One reason why humans are special and unique: We masturbate. A lot
posted by andoatnp on Jun 28, 2010 - 97 comments

What can jump 4 feet straight up, births identical quadruplet pups nearly every time, can curl itself into an armor-plated ball, walk underwater for up to six minutes and can swallow air until it bloats to double its size to float? [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam on Apr 2, 2009 - 39 comments

I, for one, welcome our new loner female, tool-using dolphin overlords. [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Dec 27, 2008 - 40 comments

Gecko Feet might hold the key to inventing a self-cleaning adhesive. The super-sticky feet of geckos allow them to adhere to almost any surface. But even though geckos never groom their feet, they don't lose their sticking power over time. Why? Turns out they're self-cleaning. . Scientists hope to be able to use this knowledge to create new, better kinds of dry tape and adhesives, like "duct tape that never loses its stick or bandages that come off without sticky residue or an 'ouch.'" Research info is here, along with some gecko pics.
posted by zarq on Jan 4, 2005 - 11 comments

Charlie Russell and Maureen Enns - authors of a popular book and the subject of a fascinating and well-recieved documentary - have been living for months at a time with bears in Kamchatka, demonstrating that man and grizzly can, in fact, inhabit the same landscape without violence - at least, no violence on the part of the bears... Their work has been brought to a tragic and all too human end... (Via Rafe Colburn, who notes, appropriately, "People suck.")
posted by JollyWanker on Aug 27, 2003 - 14 comments