WTF • Fun • Fact    ( /dʌb(ə)lˌju/  /ti/   /ef/ • /fʌn/ • /fækt/ )

     1. noun  A random, interesting, and overall fun fact that makes you scratch your head and think what the...

WTF Fun Fact 13104 – Pandemic Influences on Animals

While the pandemic was a catastrophe for humans, many wild animal populations flourished without us around. Of course, this wasn’t always ideal for their ecosystems, but scientists are still trying to understand that. Nearly all researchers who were in the middle of field research on animal populations (or even those displayed in zoos and aquariums) are in the process of studying the precise nature of pandemic influences on animals.

The “anthropause”

Scientists have suggested that the period at the height of the pandemic be called the “anthropause.” That’s because at the height of the pandemic, humans weren’t around in many places to disturb animal populations.

Researchers are interested in studying this moment in time to see how wildlife adapted to our absence. The COVID pandemic provided a unique opportunity to see how the absence of things like noise, pollution from traffic, and tourism affect animal populations.

What were some pandemic influences on animals?

We don’t yet know the full effects of the pandemic and its “anthropause” on animals, since the world is only recently revving up again. But researchers can look at data from tracking devices, cameras, and sensors to see how things were different in 2020 and 2021.

Accoring to Science Magazing (cited below): “The International Bio-Logging Society, for example, is coordinating a large effort to assess how reduced vehicle, ship, and aircraft traffic is affecting animal behavior. More than 300 researchers have indicated they have relevant animal tracking data from 180 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, and sharks across almost 300 study populations from all continents and oceans.”

It’s data that one researcher called “a gold mine.”

But other scientists that had to halt their research during the pandemic need to completely rethink their approaches. The pandemic pause needs to be factored into any historical data that included the pandemic years.

What did wildlife do during the pandemic?

As for the data collected during the pandemic, scientists are seeing some interesting things. More animals wandered around in the daytime. Some are now less active than they were before the pandemic. Cities saw some rare animals wander into their limits.

It all leaves more questions than answers.

But some new studies have popped up in response to the lack of humans around wildlife. For example, animal experts are looking at the effects of a lack of tourism on the diet and health of animals that were once fed by human visitors.

In the end, it may help us figure out how to regulate tourism in order to best help vulnerable species. — WTF fun facts

Source: “The pandemic stilled human activity. What did this ‘anthropause’ mean for wildlife?” — Science

WTF Fun Fact 13103 – Dr. Joel Poinsett

Do you know where the poinsettia – the traditional flower of the Christmas season – got its name? We assumed it was a botanical concoction. But it was named after Dr. Joel Poinsett.

Who was Joel Poinsett?

If you’re beginning to decorate for the holidays this year, you may have picked up a few poinsettias. (And, hopefully, if you have pets, they are far out of reach!) The flowers are pretty long-lasting, so if you care for them, you can pick one up the day before Thanksgiving, and it may last all the way through New Year’s Eve!

The flowers – particularly the red ones – are a very common winter season decoration. And that’s been the case for many years thanks to Joel Poinsett.

Dr. Joel Poinsett was the United States Secretary of War in 1838. According to Smithsonian Magazine (cited below),“…he presided over the United States Exploring Expedition, the first circumnavigation of the globe sponsored by the United States.” In choosing the team of explorers, he insist many scientists be included.

He got the job, in part, because he himself was a botanist. And when he served as the first U.S. minister to Mexico, he found the flower growing there. Locals told him it was once used by the Aztecs as both a red dye and a medicine to help reduce fevers.

Eventually, Poinsett became a founding member of the National Institution for the Promotion of Science when it was formed in 1840. The goal of the organization was to promote the study of natural history and other sciences.

The name “poinsettia”

Poinsett was a physician, diplomat, botanist, and more in a time when a man could be all of those things (partly because they didn’t require nearly as much formal training as they do now). But that’s to say that he has a lot more in his background than just a flower.

Upon finding the flower called the Flor de Nochebuena (or Christmas Eve flower) in Mexico, he sent a specimen back to the U.S. That’s when it became known as a poinsettia in his honor. But it had long been a Christmas flower. — WTF fun facts

Source: “How Joel Poinsett, the Namesake for the Poinsettia, Played a Role in Creating the Smithsonian” — Smithsonian Magazine

WTF Fun Fact 13102 – The Spanish National Anthem

The Spanish national anthem is one of the few national anthems with no words. The lyric-less tune, “Marcha Real,” has led to some confusion in other nations while watching events like the Olympics and World Cup as TV watchers from the U.S. tweet out things like “I can’t believe the Spanish team refuses to sing their national anthem.” But it’s not for a lack of patriotism!

The national anthems with no words

The “Marcha Real” (or Royal March”) is one of only four national anthems with no words. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and San Marino’s anthems are also instrumentals.

So, it’s rare, but it’s there. And it does tend to lead to awkward moments in stadiums as well when other teams belt out the words to their nation’s anthem. Typically, the Spanish have craftily made do with humming along or “na na na’ing” along to the tune, but players normally stand in silence.

A brief tenure during which the Spanish anthem had lyrics

According to the music website Classic FM, The ‘Marcha Real’ was composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros. It was designed as a military march for the Spanish Infantry. King Charles III declared it the official march of Span in the 1770s, and later it was named the nation’s anthem.

There have been attempts to give it words, but none have been accepted by the government.

Classic FM notes: “During the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, the following lyrics, written by fascist poet José María Pemán, were employed.”

And it went a little something like this:

Long live Spain! Raise your arms, sons
Of the Spanish People, which rebirths anew.
Glory to the Fatherland that knew how to follow,
Over the Ocean blue, the course of the setting sun.
Triumph, Spain! The yokes and the arrows
Sing to the rhythm of the anthem of faith.
Let’s stand and sing along with them
For the new and strong life of work and peace.
Long live Spain! Raise your arms, sons
Of the Spanish People, which rebirths anew.
Glory to the Fatherland that knew how to follow,
Over the Ocean blue, the course of the setting sun.

Spain became a democracy after Franco’s death, however, and the lyrics were left behind in the ash heaps of history. — WTF fun facts

Source: “What is the Spanish national anthem, and why does it have no words?” — Classic FM

WTF Fun Fact 13100 – A Bungled Bank Robbery

In 2021, Michael Conley Loyd robbed a bank while on probation and wearing an ankle monitor. He passed a note to the teller that read “Give Your Money Now. Don’t Say Anything. I Have A Partner Outside.” The note was written on the back of his own birth certificate.

— WTF fun facts

Source: “Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery While Wearing Ankle Monitor” — US Justice Department

WTF Fun Fact 13097 – Cats Can Become “Tuna Junkies”

According to Pam Johnson-Bennett of Cat Behavior Associates (cited below):

“Tuna as a treat now and then is harmless but as a steady diet can lead to malnutrition. Tuna doesn’t have adequate amounts of vitamin E and this may lead to a condition called steatitis (also known as yellow fat disease). Tuna has a very strong taste and smell so many cats can become addicted to it. Veterinarians refer to them as “tuna junkies.” The problem can be serious because these tuna junkies may refuse to eat anything else. The other problem with a steady diet of tuna is that there’s a risk of mercury poisoning. If you incorporate tuna into your cat’s diet, do it in a controlled way.”

— WTF fun facts

Source: “Ten common mistakes when feeding cats” — Cat Behavior Associates