It’s no secret that cats have incredible low-light vision, able to see clearly with just one sixth (1/6) of the light a human needs for the same thing. Contrary to popular belief though, cats can see some colour, and can distinguish blue hues the best. They have some difficulty with red though. The shape of their pupil also allows a faster transition between low-light and high-light situations. Cats whos pupils are rounder, actually have poorer low-light vision than their tinier house-pal cousins, though it is still better than human low-light vision.
White Snakeroot, or Ageratina altissima is so toxic that if a cow eats it, the humans who consume it’s meat or milk can and have died from the deadly Tremetol toxin. Known as “Milk Sickness”, this plant is responsible for the deaths of thousands of settlers, and was single-handedly responsible for around half the deaths in Dubois County, Indiana during the early 1900′s.
In recent times, farmers are more aware of the dangers of this plant for both cattle and humans, and make efforts to remove it from grazing pastures.
Today we learned that conches, the sea-dwelling mollusks who live inside those big, beautiful conch seashells in warm tropical waters, peer out at the world with cartoonish eyes on tiny eyestalks. They see you. They see everything. And what’s more, they can regenerate their peepers should they happen to lose one or both of them.
“One1976 paper dug into the specific behind these animals’ alien eyestalks. Sitting at the tips of long stalks, they contain retinas with both sensory cells and colored pigment cells. But the story gets weirder because obviously, it gets weirder. After amputating the conchs’ eyes, a fully-formed replacement took its place 14 days later. Humans, we really are losing this evolutionary game.”
But wait, that’s hardly the only surprising set of eyes under the sea. Scallops have eyes too, LOTS of them:
This plant is one of the most widely commercially grown non-food plant, despite being responsible for an estimated five million deaths per year world wide. Each part of this plant is extremely toxic and usually fatal if ingested, when dried it is often chewed or smoked for the high it produces. Highly addictive, Tobacco, or Nicotiana tabacum, is still widely consumed.
Oleander (Nerium oleander) is a beautiful flowering shrub, grown for ornamental purposes in much of the world, though it’s native range is northern Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. It also contains oleandrin and neriine which are known to cause cause vomiting, diarrhea, erratic pulse, seizures, coma, and even death in those unlucky enough to consume it. Fortunately, this poisonous plant is bitter to the taste, which deters most accidental consumption of it.
TheKomodo dragon(Varanus komodoensis), the largest species of lizard in the world, can grow up to ten feet long and weigh 150 pounds.
Thedwarf gecko(Sphaerodactylus ariasae) and theVirgin Islands dwarf sphaero(S. parthenopion) are considered the world’s smallest lizards, and the smallest reptiles in general. They both measure around 18mm long on average.
Abandoned Quincy Mine at Hancock Shaft House, just outside Hancock, MI:1953 Quincy Mine was a set of copper mines that operated mainly between 1846-1945. It is a designated National Historic Landmark District and some parts can still be toured.
Femalecassowaries lay three to eight large, bright green or pale green-blue eggs in each clutch into a prepared heap of leaf litter. The male incubates the eggs for 50–52 days, removing or adding litter to regulate the temperature, then protects the chicks, who stay in the nest for about nine months, defending them fiercely against all potential predators, including humans. The female does not care for the eggs or the chicks but moves on to lay eggs in the nests of several other males. (xxx)
Unusual view - Coral polyp yawning #marineexplorer by John Turnbull Via Flickr: This unusual view of a solitary coral polyp at Kurnell shows the internal organs of the animal. Even though the tentacles are withdrawn, the mouth is open, and you can see the mesenteric filaments. I wonder if corals yawn?
Analemma. The sun’s position in the sky, photographed from the same location at the same time of day throughout a year, forms an analemma. This shows the sun’s apparent swinging from its northernmost position, at the analemma’s uppermost point, at summer solstice, to its southernmost position/lowest point, at winter solstice.
The seeds of the Castor Bean plant (Ricinus communis), are indeed beautiful, but contain the highly toxic Risin. Eight seeds are enough to kill an adult human, and just one or two can kill a child. Native to East Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, and India, this plant is grown around the world now for it’s beautiful flowers, and the bright puffs of it’s seed pods.
Scott Echols, a veterinarian specializing in birds, has spent years developing new ways to understand the inner workings of the animals that he cares for. This CT scan of a pigeon illuminates a vascular system of dazzling complexity. (via sierraclub)
Pictured above, the Siberian Tiger is one of only six surviving subspecies of tiger. Contrary to popular belief, most Siberian tigers are orange, not white, just like every other tiger species! White tigers are a rare genetic mutation, occurring in only one in ten thousand tigers born across a given subspecies.
Siberian tigers in particular are making a comeback in China’s northern regions thanks to strong measures taken in an effort to protect the world’s largest cats.
get a load of this beautiful and extremely rare yellow cardinal that’s been spotted in alabama ! its gorgeous! its got a mutation that makes its feathers yellow rather than the standard vibrant red. there’s an article about it [here] & a video of it in action [here]. stunning pictures taken by jeremy black photography!
If I could somehow find everyone who ever bullied me and ask them why they targeted me, not a single one would say it was because I was autistic. None of them even knew I was.
Instead they’d say it was because I liked Pokemon too much after it stopped being cool, or my clothes looked ridiculous and I wore the same pair of jeans 3 days a week, or that I was just weird/nerdy/unpopular. In many, many cases, that is what neurodiversity looks like. Not someone with an obvious disability, but someone who’s just weird.
I see so many allistics and neurotypicals on here that claim to be anti-ableism but turn around and make jokes at the expense of people who are eccentric but harmless.
If you’re an allistic that claims to support autistic people, but then you turn around and make fun of the woman wearing a bizarre outfit or the guy who speaks in a monotone or the teenager who carries a teddy bear everywhere, you are hurting autistic people who do those same things.
this is also why even non-diagnosed autistics are punished and abused by society, the bullying isn’t about being explicitly autistic, but rather that society has decided that the traits autistic people exibhit are “abnormal” and therefore worthy of punishment.
There’s a post with two gifs showing ASL signs for abortion going around, unfortunately while correct the second sign and information along with it was added by a terf.
So here’s the original video by glassmenagerie on TikTok where they explain the two signs for abortion, the issues with one, and go over the signs for immigration as well because there’s a similar right vs left wing sign difference.
[Captions] Spaces added for readability
Person on screen: Did you know that in ASL certain topics have different signs depending on your political viewpoint? Let’s talk about it.
Fair warning the signs I’m covering are for abortion and immigration. If that’s triggering or you don’t wanna know: just scroll.
So first up, let’s talk about immigration. Specifically the signs used in regards to immigration. So, the correct sign is (right hand holding up four fingers, spread apart, and waving up and down from the left to the right of the screen) immigration, right? However if you’re signing with somebody who is very conservative or anti-immigration you’ll instead see this (signs the same sign with four fingers waving from left to right but with the other hand held parallel to the floor above the waving hand). Technically this (signs second option again) only refers to undocumented immigration. However there is a subsection of people who are so anti-immigration they use this (signs second option) for all of it.
And now for my favorite example. There are several signs for abortion. There’s the full neutral just finger spelling or the more scientific definition which can also be viewed as left-leaning - which would be pregnancy (holds right hand over stomach, domed slightly and pulls it towards the camera away from the stomach) remove (left hand held up perpendicular to the floor with the palm angled towards the body, with thumb and fingers slightly spread, right hand makes a claw like shape and swipes at the top of the left hand towards the floor).
(through a grimace) and then there’s the conservative and/or christian sign choice.
This one can be genuinely triggering so this is an actual warning. Are you ready? (holds up both hands with forefinger and second finger crossed in the sign for ‘R’ and moves them from the center of the body to the outside) The conservative and/or christian sign choice for abortion is baby (stacks hands palms up and makes a rocking motion) throw away (makes loose fists with both hands, opening them both as they move upwards towards the right shoulder).
As awful as that is it presents us with an interesting phenomenon that is absolutely fascinating in terms of linguistics. Talking about these topics in particular tends to be very polarizing within the deaf community. I mean, they’re polarizing everywhere but when signing about these topics the words you use are different. The vocabulary is entirely different. It’s not “abortion sparkle emoji” versus “abortion angry face.” It’s “removing a pregnancy” and “throwing away a baby.”
Do conservatives occasionally call it baby murder in English? Yes, that does happen. The word, the label, at the center of the topic is the same. Whereas in ASL that’s not necessarily the case.
Cute how people who say this shit dont say transphobia doesnt exist just because shitty parents might kick out a trans kid because they think it’s because they’re gay. It’s all terrible and parents being bigoted and neglectful and abusive. To parents like that it doesn’t matter if you’re gay or trans or ace, it’s all the same to them and they don’t want you in their family.
Using this as a “gotcha” to belittle the experiences of those who’ve gotten kicked out after coming out with the bonus of not even being believed for what they came out as is disgusting.
If you’re someone who’s so wrapped up in your exclusionary ideology that you’re denying the experiences of fucking children kicked out of their homes and abused after coming out, for the love of whatever you believe/don’t believe in, fucking re-evaluate.
Also to everyone like “this fake, aces don’t get offered conversion therapy”
In this recent UK study cis asexuals were the most likely to have conversion therapy equal to cis gay/lesbian people. And the most likely to have it offered.
Stop basically yelling Fake News!1 and re-evaluate why you refuse to listen to victims of abuse.
Also people should stop reblogged this with “why would a parent kick a kid out for not having sex??.”
1) Stop equating sexuality to behavior. Don’t do it with gay people, don’t do it for ace people.
2) Faith based groups, especially those who are not pro-LGBTQ don’t magically see aces as acceptable. They view them as not-straight therefore wrong.
3) If you are abstinent it’s supposed to be a sacrificeyousuffer through to show your strong faith. Sex is meant to be your reward for being married. Being abstinent in a faith based groups works until you are meant to get married, be fruitful, or summit to your husband. The moment you decide you don’t want any of that for yourself now or in the future it’s a seen as a problem.
4) You’ll note that lots of number 3 is sexism, sex negativity, and the forced continuation of nuclear families something that directly and indirectly adds to homophobia and transphobia. And instead of saying “hey this ace, this victim of abuse, gives us an opportunity to discuss all of those wrongs in society, plenty of people just reblog “but why would you kick a virgin out??”
Learn what asexuality is, and how our fight for liberation has benefits for everyone.
If nothing in my shop interests you but you still want to help me survive this and next month, you can donate here too
I hate asking, but every account is in the negative right now, by a lot, my bank fees come out of an already negative account tomorrow (Currently -$34) meaning a double overdraft fee (Normally $40, so I’ll have to pay $80 for being disabled and poor) and my phone bill was also twice what it usually was thanks to a glitch at the bank that failed to pay my bill last month without my knowledge on top of that, and I am at risk of having my phone shut off if I cannot pay it all off this month (Another $116).
The CRA also recently told me I received an additional CERB payment in 2020 that I wasn’t entitled to, and must repay them a further $2000 that I simply do not have, and have no idea how to get.
Naturally all of these things are coinciding in the worst way.
Again, I hate asking, but I’m desperate and don’t know what else to do anymore as I don’t qualify for disability because I’m married and married after my condition kicked in which prevents me now from working anything I’m qualified for as I cannot walk fast or for a long time, let alone stand for any real length of time.
“News coverage of digital forensics often celebrates its role in prosecuting serious felonies. But when it comes to reproductive rights, Conti-Cook says, the same tools “will be a powerful [asset] to police and prosecutors in a more criminalized landscape” for abortion seekers.” [Mother Jones]
“Unlike medical records held by doctors and hospitals, the information collected by health-focused apps isn’t covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a 1996 federal law that limits where healthcare providers can share your health information.
That means health app makers are mostly free to do what they want with the data they collect. […]
What’s more, even when your data is de-identified by removing identifiable information such as your name or email address, it can be combined with other information—such as your location, contacts, or unique identifiers in your phone—and traced back to you, research suggests.” [Consumer Reports]
Twitter thread from user @nandoodles about men in adtech who want to sell your period app data to law enforcement:
If you don’t think these people won’t use your data against you, I advise you to reconsider in light of Texas’s offering bounties. And that there’s other states considering offering bounties and vigilantism as well.
I’m sorry, this is not fair and I know it’s a pain in the ass to have to note all your info yourself in a journal, but it’s better to NOT give these people another tool to exert control over the bodies of people possessing the potential (regardless of how remote) for pregnancy.
i hate those posts that are like “what if your mother aborted you?” because it’s LIKE. i value my mother as having her own agency above my existence simply because she came first. if she aborted me, id be fine with it because in the fucking hypothetical of un-existence & knowing, id rather her have access to safe abortion than having to carry & birth when she didn’t want to like wtf kind of egotistical question is that. do u not value yr mother in the least. whatever joys you’ve gotten out of life aren’t greater than yr mother’s choice
I used to hear this question a lot, and it instantly filled my limit break bar every time, because I got to respond, “oh, well actually, my mother aborted the one before me. Yeah. She got pregnant in college, and since having a baby would have really messed up her whole life, she aborted it. Then, because she stayed in school and didn’t have a kid to take care of, she went on to grad school, where she met my dad. Then they had me when they were in a safe, financially stable situation. So…yeah - I literally wouldn’t exist if my mother hadn’t had access to abortion.”
One hit derail of the conversation. try it, it never failed.
If nothing in my shop interests you but you still want to help me survive this and next month, you can donate here too
I hate asking, but every account is in the negative right now, by a lot, my bank fees come out of an already negative account tomorrow (Currently -$34) meaning a double overdraft fee (Normally $40, so I’ll have to pay $80 for being disabled and poor) and my phone bill was also twice what it usually was thanks to a glitch at the bank that failed to pay my bill last month without my knowledge on top of that, and I am at risk of having my phone shut off if I cannot pay it all off this month (Another $116).
The CRA also recently told me I received an additional CERB payment in 2020 that I wasn’t entitled to, and must repay them a further $2000 that I simply do not have, and have no idea how to get.
Naturally all of these things are coinciding in the worst way.
Again, I hate asking, but I’m desperate and don’t know what else to do anymore as I don’t qualify for disability because I’m married and married after my condition kicked in which prevents me now from working anything I’m qualified for as I cannot walk fast or for a long time, let alone stand for any real length of time.
ppl joke and say that a lot of liberals weren’t paying attention in schools but like . it’s true..i rlly don’t think many of them realize the biggest changes this country has ever seen in regards to civil rights have been earned through violence, protest, riots, war in our own country, directly going against police even when faced with incarceration, NOT from voting, something as simple as free breakfast for children in america didn’t have its origin from voting, it came from actually getting involved in the community, if u rlly think voting is the end all be all for social change u have been deluded and lied to, pick up a book
