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How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

science.org

41–50 of 122 posts

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#42

I climb a lot around the forests where I live in Switzerland. In one area there are a lot of yew trees - deadly to mammals. Just 30 grams of the needles will stop your heart. The bright red berry tastes very nice and isn't poisonous but the seed, if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. German kings have used it to kill themselves after being defeated by R…

> if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes.

That is complete bullshit and you shouldn't be posting it this confidently.

Those seeds are very poisonous, yes, but not in that cartoonish way. It's not cyanide.

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#45
post #12

The always excellent Oatmeal: We need to have a conversation about wombats https://theoatmeal.com/comics/wombats Possibly NSFW, depending on your W.

Well, Mr. Oatmeal is apparently repeating an urban legend. I look at a wombat, and no way do I believe that thing can move at 25 mph (40 kph). I found a piece[0] which indicates this might have been some confusion as to metric vs imperial decades ago that was then retransmited through the ages. [0] https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-04-13/how-fast-can-...

We have four on the boundaries of our property. My 'Goldidor' (Labrador/retriever cross) has given chase a few times and has struggled to keep up. When they run they RUN. Maybe not pushing 40kph, not not far from it...

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#46
post #10

I'm reminded of Professor Hermione Lee of the University of York English department facing a stuttering student explaining the contextual meaning of the word "quaint" in middle English poetry: Spit it out man! It means CUNT. Can we stop with this "poop" nonsense. Number #2 and other forms, it's shit English, it's stupid. It's feces. Or shit. Or that fine old English word Turd.

Most school/education networks will have proxies and firewalls which limit access to "sensitive" destinations.

Avoiding triggering a profanity filter is a reasonable and sensible approach to publishing, for an educational site which wouldn't want to exclude part of their target audience.

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#47
post #7

I climb a lot around the forests where I live in Switzerland. In one area there are a lot of yew trees - deadly to mammals. Just 30 grams of the needles will stop your heart. The bright red berry tastes very nice and isn't poisonous but the seed, if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. German kings have used it to kill themselves after being defeated by R…

If they die within 30 minutes, you would never see the scat of those who crack the seeds.

This reminds me of the old “bats use sonar and can fly super precisely without crashing into each other in pitch black” and then it turns out that they crash into each other all the time.

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#48
post #42

I climb a lot around the forests where I live in Switzerland. In one area there are a lot of yew trees - deadly to mammals. Just 30 grams of the needles will stop your heart. The bright red berry tastes very nice and isn't poisonous but the seed, if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. German kings have used it to kill themselves after being defeated by R…

> if just one seed has a crack in it and you swallow it it will stop your heart in about thirty minutes. That is complete bullshit and you shouldn't be posting it this confidently. Those seeds are very poisonous, yes, but not in that cartoonish way. It's not cyanide.

even cyanide isn't cartoonish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6hOVhQQ9hI

substance itself is not what kills you - it's the dose

Re: How do wombats poop cubes? (2021)

#49
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was a yew bush on my walk to primary school. When berries were in season, I used to pick and squish the berry between my fingers because the shape was unique (berry with a seed that sticks out‽) ands its slimy feel. Thank goodness it never amounted to anything more, even through transdermal absorption.

Oh wow I think we had these on the way to school when I was a kid too. Everyone told us not to eat them so we used to put the berries in our mouth and spit them out to show how tough we were. Wow we were very very stupid kids.

I think one of the problems is people thinking kids are more stupid than they are, and blanket "don't do that" statements without explanations don't really work for kids.

If they had told you they were highly poisonous instead of just telling you "not to eat them" you might have taken them more seriously. And if they had given you a taste of the red berry around it (which is sweet but not that special either, and the texture is not great) you might just have thought it was not necessary to play with them at all.

But that requires education at all levels, around here (Belgium) I sometimes see parents who seem deadly afraid of anything nature, I tell my kids to eat blackberries and they softly tell their kids next to us not to do that. You end up with generations who just don't know anything about what's around them and will eventually do stupid things.

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