SLOTHS AND MOTHS, ALGAE AND POOP...OH MY!

Hello Everyone!


Krumbs and I have a great science question for you...

Which animal is so lazy and stays so still,

moths and algae live in its fur?

If your answer was the slovenly, slow-moving sloth, you are correct!  The sloth stays high in the trees of the rainforest and moves very slowly.  As a matter of fact, the sloth leaves its treetop home only once each week and you will NEVER believe its reason for leaving!

The sloth leaves the treetops and travels to the rainforest floor to....POOP!  Yep, the sleepy sloth moves in order to poop!  According the website "Live Science!" scientists have recently found out the sloth poops on the ground so that the moths living in its fur can lay eggs in the poop.  When the eggs hatch, the new moths fly up and live on the sloths' fur bringing nutrients to the algae growing on the sloths!  Sloths eat the algae for energy and the whole thing starts again.

The sloth, the moths and the algae live together and help each other and the sloth's bathroom travels keep everything happy and healthy--isn't nature amazing?

Check out the Imagination Café for more fun animal facts, great stories, and cool career ideas.  You can get there by clicking here.

THE SLINGSHOT SPIDER

Good Morning Everyone,

Krumbs and I have a weird and wildly wonderful spider discovery for you today.  A student at Pennsylvania State University was studying insects in Peru when he noticed a type of teeny-tiny ray spider with a giant talent!  The amazing arachnid  makes a web that it uses like a slingshot!  When the spider senses a bug is near, it releases a silken thread and the web slingshots forward- BANG! -Lunch is served!

Don't believe us?  Click under the picture of the slingshot spider below to watch a video of the spider in action:

CLICK HERE

Use the backward pointing arrow at the top of your screen to come

 back here when the video is over!

Looking for more unbelievable animal facts?  Here's one we love, straight from "Food for Thought" section of Imagination Café:

An ethologist is someone who

studies animal behavior.



Every time you log into the Café, "Food for Thought" displays a new and fascinating fact! Oh! If you're only looking for amazing animal information, check out the Cafe's "Creature Feature" by clicking here.

Have a great day!

Cookie and Krumbs

A VICIOUS SEA MONSTER? NO, A GIANT SQUID!!!

Hello Everyone! 

We have news of a super new science discovery.  Fishermen in Japan captured a GIANT SQUID!!  Now, I’m sure you’re wondering what we mean by “giant” squid…the squid has been measured by Japanese scientists who say it is twelve feet long and weighs 330 pounds!

Because of its size, the giant squid has been described in movies, books and stories as a horrible sea monster, but not many of these creatures have been found and studied by scientists.  Giant squid may be difficult to study because they are difficult to find!  This type of squid lives in the deepest parts of the ocean, far below where people can usually find them.  Scientists found and videotaped one giant squid in 2006 and another in 2012, so there are few videos available for scientists to study. This is why the latest discovery is so important. 

If you’d like to see a video of the scientists measuring the squid, click here.  WOW!!!!!  To find more amazing animals, visit the "Creature Feature" section of the Imagination Café by clicking here.


Cookie and Krumbs!

OUR SMELLY HOLIDAY TRADITION

Good morning everyone!  It is the holiday season…our favorite time of year and Krumbs and I are filled with holiday spirit!  Guess what we’re doing this weekend?

PUTTING UP OUR CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!  Putting up our tree is the very best part of the holiday.  We have family and friends come over and we take out all of our old and new ornaments and talk about all our old memories…hurray!  It is one of our holiday traditions.

Another holiday tradition that makes us happy started just two years ago.  Krumbs and I found an article on the Café about scented ornaments.  The article is called “Heirloom Ornaments” and it is by writer, Brooke Halperin.  Ms. Halperin explains how to make cinnamon-apple scented ornaments that are easy to make and wonderful to smell!!!  Krumbs and I will be making the ornaments tonight so they are ready for our tree trimming party later this week.  Check it out by clicking here.

Which winter holidays do you celebrate?  Do you have a special holiday tradition?  Share it with us on "Open Mic" at the Café by clicking here.

Have a wonderful week and check back soon for pictures of our beautifully decorated trees!

COoKIE and KRuMBS

GOBBLE! GOBBLE! FUN FACTS FROM TURKEY DAY!

Hope you had a fantastic Turkey Day! Krumbs and I did…and we found some fun and fabulous facts about Thanksgiving on the WHSV.com Channel 3 website to share with everyone:

Fun Facts about the First Thanksgiving

- The first Thanksgiving in 1621celebration lasted three days.

- Foods that were NOT served at the First Thanksgiving:Mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, popcorn, milk, corn on the cob, and cranberries..

-Foods that WERE served at the First Thanksgiving: Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese.

 -NO FORKS! The pilgrims ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers.

Fun Facts about Thanksgiving Today

 -In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations.

 -Each year, the average American eats between 16 - 18 pounds of turkey.

 -Californians eat the most turkey in the United States.  

 -Although, Thanksgiving is widely considered an American holiday, it is also celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.

Fun Turkey Facts

  -The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.

  -The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.

  -Turkeys have 3,500 feathers as adults.

  -Male turkeys gobble. Hens cluck.

  -It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30 pound tom turkey.

 

 

GOBBLE!  GOBBLE!

Cookie and Krumbs