i saw a praying mantis nymph recently! lil thing was hanging out on my front door so i put my hand up and they hopped right into it and curiously inspected my hands and fingers while i carried them to the garden.
I wish we had more bees, butterflies and praying mantises around here, but instead it's just mosquitoes and invasive species like Japanese beetles and stink bugs.
The weirdest (but most interesting) invasive species around here is what's locally known as the "Lazarus Lizard:"
In 1951, 10-year-old George Rau Jr., step-son of Fred Lazarus III, came across European wall lizards scurrying across rocky slopes while on a family vacation to Lake Garda in northern Italy located about 30 miles east of Milan. George smuggled a few (6 to 10 depending on the reference source) through customs to release them at his family's home on Torrence Court in the suburb of Hyde Park just east of Cincinnati.
The climate in Milan is almost identical to Cincinnati and there are plenty of rocky habitats in southwest Ohio to accommodate the lizard's needs. The European wall lizards thrived and became so numerous that Torrence Court is still sometimes referred to as "Lizard Hill." The burgeoning Italian expats were locally renamed "Lazarus lizards" in misplaced recognition of their perceived patrons. Of course, they should have been named "George's Lizards."
Are they doing harm to the local ecosystem? I'm not sure the difference between "invasive" compared to just...now they live there.
I suppose they are more of an "introduced" rather than invasive species; if anything they probably just eat pest insects. Their camouflage is pretty good but it's fun to spot them with the toddler on our walks. There are a couple concrete retaining walls near a park by our house where you can sometimes find them sunning, especially during the summer months. I've rarely seen one get more than about 10 inches from nose to tail so they are pretty small little things.
wait, 10 INCHES? or 10 centimeters?
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Indie Winterdie KräheRudi Hurzlmeier (German, b. 1952)Registered Userregular
Modern dogs are a Victorian thing for the most part
I mean from this Roman thing we can see that's clearly not the case. It was probably more of a breed standard thing than "before the 1800s no one gave dogs names and kept them in their home". Can't get a specific breed for your housedog if you're not made of a billion fucking pounds.
Just in most lower class homes they were expected to also do things like warn for predators and herd sheep and shit. Whether they were allowed into the home with you at night was probably still going on, just down to the individual.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
"If complete and utter chaos was lightning, then he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards'."
Modern dogs are a Victorian thing for the most part
I mean from this Roman thing we can see that's clearly not the case. It was probably more of a breed standard thing than "before the 1800s no one gave dogs names and kept them in their home". Can't get a specific breed for your housedog if you're not made of a billion fucking pounds.
Just in most lower class homes they were expected to also do things like warn for predators and herd sheep and shit. Whether they were allowed into the home with you at night was probably still going on, just down to the individual.
What I meant by modern dogs is many breeds popped up in the Victorian age as people took a hobby in eugenics using dogs to prove it
+3
Petesalzlvorpal blade in handRegistered Userregular
Petesalzlvorpal blade in handRegistered Userregular
I just spent the last 10-15 minutes looking for a website that made the world turtle myth sound legit, so I could post it here as a gag. sadly I could not find one, and have now given up. interesting fact: I give up after 10-15 min of research.
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JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Either it was a sudden flash of inspiration that didn't trigger the first time I saw that tweet, or a significant portion of my brain has been steadily grinding away at it for three days and just went "Ding!"
worldwide geography is too broad to really cram for I think, seeing what sorts of stuff is commonly in geography trivia quizzes is probably the best idea.
The world heritage foundation used to have fun quizzes about placing various cities or heritage sites on maps.
But really what you should do is play eight thousand hours of geolocator. Walk the globe in real time as a digital pilgrim. Learn to discern north Uzbekistan from southern Kazakhstan by the subtle differences in signage, enjoy meeting road llamas in the Andes, really get your teeth stuck in.
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wait, 10 INCHES? or 10 centimeters?
I mean from this Roman thing we can see that's clearly not the case. It was probably more of a breed standard thing than "before the 1800s no one gave dogs names and kept them in their home". Can't get a specific breed for your housedog if you're not made of a billion fucking pounds.
Just in most lower class homes they were expected to also do things like warn for predators and herd sheep and shit. Whether they were allowed into the home with you at night was probably still going on, just down to the individual.
As if we needed 2020 to last any longer. Thanks, Obama Gregory XIII
I'm failing to get this
how dare you
Barack Hussein Obama
I mean
I get that
I just thought it was a gregory the 13th thing and was all????
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar#Accuracy
TL;DR - rounding error.
It’s also a MBMBAM podcast bit they used to do about Obama. I think it was a riff on that
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Dope
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
What I meant by modern dogs is many breeds popped up in the Victorian age as people took a hobby in eugenics using dogs to prove it
nope, do not want
How long's that one been percolating?
IT'S GOT THE NUTRIENTS PLANTS YOUR EYES NEED
Either it was a sudden flash of inspiration that didn't trigger the first time I saw that tweet, or a significant portion of my brain has been steadily grinding away at it for three days and just went "Ding!"
DO IT
StOnE
coincidence? i think not
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
Wikipedia and following the references to read the primary sources is often a decent start.
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
theoretically the sort of things that may come up on a popular quiz show
theoretically
this is my current strategy, yeah, it's not exactly conducive to my learning style but that may also be why I've never been terribly good at geography
https://www.paypal.me/hobnailtaylor
But really what you should do is play eight thousand hours of geolocator. Walk the globe in real time as a digital pilgrim. Learn to discern north Uzbekistan from southern Kazakhstan by the subtle differences in signage, enjoy meeting road llamas in the Andes, really get your teeth stuck in.