starfirebird

[starfirebird]

[starfirebird]

so many creatures putting SO much effort into putting ‘special’ fluids that TOTALLY aren’t water through every organ possible to clean them so they can use them again 2 seconds later. like why not simply sit on a damp substrate and pull water through your body by evaporating the extra out pores in your leaves lmaoooo

[starfirebird]

for no reason whatsoever here’s a reminder that if you consider yourself a leftist/punk/abolitionist/anarchist/radical in any sort of way and get called into jury duty, you are to become the most square person on earth during the jury questionnaire!!!

don’t be that guy who says fuck the police in the jury questionnaire! that just gets you sent home! if you want to generate change, interact with the case and use your jury vote for good! ESPECIALLY if it’s a high profile case!

[starfirebird]

Absolutely amazing how AO3 is a part of the internet that doesn't sneak in any ads and doesn't have an algorithm and doesn't watch you or record how much time you spend looking at each fic or whatever. It's just right there to use for free. Legend

[starfirebird]

[starfirebird]

Horse people are such a specific type of crazy (I know as I am one myself) because they’ve been staring at their horses for millennia with such meticulous fervor that they’ve developed a kind of weird equine phrenology where owners feel like they can predict a horse’s temperament and behavior just from the pattern of hair swirls (called whorls) on their face. Which results in absolutely unhinged diagrams like this

The craziest thing about this? It is almost certainly based in truth. There has been a decent amount of study into the connection between hair whorls and horse behavior. Many scientists theorize that because these hair patterns develop in the fetal horse at the same time as the nervous system, certain information about a horse’s behavior can be predicted by the whorls.

A 2021 article in Livestock Science explored the genetic heritability of these swirl patterns and found that a whorl on the forehead is highly influenced by genetic factors and could potentially be used to select more docile animals. Temple Grandin researched the phenomenon as well with several studies at Colorado state and made the same connection between the growth of hair whorls and the development of the horse’s brain, leading to certain manifestations of anxiety or docility. Obviously temperament in any animal is more complicated than just genetics or histology, and it would be silly to try and extrapolate a horse’s entire personality from its hair, but the connection is interesting and worth noting all the same.

There is an ancient history to these whorls. An Indian veterinarian mentioned them in a treatise on equine medicine from the third century, and the Bedouin people (who had an extremely developed lore around whorls) used the marks to determine the price of horses prior to sale. It’s pretty cool that our modern understanding of embryology and veterinary medicine is illuminating a phenomenon that ancient people first noted and passed down through folklore.

[starfirebird]

i think its my sacred obligation to tell yall about animals so just letting you know that apparently (according to inaturalist) theres 321 species of squirrels in the world. Yes three hundred twenty one

[starfirebird]

right so. everyones seen that post by now of the kid being like omg how did students write 600 word essays before ai???

and i find myself, at 10:42pm on a friday night, with a 700 word essay to write for a physiology class. i know jack fucking shit about physiology (i was a history major, my brain is incredibly not wired for science) and i am going to prove the kid in this silly little post so incredibly incorrect.

lets do it

[starfirebird]

I need non-Canadians to know that everything in this thread is true

[starfirebird]

[starfirebird]

"don't perform self-surgery! only medical professionals should do that!" appeal to authority. "no one does that!" bandwagon fallacy. "you're crazy!" ad hominem

[starfirebird]

[starfirebird]

tiny death roll

[starfirebird]

Free bumper sticker design for any Floridians who want it

[starfirebird]

i think it is important to recognize the ways in which your favorite thing sucks. i think it keeps u normal

[starfirebird]

GUYS THIS IS HUGE. 

THIS IS ACTUALLY REALLY HUGE. IN A VERY GOOD WAY. 

[starfirebird]

There’s something incredibly nice about setting up a tent in your apartment and sitting in it