Bizarre Newt Uses Ribs as Weapons
The Spanish ribbed newt has a pretty bizarre defense mechanism – when attacked, it secretes poison and pushes out its ribs until they pierce its skin, creating a row of sharp bones that act like barbs:
The newt has to force its bones through its skin every time it is attacked, say scientists, who have described the form and function of the barbs in detail. [...]
When the newt becomes agitated or perceives a threat, it swings its ribs forward, increasing their angle to the spine by up to 50 degrees.
As it does this, the newt keeps the rest of its body still.
“The forward movement of the ribs increases the body size and stretches the skin to the point of piercing it,” says zoologist Egon Heiss of the University of Vienna in Austria.
The tips of the newt’s ribs then stick outside its body, like exposed spines.
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The Case of the Poisoned Peppermints
A century and a half ago, 20 people died and many other became ill because their local candy distributor knew a bargain when he saw one.
On October 23, 1858, William “Humbug Billy” Hardaker, sold peppermint lozenges to the good people of Bradford, England, as he usually did. This particular Saturday he had the good luck to buy his batch of mints at discount because of their substandard appearance. By the time he fell sick that afternoon, he had sold enough lozenges to satisfy some 200 peoples’ sweet tooth. The next day, still ill, Hardaker had to explain to the police why everyone who ate his candy was either getting sick or dying.
The answer makes you glad we have laws about food ingredients these days. This story is part of 5 Disasters That Could Have Been Avoided. Link -Thanks, Sami!
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Poison!
March is Poison Prevention Month, and it never hurts to learn a little more about what can kill you. Today’s Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss will find out how much you know about poisons. I scored only 60%, but I learned a thing or two! Link
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Negative CO2 Emitting Cement
People love to overlook certain things that pollute, just because we don’t have an alternative yet. We never talk about the emissions caused from cement, which produces more carbon dioxide than the entire aviation industry. Did you know that 5% of all CO2 production comes from cement?
There is finally an alternative. The British engineering firm, Novacem, has created a new cement that uses magnesium silicates, which emit no carbon dioxide when they are heated. As the cement hardens, it absorbs CO2. In all, it removes about .6 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of cement used.
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Jelly The Cat Cheats Death
This is one of the lucky cat! Nine-year-old Jelly was spotted by owner Wendy Wallis walking around with a copperhead snake wrapped around her neck and immediately called wildlife rescuers to have the snake removed.
“Both the cat and the snake seemed quite happy,” Ms Wallis said. “She didn’t show any signs of a bite last night, but this morning she was almost paralysed”.
“She is currently at the Montrose vet at the moment being pumped full of anti-venom, but the vet says she’ll recover fully.”
Ms Wallis said she snapped the picture through a glass door, but didn’t dare open the door as the cat would have walked inside.
Jelly may well be thinking “One life down, eight to go!”
Via: Mercury
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