Why does a cat always want to smell you? It's not about jealousy. They are literally just gathering information. Their smell is 40 times greater than ours.

They can smell our pheromones and hormones. They can tell if we are sick or even stressed.

They want to know where you've been. They can tell this from all the new scents you bring home.

One of the most important reasons is that cats like to stay clean and they smell you to make sure you don't have anything on you that they don't want you to touch them with.

They just see us leave and have no idea where we've been, but our scents help them determine to a certain degree where we've been.

For older or sick cats, scent is also the primary way they recognize their owners (sorry, I mean their humble servants).

This one's not a myth just a fun fact. Fish do not breathe water. More exactly they extract oxygen molecules stuck in the water (they don't break down H2O into H and O). That is why it is very important to have surface agitation in an aquarium. This surface agitation brings in oxygen molecules from the air. That is step 1.

Now we need that oxygen to reach the whole aquarium. If you install a filter, the intake always goes at the bottom, and the output goes at the top. The output creates the agitation, but it is using water from the bottom of the tank, so this creates a cycle where the entire aquarium is being churned through the filter (most filters do clean the water also). This is also why dead spots in your aquarium (no water movement) is bad. Yes, poop gets stuck there, but so do bad chemicals and deoxygenated water.

Waterfalls and fountains are used in ponds to do this same thing. They create agitation and constantly circulate the water. As a bonus, this slows down bacteria and algae growth. Back in the 80's air pumps that created bubbles were used to operate cute little decorations (we all remember that little treasure chest that would open when enough bubbles got trapped). Now they are used to help add oxygen molecules to the water (they also circulate water from the bottom to the top.) The bubbles themselves don't actually carry the oxygen, but when they explode at the surface it creates a lot of agitation. When I lost power during Ida, it was more crucial for me to make sure they had bubbles than to run the filter. It is also very important to have plenty of surface agitation in the summer as hot water carries less oxygen than cold water. Koi and goldfish can live all winter in a pond that has frozen over at the top as long as there a hole for some slight oxygen exchange.

If you ever see someone's aquarium and their fish are constantly at the surface, tell them to get an air pump to add bubbles as the fish are at the surface trying to grab any oxygen they can.

Betta fish (Siamese Fighting Fish) have what's called a Labyrinth organ. This allows them to breathe normal air. Sadly, back in the day, these fish were shipped just wrapped in a wet paper towel or even wet newspaper. They survived just fine, but unfortunately the ink from the newspaper or even some paper towels would leech out and slowly poison them. Gouramis also have the labyrinth organ. There are several others that do, but these are the 2 fish in the hobby that have them.

Betta fish are also one of the few fish species in the hobby that will lie down to rest. It is very common for a betta fish tank to have a leaf for them to lie down on. Some betta fish will also come out of the water and lie on top of the filter. Sadly, this has probably led to many owners thinking they were dead.

Just to add; betta fish need a minimum of 5 gallons. Please do not buy one of those tiny setups for them. They also need a filter, heater, and air stones to help circulate the water. Also, it is very helpful to add Almond leaves to their tank. It has medicinal properties, but it does turn the water a light tea color. You can add these leaves to any aquarium, but most people don't as clear water is fine for most tanks and is easier to see the fish.

Fun fact - Parthogenesis (in honor of Mother's Day).

Parthogenesis is where the embryo develops without fertilization.

Parthogenesis occurs naturally in several species of microscopic organisms, water fleas, scorpions, aphids, some mites, some bees, some stick insects, parasitic wasps, some fish, some amphibians, some birds and some reptiles. In most animals parthogenesis results in female offspring (clones of the mother) only, but several species can produce males via parthogenesis (aphids, honeybees).

Parthogenesis has happened in some mammals (mice and monkeys), but it always ends in deformities based on how their genetics work.

There are several species of lizard that reproduce solely with parthogenesis, therefore only females exist. These include Rock Lizards, Whiptail Lizards, Indo-Pacific House Gecko, Vietnamese House Gecko, Dwarf Tree gecko, Bynoe's gecko, Pelagic Gecko and the Mourning Gecko (the only parthogenetic species popular in the pet trade.)

King Cobras, some Pit Vipers, and Burmese pythons are the only known snake species to use parthogenesis.

There have been documented cases of pet Crested Geckos and pet Ball Pythons having parthogenetic offspring, but this has never been observed in nature. So, it is still being studied to determine if this was a direct result of being raised in captivity.

Dolphins use puffer fish to get high.

Dolphins are naturally curious and playful animals. They have been observed playing with puffer fish and the puffer fish release Tetrodotoxin (TTX) as a deterrent. This small amount of TTX causes the dolphins to enter a trance-like-state.

You're welcome.

Hummingbirds are the only birds capable of sustained and controlled backwards flight. This is due to their wing structure and the fact that they move their wings in a figure-8 pattern which creates lift on the forward and backward swings.

A locust is actually just a transformed grasshopper. They are the exact same species. If a grasshopper comes into physical contact with another grasshopper this releases serotonin in their system. If this happens too much, they actually morph into a locust. Grasshoppers are solitary but locusts are very social. This is why we get locust swarms.

Bonus: Many domesticated animals released into the wild will undergo behavioral changes to adapt. However, the pig will actually change physiologically. They will start to grow tusks when they are released into the wild (sometimes fully growing tusks within months). If they are domesticated from the wild their tusk growth will be suppressed.

The common garden snail has over 14,000 teeth.

You're welcome.

Rabbits are the only land mammal that do not have paw pads. They just have lots of fur on their feet. This helps them move around quietly and it also stops dirt from getting stuck when they dig burrows.

The odds are that if you think you saw a ladybug (right), you probably actually saw an Asian Lady Beetle (left). The easiest way to tell is by the "M" shape right behind the head of an Asian Lady Beetle (although from this angle it is more of a "W").

Ladybugs are native to North America, but the Asian Lady Beetle was introduced in the early 1900's to help get rid of aphids on crops. They are now taking over native Ladybug populations.