Conversation Piece, February 18, 2018
A weekly series.
Enjoy our Sunday series, Conversation Piece, a NUVO–curated digest of things on the Internet we think you’ll want to talk about.
Winter wardrobe. Some animals, including snowshoe hares and snow foxes, have evolved a special skill to stay safe all year long—they shed their brown summer coats each winter to give them an advantage on the snowy tundra, then shed their white coats when the ground becomes visible again. But when climate change throws seasonal patterns out of loop, these animals can be stuck in last season’s clothes, unaware of their own obviousness. Can these animals continue to thrive in a changing world? Find out, here.
Team effort. You’ve heard of army ants—but how about paramedic ants? Scientist have just discovered that Matabele ants, native to sub-Saharan Africa, carry home their wounded after a raid, then nurse them back to health by “licking” their wounds—with an 80 per cent success rate on recovery. While animals have been observed treating their own wounds, the act of them nursing others is new territory. Learn more, here.
Think outside the loch. In light of the Oscar nods earned by Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, which stars (of course) a cat-eating fish-man, Smith Journal takes a look at six of the weirdest water-based monsters from folklore, from island-sized turtles to evil, sexy horses. Have you heard of the fingernail-hungry ahuizotl, or the adaro ghost merman? Become acquainted, here.
Not pot. As weed continues to become ever more mainstream, interest is burgeoning in cannabidiol or CBD, a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana that is legal to sell on its own. CBD supplements are a wellness craze for its therapeutic effects. Learn more about this miraculous substance, here.
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