esther

Though wildlife is their primary subject matter, painter Sage Vaughn (Hi-Fructose Vol. 26) and photographer Michael Muller approach representing nature in radically different ways. Muller’s striking, close-up shots of sharks, lions, wolves and other dangerous predators not only captivate viewers on an aesthetic level, but are also shocking for the photographer’s audacity to apprehend these creatures in their natural environments. - esther from Bookmarklet

"You might not think it to look at them, but prairie dogs and humans actually share an important commonality -- and it's not just their complex social structures, or their habit of standing up on two feet (aww, like people). As it turns out, prairie dogs actually have one of the most sophisticated forms of vocal communication in the natural world, really not so unlike our own." - esther from Bookmarklet

After more than 25 years of studying the calls of prairie dog in the field, one researcher managed to decode just what these animals are saying. And the results show that praire dogs aren't only extremely effective communicators, they also pay close attention to detail. - esther

I tend to like it even more than arte.tv. It's getting better and better. - esther from Bookmarklet

What is that? I haven't come across it yet. Sounds really interesting. :-) - Maitani

"Rene Mesman is a photographer based in Amsterdam with a perfect eye for detail. Besides interiors, advertisements, and a intriguing series of people in Kosovo, he also creates still life and a series of still life pictures with taxidermy. He gives birds a perfect hairdo and thereby a human appearance. Or is it, in fact, a new species?" - esther from Bookmarklet

alireza :)) - پَـرسان

"Modern interpretations of the traditional archetype, Rocking Morevive Dark Horse revisit the rocking toys that we all cherished as kids! Each applies a touch of classic styling to a ultramodern form with abstract shapes and materials like carbon fiber. With interchangeable heads, they’re even customizable for role playing other characters!" - esther from Bookmarklet

You guys never miss an opportunity to make me laugh :D - esther

"While the beer brand Dos Equis can proudly proclaim that they have "The Most Interesting Man in the World," in the bird world, the mustache sporting Inca Tern easily takes that title (just substitute "bird" for "man"). Found along the rocky Pacific coastline, from northern Peru south to central Chile, the uniquely plumaged bird is easily recognizable for its dark grey body, its red-orange beak and feet and, of course, that curling white mustache." - esther from Bookmarklet

Doctor Watson! - Veruska

Mwah! Funny to see what non-Germans "like" about this language :D - esther from Bookmarklet

I think "Strumpf" amuses me the most - esther

"The unusually large hive was discovered by local police officers after they had received numerous calls from concerned members of the community regarding large numbers of wasps swarming around an uninhabited house in San Sebastián de La Gomera. After breaking into the abandoned building they were shocked to discover a giant wasp nest in the hallway that experts say is home to millions of aggressive stingers. Measuring no less than 7 meters in size, the gargantuan structure doesn’t seem to have been built by the common type of wasp found in European gardens, but by an invasive species that must have migrated from Africa." - esther from Bookmarklet

Looks like cotton candy. Mmm. - Mo Kargas

(unrelated) - esther from Bookmarklet

The strength of a man is determined by his wealth of understanding from the knowledge he upholds. ;-) - ᏓᏰ #team Monique from iPhone

"Under Pomet's treatment, even more conventional animals are rendered with awe for their supposed healing properties. In the illustrations, which are attributed to the engraver Jean Crepy, they take on a mythic quality" - esther from Bookmarklet

good old days. - grizabella

"GUYS A PUDDLE A PUDDLE YOU GUYS IT’S A PUDDLE HEY GUYS IT’S A PUDDLE" - esther from Bookmarklet

They eat my sunflowers... *sob* - MoTO #TeamMonique from Android

I'm not a fan of colourful fashion, but I loved this - esther from Bookmarklet

"The ravens of Erebor aren't like other birds, but at first I didn't know that. They are bigger, and their feathers are more beautiful, and their eyes are dark like onyxes. They aren't shy like most birds are, because they know they have nothing to fear from our people. Can you imagine my surprise when I first saw the ravens of Dunland, who weren't even talking?" - esther from Bookmarklet

I'm glad you liked it, Maitani. The Oin-Page (a lot of lovely stories like this and very great knowledge about plants) is one of the rare pearls that make me stick with FB despite all the issues. - esther

"The financial crisis in Europe has posed major threats and opportunities to health. We trace the origins of the economic crisis in Europe and the responses of governments, examine the effect on health systems, and review the effects of previous economic downturns on health to predict the likely consequences for the present. We then compare our predictions with available evidence for the effects of the crisis on health. Whereas immediate rises in suicides and falls in road traffic deaths were anticipated, other consequences, such as HIV outbreaks, were not, and are better understood as products of state retrenchment." - esther from Bookmarklet

"Researchers from University of California, Berkeley and the University of British Columbia have created a computer program that can rapidly reconstruct “proto-languages” — the linguistic ancestors from which all modern languages have evolved." - esther from Bookmarklet

Computers might help reconstructing proto-languages one day, but up to now this kind of "research" is inaccurate, inappropriate, or simply wrong, in fact, it is pseudoscience. If you are interested in details, I recommend this: http://geocurrents.info/site-ne... - Maitani

The Wawel Dragon (in Polish: Smok Wawelski), also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish folklore. He laired in a cave at the foot of Wawel Hill on the bank of the Vistula River. Wawel Hill is in Kraków, which was then the capital of Poland. In some stories the dragon lived before the founding of the city, when the area was inhabited by farmers. - esther from Bookmarklet

"Friendly" might require some genetical modification.... - esther

There's even a bathtub! - esther from Bookmarklet

This is camping I would do :-) - Starmama from FFHound(roid)!

"The only requirements are that they have to wear the stamped-on ad for eight hours and post a picture of themselves wearing the ad on a social networking site. So, is this new advertising medium degrading or genius?" - esther from Bookmarklet

:-/ - Halil

Ads are definitely an indicator for the state of a society... - esther

"Capuchin monkeys show biases against humans who deny help to others." - esther from Bookmarklet

Amit, I doubt that :) - esther

"For those of you who can't read the handwriting:" - esther from Bookmarklet

sounds like a very bitter recipe! i think i'll skip it, like i've always done so far :) - grizabella

"If you’re the kind of person who needs a little extra incentive to wake up in the mornings, this alarm clock will do just the trick. 19-year-old Indian engineering student Sankalp Sinha was fed up with oversleeping, so he got the idea to create an alarm clock that delivers an electric shock once the ‘snooze’ button is pressed." - esther from Bookmarklet

No, I think I'm good with just my phone. If I need a shock to wake up, maybe I need the sleep more. - Jennifer Dittrich

"Some people say the Mata mata turtle looks like it’s smiling, because of its unusually-shaped mouth. The Indigenous South American nickname for the turtle, “matamata”, means “I kill”, according to Fritz Jurgen Obst." - esther from Bookmarklet

When fish come near it, the mouth opens up, and the mata mata “vacuums” them in. This is in contrast to Alligator Snapping Turtles, which are similar ambush predators, but with a different strategy. The tongue of the snapping turtle acts as a lure, and unsuspecting fish swim right into its mouth. - esther

"According to the researchers, the squid is able to accomplish this by shooting a powerful jet of water out from their funnel-like stems. Once they're out of the water, they glide by spreading out their fins and arms. This configuration creates aerodynamic lift, enabling the squid to keep a stable arc on its flight. Consequently, the researchers say the squid is truly flying, and not just jumping. And indeed, the technique allows the squid to remain airborne for as much as three seconds at a time." - esther from Bookmarklet

"Almost all of us have whistled at one time or another, whether out of sheer boredom or to cover up our latest prank! You may also have used whistling to communicate with your dog or to express admiration for a pretty girl. However, some people around the world have taken this puckered-up method of messaging to a whole different level of awesomeness. They’ve use piercing whistles for everything from transmitting village gossip, to warning of pirate attacks – with the sounds able to travel for miles!" - esther from Bookmarklet

Most whistled languages originate in places where the terrain is rugged and mountainous – and there’s good reason for this. In a lot of these locations, walking to the nearest village would take a long time. And in the age before cell phones, this didn’t leave many communication alternatives. - esther

You might be wondering why people didn’t simply shout across the mountains. Well, according to Eugenio Darios Darios, an expert at his native whistled language on La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, “If you yell, you can reach about 500 meters [1,640 feet] on a good day, but the message wouldn’t be very clear. A whistle can travel 3,000 meters [9,842 feet] and will arrive as clear as it left the whistler.” Now that’s cool. - esther

Partly to save the money and partly as some sort of training for my travel plans this year. - esther

Good point, MICHAH. All my pipes are wrapped up under the house (and some have heaters wound around them). I do have to run my hot water at a trickle when it's below freezing, though. - Kelli H.

Mobstr has done it again, dancing a little dance with the buffman for our entertainment. The Story involves essentially the same dance as his search for acceptable shade of grey, except that this time he makes it quite clear what the consequences of his work being buffed will be." - esther from Bookmarklet

"Security camera footage of a parked car in Tel Aviv shows men, apparently city workers, painting a handicapped spot around a legally parked car on Sunday. Soon after they finish, a tow truck appears, impounds the car and drives off with it." - esther from Bookmarklet

Schlemielism might be my new favorite word. - esther

"A mobile café designed for trees. The café will tour around Stockholm treetops of different species. The first café event was held in May 2012 in a chestnut tree at Djurgården. The seating and ladders are made from different wood with different character: fir, oak, beech and lark. Constructed in collaboration with Oscar Andersson. Tree-inspired menu designed with Josefin Vargö: fir tea with maple syrup, bread with chestnut cream and tree stem cookies." - esther from Bookmarklet

"Josh Ln is an artist who loves to turn science fiction into anatomy drawings. Here you can see part of his series that reduces famous fictional cyborgs to their constituent parts — the result is half-anatomy textbook and half-engineering schematic." - esther from Bookmarklet