In today’s post:
But first, the picture of the week!
5 FACTS
Do goldfish have super memories? 💛🐟
Goldfish make great first pets, but they’re way more interesting than most people think! Here are 5 fun facts that might surprise you:
Goldfish aren’t always gold! If they don’t get enough sunlight, their colors can fade. Some even turn white! But if they eat foods with carotenoids (color pigments in plants), their bodies get brighter. 🌱
Some goldfish live longer than dogs! The oldest recorded goldfish lived to be 43 years old! With good care, many goldfish can live 20+ years and grow over a foot long! 📏
Goldfish don’t have stomachs! Their food goes straight to their intestines, so they can only eat small amounts of food at a time. 😮
Goldfish can “hear” with their bodies using a special organ called the lateral line. It detects sounds and movements in the water to help goldfish navigate and find food. 🎧
Goldfish have amazing memories! Forget the “3-second memory” myth - goldfish can remember things for years! They can even recognize their owners, navigate mazes, and learn tricks like jumping through a ring! 🎩
A group of goldfish is called a “troubling” or “glint.” They’re not called a school because they don’t swim in tight groups.
TRIVIA CORNER
Do hibernating bears poop? 💩
Fat Bear Week ended in September - that’s when bears eat non-stop and double their weight. Now they’re ready for a long winter nap!
What happens when bears hibernate? 💤
When a bear hibernates, its whole metabolism slows down. Its heart rate drops from 55 beats per minute to only 9! And during that time? They don’t pee or poop. For months.
Not all animals do this 🐭
Some animals, like dormice, bats, and chipmunks, wake up throughout the winter to snack and poop. Bears don’t - they keep sleeping.
Do bears pee or poop at all while they sleep? 💧💩
They produce urine, but their bodies recycle it. The urea is reused and converted into protein, helping to maintain their muscles.
Food left in their intestines dries out, leaving dry, chunky poop. And it stays there all winter.
When spring comes 6 months later, the bear wakes up and finally takes a huge, long-overdue poop!
Source: BBC Discover Wildlife
SCIENCE QUESTIONS
Egyptian Mummies and your kitchen? 🧂
What everyday kitchen ingredient was used to mummify bodies in ancient Egypt?
Natron (a naturally occurring mixture containing baking soda and table salt)!
The Egyptians used natron to completely dry bodies to prevent decay.
It’s very abundant in dry lake beds and became a central step of the embalming process.
Of ingredients we still use in the kitchen today, Egyptians also used beeswax (to protect the skin) and plant oils and animal fats (for fragrance)!
