Category Fallacy

The fact and fallacy about Hippo pink blood, sweat, and milk

MaNi 2 Comments

What is fact and what is fallacy about Hippo pink blood, sweat, and milk? What is pink and what is not?

The Common Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibious) is a large, semi-aquatic African even-toed ungulate (hoofed) mammal in the Hippopotamidae family.

It has a grey-brown, hairless, barrel-shaped body, with pink patches, a big head, and small stumpy legs.  

The female Hippopotamus is pregnant for eight months before giving birth to one live young at at time, called a calf. The baby Hippo is born underwater, but swims quickly to the surface to take a breath of air.

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Cow facts and fallacies – standing, laying down, walking

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Here are some facts and fallacies about the cow – standing, laying down, and walking.  

Standing: A cow sleeps while standing up.

A cow often closes its eyes to rest while standing up, but it sleeps laying down on its side or on its stomach. A cow is a domestic animal, not a wild animal, and it does not need to quickly escape its predators. It dozes several times throughout the day for 7-14 hours, but The Cattle Site says it actually sleeps for only about 3 hours per day, but not all at once. 

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Fallacy: bird bones are hollow

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Is it true that bird bones are hollow? This might be a fallacy – a fallacy means that it is not true.

Bird bones are pneumatic. So are dentists’ drills and jackhammers. Vehicle air brakes and tyres are pneumatic. And vacuum pumps are pneumatic.

‘Pneuma’ is a Greek word for ‘wind’ or ‘breath.’ Pneumatic means that it contains, or is operated by, air or gas under pressure. It is compressed air or compressed gas. Air is a gas. Actually, air is a mixture of gases because it is 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with the remaining 1% containing traces of water vapour, carbon dioxide, and argon. 

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Fallacy: a chameleon changes colour to camouflage itself

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Is it true that a chameleon changes colour to camouflage itself? This might be a fallacy – a fallacy means that it is not true.

The Chameleon is a reptile in the Chamaeleonidae family of lizards. It is arboreal because it lives in trees. The Chameleon is native to Africa, Madagascar, southern Europe, and southern Asia. It prefers to live in warm regions, such as rain forests and deserts. 

I have written in this website that the Chameleon can be a variety of colours, and “it can change colour to match its environment – this is called camouflage.” But it might be incorrect to say this.

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What is an Octopus’s Garden?

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The British band, The Beatles, sang about an Octopus’s Garden in 1969. Is an octopus’s garden real?

The song lyrics mention that the octopus’s garden is under the sea, in the shade, in a lttle hideaway near a cave, and near coral. 

It is true that an octopus lives under the sea near coral. It likes to live in marine (saltwater) oceans in shallow lagoons and coral reefs. It is benthic, because it lives on the bottom of the ocean, on the seabed. 

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Fallacy: A toucan can’t fly because its beak is too heavy

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Is it true that a toucan can’t fly because its beak is too heavy? No, this is a fallacy – it is not true.

The Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco) is a large bird in the Ramphastidae family. It has a very large, yellow-orange beak with a black band at the base and a large spot at the tip. 

However, the beak is not heavy.

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Does the Mexican Walking Fish actually walk?

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Does the Mexican Walking Fish actually walk?

The Mexican Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a freshwater amphibian in the salamander family. It is also known as the Mexican Walking Fish, but it is not a fish. Toads, frogs, newts, salamanders and axolotl are amphibians, living partly in water and partly on land. 

Unlike other amphibians, the Mexican Axolotl never leaves the water – it remains aquatic and never goes on land, so it does not walk on land. 

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Fallacy: Mayflies are only seen in May

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Are Mayflies only seen in May?

No, Mayflies are not only seen in May. The belief that Mayflies are only seen in May is not true—it is a fallacy. 

The Common Mayfly (Ephemera danica) is seen in the Northern Hemisphere in May and June. Elsewhere in the world, mayflies are seen in other months.

The Mayfly is an insect in the Palaeoptera family of dragonflies and damselflies. It lives all over the world, near freshwater rivers, ponds, and lakes.

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Fallacy: All Bees Live in Hives

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A fallacy is something that is not true.

All bees live in hives is a fallacy.

Do all bees live in hives? No, not all bees live in hives. There are social bees and solitary bees.

A colony of bees—many thousands of bees—are social bees that live together in a hive. The Bumblebee and the Honeybee (or Honey Bee) are social bees, living in colonies, and living in hives.

However, solitary bees do not live in hives. 

Most bee species are, in fact, solitary bees.

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Fallacy: A Cuckooshrike is a cross between a Cuckoo and a Shrike

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A fallacy is something that is not true.

A Cuckooshrike is a cross between a Cuckoo and a Shrike is a fallacy. It is not true. So, what is a Cuckooshrike?

A Cuckooshrike, a Cuckoo, and a Shrike are all birds, but a Cuckooshrike is not a Cuckoo and it is not a Shrike.

It is not closely related to the Cuckoo and it is not closely related to the Shrike. They are not very similar. In fact, they are in different families.

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Fallacy: Tortoises will come out of their shell if they are frightened

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Tortoises and turtles will come out of their shell if frightened. This is not true. This is a fallacy.

Actually, the reverse is true. Tortoises pull their head and feet into their shell so that predators cannot harm or eat them. They are too slow to run away, so hiding in their shell is their way of protecting themselves.

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Fallacy: Ostriches bury their heads in the sand

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Ostriches bury their heads in the sand. This is not true. It is a fallacy.

When ostriches are alarmed, they do not bury their heads in the sand, but they lie low and press their long necks down on the ground. This is because they are trying to hide from their predators, or to be less visible and not so prominent (large).

From a distance, it might look as if they have buried their heads in the sand, but they haven’t.

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