Hello! Finally, I’m back. Anyways…

Recently, my friend had to go on a vacation, and they decided to leave their rabbit with us. So, I thought it would be interesting to take some notes on how the rabbit behaved.

First off, this rabbit is large. In fact, probably overweight and overgrown. It is about 13 inches long (14 when stretched out), with a shoulder height of 6.75 inches. I also measured its tail (1.5 inches long) and its hind foot measured at 4 inches – extra large to provide a long leap. It’s ears are three inches long, by the way.

Food and water consumption:

Again, this rabbit ate a lot. However, I was a bit dumb, and did not actually measure the amount of food we put in, and how much was left. Instead, I measured the food container, a triangular prism with measurements of:

a: 3 inches

b: 7 inches

c: 8 inches

D (width): 9 inches

Go ahead and figure out the volume if you want.

We filled the entire container (with grass stalks and small leaves, mostly) at 7:30 AM, and checked again twelve hours later. When we checked, the food filled up:

a: 3 inches

b: 4 inches

c: 5 inches

D (width): 9 inches

As for water, we gave it one and a half cups at 7:30 AM, and when we returned, it had drank just about one cup of water.

Waste:

Now, this rabbit pooped a lot. For real. In 20 hours, it managed to expel 270 pellets (with a diameter of 1/4 inch) of poop. Also, this rabbit did not care at all about tidiness – although it sometimes pooped in its waste box, the rest of the poop was scattered all throughout the cage, where we had to carefully pick it up with clamps and throw them away. The pellets mainly consisted of undigested, yellow grass, and the normal bacteria and mucus. They are very moist when ‘fresh’, but quickly dry up.

Behavioral notes:

The rabbit freezes when it senses the presence of any humans, but it doesn’t try to scamper away.

The rabbit never blinks, unless something has deliberately irritated its eye.

It’s eyes are nearly entirely made up of pupil, with pink-white edges.

The eyes bulge outwards slightly, and are located on the side of the head. This means that it can see better when you are standing right next to it, rather than in front.

Thanks for reading! -written by EZ

The United States of America, one of the most powerful countries in the world, has a surprisingly short history. However, the government has mostly stayed the same for the approximately 250 year long history. So, today, I am going to list the 45 US presidents from 1789 – 2016.

1. George Washington: Federalist, 1789-1797 (2 terms), 1$ bill – most presidents, at most, ran for two terms because of George Washington’s decision to only complete two terms,
2. John Adams: Federalist, 1797-1801 (1 term),
3. Thomas Jefferson: Democratic-Republican, 1801-1809 (2 terms), 2$ bill – Thomas Jefferson loathed public speaking, making his presidential campaign and terms difficult
4. James Madison: Democratic-Republican, 1809-1817 (2 terms), 5000$ bill
5. James Monroe: Democratic-Republican, 1817-1825 (2 terms)
6. John Quincy Adams: Democratic-Republican, 1825-1829 (1 term)
7. Andrew Jackson: Democrat, 1829-1837 (2 terms), 20$ bill – Andrew Jackson was killed after a duel. His opponent shot him near the heart. However, Jackson still won the duel by shooting back and killing his opponent immediately
8. Martin Van Buren: Democrat, 1837-1841 (1 term)
9. William Henry Harrison: Whig, 1841-1841 (death) – William Henry Harrison was the first president to die in office – started the curse of Tippecanoe (every 5 elections, a president would be either shot or assassinated. This curse lasted from 1840-1960)
10. John Tyler: Whig, 1841-1845 (1 term)
11. James K. Polk: Democrat, 1845-1849 (1 term)
12. Zachary Taylor: Whig, 1849-1850 (death) – Zachary Taylor was the only president during the tippecanoe curse to die out of order
13. Millard Fillmore: Whig, 1850-1853 (rest of Taylor’s term)
14. Franklin Pierce: Democrat, 1853-1857 (1 term)
15. James Buchanan: Democrat, 1857-1861 (1 term)
16. WARNING: START OF CIVIL WAR

TO BE CONTINUED…

Written by EZ

THX for reading!

And we back. Have you ever wondered about different habitats and where they can be found? Well, about a month ago, I was thinking about it, so I learned a few things. In this blog, I will talk about where different ecological surroundings/climates appear.

Let’s go through the different environments from hot to cold. 

HOT

Desert / Semi-desert: Deserts and semi-deserts are huge stretches of land that are dry, without water, and often full of sand and rocks. Most deserts are scorching hot, but sometimes, large stretches of arctic land are also known as polar deserts. Animals who live in these are adapted to extreme weather, such as the polar bear, with a huge, thick coat, and camels, with food storing humps and long legs. On average, deserts are about 40˚C during daytime and -3˚C during nighttime. Talk about severe weather changes!

Tropical grassland: Tropical grasslands are savannas, where the temperature maintains at a hot 30˚C, and there are severe drought conditions during winters/dry seasons. Many migrating mammals live in tropical grasslands, such as wildebeest and buffalo. Tropical grasslands are also home to many apex predators, such as cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, and river dwelling crocodiles. Most of the grass in tropical grasslands are tan like wheat.

Tropical rainforest: Tropical rainforests are probably the most unique and life-full habitat in the world. The amazon rainforest itself contains 10% of the world’s wildlife species, including 40,000 plant species. Tropical rainforests range in average temperature from 23-30˚C. Rainforests are wet and humid, living up to its name. Most rainforests also contain a river or lake, where aquatic animals dwell. The amazon river is home to anacondas, caimans, fish, otters, you name it! The thick jungle is also great camouflage for large predators like jaguars and sometimes tigers.

Mediterranean: Mediterranean climates are like moderate weathered deserts. Most mediterranean habitats are near the ocean, covered in rocks and forests with warm, sunny summers and cool, humid winters. Many animals, such as rabbits, lynxes, foxes, lizards, and the occasional goat live in these warm habitats.

Temperate grassland: Temperate grasslands are mostly green-grassed meadows. Temperate grasslands are mostly in warm regions, with lots of small critters, such as prairie dogs, foxes, small wolves, mice, and larger herbivores, including horses, cattle, bison, etc. An average temperate grassland has hot summers, up to 30˚C, and cold winters, with temperatures below -17˚C.

Temperate forest: Temperate forests are where most cities are found. Temperate forests have hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. These forests are made up of tall, green trees, small flowing creeks and small expanses of meadows. Bears, squirrels, lynxes, hedgehogs, small deer, wolves, and raccoons. Eagles are also often found in these forests. Nearly all of European wilderness is temperate forest.

Wetland: Wetland and marshes are another interesting biome. Many birds are residents to wetlands, such as flamingoes and many other species of migrating bird. Fishes are common during their breeding season, and many small aquatic mammals live in wetlands. These include beavers, voles, platypus, and some muskrats. Wetlands have wet summers and cool winters

Boreal forests: Boreal forests are home to many large bears, moose, Siberian tigers, wolves, caribou, and many mammals related to weasels. Boreal forests are, at maximum temperature, 21˚C. However, during the winter, temperatures can drop to below -15˚C. Boreal forests are mostly in the two largest, northern countries – Russia and Canada. Boreal forests consist of mostly pine trees.

Arctic tundra: Arctic tundra is pretty much where the arctic is during summer. During summer, the tundra grows short, croppy grass. Herbivores like musk oxen and hares rely mostly on this. Arctic foxes prey on the hares, while in the summer, the polar bears often target the caribou and musk ox.

Finally, last but definitely not least, is the arctic poles. During winter, these biome temperatures are down to -50˚C. Only the most resilient can survive – mostly penguins, polar bears, seals, and blubbery whales.

Thanks for reading! -Written by EZ

Hello everyone, it’s been a while. As you might know, we were on vacation for a while, and now we are back. Since the time that our dad told us to blog has past, we are just blogging for fun, and they won’t come regularly anymore.

As you guys know, I’ve already blogged about world war I and II, but today, I learned a lot more, and discovered that the war was actually much more complicated than I explained. So today, I’m going to explain World War I, but in detail.

As you guys might know from my previous blog, World War I started off an assassination, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered by Serbian assassinators. I won’t explain too much about this part, but if you want to know, you could go back to the article I wrote before. However, after this, Austria-Hungary wouldn’t settle for just arresting the assassins, instead, they wanted to declare war on Serbia. However, before that, they made sure they had the help and support of Germany. After securing Germany’s help, they sent a list of outrageous requirements to Serbia, and when Serbia disagreed with them, they declared war.

Unfortunately for Austria-Hungary, Serbia had strong allies of its own: the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was friends with France, which was good on their behalf. France was also a friend of the United Kingdom, who, at the time were the most powerful country in the world, and who also owned a lot of land in other continents. So the Serbian side had an advantage. Also, Montenegro joined the allies, which are the Serbian side. That didn’t make much of a difference. Germany knew that the Soviet Union would take a long time to prepare, therefore, they tried to take France first. However, due to defences on the German border of France, they decided to make their way through Belgium, and then attack through the French Belgium border. However, that triggered the British involvement. The British were originally on good terms with France, and seeing Germany attack neutral countries triggered them to join the war. This delays the conquer of Belgium, which gives time for the Soviet Union. So Austria-Hungary attacked the Soviet Union to try and defend Germany’s back. However, they were forced back, and just made Germany pull back a lot of troops to help them. Austria-Hungary would even force them to fail in conquering Serbia, which was the entire reason the war even started.

Eventually, Germany managed to attack France through Belgium, and they almost take over France. However, the British and French armies just managed to push them back. They held the stall there for quite a while. Meanwhile, across the world, everybody was having a similar situation, with nobody gaining or losing much land.

After this, the Ottoman empire decided to join the war on behalf of the Central Powers. This didn’t really change much. In this period of time, all that really happened was stalemates, and the conquering of Serbia. The next major part, was who broke first. World War I was unlike World War II. It was a test of stamina, to see who could last the longest. The Soviet Union couldn’t take it, and gave up on the war. Now you might be thinking, great for Germany. They just defeated the Soviets. Well, bad news. They decided to ask Mexico to attack the U.S, but the message was intercepted, causing the U.S to join the war. At this point, the war was pretty much over, and the Allies won the war.

Written by
Dz

So, before, I always blogged about two predators going head to head. But what if the most common rivalry, the predator and prey, went head to head?

First, let’s look at the statistical side.

Surprisingly, stoats being the predator, are smaller. Stoats have an around 28 centimeter body and a 10 centimeter tail. They weigh 100-450 grams – the prey in this case, the brush rabbit, weighs around 700 grams. Brush rabbits do use old burrows, and mate very frequently. Both are quite fast, both running up to 32 km/h. Rabbits are probably slightly faster, but weasels can climb and dig burrows by themselves. Stoats are also decent swimmers. Both animals are crepuscular.

Now, I’m going to rate them.

Offense: stoats by far – they are the predators. stoat: 90% rabbit: 20%

Defense: actually similar, because stoats are also common prey to large predators. Rabbit: 80% Weasel: 75%

Smarts: Weasel: 90% Rabbit: 85%

Now, let’s imagine the battle. The brush rabbit has just come out of a long afternoon nap and crawls out of its den. Her kittens (yes, they are called kittens) are still inside the den, sleeping. Suddenly, a stoat appears above, in the trees. The rabbit can’t see him, so she keeps foraging. The stoat descends stealthily, not letting the rabbit hear him. Then, he pounces. The stoat grabs the rabbit’s tail and holds on. The larger rabbit jumps up and down, then starts to run. The stoat chases and chases, until the two finally reach a small creek. The rabbit jumps in and starts paddling towards shore. However, the stoat is a much better swimmer, and easily catches up. However, the rabbit is too big for him to take down underwater. So, he climbs on top of the rabbit. The stoat then lunges and clamps down on the rabbit’s neck. Puncture marks are very obvious on the rabbit and it starts to bleed, turning the river red. The rabbit finally sinks and drowns, and the stoat claims victory. Then, he remembers the den. After carrying the rabbit back to her den, the stoat kills and eats the kittens too.

The stoat’s multi-skills has helped it gain many meals.

Thanks for reading! -Written by EZ

Mako sharks are the fastest sharks in the world, and tiger sharks probably the most aggressive. Again, if these two sharks had a deadly showdown, who would win?

First, let’s look at the statistical side. Tiger sharks are significantly larger, measuring 3.5 – 6 meters long, while weighing 385–635 kg. Mako sharks are normally just over three meters long, weighing just 40 – 150 kilograms. However, Makos are also WAY faster, with top speeds 42 km/h faster than the tiger shark’s top speed. (74 km/h for the Makos, 32 km/h for the tiger sharks.) Mako sharks also have wider habitat distribution, swimming anywhere in the tropical/warm seas. Tiger sharks will mostly stick next to the tropical coasts, where mako sharks don’t like to go. Makos also have better eyesight, being used to seeing in the depths.

Now, I’m going to rate them:

Offense: Same. Tiger sharks are stronger and larger, but makos are faster and more agile. Both: 93%

Defense: Tiger sharks probably have the advantage because their size, but mako sharks can use their speed to even things up. Tiger shark: 48.7% Mako shark: 47.2%

Smarts: Same. Both: 33% (they’re both FISH)

Now, let’s imagine the battle. The tiger shark, full from a meal, wanders around its coastal territory. Just by luck, a mako shark eating a large mackerel is nearby, feasting on its prey. The tiger shark wanders nearer, picking up the scent of blood. Even though it is already full, it just wants another meal. So, the tiger shark casually swims towards the prey at… around four kilometers per hour. The mako shark, easily seeing the larger tiger shark, wheels around to face it. The mako dives down into the depths, leaving the dead mackerel alone. The tiger shark is surprised and starts to feast when the mako shark charges up behind it, tearing a large chunk of flesh off of the tiger shark’s dorsal fin. The tiger shark turns, caught by surprise. But, the mako shark is too agile for the tiger shark to catch. The mako swims back under the tiger shark and rams up with its head. The tiger shark, yet again, is caught by surprise. However, it catches the mako shark with a lucky blow of the tail. The mako shark, finally losing its composure, is hit a good two meters away. This gives the tiger shark time to recover. However, the mako shark uses its speed again and again to ram and bite the tiger shark, while the tiger shark can just use occasional luck to hit the mako.

In the end, the mako shark’s speed has won it a victory and fought back a meal.

THX for reading! -Written by EZ

Anacondas and Saltwater crocodiles are probably the two largest reptiles in the world right now. So, in a deadly showdown between the two, who would win?

First, let’s look at the statistical side. The Salty has the edge on weight, weighing up to one ton and growing up to seven meters, while its opponent, the anaconda, grows 6-10 meters long but only weighs 250 kg. The anaconda is a agile swimmer as well as a stealthy stalker on land. On the other hand, saltwater crocodiles are probably more graceful swimmers but much more clumsy on land. However, the crocs can survive in salt and fresh water. Anacondas have very strong bodies, being able to crush almost any animal of reasonable size to death – that includes crocodiles. However, Saltwater crocs also have the second strongest bite force of any animal alive – 3700 psi, or 1678 kg/inch.

Now, I’m going to rate them:

Offense: Both are exceptionally stealthy and have deadly killing strategies, so it’s a tie. Both: 97%

Defense: The salty crocodiles have the edge here, due to their scaly body and plate armor. Crocodile: 70% Anaconda: 50%

Smarts: crocodiles have the slight edge here, being able to think up more strategies. Crocodiles: 50.7% Anaconda: 50.2%

Now, let’s imagine the battle. The Salty is just baking on the sunny riverside, next to giant clumps of ferns and vegetation. Suddenly, an anaconda slithers out of the bushes. ‘hsssss…’ as the first part of the anaconda slithers onto the crocodile, the salty wakes up. Frightened, it dives into the water headfirst, pumping itself forwards with its tail. The anaconda, hungry for a meal, goes after it. The crocodile turns back, preparing for battle. It opens up its jaws and… ‘CLAMP!!’ the giant jaws come down right on the anaconda’s tail. ‘Hssss!’ The anaconda writhes in agony, suffering from a crushed tail. However, it doesn’t want to give up. It starts swimming towards the back of the crocodile, who is momentarily blinded by blood. There, the anaconda starts wrapping itself around the crocodile. The croc tries to turn around, but the anaconda is already too far up its body. Just as the croc starts suffocating, the anaconda’s grip loosens. Why? Because it needs to go up for air. The crocodile’s lungs can hold enough air for 2 hours, while anacondas will only stay underwater for ten minutes before needing a breath. The Saltwater croc uses this to its advantage. It turns and clamps down its super-strong jaws on the anacondas head. ‘CRACK!!’. The fight is over.

The saltwater crocodile’s underwater skills has won it the battle, while the anaconda’s breath cost it a almost-at-hand meal.

Thanks for reading! -Written by EZ

While wars have always been devastating, and catastrophic for the fighters, none is more devastating than the two World Wars. These were not just regular wars, between a few countries, but instead spread to nearly every continent on Earth. Also, these wars were the first and only to be global, and to be fought with advanced weapons, including machine guns. Today, I’m going to be talking to you about one of the two most devastating wars to world.

The first World War started extremely differently than the second one did. In the first World War, it wasn’t because of a countries actions, but because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir of the Astro-Hungarian empire. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was traveling to the Bosnian capital: Sarajevo. While he was driving down the road, a group of six Serbian assassins awaited him. They attacked him while on the road, but didn’t succeed. Instead, the only people that were harmed were innocent people. Those innocent people were rushed to the hospital, and the Archduke, escaped unharmed. However, the Archduke, worried about the casualties, went to the hospital to see them. When leaving, he accidentally turned the wrong corner, and there the assassins were. The Archduke and his wife were both shot and killed.

As imagined, Franz Ferdinand’s dad, the ruler of Astro-Hungarian empire: Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, was outraged. Therefore, one July 28th, 1914, the Astro-Hungarian empire declared war on Serbia. The Serbians, however, gained the friendship of many countries, including the British, Japanese, Romanian, Italian, and Soviet forces. The Astro-Hungarian forces acquired the help of Germany, Bulgaria, and the Ottomon Empire. They Astro-Hungarian forces became known as the Central Powers, and the Serbian forces became the Allie Power.

On the 12th of August, 1914, the Astro-Hungarian empire attacked Serbia. The Astro-Hungarian empire originally believed that the German Forces would be with them, but because of some misunderstanding, that was not the case. Serbia, with the help of some of it’s allies, forced the Astro-Hungarians out of the land. Many battles took place, such as the first battle of Marne, and the Second Battle of Ypres, and the Battle of Verdun, which lasted 10 months. Two years into the war, nobody had made much of a gain. It was in late 1916 when the Germans and the Central powers finally started losing. After ten months of the brutal Battle of Verdun, the German forces tried for a truce. However, they rejected the offer. In 1917-1918, the German forces were defeated, over and over, largely due to the United States, which had decided to join the war after Germany had offered Mexico an offer to help it regain old territory, in return for help against the allies. In the summer of 1918, the Central Forces finally surrendered. That ended the 4 years of battle amongst the world.

That is what happened in what was supposed to be the war that ended all wars. However, only a couple of years later, the second world war started. Hopefully, there will never be another one of these wars ever again.

Feet are amazing things. They carry you around your home, around the world. But, not all feet are the same. Let’s take a look at some of the different feet types in the animal kingdom.

First of all, let’s start with the primates. We all know that monkeys, chimpanzees, and even gorillas climb quite a lot. And their feet are important to their success! Of course, monkeys also use their long fingers to grab and swing from branches, but the feet are actually just like the hands. Instead of short, stubby, all forwards facing toes, most primates have long, skinny toes, and their big toe looks like our thumb! This way, the feet can also grip branches and tree trunks the way the monkey’s hands do.

Next, let’s go to the cats and dogs. Many people think that dogs and cats have the same feet and footprints. However, this is wrong. First of all, cats have eighteen toes in total – five for each forepaw and four for each hind paw. Dogs only have four toes on each paw, and have non-retractable claws. So, dog prints will mostly likely have claw marks in front of each finger pad.

Let’s take a look at the herbivores. Most different antelope feet have the same toe shape, but have different toe amounts. For example, horses and zebras have one toe, ideal for running fast. Deers, cows, and buffalo have 2 toes, rhinos and hippos have 3 toes, and elephants have five toes. You may notice, the animals with less toes run slightly faster. I don’t know why this happens.

Onto the birds. Most birds have four toes, three in front and one behind. One example of this are eagles. They have three toes in front, and one large toe behind with an extra large talon. Ducks and geese also have this type of foot, except with webbing in between. Another example of a bird foot is a parrot/woodpecker’s. These two birds both need to have toes that can grip and climb trees. So, they have two toes in front and two toes behind. This way, they can wrap their toes around a tree with ease. Finally, we have the running birds. Emus and cassowaries each have three toes, all in front. However, ostriches, the fastest birds in the world, only have two toes, also forward facing. Ostriches have one giant toe and one tiny toe. Again, the fastest running birds have forward facing and less toes.

Finally, the amphibians. (we’re skipping the reptiles – they have boring and possible no feet.) Toads, the ugliest animals in the world, have eighteen toes in total. However, this is because they have four toes for each forefoot and five for each back foot. Frogs have four toes per foot and may have webbing. Finally, newts and salamanders and newts mostly have five gripping toes per foot.

Thanks for reading! -Written by EZ

The Lion is often known as king of the jungle, but that is incorrect – lions live on the savannah. The tigers are the kings of the jungles, and what if these two fierce predators battled in real life? Let’s dive into it.

First, let’s look at the statistical side. Tigers have the edge on size, measuring 2.8 meters without its tail and up to 3.9 meters including the tail. However, males are larger than females, and females may only measure 2 meters including the tail, weighing 60-150 kg. Males weigh up to 300 kg. Male lions can grow up to 3.6 meters including their tail, but lionesses’ top length is around three meters (including tail). However, lions live in prides up to 20 strong, making an entire pride a force to be reckoned with. Tigers are decent climbers and great camouflagers in their forest environment, and so are lions in their grasslands.

Now, I’m going to rate them:

Offense: If these were solitary lions and solitary tigers, I’m would have gone with tigers. But, since lions are social animals, they have the advantage in numbers. Tiger: 95%, Lion: 97%

Defense: Again, the lions have the advantage in lions, they have a higher rating. Tiger: 55% Lion: 70%

Smarts: Now this isn’t social. Tied up here: 95% apiece.

Now, let’s imagine the battle scene. In the forests of India, some an asiatic lion pride 10 strong are sleeping, after a giant buffalo meal. A tiger, on the other hand, is looking for its next meal, and it just so happens it wanders upon the clearing. The tiger tries to drag the carcass out of the clearing, but the lions smell him. ROAR!!! The male lions wake up. The tiger, with the advantage of size, dives on top of one lion, tearing flesh and hair off its neck. However, the other lions have circled behind him and are preparing to attack. They leap, and the tiger rolls off just in time. The angered tiger turns on another lion and swats her over the head. Then, the tiger takes off another lion’s tail. But finally, the tiger is overwhelmed by all the lions. They take turns going at his feet, head, and back. The tiger barely escapes with its life, bearing many scars of battle. The lions’ numbers have won this battle, despite the sacrifices.

Thanks for reading! -Written by EZ