Science

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ScienceAlert

More And More Hermit Crabs Are Wearing Trash as a Home Instead of Shells : ScienceAlert

Land hermit crabs have been using bottle tops, parts of old light bulbs and broken glass bottles, instead of shells.

New research by Polish researchers studied 386 images of hermit crabs occupying these artificial shells. The photos had been uploaded by users to online platforms, then analyzed by scientists using a research approach known as iEcology.

Of the 386 photos, the vast majority, 326 cases, featured hermit crabs using plastic items as shelters.

At first glance, this is a striking example of how human activities can alter the behavior of wild animals, and potentially the ways that populations and ecosystems function as a result.

When US Senators Believed People Were Injecting Peanut Butter To Get High | IFLScience

When US Senators Believed People Were Injecting Peanut Butter To Get High | IFLScience

In 1969, the US had a brief and crunchy moral panic. People, including senators, believed that members of the public were injecting themselves with peanut butter to get high.

The panic, according to website The Museum of Hoaxes, began at the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting in October 1969. At the meeting, two government experts working for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics claimed that the youth had been injecting peanut butter and mayonnaise to get high, thanks to a book circulating amongst them that told them it would give them "a little trip".

According to the duo, the fad had already caused several deaths. The panic, as is customary, spread in the media, and it wasn't too long before other officials claimed that they knew of deaths in their own communities. Then talk of injecting Skippy (smooth, of course, only the most hardened users go crunchy) made it to the Senate.

Further evidence that the politicians are the dumbest people out there. Probably because it sells advertising on the color television.