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Dual head-mounted listening devices
This dual-mounted listening device served as an aircraft detection device before the invention of radar in 1935. The Dutch military used the elephant-looking ears to detect approaching enemy aircraft by listening afar for engine sounds. There were various iterations of the acoustic locators. The Germans created a dual sight and sound system in 1917 that […]
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These deep-sea anglerfish might as well be aliens
Deep-sea anglerfish (Ceratiidae) remain one of the most intriguing mysteries of the ocean. Ugly and ghoulish with giant mouths and pointy teeth, only recently has video footage revealed the creature’s unique form of alienesque reproduction. The 3.5-foot females are most famous for their hunting methods, in which they use a fish rod-like appendage (the esca) […]
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The bearded vulture lives exclusively off bone
The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is the only known animal that lives on a diet of bones. That’s right — this intimidating-looking bird avoids the meat and specializes in feeding on bone marrow. This bird of prey is so desperate for bone it’ll fly a dead carcass as high as 500 feet into the sky and release […]
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Say hello to the Vampire Crab
Here’s an animal made for Halloween: say hello to the Vampire Crab. The recently discovered species of the genus Geosesarma dennerle is a tiny, semi-terrestrial crab that resides on the Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. They get their name from their fang-shaped mouthparts, spooky eyes, and pinchy claws. The super-colorful purple vampire crabs are native to […]
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Valais Blacknose sheep from Switzerland
Strange-looking but cute — if you can even see their faces — the Valais Blacknose sheep is a type of mountain-breed sheep from the Valais region of Switzerland. These fancy-looking lambs are called ‘luxury sheep’ for their magical faceless features, shaggy coats, and spiral horns. Although they’re used for their wool and meat in Switzerland, the […]
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Zhangjiajie’s Bailong Elevator is the highest outdoor elevator in the world
The Bailong Elevator is the world’s highest outdoor elevator, towering an astonishing 1,080 feet high. It’s built inside a massive sandstone column in a mountain range consisting of the National Forest Park in the Wulingyuan area of Zhangjiajie, China. Opened in 2002, the cliff-facing elevator allows 50 visitors at a time to ride up the […]
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Meet the inconspicuous Vietnamese Mossy Tree Frog
The Vietnamese Mossy Tree Frog is a species of frog that can be found in northern Vietnam, China, and Laos. The tree frog looks like a crocodile smushed into a tiny 3” body. Never mind that it can throw its voice up to 13 feet, making the creature hard to spot. In addition to its […]
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The ‘underwater waterfall’ phenomenon at Mauritius Island
A unique and beautiful ‘underwater waterfall’ illusion lies off the southeast coast of the African continent at Mauritius Island in the Indian Ocean. The precise location of the surreal view rests at the Black River Gorges National Park in Le Morne, on the island’s southwest. UNESCO recognizes the area as a World Heritage site. The spectacular […]
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Diver finds 900-year-old crusader sword off Israel’s Carmel coast
A scuba diver discovered an ancient sword off Israel’s Carmel coast near the port city of Haifa. The iron sword is thought to have belonged to a crusader knight 900 years ago when the Crusaders were fighting Muslim forces for control over the Holy Land. Eagle-eyed diver Shlomi Katzin stumbled upon the three-foot blade on […]
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Disappearing sandpipers in murmuration
Behold one of the greatest shows in nature — sandpiper murmurations. Sandpipers, like starlings, often fly low in coordinated swirls that give the group the appearance of a disappearing magic trick. Rather, it’s the unison of thousands of individual black backs and white chests against the backdrop of a blue sky that gives off the […]
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Turkmenistan’s Darvaza gas crater, the ‘door to hell’
The Darvaza gas crater also called the Gates of Hell or Door to Hell, is a natural gas field in Turkmenistan that collapsed into an underground cavern. Soviet engineers set the 230-foot hole on fire while exploring for gas in 1971. They expected the flames to die after a few days, but the opening burned […]
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The Rock: Urup Island, Russia
Here’s the last island you’d ever want to be stranded on. This uninhabited volcanic rock formation is part of a 552 square mile Russian island called Urup, which means ‘salmon trout’ in Ainu language. Urup island sits south of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. One can […]