Monthly Archives: April 2014
124.CAN SALAMANDERS LIVE THROUGH FIRES?
Have you ever seen a salamander? They’re not very pleasant-looking creatures. Their slender bodies, long tails, and sprawling legs make them look like lizards. And probably because they have a smooth, shiny skin that always looks wet, a legend has arisen about them that they can pass through fire without being harmed.
123.ARE TARANTULAS POISONOUS?
Did you ever dance the tarantella, or see it being danced? Did you know this dance originated with a belief that people had about the tarantula? The tarantula is a large, fierce, hairy spider. In the Middle Ages it
was thought that people bitten by a tarantula became ill with “tarantism.” The patients were supposed to fall into a dull, unhappy state. The only way to stir people out of this state was with music, and they were supposed to dance until they were completely worn out and collapsed from exhaustion. After that they would become well.
122.ARE BIRDS DESCENDED FROM REPTILES?
Not everybody accepts the theory of evolution, but those who do have a theory to explain how birds came to be. There are many different parts of birds that are quite specialized because they have developed the ability to fly. They became warm-blooded because warm-blooded animals can change food into energy quickly. They have feathers, not only to keep warm, but because feathers make lightweight flying surfaces. They lost their teeth, because teeth are made of heavy bone. They have developed legs that act as shock absorbers. Their eyesight is very sharp.
