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Category:
Natural Wonders

Monkey-eating Eagle

If I were a monkey and I saw a Phillipine Monkey-eating Eagle dive-bombing me, I'd probably die of a heart attack and save the eagle the trouble of killing me.

Maybe even in my human state!



Posted By: Paul | Date: Mon May 25, 2009 | Comments (4)
Category: Animals, South Pacific, Natural Wonders

Beware the Worm Lizard!

Every day the news brings me reports of some horrible locale outside my safe and beloved New England, where people are subject to floods, volcanoes, earthquakes--and "worm lizards"...?!?

Yes, it's not bad enough that the poor citizens of a certain region in Brazil have to battle flooding, they also have to contend with the evil Worm Lizard!

You can read about their troubles here. The key sentence:

Like 218,000 others across a swath of northern Brazil three times the size of Alaska, the neighbors have fled the worst rainfall and flooding in decades, braving newly formed rivers teeming with anacondas, alligators and legless reptiles known as "worm lizards" whose bite is excruciating.




Posted By: Paul | Date: Sun May 10, 2009 | Comments (6)
Category: Animals, Death, Destruction, Disasters, Horror, South America, Natural Wonders, Weather

Snow Rollers

Who knew that a combination of snow and wind could create "snow rollers"? Not me. NOAA explains that snow rollers are "extremely rare because of the unique combination of snow, wind, temperature and moisture needed to create them. They form with light but sticky snow and strong (but not too strong) winds."
(Thanks to Prof. Music)

Posted By: Alex | Date: Sat Apr 18, 2009 | Comments (6)
Category: Nature, Natural Wonders, Weather

Hippo Sweat Sunscreen

Would you slather yourself in hippo sweat to avoid sunburn? Even if you replied yes, perhaps you'd prefer that the unguent came in a tube, rather than straight off the back of a hippo.


The sweat sample saga @ Yahoo! Video
Posted By: Paul | Date: Fri Apr 03, 2009 | Comments (10)
Category: Animals, Science, Body Fluids, Natural Wonders

Dolphin High Jump

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How high can a dolphin jump out of the water?

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 | Date: Wed Mar 18, 2009 | Comments (15)
Category: Animals, Fairs, Amusement Parks, and Resorts, 1950's, Natural Wonders

Faith, the Two-legged Dog

This should silence all doubters in the Comments Section about the viability of two-legged dogs!

Posted By: Paul | Date: Fri Jan 30, 2009 | Comments (7)
Category: Dogs, Natural Wonders

The Devil’s Arse

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Imagine when your vacation rolls around in 2009, and your co-workers ask where you're going, and you reply, "The Devil's Arse!"

Check out the official page of this famous English cavern here.
Posted By: Paul | Date: Wed Jan 21, 2009 | Comments (3)
Category: Europe, Natural Wonders, Butt

Giant Synaptic Sea Cucumber

Apparently, the Cyrene Reef of Singapore features some crazy wildlife.


giant synaptic sea cucumber ! ....from outaspace from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Posted By: Paul | Date: Wed Jan 21, 2009 | Comments (2)
Category: Animals, Asia, Natural Wonders

Super-sized Elephant Ear Plant

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I want to see a Weird Universe reader grow this as a houseplant. Order your seedling here.
Posted By: Paul | Date: Mon Jan 19, 2009 | Comments (7)
Category: Agriculture, Asia, Natural Wonders
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All original content in posts is Copyright © 2008 by the author of the post, either Alex Boese ("Alex"), Paul Di Filippo ("Paul"), or Chuck Shepherd ("Chuck"). All rights reserved. The banner illustration at the top of this page is Copyright © 2008 by Rick Altergott.