Schrödinger's bat
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euderma44.bsky.social
Schrödinger's bat
@euderma44.bsky.social
53 followers 35 following 760 posts
Biologist. Teacher. Naturalist. Former zookeeper. Poster of trivia, animal facts, oddness, and generally interesting things. Especially bats.
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euderma44.bsky.social
Finland has the highest number of saunas per capita in the world. With a population of 5.6 million, there are an estimated 3.3 million public and private saunas.

They even have saunas on Ferris wheels, ski lifts, and riverboats.

Photos: visitfinland.com
Ferris wheel in Heslinki where some of the cars are saunas. Most of the cars in the picture are white with large, blue-tinted windows, but one sauna car is wood-paneled with smaller windows for privacy. Two cars traveling along a mountain ski lift . One of the cars is a standard gondola, shiny red trim and large windows. The other is a sauna gondola with wooden walls and tinted windows for privacy. A riverboat sauna. A number of people are relaxing on the upper deck as the boat makes its way down the river.
December 1, 2025 at 6:46 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
Local rules adopted at a British golf course during WWII.
Temporary Wartime Golf Rules 1. Players are asked to collect Bomb and Shrapnel splinters to save these causing damage to the Mowing Machines. 2. In Competitions, during gunfire or while bombs are falling, players may take cover without penalty for ceasing play. 3. The positions of known delayed-action bombs are marked by red flags placed at a reasonably, but not guaranteed, safe distance therefrom. 4. Shrapnel and/or bomb splinters on the Fairways, or in Bunkers within a club's length of a ball, may be moved without penalty, and no penalty shall be incurred if a ball is thereby caused to move accidentally. 5. A ball moved by enemy action may be replaced, or if lost or destroyed, a ball may be dropped not nearer the hole without penalty. 6. A ball lying in a crater may be lifted and dropped not nearer the hole, preserving the line to the hole, without penalty. 7. A player whose stroke is affected by the simultaneous explosion of a bomb may play another ball from the same place. Penalty one stroke. Richmond Golf Club Surrey, England 1940
November 30, 2025 at 7:02 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
By number produced, Lego is the largest tire manufacturer in the world.

Lego produces around 306 million tires every year, outpacing it's nearest competitors, Michelin and Bridgestone, by more than 100 million units. (Granted, they do tend to be a bit smaller.)
A pile of Lego wheels of various sizes. Most have gray hubs, some have yellow hubs, and one appears to have a red hub. In the center of the picture is a yellow and red square with the Lego logo.
November 29, 2025 at 6:12 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
Capitalizing on his victory, Duryea returned to Massachusetts and opened the Duryea Motor Wagon Company with his brother Charles. They produced 13 hand-built cars from 1894-1896 – the first automobile company in the U.S.
9/9
Charles Duryea sitting in a Duryea motor car similar to the one that won the race. This is not a picture from the race – Charles did not drive the car in the race, his brother Frank did. Also, Charles is wearing a fairly light suit that would not have been suitable for the weather on the day of the race. (Plus there is no snow on the ground.) A map of the route the race took, starting in Jackson Park on the south side of Chicago, heading up to Evanston, then back to Jackson Park.
November 28, 2025 at 12:47 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
Some have argued that it may reflect the common usage of the word "chicken" to mean weak, as chickenpox has milder symptoms than smallpox.

Others suggest that it may have arisen because the red, itchy rash caused by chickenpox may look like the skin has been pecked by a chicken.
A person's back showing the red lesions typical of chickenpox.
November 27, 2025 at 6:23 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
"BttF" trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990), "Dennis the Menace" (1993), "Next Stop, Christmas" (2021), and a 20-minute short "The Haunted Lighthouse" based on a story by R. L. Stine that played at Busch Gardens and Sea World.
Still from the movie "Back to the Future." At left is Doc Brown, wearing a dirty white lab coat and goggles pushed up on his forehead, leaning on the Delorean car and looking back over his shoulder at Marty and Lorraine. Marty is standing in the middle, wearing a black and brown patterned shirt, and is leaning back on Doc Brown with his arms crossed. He is looking over his shoulder back at Doc Brown. At the right is Lorraine, wearinga blue skirt and sweater, holding her schoolbooks in her arms, and looking at Marty with a hint of a smile on her face.
November 26, 2025 at 5:17 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
The Danube river flows through four national capitals: Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, and Belgrade.
Map of the Danube River showing the four national capital cities that it flows through.
November 25, 2025 at 6:44 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
FHE was founded in 1967 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, and was staffed entirely by African-American men and women from the District.

Photo credit: heinzhistorycenter.org
Black and white photo of eight people standing in front of an ambulance. Lettering on the side of the ambulance reads "FHE Inc. Emergency Ambulance. Based on their clothing, five individuals appear to be ambulance crewmembers (white pants and shirts for the men, and a white dress for the woman). One man who is wearing scrubs and a doctor's coat, and two men who are wearing dark pants and white shirts are likely hospital staff.
November 23, 2025 at 5:42 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
The facets of a cubic pyrite crystal are square, those of an octahedral crystal are triangular, and on a dodecahedron are pentagonal.

Photo credits: geology.com (cubic), distinctioncrystalsandfossils.com (octa); mindat.org (dodec)
Several cubic pyrite crystals partially embedded in a rock matrix. The facets of the crystals are incredibly smooth and flat. A number of octahedral pyrite crystals joined together in a rather haphazard pile. A dodecahedral pyrite crystal.
November 22, 2025 at 6:25 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
Although the site is still being excavated, over a dozen circles and several ball courts have been found.

Photo credits: sc.jalisco.gob.mx (pyramid); thetravel.com (aerial)
Photo of one of the circular pyramids. Rising from the ground, the pyramid has 17 green grassy/mossy steps. The top 4 steps are considerably smaller than the lower steps, resulting in a flat, grassy area. Low stone walls from one of the platforms is seen in the lower left corner of the photo. Everything in the picture, except the vertical walls and steps, are covered with bright green grass/moss. An aerial view of one of the circles showing the central pyramid, the surrounding plaza, and ten platforms around the edge of the plaza.
November 21, 2025 at 6:29 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
Volcanos sometimes make smoke rings. (Although they are actually made of water vapor and hot gases, not smoke.)

These photos are from Mt. Etna in April, 2024.

Photo credits: dailymail. co. uk (full view); mirror. co. uk (closeup)
Photo of Mt. Etna showing a white cloud drifting away from the peak along with a series of rings. Two white rings floating in the sky. The very tip of Mt. Etna is visible at the bottom of the frame.
November 20, 2025 at 5:50 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
Supposedly, Pérignon was not fond of white grapes because of their tendency to re-ferment in the bottle and explode.

The well-known modern champagne, Dom Pérignon, produced by the Moët & Chandon winery, is named for him.
The statue of Dom Pérignon that stands in front of the Moët & Chandon in Epernay, France. He is wearing a loose-fitting monk's robe and holding a wine bottle. Lettering on the wall behind says: Dom Perignon 1638–1715 Cellerer of the Abbey of Hautviller whose cloister and large vinyards are owned by the house Moët & Chandon. A bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne sitting on a wooden table next to a crystal glass partly filled with champagne.
November 19, 2025 at 6:06 AM
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As news of this action spread across the country, people came to realize that there was not a word in the English language to describe a group action against a land-agent, and the word "boycott" was born.
Portrait of Charles C. Boycott.
November 18, 2025 at 6:39 AM
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Photo credits: NOAA (baby); animalia-life.club (adult)
A very tiny and very spiky baby king crab being held in hand by a person wearing a purple vinyl glove. The crab, no wider than one of the person's fingers is orange in color and covered with numerous spiky projections. An adult king crab sitting on a rock underwater. The crab is mostly orange. Numerous short, white spines stick out from the crab's legs, and some longer spines, which are orange except for the white tips, sticking up from the crab's back.
November 17, 2025 at 6:23 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
In 2021, scientists in Western Australia discovered a new species, Eumillipes persephone, that can have up to 1,306. Females have more segments, and thus more legs. Males, such as the one in the picture below, top out at 818.

Photo credit: Aggyrolemnoixytes/Paul Marek via Wikimedia Commons
A very long, tan-colored millipede against a black background. The millipede is loosely curled up and there are many small legs running along the ventral side. (818 legs according to the caption on Wikimedia.)
November 16, 2025 at 6:10 AM
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The tripod spiderfish (Bathypterois grallator) is a deepwater fish notable for having very long pectoral and caudal fins that it uses to stand on the sea floor like stilts. The fish itself is can be 30cm long, but the extended fins can be up to a meter long.

Photo: fishesofaustralia. net. au
A tripod spiderfish resting on the seafloor on it greatly extended pectoral and caudal fins, which appear to be twice as long as the fish's body.
November 15, 2025 at 6:05 AM
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Before he made it big in movies, Hugh Jackman worked as a clown at children's birthday parties.
Hugh Jackman dressed as a clown performing some sort of trick at a child's birthday party.
November 14, 2025 at 6:09 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
The opening four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony correspond to the letter "V" in Morse code.
Comparison of the tempo of the letter V in Morse code (dot dot dot dash) and the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth (short short short long).
November 13, 2025 at 6:18 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
The name change was part of a humorous ad campaign by Kraft Heinz and was never intended to be more than a short-lived joke. However, elected officials changed the name on the water tower and street signs without letting residents in on the joke, and apparently not everyone was amused.
The water tower in Mayo, Florida with a temporary sign indicating the town's "new" name: Miracle Whip, FL.
November 12, 2025 at 7:11 AM
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Maple trees are not tapped to make maple syrup until they are at least 10-20 inches in diameter and 30-40 years old. Inserting taps before this can permanently damage the tree.
A stainless steel tap is sticking out of the bark of a maple tree at a slight downward angle. A metal hook, supported by the tap itself, is holding an aluminum bucket below the tap. A drop of clear sap is gathering at the tip, soon to drip into the bucket.
November 11, 2025 at 5:49 AM
euderma44.bsky.social
BTW, Braille was 15 years old when he created the writing system.
Black and white engraved portrait of Louis Braille, showing him from the shoulders up. He has short, curly dark hair and wears a high-collared coat with buttons typical of 19th-century fashion. There are two pins/brooches, possibly ferns or branches, on the lapels of his overcoat. Photo of a person reading a page written in Braille. Two hands are very close to each other with each index finger extended to touch the page, and the other fingers curled up.
November 10, 2025 at 6:18 AM
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Belgium's newest passports feature illustrations of famous Belgian comic strips, such as Tintin, The Smurfs, and Lucky Luke.
Photo of a Belgian passport open to three different pages showing the cartoon artwork found inside. The artwork is faded/transparent so that any visa stamps will be readable. The cartoon characters themselves, are only light gray silhouettes with no details.
November 8, 2025 at 6:10 AM
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Photos: healthdirect. gov. au (graphic); houstonaudublog. blogspot. com (bird)
Graphic showing the sections of a human spine, including the coccyx at the very end that is pointed and curved, much like a cuckoo's beak. Closeup shot of the head of a cuckoo bird. The bird has a dark eye, white belly and chin, and the top of its head is grey. Its fairly long, curved beak is mostly yellow except the top is dark grey/black.
November 7, 2025 at 5:53 AM
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Hanging Thieves (genus Diogmites; 70+ species) are predatory insects in the robber fly family. Their common name comes from their unique habit of hanging from one or both front legs while devouring their prey.

Photos: Amy Padgett via iNaturalist (hanging); pdeley via Wikipedia (standing)
A Diogmites robber fly feeding on a small, black bee while hanging from a dried leaf by one front leg. Close-up macro photograph of a Diogmites robber fly with large iridescent green compound eyes, pale beige body, and long slender tan legs, perched on sandy ground
November 5, 2025 at 5:52 AM
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Fleetwood Mac, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Peter Frampton, Linda Ronstadt, and the Eagles.

Although the school administration and several teachers knew who he really was, none of the students found out until the end of the school year.

Photo: eos. surf
Black and white photo of Cameron Crowe ca. 1979, about the time he went back to high school undercover. He is wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, sitting next to a window with his legs slightly bent and his arms resting on his knees. His head is turned slightly and he's looking at the camera.
November 4, 2025 at 5:56 AM