Animals

  Do you love animals? If so, you might have a pet or two at home. There’s nothing quite like a playful puppy or a cuddly kitten to curl up with when it’s time for bed. If you live on a farm or just really love animals, you may have expanded your stable of pets to include multiple dogs and cats or even other animals, such as…

  We were wandering through the Wonderopolis jungle the other day when we overheard some animals discussing a stranger in their midst: Lion: What is that thing? It’s eating ants. Is it an anteater? Anteater: Nope! It’s not one of us. It’s got scales. Is it an armadillo? Armadillo: Nope! I’ve never seen one of those before. It…

  Before we get into today’s Wonder of the Day, how about a riddle? Here it is: What’s black and white and red all over? Do you know the answer? It’s a zebra with a sunburn! Okay, one more… what’s black and white and has a giraffe cousin? Does that one have you stumped? The answer…

  Can you do a backstroke? How about a butterfly? Are you the master of the doggy paddle? Maybe you don’t spend much time swimming at all. Some humans are very good swimmers. Others have to work hard just to float on their backs. The same can be said for much of the animal kingdom. Fish are great swimmers,…

  By all accounts, being bitten by a venomous snake is painful, dangerous and terrifying. But did you know it’s also astronomically expensive? In 2015, the treatment for one California man’s rattlesnake bite in the United States cost more than $150,000, with the bulk of that accounted for in pharmacy charges. That high ticket is because treatment for…

  Before many American children know how to tie their shoes, they learn one thing: Wolves are scary. On account of the Brothers Grimm and “Little Red Riding Hood,” wolves bear a terrible public image that they have yet to recover from. While we can thank the wild lobos for our precious pooches, we sure…

  When your family goes on vacation, do you hope your destination is somewhere near water? Whether it’s a giant ocean, a raging river, a placid lake, or simply a swimming pool, there’s nothing quite like playing in the water. What do you like to do in the water? You can jump in the water. You can also dive, swim, splash, and play. There’s probably one thing you…

  Ahoy there! We’re headed out into the open sea today. Fasten your life jacket and hop on the boat, because we’re going whale watching. But wait—there’s one now. Can you see it? It’s a huge humpback whale, and it just jumped clear out of the ocean and into the air. When whales  jump into the air…

  It may be that survival demands it. In the deepest and coldest parts of the ocean, sea creatures — mainly invertebrates, or animals without backbones — can reach gargantuan proportions. Squids, sea spiders, worms and a variety of other types of animals grow to sizes that dwarf related species around the world. The phenomenon…

  Another supposedly unlucky thing: black cats. Pixabay It’s Friday the 13th Part 2 (the first in 2017 was in January). Although a run on unlucky days might just seem like a sign of the times, we all know that Friday the 13th is a superstition. Fittingly, this superstition has mysterious origins. But one thing that can be…