I like lemurs

Hello people of the world! In this, my first post, I will talk about lemurs. The cutest animal EVER!!! And about a new album I “sampled”.

I know some people in this blog think panda bears are the cutest animals ever but In my opinion lemurs are way cuter.  I first saw this beautiful animals in the Nickelodeon show (yes I watch Nickelodeon) “The Penguins of Madagascar”. According to Wikipedia the term “lemur” is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning “spirits of the night” or “ghosts”. This comes from the fact that their eyes glow in the night.

In other topics the new album from progressive metal band Dream Theater, Black Clouds and Silver Linings came out recently, since the economy is not that good I “sampled it” from Bittorrent. The album is extremely good i would go as far to say that is their best album since 1999′s Scenes from a Memory. The album is well balanced and continues with the great continuity of music that Dream Theater is so well known for.

That’s all I have to say today, thanks for reading.

P.S. : This is my first post and I am learning so, sorry for any errors. Ohh.. and I forgot, Apple SUCKS!!!! GO ZUNE!!!!

Kanga, from Winnie the Pooh

Everyone loves kangaroos. They’re fun and cute. Like many animals, they’ve appeared in multiple cartoons. We’ve seen that these animals have a sort of ‘pouch’, where they carry their young. But what’s it really for?

Kangaroo with it's baby joey!

When a kangaroo has it’s child it ‘gives birth’ after only 33 days.
Inside the pouch there are four teats.
An infant kangaroo is called joey.
These babies slowly begin to grow, and eventually start going out of the pouch more often.
They can spend up to one year developing.

Boxing Kangaroos, because it's that awesome!

So, to sum it all up…
The pouch is where the baby or “joey” matures.

A colorful sky

There are surely some of you that asked this as a child, but I bet that a couple of you have asked before and forgot already. So, I’m here to remind you and to teach those of you that don’t know… Why is the sky blue? Keep reading to find out !

Well, it’s basically the air’s fault!
The molecules in the air scatter blue light.

Blue sky with red and yellow on the side

If the air is scattering the blue light more, then why do we see red/orange at dawn and dusk?
When we see a sunset or a sunrise we see it from an angle, and the light has already been scattered so much that it allows us to see the red light.

Blue and Orange in contrast

Why isn’t the sky any other color?
Our eyes respond stronger to three colors: red, blue and green.
When we look up the sky the blue receptor responds better than the rest.
If you want a purple sky you better get new eyes!

Seinfeld, a popular TV sitcom.

Humans love to laugh! It’s a fact. It makes us feel good and happy. It’s so amazing that there are industries built around laughter. We have comedians, sitcoms and jokes, all with the purpose to make us laugh. So, let’s start off with what is laughter? Laughter is the physiological response to humor. It’s a set of gestures and sounds. Laughter is contagious. Why? It’s believed that this is due to the fact that we have a sort of “detector” in our brain, that triggers laughter. Now, on to the big question: WHY DO WE LAUGH?

Laughing Girl

Certain philosophers believe that the first signs of laughter were shown as a gesture of shared relief after certain dangers had passed.
So, laughter could show trust in one’s companions.
This leads some to believe that laughter is used to strengthen human connections.

Laughter is a social signal, much like a dog’s bark or a bird’s song.
But it’s still being studied.

Barking Dog

Just laugh and have fun . People are more likely to accept you if you do.

Crying woman

When we feel really sad, or really happy, we cry. The tears start flowing from out eyes like rain from the sky. But why? Keep reading to find out !

We produce tears when we receive certain stimuli, such as pain. But only humans are believed to cry from emotional responses.

There are three types of tears.

The first type are basal tears. These are used to keep the eye wet and clean off dirt or other substances.

The second type of tears is known as reflex tears. These result from the irritation of the eye from foreign substances, such as pepper spray or onion gas. These tears try to wash out the irritant that comes in contact with the eye.
The third type of tear, which is the one we’re most familiar with is the physic tear.
These tears have a different chemical buildup than the other types of tears, this allows us to it allows for the excess chemicals to be released, and it helps relieve us.
This is why we tend to feel better after crying.

Tears of joy!

Photo by Daniel A. from leifphotography.info

So, short answer: We cry so we can release some chemicals, and this makes us feel better.

Dragonite, from Pokémon

When we were little kids we probably saw some cartoons that had dragons and thought: “These things are damn amazing!” Fire breathing dragons that were huge and cool. Well, sadly, dragons are not real. But there are equivalents! Keep reading to find out!

What I’m talking about is the Komodo Dragon!

Komodo Dragon

Since where they live there are no enemies they evolved to be the largest.
Their main food source is carrion, but they also feed of mammals, birds and invertebrates.

Komodo Dragon feeding on a boar.

These rare animals are considered as vulnerable to extinction, and are protected by Indonesian law.

Komodo Dragon showing his tongue!

With around 60 teeth that can grow up to one inch, and a tail that’s the same size as their bodies… These animals are dangerous!

Sectoral Heterochromia

It’s quite rare. Some people love it. Some find it horrible. Heterochromia is a difference in coloration in the eye. The most common type of heterochromia is when it is inherited. Our eye color is determined by the amount and type of pigment in the eye’s iris. Here is a picture explaining different eye colors.

There are four types of heterochromia. The first one is Sectoral Heterochromia this happens when only a section of the eye is of a different color. Read on to learn about them (and see some awesome pictures!).

Acquired Heterochromia is when you received heterochromia due to an injury or tumor.

Acquired Heterochromia

Complete Heterochromia is when both your eyes of different colors.

Complete Heterochromia

Central Heterochromia is when the center of one of your eyes is of a different color.

Central Heterochromia

Animals may also have heterochromia.

Husky with heterochromia

Want eyes like these? Sadly, it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to change your eye color.
However, there are contacts lens. Just make sure to keep your eyes properly lubricated with eye drops.
If you don’t keep them lubricated it could hurt your vision.

Do any of you readers have eyes like this? If so feel free to mail me and I’ll gladly include your pictures .

Chironex Fleckeri: World's most venomous animal.

You’ve quite possibly heard of both terms, but had never thought about the difference. A venomous animal injects the venom into the prey while hunting or as a defense mechanism. There are many diverse animals that are venomous. The most powerful venomous animal in the world is believed to the the Chironex fleckeri. A type of box jellyfish. It’s venom is excruciatingly painful and is strong enough to kill 60 humans in as little as 3 minutes. A small tip for anyone who may encounter one of these animals. Using alcohol or rubbing the wound is a BAD IDEA. Pour vinegar on it.

A poisonous animal or plant is only harmful when consumed or touched.
These animals or plants tend to spread the poison through multiple parts of their bodies.
A good example is poison-ivy. When you touch it, it will cause your skin to irritate. Then it will develop severe itching and possibly non-colored bumps.

Poison-Ivy

Some animals, like the Slow Loris, blur the line between poison and venom, though.
This is due to the fact that they secrete a poison from their elbow, which they douse on their young to keep them alive.
However, they also lick this patch, which gives them a venomous bite.

Slow Loris

Normal 2 liter bottle of Coca-Cola

Some of us are grossed by it. Others deeply enjoy it when kissing. Saliva. It’s always there in our mouth. But why? Saliva is 98% water, but the remaining percentage is filled with electrolytes, mucus, antibacterial compounds and enzymes. It helps break down the food in the molecular level, it also helps break down the food that gets stuck between your teeth! However, it also helps maintain the mouth lubricated, and this helps protect your teeth, tongue and the tissues inside your mouth.
You can taste foods thanks to saliva as well.

Now, some saliva fun-facts!

The average human produces between 0.75 and 1.5 liters of saliva, per day.
To give you an idea how much that is, most beverages like 7Up, Sprite, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are available in 2 liter bottles.

The saliva in some animals has natural disinfectants that helps cure wounds up to twice as fast as it would normally heal.
However, some humans believe licking wounds helps. And it does, but it just helps remove dirt and other pathogens.
It’s a nice alternative if you don’t have water readily available.

Saliva is an amazing cleaning agent, it’s used in art conservation.
Normally, a cotton swab is covered in saliva, and it’s delicately rolled over the painting.
This helps remove small layers of dirt.

Cotton Swab

Electric Fan: It moves air.

The clear gas we breath and live in on a daily basis. It has no color, and it has no smell. It creates atmospheric pressure. It’s mainly composed of nitrogen and oxygen. AIR! Well, air is normally in a gaseous state. But it can also be liquefied. This can be achieved by pressurizing air and lowering the temperature. It becomes a liquid at approximately minus 195 degrees Celsius. To put it in perspective, water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius and rubbing alcohol freezes at minus 127 degrees Celsius. The basic use for liquid air is to maintain things cold. But for the liquid air to maintain it’s liquid state it must be maintained in a Dewar flask. A Dewar flask basically creates a vacuum between the inside and outside. It’s, basically, a flask inside a flask. This prevents the temperate from changing quickly.

Dewar Flask

It looks a lot like water.
Liquid air is, basically, liquid nitrogen with liquid oxygen.

Liquid Nitrogen

Here is a video on how to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen.
Here is a video of cold cooking. Cooking with liquid nitrogen.