Happy Wednesday!
What do you want to be when you grow up? Check out the most and least trusted professions in 2026!
Here’s what we’ve got this week:
TRIVIA
Whose heart beats the slowest? 💓
Which of these animals has the slowest heartbeat?
Explanation at the end!
ANIMAL FOCUS
Arctic Foxes 🦊
Shoutout to Marie, whose favorite animal is the arctic fox!
They can survive temperatures as low as -94°F! They have the warmest fur of any mammal, and it grows extra thick in winter. 🧥
A fox family can eat up to 4,000 lemmings in one summer! In winter, they can hear lemmings under 4-5 inches of snow, then leap up and dive nose-first through the snow to grab one! 🐭
One arctic fox walked from Norway to Canada! In 2018, it traveled 2,179 miles across sea ice and glaciers in just 76 days. That’s farther than driving from Los Angeles to Chicago! 👟
They are Iceland’s only native land mammal! All the others were brought by people! ❄️
One fox can hide more than 1,500 eggs a year! They bury stolen goose eggs and eat them up to a year later. The frozen ground works like a freezer! 🥚
EVER WONDER?
Why do scary things make our hearts race? 😱
Have you ever been scared and noticed that your heart is suddenly beating faster?
Who sets off the alarm? 🚨
A part of your brain called the amygdala (uh-MIG-duh-luh) is your built-in alarm system. It’s about the size of an almond.
It works fast, before the thinking part of your brain catches up. That’s why you might jump at a shadow before realizing it’s just your coat.
Then your body gets a rush of adrenaline. It speeds up your heart and makes you breathe faster, so more oxygen gets into your blood. This is your fight-or-flight response - your body getting ready to fight or run away!
Why does your heart beat faster? 🏃
Blood carries oxygen and sugar to your muscles, so pumping more blood gives them more fuel to run.
At rest, an adult heart pumps about 1 gallon of blood every minute. That’s like a whole jug of milk. When you’re scared, it pumps even more!
Fun fact: Adrenaline also slows your stomach down. That’s where “butterflies in your stomach” come from! 🦋
BRAIN TRIVIA
Logic Puzzle: Four Arctic animals are in a snowy talent show. Each animal has a different snack and talent. ❄️
Animals: Snowy owl, Walrus, Arctic fox, Polar bear
Snacks: Lemmings, Clams, Berries, Fish
Talents: Singing, Juggling, Ice skating, Snow sculpting
Can you match each animal to its snack and talent?
Clues:
The walrus loves clams.
The snowy owl doesn’t juggle or ice skate.
The polar bear doesn’t eat berries or lemmings.
The snow sculptor eats fish.
The arctic fox isn’t the juggler.
The singer doesn’t eat berries.
William Steel | European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026
Thanks for reading! Stay curious!
- Steve
P.S. A blue whale’s heart can slow to just 2 beats a minute! It slows down during dives to save oxygen. Its heart weighs about 400 pounds, as much as a big motorcycle! Here’s the rest, in beats per minute: elephants (about 30), sloths (about 80), humans (60-100), and hummingbirds (more than 1,000)!