General Toad with eyes inside of its mouth

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Power Ranger
Jan 28, 2020
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In 1992, photographer Scott Gardner came across a toad with its eyes inside of its mouth in Ontario
 

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This is the parasitic fungus that inspired The Last of Us, shown here growing from caterpillars; it is also a valuable herbal medicine, costing up to $8000 per pound

冬虫夏草 Ophiocordyceps sinensis, also known as caterpillar fungus, parasitizes the larvae of ghost moths, mummifying them while they are alive, and then emerges from the corpse to spread its spores.

In traditional Chinese medicine, it aids kidney and lung function, stops bleeding, dissolves phlegm, relieves pain in the waist and knees and treats chronic coughing, wheezing and blood in phlegm.

This jar is a medicinal sample, costing 2,250 yuan, or 317 dollars.
 

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In the 1500s, Götz Von Berlichingen (aka Iron Hand) had one of the most advanced prosthetic hands of his time. He was able to go from holding a quill, playing cards, to gripping his own sword. Thanks to the hand, he keep fighting until the advanced age of 64.

 

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Parasite forcing frogs to grow extra legs to be more easily predated upon

The parasite Ribeiroia ondatrae is a common parasite found in north America. It is released from snails and has a stage that infects tadpoles. Once it contacts a tadpole, it lodges itself in the limb buds and is believed to start releasing a compound (retinoic acid). This compound (or possibly just the parasite's placement) causes the development of the frog to go wacky resulting in large deformities.

These deformities make it hard to escape predators, like herons. The parasite sexually reproduces in the heron so its in the parasites best interest for the frog to get eaten. This parasite is the main leading cause of deformities in frogs in many regions (up to 90% of frogs deformed).
 

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Cough medicine for the ages

It’s unclear quite when the bottle was made, but Kohler Manufacturing made this syrup from the 1880s onwards and these types of syrup were typical throughout the 1900s. All that is clear is that this particular syrup was made after 1906, as it is abiding by the “Food and Drugs Act 1906”, which prohibited the unlawful movement of food and drink in the US.

Interestingly, while the syrup seems mind-boggling to us, it was highly typical of cough medicines at the time. Morphine, heroin, and other poppy derivatives were used for pain suppression and to stop coughing. Chloroform also supposedly helped with coughs and made the patient sleepy (maybe a bit too sleepy), and alcohol and cannabis helped take the edge off, again to aid sleep.

Opioids became more regulated and chloroform use was stopped after the FDA found it increased risk of cardiac arrest and cancer in 1976, so cough syrups made a large pivot in the late 1900s, but there are plenty of examples of these wild remedies still intact.
 

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The largest submarine ever built is the Russian Typhoon-class, known in Russia as Project 941 Akula. These nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines were constructed during the 1980s.
 

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Animal handlers of the Oregon Zoo took an elephant out to meet the other animals.

In this heartwarming photograph we see Chendra, an Asian elephant, meeting Gus, a sea lion at the Oregon Zoo. Chendra met Gus while she was on one of her morning walks around the zoo. Chendra is the smallest of the Asian Elephants at the Oregon Zoo, weighing about 4,545 pounds.
 

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In the film “Taxi Driver” (1976), 12 year-old Jodie Foster (right) had her 20 year-old sister, Connie, to stand-in for her in the more 'explicit' scenes.
 

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This bristlenose plecostomus was born with a genetic mutation that caused his bristles to grow abnormally long
 

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Arthur Guinness was just 34 when he signed the iconic 9,000-year Guinness lease, on 31 December 1759 for an annual rent of £45.

When Arthur Guinness signed the lease for his brewery in 1759, he agreed to pay £45 per year - which at the time was reasonable. But the lease explicitly was to last for 9,000 years (so on a practical basis basically forever), so the lease would’ve never expire and so the rent would never be increased to match with inflation.

The lease has actually been null and void for ages since the brewery just actually bought out the property eventually, but it definitely gave it a leg up and played a role in making Guinness the biggest brewery in the world by the late 19th century.
 

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Jan 28, 2020
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Sodium Citrate, the secret ingredient to turn any cheese into the perfect smooth creamy nacho cheese, its formula is Na3C6H5O7 (NaCHO)
 

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Jan 28, 2020
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The voice actors of SpongeBob and Karen have been married since 1995 and have worked together for over 25 years
 

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Occasionally, females will grow manes as a result of hormonal imbalance.
 

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Jan 28, 2020
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A three month old French Bulldog named Tyson spontaneously regrew his jawbone after veterinarians at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine removed a majority of his lower left mandible to remove a cancerous tumor, marking the first reported case of its kind in dogs.

 

NotBanjaxo

Formerly someone other than Banjaxo
Nov 16, 2019
10,302
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Cough medicine for the ages

It’s unclear quite when the bottle was made, but Kohler Manufacturing made this syrup from the 1880s onwards and these types of syrup were typical throughout the 1900s. All that is clear is that this particular syrup was made after 1906, as it is abiding by the “Food and Drugs Act 1906”, which prohibited the unlawful movement of food and drink in the US.

Interestingly, while the syrup seems mind-boggling to us, it was highly typical of cough medicines at the time. Morphine, heroin, and other poppy derivatives were used for pain suppression and to stop coughing. Chloroform also supposedly helped with coughs and made the patient sleepy (maybe a bit too sleepy), and alcohol and cannabis helped take the edge off, again to aid sleep.

Opioids became more regulated and chloroform use was stopped after the FDA found it increased risk of cardiac arrest and cancer in 1976, so cough syrups made a large pivot in the late 1900s, but there are plenty of examples of these wild remedies still intact.
*cough cough* Yeah the cough is still there doc, *hack splutter wheeze* that medicine does seem to ease it though *cough* just another half dozen bottles should do the trick.
 

ManDingo

Your Mother’s Lover
Dec 10, 2021
2,027
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Wolf & bear pair were documented traveling, hunting, and sharing food together for 10 days

There is a stray cat and raccoon that come together to my house at night.
First time I thought coincidence
But they actually best buds and roll around together