Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. They are up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and weigh 200 tons and above. Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant. Their hearts, as much as an automobile.
During certain times of the year, a single adult blue whale consumes about 4 tons (3.6 metric tons) of krill (tiny shrimplike animals) a day.
Blue whales are baleen whales, which means they have fringed plates of fingernail-like material, called baleen, attached to their upper jaws. The giant animals feed by first gulping an enormous mouthful of water, expanding the pleated skin on their throat and belly to take it in. Then the whale's massive tongue forces the water out through the thin, overlapping baleen plates. Thousands of krill are left behind—and then swallowed.
They can swim in the ocean at more than five miles an hour (eight kilometers an hour), but accelerate to more than 20 miles an hour (32 kilometers an hour) when they are agitated. Blue whales are among the loudest animals on the planet. They emit a series of pulses, groans, and moans, and it’s thought that, in good conditions, blue whales can hear each other up to 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away. Scientists think they use these vocalizations not only to communicate, but, along with their excellent hearing, to sonar-navigate the lightless ocean depths.
Really Big Babies
Blue whale calves enter the world already ranking among the planet's largest creatures. After about a year inside its mother's womb, a baby blue whale emerges weighing up to 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) and stretching to 25 feet (8 meters). It gorges on nothing but mother's milk and gains about 200 pounds (91 kilograms) every day for its first year.
Blue whales are among Earth's longest-lived animals. Scientists have discovered that by counting the layers of a deceased whale's waxlike earplugs, they can get a close estimate of the animal's age. The oldest blue whale found using this method was determined to be around 110 years old. Average lifespan is estimated at around 80 to 90 years.
Blue whales have few predators but are known to fall victim to attacks by sharks and killer whales, and many are injured or die each year from impacts with large ships. Blue whales are currently classified as endangered on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List.
---- Courtesy National Geographic March 2009 issue
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Saint Nicholas, a 4th century Greek Christian bishop from Myra, a provience which is today in Turkey is the original Santa Claus. He was well-known for helping the poor with generous gifts. On the other hand, in Germany, before Christianization, the pagan God Odin was believed to give gifts to children who kept food for him near the chimneys. Similar figures were famous in Netherlands, Austria and Denmark. The Christian faith took over these customs and merged them later on. However the earlier Santa Claus used to ride a yule goat and did not have the red and white dress at that time. In the United States, a poem by Clement Clarke Moore was published on the 23rd of December 1823 under the name "The night before Christmas". This poem gave reindeers to the Santa Claus. Further, in 1863, Thomas Nast, an Americal cartoonist, first published pictures of the modern Santa. He used the red and white outfit for the Santa Claus for the first time. Later on these Images of Santa Claus were further popularized through his depiction for the Coca Cola company's Christmas advertising in the 1930s as Coca Cola also uses red and white for its products. So in short the current avatar of Santa Claus is more Amercian than European! |
Amazing facts
I have tried to compile some amazing facts here- which many of us don't know. ArchivesCategories |