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Opossum

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Opossum

Don’t confuse an American opossum with an Australian possum – they’re quite different!

  • Opossums are a family of over 100 species of marsupials that are native to a variety of habitats in North and South America, and they typically live not far from a water source and often dwell in trees.
  • The scientific and family name of an opossum is Didelphidae, from the order Didelphimorphia, and the animal is distributed among four sub-families, and is sometimes known as a ‘possum’, though it is not closely related and should not be confused with possums that live in Australia and surrounding areas.
  • Generally opossums grow to be 61 to 91 centimetres (24 to 36 inches) in length, which includes their long tail, and weigh 0.5 to 6 kilograms (1.1 to 13 pounds).
  • Opossums have fur that ranges from black, grey and brown in colour, and they usually have a white face and a pink snout.
  • The diet of opossums can consist of insects, fruit, nuts, frogs, birds, mice, grasses and snakes, as well as garbage waste.
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Opossum
Image courtesy of Dawn Huczek/Flickr
  • Female opossums can produce 5 to 15 young at one time, although often some won’t survive, and they crawl to and grow in the pouch of the mother when newborn, and at around three months, they can ride on their mother’s back.
  • Opossums have the ability to shut down into an unconscious state and play dead as a technique to evade predators, and this state of being can last as long as four hours or as little as 40 minutes.
  • Opossums can generally resist the toxins of pit viper snakes such as cottonmouths and rattlesnakes, however, they typically have a short lifespan of approximately two years, and up to four.
  • Urban locations are increasingly seeing more opossums, as greater populations move into the area due to habitat removal, while some species are listed as near threatened, vulnerable or critically endangered.
  • Some communities in America eat opossum meat, and historically it was a popular food, while others hunt the animal for its fur.
Bibliography:
Opossums, 2015, Living With Wildlife, http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/opossums.html
Opossum, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/opossum/
Opossum, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/opossum/
Opossum, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

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Thor’s Well

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Thor’s Well

Thor’s Well brings phenomenon from paper to reality.

  • Thor’s Well is a large natural hole located in a rock bed along Cape Perpetua in the Siuslaw National Forest, in the United State’s Oregon, next to the Pacific Ocean.
  • ‘Thor’s Well’ is also known as ‘Spouting Horn’, however this name is not correct as a nearby feature bears that name, and some are likely to be confused, thinking it is one and the same landform.
  • The depth of Thor’s Well is estimated to be around 6.1 metres (20 feet) deep, and during low tide, numerous mussels lining the internal walls of the hole can be seen.
  • Thor’s Well endures a cycle of water flowing into the hole, eventually overflowing and then erupting to heights of 6.1 metres (20 feet), and the surrounding water is then quickly sucked back in to the hole.
  • Thor’s Well is most active during high tide and in storms around winter, as greater amounts of water flow into the hole, causing it to overflow quicker and spout to great heights.
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Thor’s Well
Image courtesy of John Fowler/Flickr
  • It is thought that Thor’s Well was originally a cave that had the roof collapse in, due to constant water erosion.
  • Thor’s Well can be very dangerous when it is high tide, as the water pulled into the hole can sweep people along with it, due to slippery surfaces and large waves.
  • Rocks surrounding Thor’s Well are mostly basalt, while water that fills and empties in the hole is saltwater from the ocean.
  • Many images exaggerate the actual diameter of Thor’s Well, which is actually only around 3 metres (10 feet).
  • Due to the picturesque nature of Thor’s Well, the site is popularly visited by photographers and general tourists alike, and to access the site, hiking along the coast is required.
Bibliography:
Burns T, Thor’s Well, Gateway to the Underworld, 2012, Shooting the World, https://shootingtheworld.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/thors-well-gateway-to-the-underworld/
I’m looking for history or information about Thor’s well?, 2015, Travel Oregon, http://traveloregon.com/ask-oregon/im-looking-for-history-or-information-about-thors-well/
Pfiel R, At Thor’s Well, low tide > high tide, 2015, e Southern Oregon, http://blogs.esouthernoregon.com/pocket-protector/2015/06/30/at-thors-well-low-tide-high-tide/
Thor’s Well, 2015, Atlas Obscura, http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/thor-s-well

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Gasoline

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Gasoline

If it doesn’t run on diesel, it’ll probably run on gasoline.

  • Gasoline is a liquid fuel used to power engines that produce power through the process of combustion, and it is commonly used in vehicles like automobiles, as well as lawn mowers.
  • ‘Gasoline’ is also known as ‘petrol’ or ‘petroleum’, and also by the general term ‘fuel’, and the product is a combination of hydrogen and carbon, a ‘hydrocarbon’.
  • Although gasoline is generally produced clear in colour, it is sometimes dyed yellow, purple, orange or red to visually distinguish between fuel types and grades.
  • Gasoline is sourced from crude oil, or ‘petroleum’ as it is also known, and the oil undergoes a distilling process which produces kerosene among other products, and the petrol produced is a by-product of this process.
  • The raw gasoline distilled from oil is generally unsuitable for use in engines as it causes engine knocking, and so to remedy this, chemical additives are included in the mixture, and these were originally lead based chemicals until leaded-fuels where banned in most countries from the 1970s onwards.

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  • Significant amounts of carbon dioxide are released on combustion of gasoline, and this, as well as the toxic nature of petrol leaks, and the non-renewable source of the fuel, has led it to be marked as not environmentally friendly.
  • Gasoline contains around 15 different chemicals that are poisonous to humans on consumption, and the fuel gives off a strong vapour which is toxic to humans if inhaled, although some people deliberately sniff the substance and as a result, petrol called ‘Opal’, that has a much reduced odour, has been introduced to some areas where sniffing is a serious problem.
  • In 1859, the American oil driller Edwin Drake, is said to have distilled the first gasoline, although he disposed of it under the assumption it would be of no use; and it was not until the 1890s that it was first used in automobiles.
  • After a year or so, gasoline is generally rendered too unstable and thus unusable for most engines, and is best disposed ofor used with the addition of fresh fuel, although a stabiliser can be added to fuel to extend its shelf life.
  • Gasoline is widely available at service stations, and in 2015 it cost between 50 cents and $7 US dollars for 3.8 litres (1 gallon) depending on the country, and the fuel is notoriously more expensive in Europe.
Bibliography:
Bellis M, History of Gasoline, 2015, About Money, http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gasoline.htm
Gasoline, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline
Gasoline (Petrol), n.d, AMMA Resource Industry Employment Group, http://www.miningoilgasjobs.com.au/oil-gas-energy/hydrocarbons-and-energy/hydrocarbons/oil-and-gas/downstream/gasoline.aspx
History of Gasoline, 2014, US Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=gasoline_history

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Battleship

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Battleship

Battleship is a highly intense game that involves… saying coordinates.

  • Battleship is a two player board or paper game that involves destroying your opponent’s various watercrafts using strategic guesswork.
  • ‘Battleship’ is also known as ‘Sea Battle’ and ‘Battleships’, and there are numerous other versions of the game known by other names.
  • A typical game of Battleship is played by placing ‘ships’ on a designated grid and then each player proceeds to find and destroy their opponent’s watercraft by ‘shooting’ it, which is done by calling random grid coordinates.
  • Traditionally a game of Battleship uses five different boats of 5, 4, 3, 3 and 2 squares in length, although watercraft may be different sizes and of different numbers.
  • A variety of different terms are used to name each different watercraft; the Milton Bradley version referring to each as, from the smallest size, a ‘patrol boat’, ‘submarine’, ‘destroyer’, ‘battleship’ and ‘aircraft carrier’.

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  • Battleship was originally known as ‘Salvo’, which is thought to have been first played by Russian officials before the first world war, and a commercial paper and pencil version with the same name was produced in 1931 by the American company Starex Novelty Company.
  • Originally Battleship was played using sheets of paper containing a grid, and a writing tool, although the game company Milton Bradley invented reusable plastic boards and small plastic ships in 1967 for the game, that has since become more popular than the paper version, and other companies have made similar styled versions.
  • The commercial Milton Bradley Battleship game introduced the white and red colour coding used to mark a miss or hit respectively, using small pegs that slot into holes in the grid.
  • Grids sizes vary in each version of the Battleship game, though traditionally it is 10 by 10 squares, labelled with letters on the y-axis and numbers on the x-axis.
  • The first computerised version of Battleship was designed in 1979, and was one of the first games scripted for a computer.
Bibliography:
Battleship (Game), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battleship_(game)
Salvo Is New Game With a Nautical Air, 1931,  The Milwaukee Journal, 1 July, p. 8. Google Newspapers

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Foie Gras

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Foie Gras

Foie gras is a luxurious delicacy at one destination and an illegal product at another.

  • ‘Foie gras’, a French term that can be translated into English as ‘fat liver’, is a food made of an enlarged bird liver, that is consumed as a delicacy in various parts of the world.
  • Ducks, often the hybrid Mulard species that are a cross between a Pekin and a Muscovy duck, are most commonly used to produce foie gras, totalling just over 98% of French production in 2014, while the remainder are usually geese.
  • Ducks and geese that are used for foie gras are prepared by force feeding two to three times a day using a small pipe inserted into their throat, a process known as ‘gavage’, which takes a total time of around two to three seconds for each bird.
  • Foie gras is served both hot and cold, generally cooked by roasting, grilling and pan-searing, or slow cooking methods as in a terrine, and is typically served with vegetables or other meats.
  • Many areas in the world, including a number of European countries like Germany, Denmark and Norway; India; Australia; and some parts of the United States, have marked foie gras as an illegal product to produce, as force feeding the birds may be considered inhumane or cruel, and some of these countries has also banned the import and consumption of the product.
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Foie Gras
Image courtesy of Jeremy Couture/Flickr
  • Force feeding of birds for foie gras generally occurs after 63 to 90 days from hatching, and this method of feeding lasts for around 12 to 25 days, when the liver is roughly six to ten times the normal size, after which they are slaughtered.
  • France is one of the greatest advocators of foie gras, stating it is a “cultural and gastronomical heritage” of the country, and have thus gone to lengths to protect the industry.
  • From around 2500 BC Ancient Egyptians force fed birds to fatten them, similar to the foie gras production process, and the practice eventually spread across Europe, while the earliest known mention of the consumption of fat bird livers is during Roman times.
  • France is the largest producer of foie gras in the world, with a total of 19,300 tonnes (21,275 tons) in 2014, or 72% of the total world production, of roughly 26,600 tonnes (29,321 tons).
  • Foie gras is very high in fat, cholesterol, vitamin A, vitamin B12, iron and selenium, and has a buttery feel in the mouth, and rich flavour.
Bibliography:
Foie Gras, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras
Foie Gras: Cruelty to Ducks and Geese, n.d, PETA, http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/ducks-geese/foie-gras/
López-Al J, The Physiology of Foie: Why Foie Gras is Not Unethical, n.d, Serious Eats, http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/1 2/the-physiology-of-foie-why-foie-gras-is-not-u.html

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Bongo

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Bongo

You may get arrested if you hit these bongos.

  • Bongos are an antelope native to the forest habitats of tropical areas in Central and West Africa, and they have an average lifespan of 10 to 19 years.
  • The scientific name of a bongo is Tragelaphus eurycerus, and it is from the family Bovidae, the family of bovids, or ruminant mammals with cloven hooves.
  • As the largest forest antelope, the height of a bongo can reach 1.1 to 1.3 metres (3.6 to 4.3 feet) excluding the head, and it can weigh between 150 to 405 kilograms (331 to 893 pounds).
  • The fur of a bongo is mostly coloured a chestnut or red/orange brown colour, with black on its tail, legs and face, and it is patterned with approximately a dozen white or cream coloured stripes across its back.
  • Bongos have horns that have a curved, twisted shape that range from 75 to 100 centimetres (30 to 39 inches) in length, and they are found on both genders.
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A Bongo
Image courtesy of William Andrus/Flickr
  • The diet of bongos consists primarily of leaves and other vegetation including bark; fruit; and grass, and they also need to consume salt.
  • Poachers kill bongos for meat, horns and skin, which has led to a decrease in the animal’s population, and habitat loss has also contributed to the decline, and as such they are listed as near threatened.
  • Female bongos generally live in herds, while the males typically live alone, and the females usually produce a single calf per litter, which is born hidden in undergrowth, where it is kept protectively for a week or so, after which they join the herd.
  • Some native African communities fear touching bongos, let alone eating them, thinking contact would cause health problems, such as spasms, in humans.
  • Bongos are mostly nocturnal, and they shine their horns by cooling themselves down in mud and then scraping away the mud by rubbing their horns against trees.
Bibliography:
Bongo, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/bongo/
Bongo, n.d, African Wildlife Foundation, https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/bongo
Bongo (antelope), 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongo_(antelope)

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