The Opium Wars of the mid-nineteenth century were a watershed moment in modern Chinese history. From 1839 to 1842, China and the United Kingdom fought the first Opium War. From 1856 to 1860, a weakened China fought Great Britain and France in the Second Opium War. China was defeated in both wars. The terms of […]
You are familiar with your cats’ endearing habits, distinct personalities, and preferences for food, play, and affection. Do your cats have right or left paws? Have you ever noticed which paw they use first when crossing a raised object or descending the stairs? Do they actually have a preference? Cats can have a preference of
One of the beautiful aspects of humanity is that we generally understand the difference between right and wrong. Humans understand that their actions have consequences. Animals, on the other hand. Since this is the case, animals should not be subject to police detention. But do you know why animals were routinely jailed in France? In
Animals were Routinely Jailed, Tried, Convicted, and Executed in Medieval France. Read More »
The Peregrine falcon, also known as the peregrine falcon and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan raptor in the Falconidae family. The peregrine falcon is well-known for its speed, reaching up to 320 km/h during its characteristic hunting stoop, making it the animal kingdom’s fastest member. But do you know
Spider webs have been around for at least 100 million years, as evidenced by a rare find of Early Cretaceous amber from Sussex, England. Many spiders weave webs specifically to trap and eat insects. But did you know not all spiders make their web sticky? Spiders that spin webs do not all make them sticky.
African giant pouched rats, large, cat-sized rodents native to central Africa, have poor vision but an exceptional sense of smell. But did you know that humans use rodents to sniff out land mines in Vietnam? In Vietnam, humans have trained rats to detect land mines. Rodent Super Sniffers This makes them ideal candidates for sniffing
Humans Have Trained Rodents to Sniff Out Land Mines in Vietnam. Read More »
Squash bee, also known as squash and gourd bee, refers to two related genera of bees in the Eucerini tribe: Peponapis and Xenoglossia. Both genera are oligoleges or pollen specialists on the plant genus Cucurbita and closely related plants, but they do not typically visit watermelon, cucumber, or melon plants. But did you know that
Squash Bees are Bee Species That Sleep Inside Pumpkin Flowers. Read More »
The PDSA Dickin Medal was established in 1943 by Maria Dickin in the United Kingdom to honor the work of animals during World War II. It is a bronze medallion with the words For Gallantry and We Also Serve within a laurel wreath, carried on a striped green, dark brown, and pale blue ribbon. But
When it comes to scaring people, rats rank right up there with snakes and spiders. Most people would scream if they saw a beady-eyed, yellow-toothed rat scuttling across the basement floor or darting down a city sidewalk. But did you know how powerful a rat’s jaw is? Rat jaws are similar to alligator jaws in
One of the most fascinating and inspiring natural phenomena is bird migration—but how do scientists figure out where all those birds are going? European scientists had little evidence that birds migrated during the winter until the nineteenth century. Scientists only had definitive proof of long-distance migration once a stork returned with an arrow made of
