Fish

Venomous Fish

Today I learned that there are venomous fish in existence. And I’m not talking poisonous like the pufferfish, I’m talking have venom sacks and can inject you with some deadly toxins venomous. Properly venomous like a snake.

Of these fish the most toxic of them belong to the genus “Synanceia”, commonly called “Stonefish”. They’re honestly ugly as sin, and have spines along the back that are hooked right up to some glands full of a nasty bunch of neurotoxin that can make your leg hurt so bad you want it cut off.

That’s right, this little fish can make you want to hack your foot off with a rusty ax if you step on it. If the victim does not receive treatment in a reasonable amount of time, it can even prove fatal, making this one of the planets most deadly animals. This means that an ugly fish that looks like a stone could kill you. Which would be revenge for all the slights against the fish’s perceived lack of attractiveness, I guess.

Kitsu’s Afternoon “News”: Grab Bag

  • YOUNG BONOBO SHOWS SIGNS OF AUTISM 22 September 2011: Evidence that Mental Health issues are not uniquely human are brought to light by Teco, a Bonobo, who was born by a well known and exceptionally intelligent sire. Signs suggest something similar to autism spectrum disorders, but as the sample group is small, most evidence is anecdotal at this time.
  • ARMSTRONG TO NASA: YOU’RE EMBARRASSING 22 September 2011: Space flight pioneers Neil Armstrong and Eugene Cernan urge NASA to shape up.
  • TITANIC NECKLACE STOLEN FROM AMUSEMENT PARK 22 September 2011: A lovely gold necklace once owned by Titanic 1st class passenger Eleanor Elkins Widener was stolen from the Titanic – The Exhibition show at Copenhagen’s Tivoli gardens.
  • IS SINGLE-SEX SCHOOLING EFFECTIVE? 22 September 2011: A review by the journal Science refutes the 2004 governmental move to loosen restrictions on sex-based discrimination in schools to cater to the claims that girls and boys learn differently.
  • ANGRY FISH INHABIT MOST HOME AQUARIUMS 23 September 2011: Comparative behavioral studies show the effects of environment on fish. Cramped, barren environments yield aggressive, nasty fishes.

Kitsu’s Afternoon “News”: Grab Bag

In an effort to work through some of my Discovery News backlog, I’ve decided to do a grab bag where I give a quick overview of a whole bunch of stories that you might want to read, instead of going into a lot of detail about just one. These are ones that are shorter or I have less to say about, or they’re so old they’re risking going out of date.

  • ANCIENT MOSAICS REVEAL CHANGING FISH SIZE 13 September 2011: Using mosaics scientists have been able to infer data about fish sizes from before people kept size records, demonstrating the effects of mass fishing on fish populations.
  • LAUGHTER REALLY IS THE BEST MEDICINE 14 September 2011: Laughter increases pain tolerance, and thus improves overall health. The study does note that just laughing doesn’t work, you have actually feel the laugh and be truly joyful.
  • JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE SAVED? 14 September 2011: The half-finished telescope narrowly avoided cancellation and manages to get its funding back on track. Finally, after fools nearly decided to completely waste the money already spent.
  • BABY RHINO RESCUED FROM TREE 15 September 2011: Yes, a tree. and no, you can’t make this sort of thing up. Poor little thing freaked out after poachers shot momma and got stuck in the fork of a tree after he ran away. Poor little thing.
  • STAR TREK INSPIRATION? MEET THE REAL JEAN PICARD 17 September 2011: The article describes the historical personality that was Gene Roddenberry’s inspiration for Star Trek’s Jean-luc Picard, the 17th century astronomer Jean-Felix Picard.