Animals
Exploring "Why" questions about Animals
295 articles
Why do Dogs have a much shorter life expectancy than humans?
Heart rate. You will see that the slower the heart rate of an animal is, the longer it live on average. Elephants, giant turtles, whales have long life.
Why can flies and other small bugs dodge your hand / fly swatter so easily?
In simple terms, flies are so small that when you hit them a wave of air from your hand hits them out of the way before you can hit them. Fly swatters are perforated for this reason to make the wave o
Why do we use pigs to hunt truffles but dogs to sniff out most other things?
It is in that specific type of pig's nature to seek out the truffles. Dog use is becoming more widespread though. From _URL_0_ > As truffles are usually found underground, you have to have a way t
Why do human legs bend forward, while other animals (e.g. Velociraptor) legs bend backward?
I believe that if you look at the back leg of a dog, for example, the "backwards" joint is the equivalent of a human ankle, and they also have a knee. Basically, if you walk on the ball of your feet,
Why does a fully cooked chicken at a grocery store cost less than a raw one?
It is a loss leader. The smell of chicken make you hungry. You buy more food when you are hungry.
Why is it so important that I finish my course of antibiotics? What happens if I don’t?
Some of the bacteria survive. And because you didn't kill them all the way, they adapt and become more resistant to antibiotics. Then they keep spreading and soon we have more bacteria that's resistan
Why do whales surface to exhale, and when do they inhale?
Exhaling under water decreases buoyancy. Try it next time you're at a pool - humans generally float with full lungs but sink after fully exhaling. Exhaling *before* surfacing makes it more difficult t
Why do different groups of animals have specific names (like pod of whales or murder of crows) is this scientifically useful?
They're called Terms of Venery, and it all started in the middle ages when hunting for sport became popular. The English imitated the specialized vocabulary of French hunters, and developed more speci
Why would local businesses want to accept college meal plans?
Ultimately, it's still money. Accepting meal plans is just enabling students to give you money in a way that's really convenient for them. When they decide they don't want their dorm cafeteria's under
why is a horse “without a leg, not a horse at all” if the leg would be required to have amputation, but animals like elephants are ok with prosthetics?
Because some people put value on a a horse based on that horse's ability to make them money (referring to racehorses), which gets harder once they're so significantly injured and using a prosthetic. I