Donald Trump was the first President in 168 years not to have a pet in the White House. The only other Presidents not to have a pet there were James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson. – WTF Fun Facts
Animals
Our random animal facts are a both fun and a little bit weird but they will keep you entertained for days!
WTF Fun Fact – Birds Unihemispheric Sleep
Birds have the ability (unihemispheric) to let half their brain sleep while the other half is awake. Researchers found when ducks sleep in a row, those on either end sleep with one eye open to look for predators. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Half-Brained Ducks in a Row | Science | AAAS (sciencemag.org)
WTF Fun Fact – Arctic Fox’s Colorful Fur
Arctic foxes have beautiful white coats that act as very effective winter camouflage. However, they do not hibernate and their fur changes colors to brown or grey for the summer. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Arctic Fox | National Geographic
WTF Fun Fact – Meat Into Honey
Vulture bees (or carrion bees) feed on rotting meat instead of pollen in order to make honey. They eat and store the flesh in a special stomach compartment and then return to the hive. There the meat is regurgitated and processed by a worker bee. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: SCIENCE WATCH; Carrion Bees – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Bare-Hearted Glass Frog
The bare-hearted glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium colymbiphyllum) has the most transparent underside of all glass frogs, which allows for almost full visibility of their internal organs. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyalinobatrachium_colymbiphyllum
WTF Fun Fact – Gum-Leaf Skeletonizer Caterpillar Hat
The gum-leaf skeletonizer caterpillar wears its old molted heads on top of its head, which it uses to bat away predators. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Weird caterpillar uses its old heads to make an elaborate hat | New Scientist
WTF Fun Fact – Ophiocordyceps unilateralis
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, a parasitic fungus, effectively turns ants into zombies. The fungus compels the ant to bite onto the underside of a low-hanging leaf where it dies, and the fungus then sends a fruiting body out through the ant’s head to disseminate spores. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Cordyceps zombie fungus takes over ants’ bodies (nationalgeographic.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Monkey See Monkey Do
A monkey was electrocuted as it walked on high tension wires in an Indian railway station, falling unconscious on to the tracks. Another monkey attempted to resuscitate the animal by repeatedly biting, hitting, and dunking it in water. The electrocuted monkey was eventually revived.–WTF Fun Facts
Source: Monkey Revives Monkey Unconscious at Kanpur India Train Station: Video | Time
WTF Fun Fact – Masha The Hero Tabby Cat
In January 2015, a tabby cat named Masha helped save an abandoned baby in Russia from freezing to death by staying beside him to give him warmth while meowing to alert someone. It didn’t take long for someone to hear and bring the baby to a hospital. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Masha the heroic cat finds baby who was cruelly abandoned in Russia (honesttopaws.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Hozhizuna no Hama / Star Sand Beach
Hoshizuna no Hama (“star sand beach”) is a small beach located on a remote island in Japan. The grains of sand found here are shaped like tiny stars. It’s not really sand but the exoskeletons of tiny one-celled organisms, called Baclogypsina sphaerulata. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The Star Sand Beach of Hoshizuna-no-hama | Amusing Planet
WTF Fun Fact – Elephants Hear With Their Feet
Elephants can hear with their feet. They are specialists in seismic communication, relying upon sound waves that travel within the surface of the ground instead of through the air. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Elephants-can-hear-through-their-feet-2593114.php
WTF Fun Fact – An Unlikely Place To Incubate Eggs
The male Banggai cardinalfish fertilizes the females clutch of eggs and then immediately sucks them into his mouth where he stores them for a month. Scientists believe they don’t eat while doing so except for some of the eggs either accidentally or by “design”. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: https://www.seattleaquarium.org/blog/creature-feature-male-mouth-brooding-banggai-cardinalfish
WTF Fun Fact – Kermit The Frog Commencement Speech
On May 19, 1996, Kermit the Frog gave the commencement speech at Southampton College, Long Island University. – WTF Fun Facts
Source:Southampton College News: Kermit’s Commencement Address at Southampton College (archive.org)
WTF Fun Fact – Ubre Blanca
Fidel Castro was obsessed with a hybrid Holstein cow named Ubre Blanca (“White Udder”) due to her prolific milk-producing abilities. In 1982, the Guinness Book of World Records certified her as the world’s highest-producing dairy cow, providing over 24 gallons in a single day. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: The History of Cuba’s Ongoing Obsession with Ice Cream (vice.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Sharkano
In 2015, a National Geographic expedition found sharks living inside one of the most active underwater volcanoes on Earth, a place where scientists think nothing but bacteria should be capable of living. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: These Sharks Thrive Inside an Underwater Volcano (nationalgeographic.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Cocoon Of Shed Skin
The Notaden Nichollsi, or “Desert Spadefoot Toad,” spends half of the year underground encased in a cocoon of their own skin during the dry season. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Notaden nichollsi (Desert Spadefoot Toad) — species details | FrogWatch SA
WTF Fun Fact – Ambergris On The Beach
An 8-yr-old UK boy found a “rock” on the beach which turned out to be ambergris (sperm whale excrement). Perfumeries like Chanel prize ambergris for its ability to fix scent to skin; the blob of ambergris was worth ~$63K. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: What’s Ambergris? Behind the $60k Whale-Waste Find (nationalgeographic.com)
WTF Fun Fact – Pigeon Racing Leads To More Divorces
In 2017, an Indonesian court blamed an increase in divorce filings on pigeon racing. – WTF Fun Facts
Source: Pigeon racing blamed for Indonesian divorces – BBC News