Welcome back!
Congrats to Venezuela for winning the World Baseball Classic!
Major League Baseball (MLB) has 30 teams, and each team has 26 active players - for a total of 780 players. Of that, 34% of them are international, representing 18 different countries and territories! This is compared to 30% of the NBA and only 5% of the NFL.
Here’s what we’ve got this week:
ANIMAL SPOTLIGHT
Lions can do math? 🦁
How much do you know about the king of the jungle?
They sleep up to 20 hours a day! Hunting is an all-out sprint, so lions spend most of days recharging. 🛏️
Their roars can be heard 5-8 miles away! They have extra-thick vocal cords built for long-distance communication. 🔊
A lion’s nose print is as unique as a fingerprint! The spots, ridges, and freckles never change, letting researchers ID individuals with high-powered cameras.
Female lions often synchronize births, creating a natural daycare where mothers share nursing duties and boost cub survival. 👶
Lions can count (kind of)! Lionesses listen to how many roars intruders make and compare that number to their own pride before deciding whether to fight or flee. 🧮
Bonus: Despite their reputation, lions are only the 4th most dangerous animal in Africa (not counting insects), behind hippos, elephants, and Nile crocodiles.
EVER WONDER?
Why do we get motion sickness? 🤢
Ever get carsick, seasick, or queasy from a shaky video? That’s motion sickness - and it all comes down to sensory conflict.
The real cause: mixed signals 🚗
Your eyes, inner ear, and body normally agree on how you’re moving. Motion sickness hits when they don’t.
Your inner ear tracks balance and acceleration. Your eyes and muscles report what they see and feel. When those signals clash (like when you’re reading a book while your body feels the car moving), your brain flags it as a problem.
Why it makes you nauseous 🤢
Conflicting signals can trigger nausea, dizziness, headaches, and vomiting.
One theory: your brain interprets the mismatch as a possible poisoning event, since toxins can disrupt the nervous system. Vomiting is a protective reflex.
Ways to ease motion sickness 🛠️
Sit in the front seat where movement feels smoother
Get fresh air to reduce heat and odor triggers
Drink ginger ale, since ginger may help block nausea signals
Add touch points, like resting your head on the seat to stabilize your senses
Play soft music, which can reduce symptoms by up to 50%
PICKS OF THE WEEK
📜 The Dead Sea Scrolls are even older than we thought
💎 Exploring the largest crystals in the world - up to 36 feet long!
🏀 Physicists finally solved why basketball shoes squeak
🦖 And finally, making a life-sized balloon dinosaur:
Thanks for making it to the end! See you next week!
- Steve
Roland Kranitz | Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards