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
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
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 »
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
In October 2017, the Northern California region experienced the Tubbs Fire. At the time, the fire burned through portions of the counties of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake while wreaking the most havoc in Santa Rosa, was the most destructive wildfire in California history. Its destructiveness was quickly surpassed by the 2018 Campfire only one year
Black widow spiders are well-known for the colored, hourglass-shaped mark on their abdomens. Several species respond to the name and can be found in temperate regions worldwide. But did you know how male black widow spiders choose their mates? To avoid being eaten, male black-widow spiders choose their mates by determining if the female has
Magpies belong to the Corvidae family of birds. Like other family members, they are often regarded as clever creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for example, is considered one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet. It is one of the few non-mammal species capable of recognizing itself in a mirror test. But how did a
