Monday, June 2, 2008

Animal Myths

Black Cat
In my last post about composting, Raggs wondered if it was true that a worm would survive being cut in half (apparently not). That got me thinking about other animal myths.


Frightened ostriches bury their heads in the sand

Not true. This myth may have started because, from a distance, it's difficult to see their tiny heads as they peck at the dirt.


Touching toads will give you warts

Although the toads may have bumps, touching them will not cause a breakout of warts. This reminds me of two things:

1) When my mom was a little girl, she was told if she buried a cut potato in her yard, her wart would disappear. Amazingly, this advice turned out to be false.

2) If you get the opportunity, watch the hilarious Australian "documentary" Cane Toads: An Unnatural History. It details, in comedic fashion, what can happen when an unnatural animal is introduced into a new environment.


Bats are blind

Strike "blind as a bat" from your vocabulary -- not only do bats have exceptional hearing, they can also see.


Black cats bring bad luck

I have no idea how this superstition began, but I do know that my local pet adoption centre won't sell any black cats in the weeks preceding Halloween. I don't even like to think of the reasons why they have to take this precaution.


By the way, that's a picture of my cat, Meeko.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cats have *nine* lives.

I only wish this were true. Then, possibly that sweet little Calico baby I had to say goodbye to last year -- would still be here.

If only.

Lynn Sinclair said...

Agreed, Georgie. That's one myth that I'd like to see a reality.

Heidi the Hick said...

I love black cats, as you know! I specifically went to the pound, almost 17years ago, looking for a black cat. It was August... they told me they won't adopt them out in October. Yeesh.

Best $50 I ever spent! He's purred two kids to sleep for their whole lives and been a point of stability for a few crazy years. Bad luck? Not a chance!

NuclearToast said...

Cane toads. Grrr. They kill hundreds of pets every year because they're poisonous. The funny part of that documentary is the guy in the VW minivan "doing his part" to keep their population in check. Nice try, dude.

Lynn Sinclair said...

Heidi, my cat, Meeko, looks so much like your cat (minus the gray).

Lynn Sinclair said...

I watched that cane toad documentary years ago, so forget the specifics about it. I can well imagine how the VW driver was trying to help. A little messy.

Heidi the Hick said...

If Meeko lives to be 18 she might earn a few grey hairs too!

Heidi the Hick said...

I just realized that that comment would be very odd if the reader did not know that we were talking about cats.

Here's to the little black cat having 9 long and healthy lives!!

Lynn Sinclair said...

Heidi, the gray makes him look very distinguished and wise.

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