Are Rabbits as Prolific as Everybody Says?
Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 11:27 pm
BY MATT SONIAK
JANUARY 20, 2015
Pope Francis is in the news for saying Catholics don't have to breed "like rabbits." How prolific are rabbits anyway? Is there any truth to the phrase "breed like rabbits"?
Sort of. When a doe lets a buck know that she's ready to mate, he circles her, shows off his tail, and sometimes urinates on her. This is what passes for foreplay. Then, the act itself lasts about 20-40 seconds.
✕
The real wow factor of rabbit reproduction is how fast they get around to breeding, and how often they can do it. The average rabbit reaches sexual maturity at 3-8 months old, and they have the rest of their 9-to-12+ years to get it on (though egg/sperm production drops off at around 3 years). Their breeding season lasts three-quarters of the year, and the does don't have an estrous or "heat" cycle. They're more or less ready to mate all the time. They don't have a menstrual cycle, either, so there's no special window during which pregnancy can happen. Does are actually induced ovulators, which means that intercourse stimulates ovulation. After 40 seconds of magic, the egg is emitted for fertilization.
Rabbits gestate for only 30 days, and usually have litters of between 4 and 12 babies (kits), depending on the breed. Once the babies are born, the doe can mate and get pregnant again as soon as the following day. If they maintain a pace like that and all the kits survive, the large-litter breeds are looking at about 100 babies per season. Stretch that out over a lifetime, and you've got over 1000 babies per rabbit.
This Big Question originally appeared in 2012.
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Yale Is Offering Its 'Science of Well-Being' Course for Free Online
BY ELLEN GUTOSKEY
MAY 11, 2020
Chainarong Prasertthai/iStock via Getty Images
CHAINARONG PRASERTTHAI/ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES
Even if you’ve heard that money or career success won’t necessarily make you happier, it’s still hard to resist the impulse to correlate your own well-being to external factors like those. Why are we so bad at predicting what will make us happy, and how can we figure out what actually does the trick?
These are just a couple questions you’ll be able to answer after completing “The Science of Well-Being,” a Yale University course currently being offered for free on Coursera. According to Lifehacker, the 10-week course consists of about two to three hours of reading and videos per week, and you can work at your own pace—so you can definitely take advantage of a free weekend to fly through a few weeks’ worth of material at a time, or postpone a lesson if you’re swamped with other work.
The class is taught by Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos, who will lead students through relevant research on how we’re wired to think about our own well-being and teach you how to implement that knowledge to increase happiness in your life. Since the coursework is task-oriented and the course itself is aimed at helping you build more productive habits, it’s an especially good opportunity for anyone who feels a little overwhelmed at how vague a goal to “be happier” can seem.
As for proof that this is definitely an undertaking worth 20 hours of your time, we’ll let the previous students speak for themselves: From 3731 ratings, the course averages 4.9 out of 5 stars.
Though the course is free, an official certificate to mark your completion—which you can then add to your LinkedIn profile—will cost you $50. Enroll on the Coursera website, and check out 23 other science-backed ways to feel happier here.
At Mental Floss, we only write about the products we love and want to share with our readers, so all products are chosen independently by our editors. Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a percentage of any sale made from the links on this page. Prices and availability are accurate as of the time of publication.
[h/t Lifehacker]
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Why Are Gardeners Said to Have a ‘Green Thumb’?
BY JAKE ROSSEN
MAY 13, 2020
The phrase 'green thumb' has an interesting history.
The phrase 'green thumb' has an interesting history.
ALEXRATHS/ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES
If you like to spend your time up to your elbows in dirt and have the ability to cultivate plants that don’t wither and die, you may have been told you have a green thumb. This is not a medical emergency, but a slang term meant to denote one’s aptitude for gardening and landscaping. But where did the phrase come from?
Both green thumb and green fingers have been common expressions in England and the United States for well over a century, with the Oxford English Dictionary citing use of green fingers as early as 1906 in the novel The Misses Make-Believe by Mary Stuart Boyd. Green thumb, meanwhile, can be pinpointed to a 1937 Ironwood Daily Globe newspaper article, which described the phrase as “horticultural slang.”
Theories abound as to its origins. Some believe it’s a result of handling potted plants, which can often have green algae on the underside that coats hands. Others point to a (likely apocryphal) story about King Edward I and his love of green peas, which were shelled by subservient workers—one would be honored for doing the most work and having the greenest thumb. There’s also the fact that plants contain chlorophyll, a green pigment that can easily discolor your hands.
However the phrase was cultivated, we have a pretty good idea of how it caught on. In the 1940s, wartime Britain enjoyed a popular gardening radio show titled In Your Garden hosted by C.H. Middleton that made use of both green thumb and green fingers.
Why, then, is the phrase focused more on the thumb when all of your fingers are likely to get discolored? It might have something to do with an old English proverb: “An honest miller has a golden thumb.” The quality of corn flour could be judged by rubbing it between the forefinger and thumb. Blended together in the collective consciousness, these two idioms may have resulted in the green thumb we hear about today.
Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.
Source
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/298 ... ybody-says
JANUARY 20, 2015
Pope Francis is in the news for saying Catholics don't have to breed "like rabbits." How prolific are rabbits anyway? Is there any truth to the phrase "breed like rabbits"?
Sort of. When a doe lets a buck know that she's ready to mate, he circles her, shows off his tail, and sometimes urinates on her. This is what passes for foreplay. Then, the act itself lasts about 20-40 seconds.
✕
The real wow factor of rabbit reproduction is how fast they get around to breeding, and how often they can do it. The average rabbit reaches sexual maturity at 3-8 months old, and they have the rest of their 9-to-12+ years to get it on (though egg/sperm production drops off at around 3 years). Their breeding season lasts three-quarters of the year, and the does don't have an estrous or "heat" cycle. They're more or less ready to mate all the time. They don't have a menstrual cycle, either, so there's no special window during which pregnancy can happen. Does are actually induced ovulators, which means that intercourse stimulates ovulation. After 40 seconds of magic, the egg is emitted for fertilization.
Rabbits gestate for only 30 days, and usually have litters of between 4 and 12 babies (kits), depending on the breed. Once the babies are born, the doe can mate and get pregnant again as soon as the following day. If they maintain a pace like that and all the kits survive, the large-litter breeds are looking at about 100 babies per season. Stretch that out over a lifetime, and you've got over 1000 babies per rabbit.
This Big Question originally appeared in 2012.
Subscribe to our Newsletter! SIGN UP NOW
Sponsored LinksYou May Like
Study at Deakin University, Australia, through our online to on-campus pathway
Deakin University International
Working From Home In Nigeria May Pay More Than You Think
Work From Home | Search Ads
Try this Football Betting Site with Free Deposits
MSport
Hair That Lets You Shine - Black Hair Hub
Black Hair Hub
Check Out The 2019 World Car of the Year
Portfolio Magazine
Nigeria : Work-from-home in the US may pay you more than you think
Remote Job Seeker | Search Ads
by Taboola
ARROW
SMART SHOPPING
Yale Is Offering Its 'Science of Well-Being' Course for Free Online
BY ELLEN GUTOSKEY
MAY 11, 2020
Chainarong Prasertthai/iStock via Getty Images
CHAINARONG PRASERTTHAI/ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES
Even if you’ve heard that money or career success won’t necessarily make you happier, it’s still hard to resist the impulse to correlate your own well-being to external factors like those. Why are we so bad at predicting what will make us happy, and how can we figure out what actually does the trick?
These are just a couple questions you’ll be able to answer after completing “The Science of Well-Being,” a Yale University course currently being offered for free on Coursera. According to Lifehacker, the 10-week course consists of about two to three hours of reading and videos per week, and you can work at your own pace—so you can definitely take advantage of a free weekend to fly through a few weeks’ worth of material at a time, or postpone a lesson if you’re swamped with other work.
The class is taught by Yale psychology professor Laurie Santos, who will lead students through relevant research on how we’re wired to think about our own well-being and teach you how to implement that knowledge to increase happiness in your life. Since the coursework is task-oriented and the course itself is aimed at helping you build more productive habits, it’s an especially good opportunity for anyone who feels a little overwhelmed at how vague a goal to “be happier” can seem.
As for proof that this is definitely an undertaking worth 20 hours of your time, we’ll let the previous students speak for themselves: From 3731 ratings, the course averages 4.9 out of 5 stars.
Though the course is free, an official certificate to mark your completion—which you can then add to your LinkedIn profile—will cost you $50. Enroll on the Coursera website, and check out 23 other science-backed ways to feel happier here.
At Mental Floss, we only write about the products we love and want to share with our readers, so all products are chosen independently by our editors. Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a percentage of any sale made from the links on this page. Prices and availability are accurate as of the time of publication.
[h/t Lifehacker]
Shopping Smart Shopping
0
Sponsored LinksYou May Like
Getting a Job in Australia May be Easier Than You Think
Jobs in Australia | Search Ads
13-Yr-Old Builds Own House For $1,500 Look When He Opens Door And Reveals 89 Sq Ft Masterpiece
Articles Vally
25 Celebs You Didn't Realize Are Gay - No. 8 Will Shock Women
Car Novels
25 Foods to Avoid if You Have High Blood Pressure
Luxxory
[Pics] After Rescuing Them, Firemen Realized They Weren't Puppies
Rich Houses
Pregnant Waitress Charges Cop $9 For Lunch, Moments Later Runs To Manager
Gloriousa
by Taboola
ARROW
BIG QUESTIONS
Why Are Gardeners Said to Have a ‘Green Thumb’?
BY JAKE ROSSEN
MAY 13, 2020
The phrase 'green thumb' has an interesting history.
The phrase 'green thumb' has an interesting history.
ALEXRATHS/ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES
If you like to spend your time up to your elbows in dirt and have the ability to cultivate plants that don’t wither and die, you may have been told you have a green thumb. This is not a medical emergency, but a slang term meant to denote one’s aptitude for gardening and landscaping. But where did the phrase come from?
Both green thumb and green fingers have been common expressions in England and the United States for well over a century, with the Oxford English Dictionary citing use of green fingers as early as 1906 in the novel The Misses Make-Believe by Mary Stuart Boyd. Green thumb, meanwhile, can be pinpointed to a 1937 Ironwood Daily Globe newspaper article, which described the phrase as “horticultural slang.”
Theories abound as to its origins. Some believe it’s a result of handling potted plants, which can often have green algae on the underside that coats hands. Others point to a (likely apocryphal) story about King Edward I and his love of green peas, which were shelled by subservient workers—one would be honored for doing the most work and having the greenest thumb. There’s also the fact that plants contain chlorophyll, a green pigment that can easily discolor your hands.
However the phrase was cultivated, we have a pretty good idea of how it caught on. In the 1940s, wartime Britain enjoyed a popular gardening radio show titled In Your Garden hosted by C.H. Middleton that made use of both green thumb and green fingers.
Why, then, is the phrase focused more on the thumb when all of your fingers are likely to get discolored? It might have something to do with an old English proverb: “An honest miller has a golden thumb.” The quality of corn flour could be judged by rubbing it between the forefinger and thumb. Blended together in the collective consciousness, these two idioms may have resulted in the green thumb we hear about today.
Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.
Source
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/298 ... ybody-says