Happy Veterans Day!

Did you know Veterans Day is always November 11? It marks the moment fighting in World War I stopped: at 11 AM on 11/11, 1918!

Have the day off? Check out the places with the longest names around the world!

Here’s what we’ve got this week:

TRIVIA

Most eyes? 👀

Explanation at the end!

ANIMAL FOCUS

Dogs 🐶

Shoutout to Ali, who asked for man’s best friend!

  1. Dogs smell in stereo! Each nostril sniffs on its own, so a dog can tell which direction a smell is coming from. They also breathe out through the side slits of their nose, so old air doesn’t mix with new smells. Dogs have up to 300 million smell sensors, about 50 times more than our 6 million! 👃

  2. Old TVs looked like slideshows to dogs! Dogs’ eyes refresh up to 75 times a second, while ours top out at around 60. Old TVs flickered 60 times a second, so dogs probably saw choppy, blinking pictures. 📺

  3. Dogs like to poop facing north or south! Scientists watched 70 dogs poop almost 1,900 times over 2 years. Most lined up with Earth’s magnetic field, but only when the field was calm. They’re walking compasses (kind of)! 🧭

  4. Which way a dog wags means something! Dogs wag more to the right when they see someone they love. When they see a strange dog that makes them nervous, they wag more to the left. 🐕

  5. Your yawns are contagious to dogs! One study found that most dogs yawned after watching a person yawn. Try it with your dog! 🥱

Want more? Get the rest of our facts, including why they splash so much water when they drink!

EVER WONDER?

Do kids really get “sugar highs”? 🍭

Still have a lot of Halloween candy in the house? You might have heard, “Don’t eat that, you’ll be bouncing off the walls!” Here’s what scientists have actually found:

Does sugar make kids hyper? 🍬

Surprisingly, no!

In 1995, scientists combined the results of 16 studies. In each one, kids got either sugar or a placebo (a fake that looks and tastes the same but has no sugar).

The kids, parents, and scientists didn’t know who got what until the very end. They found that sugar made no difference in how the kids actually behaved.

What else might be going on? 🎉

Think about when kids eat lots of sugar: birthday parties and holidays. Friends are running around, and everyone stays up late. Those moments are already exciting. That’s probably the real reason kids get hyper!

Fun fact: Some sodas and chocolate (especially dark chocolate!) have caffeine. That can make it harder to settle down. ☕

For more: Why does this myth continue? (It’s called the expectation effect!)

PICKS OF THE WEEK
BRAIN TRIVIA

Vocabulary: What are the following animals called when they’re in a group? How many do you know?

  • Crows 🐦‍⬛

  • Zebras 🦓

  • Sharks 🦈

  • Jellyfish 🪼

  • Butterflies 🦋

  • Hyenas 🐾

  • Otters 🦦

  • Foxes 🦊

Bonus for dog lovers: What’s a group of wild dogs called? 🐕

Get the answers

Daniel Vine Garcia | 17th Epson International Pano Awards

Thanks for reading! Stay curious!

- Steve

P.S. Chitons can have up to 1,000 eyes! They’re small sea creatures that look like armored rocks. Here’s how the rest stack up: scallops (up to 200), box jellyfish (24), spiders (most have 8), and starfish (most have 5).

P.P.S. Have a question you want answered? Just hit reply and tell us!

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