As we recently explored in our post about wildlife strikes, even the most advanced technology cannot withstand Mother Nature’s meddling. Roller coasters are another case in point, as explained in this rather fascinating bit by a veteran amusement-park techie: A ride error is usually caused by an issue with the photo eye sensors…On Talon, the […]
It’s no secret that the world of thoroughbred racing now mimics the very worst aspects of professional cycling, with so many contests determined by pharmaceutical aids. Less well-known is the impact that performance-enhancing drugs have had on other animal-centric sports, where doping has become commonplace despite the relatively meager financial rewards on offer. Pigeon racing, […]
Tags:drugs·fighting crickets·horse racing·insects·pigeons·sports
Nearly a year ago, we marveled at the way in which ancient physicians used ant jaws as sutures. Blame our childhood Flintstones habit, but we have a soft spot for techniques that require the assistance of live animals. And so imagine our glee upon discovering the role that dermestid beetles play in the twin disciplines […]
Tags:crime·dermestid beetles·insects·paleontology·taxidermy·tigers·wildlife management
A comment on an otherwise forgettable post just got us thinking: isn’t there something completely random about the Western culinary take on arthropods? We have apparently decided to feast on only one of the phylum’s four remaining subphyllum—Crustacea. But we gag at the thought of eating the terrestrial cousins of shrimp, lobsters, and crayfish. Why […]
Tags:arthropods·crayfish·fast food·food·insects·Popeyes·scorpions
The fact the map above is entirely green-and-white attests to the success of one of modern history’s great international projects: the FAO‘s Locust Watch. When the project started in 1979, the ravenous critters were a regular menace from Mali to eastern India, in large part because of a lack of information flow—countries were seldom aware […]
The latest issue of Agricultural Research, a monthly must-read ’round Microkhan headquarters, contains an interesting nugget about fire ant immigration patterns. A Floridian entomologist who specializes in evolutionary genetics has concluded that our national fire-ant nightmare started with as few as nine queens, all of whom touched down in Mobile, Alabama, during the Great Depression. […]
Over the weekend, I finally got around to seeing Mel Gibson’s hyper-violent Apocalypto; it’s been on my list for a while now, primarily because I need to study up on jungle chase scenes for the Now the Hell Will Start screenplay. The flick is every bit as brutal as I’d heard, and then some—don’t think […]
The dreaded Africanized honey bee has finally made its way to southern Utah, specifically the two counties that border Arizona. About time, considering that Utah agricultural authorities have been expecting to find such bees since 1999, when the “killers” first showed up in neighboring Nevada. So it took the bees a full decade to cross […]
