (see chart above), and I have loose sapphires waiting to be made into something special someday. But I do have two loose pearls sitting in my precious items box. I got them way back in 2008 when my family took a summer trip to the island of Maui. One of the best vacations ever!
Anyway, we stopped in a large souvenir shop. One thing you could do was spend a few bucks for a small pearl oyster. The staff member would open it and you could search for a pearl. If you got one, you rang a bell and shouted "ALOHA!" in celebration. Yes, a cheap tourist trap. But I was suckered in. If I got a pearl, I could make jewelry out of it, and claim I got the pearls in Hawaii! So I bought an oyster. Lo and behold, there were TWO pearls in this oyster! They were about the same size and color. Cool! Pearl earrings, maybe? The gal I was working with told me her shop could set them for some astronomical amount of money. I said thanks but no thanks and took the pearls home. I still have them, still waiting to be made into earrings. Sadly, when you have a nickel contact allergy, you can only wear gold jewelry, which makes the jewelry making process difficult and expensive. Some day, perhaps...

Fact #239

Real Fact #239: Besides humans, elephants are the only animals that can be taught to stand on their head.

Elephants can do that? Really? I've never been able to do it, even with two strong people holding my ankles up there. I can do it under water for, like, maybe a second...

Hilarious images of various animals trying to do "head-stands" float through my mind as I research this one. I went to various sites this time, looking for proof that no other animals can be trained to do this. According to WikiAnswers, Big Site of Amazing Animal Facts, and SodaHead all say this is true. It takes a lot of coaxing and training for the Asian elephant (or us humans, for that matter) to be able to do this. What does it look like? Here's an example:

Image is from dreamstime.com, as you can probably tell by the watermark.

From what I have seen in my research on this topic, teaching an elephant to do this can be a harrowing ordeal. This is not a natural pose, and you will find articles EVERYWHERE about how training elephants, using them in the circus, etc are inhumane. Some pictures I found, I will admit, were pretty nasty. I know from past animal experiences that you can train an animal without force. Sadly, not everyone agrees. This is why I do not plan attending the circus anytime soon. But I digress. This is not an animal rights blog.

Other animals have been known to do handstands instinctively. For example, the skunk will do a handstand when threatened by predators, most likely to assure its stinky cocktail will reach the intended target:

This spotted skunk (image from pbs.org) is doing a handstand as a warning before firing off the nasty juices for which all skunks are so well known. 

Pandas have also been known to do handstands. While "females urinate to leave a mark near the / ground," males "pee or wipe their anal glands on the trunk" of a tree (Brown 65-66). In order to "show how fit and virile they are, the males compete to place the secretions as high as possible. (Brown 66)" There are four main positions males will use to complete this task. There are "a squat, a reverse wipe, and a leg-cock. (Brown 66)" If none of these satisfy, the male will complete a handstand to reach even higher, as depicted below:

This picture is from news.bbc.co.uk. Impressive, I must say.

By looking just at these pictures, I guess you could argue semantics regarding an elephant doing standing on his head versus a handstand. I have seen images of elephants getting closer to a standing on their head, however I have chosen not to show them, due to the somewhat "not-so-nice" training techniques that were also being displayed.

So...can elephants stand on their head? I think the answer is yes. And I won't lie, it would be awesome to see. But I still won't pay the circus to see it.

Print Resource:

Brown, Augustus. Why Pandas Do Handstands: and Other Curious Truths About Animals. New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2006. Print. 65-66

Fact #984

Real Fact # 984: When creating a mummy, Ancient Egyptians removed the brain by inserting a hook through the nostrils.

If you have a sensitive constitution or are eating right now, I would highly recommend you come back and read later. This blog will be a little gross.

This sounds familiar. I may have learned this in elementary school, or it could have been one of those random facts that kids throw out there in an attempt to gross out their buddies. A nature lover and former veterinarian student, I am not grossed out by much. But is this actually true? And how would the Egyptians go about doing this?

Yes, this one is true. To learn more, I checked out the site http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk. This website has a step-by-step walk-through of how the mummification process took place. So here is what I learned...

Ancient Egyptians first simply buried their dead in small pits out in the desert. The hot, dry sand naturally dehydrated the bodies, creating some of the first mummies. As civilization grew, the Egyptians began an actual embalming process before wrapping and burying the body. The embalming, in a nutshell, worked something like this:

1. The body was taken to a special tent known as the 'ibu' or 'place of purification.'
2. The embalmers would wash the body with a palm wine and rinse it with Nile River water.
3. One worker would cut a slice in the left side of the body. Workers then removed the internal organs, as they decompose quickly. The heart was left in place, as it was believed the dead needed it in the afterlife.
4. A long hook was inserted through the nose to smash the brain and pull it out. This would be tricky, although the brain is a very similar consistency to gelatin. That's right, your Jell-O snack and your brain are about the same gooey-ness.
5. The body would then be stuffed with a material called natron, which will dry the body out. All fluids and materials used to clean the body will be buried with it.
6. The body sits for forty days before it is washed again with Nile water and covered in oils to keep the skin elastic.
7. The now dehydrated internal organs are wrapped in linen and returned to the body.
8. Workers then stuff the body full of dry materials, such as sawdust, to help the body appear more lifelike.
9. More good-smelling oils are applied to the body. The body is now ready to be wrapped.

The result of the embalming and wrapping process can be hard to imagine. I would guess it would look somewhat lifelike. Obviously preserving a body has improved over the thousands of years since the Ancient Egyptians created their mummies. However the process is quite impressive. Not many ancient civilizations left us with so much evidence of their lives, however creepy it may look:

This is an actual Egyptian mummy (older woman I believe) that I saw at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science back in May of 2013. Kinda creepy and gross for sure, but also kind of cool. 

Our world hosts (and has hosted) so many different civilizations since its birth. The people of today we can experience through art, music, food, and/or travel. The peoples of the past...we are largely stuck with stories and the artifacts they have left behind. No matter how weird, disgusting, or bizarre those artifacts may be, they all have something to teach us.