Up next in 10
Goats have accents, hippos sweat something that looks like blood, and penguins shoot poop bombs. In this episode of The List Show, host Erin McCarthy dives into 28 animal facts that are sure to make you go "WTF?" Don't miss a video! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss?sub_confirmation=1 About Mental Floss: Mental Floss is where curious people come for trivia-tastic information. Mental Floss produces lists of fun facts, debunks common misconceptions, and tells untold stories from history, science, culture and more. Website: http://www.mentalfloss.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mental_floss Facebook: https://facebook.com/mentalflossmagazine Discord: https://discord.io/mentalfloss Copyright Notice: This video and YouTube channel contain dialog, music, and images that are property of Mental Floss. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to this YouTube Channel is provided. 2025 Mental Floss 28 WTF Facts About Animals | Mental Floss https://www.youtube.com/@MentalFloss
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Penguins are super cute, with their tuxedo-like patterns and their adorable little waddles
0:05
but you don't want to stand on the wrong end of a penguin that needs to poop. Some species shoot poop bombs either horizontally or in an arc, depending on the specific species
0:14
and they have incredibly strong rectal pressure. Their poop bombs can travel through the air at nearly 5 miles per hour
0:21
theoretically reaching a distance of up to 53 inches. According to one estimate, that would be the equivalent of a human
0:26
sending the contents of their bowels 10 feet through the air. Projective poop bombs are pretty gross, but there might be a good reason for them. It's
0:33
thought penguins do it to keep their nests clean. Hi, I'm Erin McCarthy, editor-in-chief of Mental Floss, and penguin poop bombs are just
0:40
the beginning when it comes to WTF animal facts we'll be covering today. Let's get started
0:50
If you think poop bombs are impressive, wait until you see a male panda pee. Pandas are
0:55
notoriously clumsy and are prone to falling out of trees. But their athletic capabilities are on
0:59
full display when it's time to empty their bladders. Male pandas are known to handstand while peeing
1:04
to mark their territory because urinating while upside down lets them spray their scent higher
1:08
into a tree. Probably to tell females, sup, I'm here. And to tell other males, I'm big and tough
1:15
Platypuses are the weirdos of the animal world. They're mammals, but they lay eggs and have bills
1:20
They don't have nipples, but they still have mammary glands that produce milk
1:24
Female platypuses secrete milk out of their skin, making it look like they're sweating milk
1:29
Baby platypuses, which are adorably known as puggles, simply lick the milk from special
1:34
grooves. Related, but also kind of random fact, manatee teats are in their armpits
1:40
Or flipper pits. Here's another animal that sweats something that isn't actually sweat
1:45
Hippos secrete a red fluid that makes it look like they're sweating blood. The animals have
1:48
extremely sensitive skin, and the so-called blood sweat, which isn't blood or sweat
1:53
actually acts as a moisturizer, water repellent, and antibiotic. It helps protect their skin from
1:58
both all the time they spend underwater and the harsh sun. It took some careful research to figure
2:03
out what the red substance actually was. A group of chemists tried to carefully collect the blood
2:07
by dabbing it with paper towels, but the substance was too chemically unstable and broke down
2:12
After years of trial and error, scientists were able to collect adequate samples by carefully
2:16
sponging it off of the hippos. You might think that all goats sound the same, but other goats
2:21
goats would disagree. The animals change their vocal sounds based on their social environments
2:26
A 2012 study published in Animal Behavior found that the calls of young pygmy goats who are put
2:30
in the same social groups would start to sound familiar. Goats who were raised in separate social
2:35
groups on the other hand would sound different as time passed I personally would love to hear what a valley girl goat sounds like Though horses have big heads their brains aren large The average horse brain weighs roughly 1 pounds which is about half as much as a human
2:49
brain weighs. Their giant noggins aren't full of small brains and a bunch of empty space, though
2:55
Adult horses have anywhere between 36 to 44 teeth. Each tooth is about 4 to 5 inches long, and only a small portion is actually above the
3:02
gum line. If you sneak a peek through an owl's ears, in addition to ear stuff, you may be able
3:08
to see the back of the owl's eyes. All owls have large eyes, but specific species, like
3:13
the northern saw-wet owl, have evolved to have particularly large peepers compared to
3:17
their body size, which is why it's possible to see the backs of their eyes through their
3:21
ear holes. Many mammals change their coats depending on the season. Their fur can change color
3:26
or it will become thick and fluffy in the winter and sleek in the summer. Reindeer
3:30
however, take their seasonal wardrobe change a step further by changing their eye color
3:34
from gold turquoise to blue. They have golden brown eyes in the warmer months, but bust out
3:38
their baby blues in the winter. I should point out, though, that it's not the iris that's changing
3:43
color. It's the Tapetum lucidium, the same thing that makes cats' eyes look like they're glowing
3:47
when you shine a light on them. It's thought the color change helps them see better in the
3:51
perpetual twilight of an arctic winter. Hairy frogs aren't actually hairy. Male frogs sometimes
3:57
have thin strands of skin on their bodies that look like hair. But that isn't the most WTF thing
4:02
about these amphibians. Hairy frogs have an extremely unusual way of defending themselves
4:07
They break their toe bones when under duress, then shove those broken toe bones through their skin
4:12
and use them like claws. Mosquitoes use their sense of smell to find animals they want a snack
4:17
on. Certain perfumes and foods may attract them toward a target. And strong body odors
4:22
like someone's stinky, sweaty feet and socks, are also a beacon. One study even found that
4:26
mosquitoes infected with malaria are three times more likely to be attracted to the stench of a
4:30
a person's feet. So if you're in an area with a lot of mosquitoes, make sure you keep
4:34
your feet and socks clean. Sea cucumbers look like some sort of squishy, elongated ocean
4:41
blob. You don't want to underestimate them, though. When under attack, some species shoot
4:45
their internal organs out of their rectums. Their organs are sticky and contain a toxic
4:50
chemical that will kill a predator. The sea cucumber can survive after expelling its organs
4:54
through its butt, as they're able to regenerate missing body parts. In 2011, a house cat named
4:59
Smokey broke the record for the world's loudest cat purr. Her happy rumbles hit an impressive 67.8
5:05
decibels. That's about as loud as a vacuum cleaner and louder than a lot of human conversations
5:10
Smokey's human commented that they had difficulty hearing movies over her purrs
5:14
Ticks are tiny parasites that can become huge problems for moose. A single adult moose can
5:20
have upwards of 90 ticks embedded in it at one time The tick moose may rub almost all of its fur off in an effort to remove the bloodsuckers Adult moose might survive having tens of thousands of ticks eating away at them but the calves often die And unfortunately for the moose climate change
5:35
is causing warmer winters, which is making tick infestations worse. A giraffe's neck is six feet
5:40
long. That's taller than the average human male. But their necks actually have the same amount of
5:45
vertebrae as a person's neck. Theirs are just significantly larger, with some of their neck
5:49
vertebrae being nearly 10 inches long. Giraffes also wield their giant necks as weapons. Male
5:54
giraffes will use their necks to spar with one another. Sometimes they participate in mild
5:59
harmless sparring sessions with one another, while other times they'll use their necks to
6:02
really pack a punch. Watching one of these fights is truly wild. When it comes to anglerfish sex
6:09
two really do become one. Big fans of the Spice Girls, I guess. In some anglerfish species
6:14
the male will fuse together with the female during mating. Depending on the species, the two fish may separate once the deed is done, or their tissue may remain joined together forever
6:23
In the latter cases, the male and female's circulatory systems will connect, and the male
6:27
will rely on the female for sustenance. And they aren't monogamous either. A single female can fuse
6:32
together with multiple males. Houseflies' taste buds are on their feet. And their sense of taste
6:37
is incredible. According to Smithsonian, their feet are 10 million times more sensitive than
6:42
the human tongue is. They also regurgitate or poop pretty much every time they land on your food, so
6:47
Yeah. Butterflies love a good pollinator garden. And though flowers do feed them, the insects will also devour much less appetizing meals
6:56
They've been known to eat blood, sweat, tears, pee, poop, and even rotting flesh
7:03
Blue whales have the world's largest penises. While it's understandably difficult to measure them, it's often said that they can be 10
7:10
feet long, have a 1 foot diameter, and weigh about 150 pounds
7:14
That's how much each of their testicles weigh, too. Altogether, that genitalia weigh about 450 pounds, which is just slightly more than the
7:20
weight of their heart. Whale penises are so large and strange-looking that some theorize they've been mistaken
7:25
for sea monsters. Barnacles also have some pretty impressive penises. Some species can stretch their penises to become 8 times as long as their body, while others
7:34
can change shape depending on their environment. Barnacles in rough waters have short, wide phalluses, whereas those in gentler conditions
7:40
have long, thin ones. They can also regrow their penises before each mating season, making it easy for them
7:45
to adapt to whatever conditions they're living in. Oh, by the way, barnacles have penises
7:50
Texas horned lizards and a few related species use more than just their spikes and horns
7:54
to defend themselves. They also shoot blood from their eyes. The stream of blood can reach several feet, and it's mixed with a nasty chemical meant
8:01
to deter predators. It isn't a small amount of blood, either. A Texas horned lizard can release one of its total blood supply through its eyes Beaded lacewings are a type of winged insect that eats termites as babies Adults lay eggs in termite nests setting their young up for some stinky but successful hunting Beaded lacewing larvae release a chemical called
8:19
alamone from their rear ends that paralyzes the termites, which they then eat. Just one fart can
8:25
take down multiple termites. Termites are also impressively gassy. The insects produce up to 3
8:31
of all the world's methane emissions. Which isn't all that surprising considering that by some
8:35
estimates there are 27 quadrillion termites roaming the earth right now. Fortunately
8:40
their mounds are good at filtering out the greenhouse gas. One 2018 study found that nearly
8:44
half of the methane the termites farred out is broken down by bacteria inside the termite mounds
8:49
and nearby soil before it escapes into the atmosphere. Alligator snapping turtles have
8:54
tongues that kind of look like worms. When they're hunting, the turtles will hang out with their mouths
8:58
open. Fish will then often mistake their wiggling tongues for worms or something similar
9:04
Speaking of tongues, a tongue-eating louse is a type of parasite that severs a fish's tongue from
9:08
its mouth. It then replaces the tongue with itself and eats the fish's mucus or blood
9:14
The parasites have been found pretending to be the tongues of species including sea trout
9:18
snapper, and Atlantic croaker. The long-term effects of this arrangement probably depend on the species of fish and parasite involved, but no matter what
9:26
The pictures are gnarly. Basenji dogs don't bark. They yodel instead. There's a theory that they
9:32
have a shallower laryngeal ventricle than most other dogs, which is why they yodel instead of
9:37
bark. Controversially, though, some scientists and Basenji owners report that Basenjis can bark
9:42
they just don't. One mid-20th century study found that in a test where cocker spaniels barked 68
9:48
of the time, Basenjis only barked 20%. Whether these barking Basenjis were purebreds is more or
9:53
less an open question that more scientists need to get on. Bluefin tunas certainly aren't mammals, but they are warm-blooded. They have a specialized blood
10:01
vessel structure called a counter-current exchanger that lets them maintain a body
10:04
temperature that's warmer than the surrounding water. This helps them live in colder climates
10:09
and also lets them swim faster and more powerfully. We'll end with this fact about naked mole rats
10:15
Naked mole rats use their teeth for a lot of things. To eat plants and their own poop
10:20
to fight, and to dig through soil. The weird wrinkly rodents can move their front teeth
10:25
independently. According to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, they essentially use their big buck teeth like a pair of chopsticks by
10:33
spreading them apart and pulling them back together. I don't like that. That's all of the WTF facts we have for you today. Which one surprised you the most? Are
10:42
there any animals I totally ruined for you? I personally can't stop thinking about pandas
10:46
doing handstands and peeing. That's some Cirque du Soleil level skill. Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time
#education