Did you know?

Female hippos have a gestation period of eight months and have only one baby at a time, according to the San Diego Zoo. At birth, the calf weighs between 50 and 110 lbs. (23 to 50 kg). For its first eight months, the calf nurses while its mother is on land, or it swims underwater to suckle. When it dives, the calf closes its nose and ears to block out water. All hippos have this ability. Hippos also have membranes that cover and protect their eyes while they are underwater. 

This is a picture of hippo milk...it is pink!

Was surprised to learn that at 5 to 7 years old, the hippo calf is fully mature, according to the San Diego Zoo and the median life expectancy of a hippo is 36 years.

Blue Whale

The blue whale is gigantic. Generally ranging in length from 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 meters), the longest one ever recorded was a magnificent 108 feet long.





Here is a comparison picture for you...

2. How much does a blue whale weigh?

These gentle giants weigh up to 200 tonnes, or around 441,000 pounds.

3. They’ve got big hearts

The blue whale's heart is huge! It is about 5 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 5 feet tall and weighs around 400 pounds; its beat can be detected from two miles away. It is so big and adult can swim through it...

4. ...and tongues

A blue whale’s tongue alone weighs as much as an elephant.

5. How big are blue whale babies?

Blue whale calves are the biggest babies on Earth, easily, and at birth already rank amongst the largest full-grown animals. They pop out at around 8,800 pounds with a length of some 26 feet. They gain 200 pounds a day! Their growth rate is likely one of the fastest in the animal world, with a several billion-fold increase in tissue in the 18 months from conception to weaning.

6. They’re loud … and make long-distance calls for free

Blue whales, in fact, are the loudest animals on the planet. A jet engine registers at 140 decibels, the call of a blue whale reaches 188. Their language of pulses, groans, and moans can be heard by others up to 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away.

The oldest blue whale they’ve discovered  was calculated to be around 100 years old, though the average life is thought to be around 80 to 90 years.

Who is the most powerful?

Power-lifting is a competitive and inclusive sport for both man and women, young and old. The main rule in this sport is to lift as much weight as you can.
But humans are not the best in the world. Other creatures of the world can handle lifting great weights too. Here is the count down from 9....

9- The grizzly bear can lift 1200lb, meaning 0.8 its body weight;

8- The ox: can pull and carry 2000lb, approximately 1.5 times its body weight;

7- The elephant: can carry 20,000lb, 1.7 times its body weight;

 

6- The tiger: 1200lb, 2 x its body weight;

5- Human: the strongest man in the world, Zydrunas Savickas, managed to lift 2,3 times his own body weight, meaning almost 900lb.

4- On the fourth place we have a bird, the African Crowned Eagle. This bird can lift 36lb. That’s
4 times its body weight.

3- The gorilla 4600lb. Ten times its body weight;

2- The leafcutter ant. This little insect can lift 20 times its body weight. That is the equivalent of a man lifting a family car.





Drum roll please........................................

And the winner is.................The Dung Beetle. A little insect that feeds only of feces.
It can lift 1000 times its own body wieght.
That would be equivalant to a average 150 lb man lifting six double decker busses!




 

Did you know?

In the resort town of Skagen you can watch an amazing natural phenomenon. This city is the northernmost point of Denmark, where the Baltic and North Seas meet. 

The two opposing tides in this place can not merge because they have different densities.

 

 And here I thought water was just water!

Giant lock

This is a working lock!

Location: Nishan-e-Manzil Park, Gujranwala Cantonment, Pakistan
Constructed: 2002

Weight: 890 kg or 1962.11 pounds
It resides in a public park in Pakistan and this massive padlock was built by Haji Javed Iqbal Khokhar from Gujranwala. It’s giant key weighs 80 kg or  176.37 pounds and takes two people to lift. It was briefly the centrepiece of the Lucky Irani Circus.
 

Something to ponder upon

Lombard Street

This is the famous Lombard Street in San Francisco, Calif.

It is said to be the crookedest street in the world. Built in 1922, the design was intended to reduce the hills natural 27% grade. It is about 600 feet long and is paved with red bricks. The sign at the top recommends 5 mph. It is lined in flowers and greenery and is beautiful but because of the tourist is have become bit of a hazard.

 

But how about going down it on a skateboard with no brakes?

Not for the weak hearted

 

Fascination

I have a fascination with Queen Elizabeth. I can't imagine living in the spotlight your  entire life. Here she is just a baby...



and here as a little girl. Can you imagine not growing up with the idea that you can be anything you want to be but instead...you will be the Queen of England?

And what about her sister Princess Margaret (on the left)

Did she feel she lived in her sister's shadow?

Can you believe she trained as driver in 1945 during the war...

From a uniform to the Princess

A young woman who displayed great independence...




And so who does a potential Queen date? Well supposedly she met her man when she was only 13 years old and not without controversy (read more here) but she indeed married Prince Phillip in 1947
The marriage produced children Charles in 1948 and Princess Anne in 1950





Here she is at the coronation in
1953






















and now add Queen to Wife and Mother and represent all of England.


She has met and been photographed with 12 U.S. Presidents over the years.


 Herbert Hoover 1957


 Harry Truman 1951


 Dwight Eisenhower 1957



 JFK in1961

 Nixon in 1970

 Gerald For 1976


 Jimmy Carter 1977


 Ronald Reagan 1983 (at a roast)
 HW Bush 1971

 Clinton 1994


 George W. Bush 2007

 Obama 2011

A lady through and through, I love her smile.
This picture was taken on her 88th birthday...


and this photo was taken just this past April....

Queen Elizabeth II sits with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as she delivers her speech during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster, 04.06.2014 in London, England.
 

 

This woman is amazing so you can't blame me for posting this one last picture...

 

          Go Queen Elizabeth !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annie Oakley

As most of you know I like to listen to audio books while I knit and recently I listened to "Annie Oakley". I remembered there was a movie about her and that she was in the Buffalo Bill's show but really didn't know a lot. Here is some tidbits...She began her marksmanship as a young girl around 9 years old and brought home dinner to the family only to later sell the surplus she bagged to the local store and totally support her family. No one taught her to shoot but somehow she had this amazing gift.

 

She entered a Thanksgiving shooting competition in 1875 and beat a top shooter and vaudeville performer by the name of Frank Butler. He was smitten with her and they married and toured the country with him letting her become the star and he the manager. A union that spanned more than a half a century and led them all over the world.

 

There had no children and the couple was often captured with a pet

After Annie met  "Sitting Bull" in 1884 he was so impressed with her abilities that he adopted her and gave her the name "Little Sure Shot" which followed her the rest of her life.

Petite in stature with thick chestnut colored hair she stood out from the crowd and once they saw here shoot they were totaled enthralled. She became a true star and was known world wide. She had never had the opportunity to go to school while living at home so that was a big pursuit when she was not in shows and she excelled in every area.

At the end of a long career and returning home from overseas, she was severely injured in a train accident upon which her hair turned white overnight and required several surgeries to heal. She had planned on retiring just prior to the accident but wanted to see if she could still do it and there she was in her 60's still shooting.

She continued to set records even in 1924 after a bad car accident they left her with a brace on her leg but in 1925 she began to decline and died on Nov. 3, 1926. Butler was so grieved by her death that he stopped eating and died 18 days later.

 

A true love story

 

 

 

The book was okay and led me to do more research of which I have shared.