Nature's Children

[Mark]

"I chanced upon a couple of seed pods during my daily early morning stroll along the banks of the Siem Reap River. They looked like exquisitely carved miniature pumpkins; nature’s very own decorative art, so I took them home and placed them on a shelf in my apartment. This was not a move welcomed by Khmer True Love. She took a more derisive approach, regarding the seeds as mere junk that had no place in the home, and muttered at length about the inherent craziness of barangs. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, the first of the pods dynamically exploded, followed by the sounds of crashing glass and the clatter of falling wood. It sounded like a gun had been fired in the room, and the shrapnel from the exploding pod blew away items on the shelf including blown glass figurines from Battambang."
"Khmer True Love awoke and screamed. I jumped from bed and hopped about in a panic until I realised we weren’t the victims of a home invasion.
It gradually became evident that the pod was the villain. Khmer True Love was far from happy, but we both settled down to regain sleep when “Bang!” – the second seed pod went off to even more dramatic effect."
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/siem-reap- ... -riverbank

"the fruit of the Sandbox tree will explode like a botanical hand-grenade carrying seeds up to 40m at 240kph, easily penetrating any animal or poorly placed window."
http://www.unbelievable-facts.com/2013/ ... whose.html

"For sheer ballistic verve, we look to another tropical plant, one that is also cultivated in South Florida. It is Hura crepitans, the sandbox tree of the Euphorbiaceae. It has capsules the size and shape of tangerines. Each fruit has many segments, just as does a tangerine, and each fruit segment contains a seed the size of a nickel. When the fruits burst open, they shoot their seeds nearly 150 feet, accompanied by an explosive noise that is said to sound like the discharge of a rifle!"
http://www.virtualherbarium.org/gardenv ... istic.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_OAS-K0feI

"They are among the largest trees of tropical America and are interesting for their pumpkin-shaped seed capsules that explode with a loud report, scattering the seeds. Sandbox trees are sometimes grown as boulevard trees but have disadvantages in their poisonous leaves, bark, and seeds and the explosions of their capsules, which have force enough to injure persons or livestock."
http://www.britannica.com/plant/sandbox-tree

"Angular velocities are high, attaining at least 15,000 rpm in one case." It's fruit are used to make wheels for children's toys."
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... x/abstract
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 174.x/epdf

[tufty]

Haha that's ace! Where on earth do you dig these things up from, Mark?

[Mark]

I was looking for examples of materials that absorb and release H2O to drive "moisture motors" and that's how I came across this odd plant. I thought it was funny how the guy in this link wears gloves and his coat backwards, along with eyewear to photograph the seed pods fracturing. He didn't have the right slow motion camera or a trigger mechanism to capture it in more detail but it was kind of interesting to see his setup. In some of the clips it's kind of like watching someone handle a high explosive, there's a certain respect he's showing for the seed pods.

"Warning: we do not recommend you try this yourself. The sap of the seed pod is toxic beyond belief. The explosion is violent (and loud). The sharp edges of the seed chambers could easily puncture your eyeball or otherwise wound and scar your body. We are inherently curious, however, and wanted to experience the explosion in-person."
http://www.maya-ethnobotany.org/toxic-i ... -video.php

http://www.asknature.org/strategy/9183f ... acD3PlViko

Poisonous Plants and Animals of Florida and the Caribbean
https://books.google.com/books?id=C8xJE ... ty&f=false

[Mark]

A little baby bird that can fly as soon as it's born and emerges from the ground, shown at the end of this clip.
Maleo Hammerhuhn Sulawesi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhbO1ywadqY

"Consider, for example, that when a maleo chick emerges from its egg (which is about five-times the size of a chicken egg), it is completely flight-ready, taking wing and alighting at once in the canopy of a nearby forest to avoid being eaten by would-be predators. Once safely hidden away, the chicks forage for themselves and even regulate their own body temperatures – they're remarkably independent creatures."
http://io9.gizmodo.com/meet-the-maleo-t ... 1278012195

[Mark]

Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww

[Mark]

Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage | Deep Look
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3CtGoqz3ww

[Mark]

The dog with the glowing nose and feet ...
Life That Glows
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-TbL7 ... view#t=23m

[Mark]

Giant Otters vs Caiman - Natural World 2012-2013: Giant Otters of the Amazon Preview - BBC Two
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01iWx4476pY

[Mark]

A curiously beautiful shell around the 5:45 minute mark and later a resonant demonstration that's reminiscent of a pulsejet.
The MAGNETO SNAIL! (and other marine gastropods)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jSpG9yGoQg

[Mark]

Lionfish are becoming prevalent/invasive along the coast of Florida. Nothing really eats these non-native fish it was said so I was surprised to see this Caribbean grouper sort out an angle of attack. Notice the lionfish seems to always angle or drift his head away from the grouper.
http://www.earthtouchnews.com/conservat ... e-lionfish

"While diving with Coast Watch Alliance in the last Gulf Coast Lionfish Coalition derby in Pensacola, FL we came across a reef that had a high density of lionfish present. We determined that this site was in fact an upside down sunken Airplane. In the northern Gulf of Mexico we see some of the highest densities of lionfish reported."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnAbtkMdCoI

[Mark]

" Even after 6 weeks, the stingray bot was still swimming with over 80 percent of its cells still alive and well."
This Swimming Stingray Robot Is Powered by Real, Living Rat Cells
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technol ... rat-cells/

[Mark]

"The eagle had his master in his sights the whole time (yes, their eyesight is that good). The head movement is due to an eagle not being able to move his eyes within the eye sockets, like we can. They can only track by moving their whole head. He could see his master, and he could see his master's signals. Until 5:20 his master had his arms out to indicate gliding down. Around 5:20 he put his arms up to signal the eagle to get down asap."

"Enjoy the full 5 minutes flight of Darshan, flying from the top of the world tallest building the Burj kalifa, soaring above Dubai then diving with the exhilarating speed of 170 kph towards his handler."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um8M9azpmb4

[Mark]

Planetary (2015) - Filmmaker Guy Reid interviews NASA astronauts, environmentalists and philosophers to show that all life on the planet is inseparably interconnected. [1:24:51]
http://www.movieonz.com/2016/12/planeta ... ntary.html

[Mark]

Incredible footage of hermit crab changing shells with anemones!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFALyP2e7U

Amazing Crabs Shell Exchange - Life Story - BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1dnocPQXDQ

pom pom crab dance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKMxRBYQs5k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ddS4aFP-l0

[Mark]

Bird Feathers "Sing"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FHSQQMnOko

"High frequency chirps echo through the forest."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6sIY1oCCOE#t=16m3s

http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/201 ... ped-wooing