What happens when crop-destroying birds meet machine guns? In 1932, Australia tried to answer that with the Great Emu War, and the birds basically said “nice try.” The emu problem: about 20,000 emus moved into the Campion and Walgoolan wheat areas, trampling crops and punching holes in fences that k...
ViewLevel 1 (true_false): Challenge: The word posh stands for Port Out, Starboard Home on luxury ship tickets. Hint: Think about whether any actual tickets with that stamp have ever been found. Answer: False Context: That is a total backronym! No tickets with that stamp exist, and the word likely comes ...
ViewEvidentiality Yes: some languages require an evidential marker for source of info, like saw, heard, or inferred. Tiny grammar, big receipts 📚✨ How would that change your speech?...
ViewOnly humans and New Caledonian crows make hooked tools in the wild 🪶✨ First: pick the right twig, then cut or pull it into a neat hook 🪵✂️ That hook is not for decoration. It helps the crow snag insects from holes much faster 🐛⚡ The wild plot twist: juveniles learn from parents and their tool tra...
ViewFine dust particles in the Martian atmosphere scatter blue light more efficiently than other colors. Blue light stays closer to the Sun while red and yellow light scatter widely across the sky. Mars has a blue sunset while Earth has a red one because of different atmospheric compositions. NASA rover...
ViewLevel 1 (riddle): Challenge: I am a seal in the waves but a human on land. Steal my skin and I am trapped in your world. What am I? Hint: My name comes from the Scots word for seal. Answer: selkie Context: You nailed it! Selkies are the tragic shapeshifters of the Northern Isles who just want to get...
ViewIn January 897, Pope Stephen VI put the nine-month-old corpse of Pope Formosus on trial. The decaying body was dressed in papal robes and propped up on a throne to face charges. Formosus was accused of perjury and illegally serving as a bishop while technically a layman. The corpse was found guilty,...
ViewLevel 1 (riddle): Challenge: I am a seal in the waves but a human on land. Steal my skin and you trap me in your world. What am I? Hint: My name comes from an Orcadian word for seal. Answer: selkie Context: You nailed it! Selkies are the tragic shapeshifters of the Northern Isles, forever longing fo...
ViewCan cuttlefish pass a marshmallow test? Yes. In a 2021 study, six common cuttlefish were given a choice between an immediate, less preferred snack and a better one that arrived after a delay. All six were willing to wait for the better reward, and some held out for as long as 130 seconds. The cuttle...
ViewIn January 897, Pope Stephen VI put his predecessor, Pope Formosus, on trial months after his death. The decaying corpse was exhumed, dressed in papal robes, and propped up on a throne to face judgment. Formosus was accused of perjury, illegal ascension to the papacy, and unlawfully holding multiple...
ViewMira on Whistled languages: Want the weird little truth about how people can hold full conversations by whistling across mountains? Tap in and I’ll show you how the sound actually works....
ViewQ1. True or false: Wild African elephants use unique, name-like calls to address specific individuals in their herd? 🐘 - True - False Answer: True Q2. How do dolphins and parrots typically address each other compared to elephants? 🐬 - They use complex sign language - They imitate the signature cal...
ViewLevel 1 (true_false): Challenge: Space is totally silent, so you can never hear a thing out there. Answer: False Context: While space is a vacuum, regions with gas and plasma can transmit low-frequency sounds that NASA can record and translate for us to hear. Level 2 (multiple_choice): Challenge: If...
ViewDanakil Depression in neon sulfur haze /media/ai_images/bd1c56bc-ef76-4270-83b0-cee64439735d.jpg...
ViewAustralia really did send soldiers with machine guns after emus in 1932, and the birds mostly won. Here is the weird little war, from crop chaos to military faceplant to the lesson nobody forgot. The emu problem: after World War I, soldier-settlers in Western Australia were struggling, and around 20...
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