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The natural world is not for the faint of heart

40 Goopy Bits of Science Trivia That Slithered Out From Under a Log and Into Your Brain

February 12, 2025

Today, we’re putting the “creepy” and the “crawlies” in creepy crawlies. Ugh, we can feel them scurrying up and down our backs just thinking about them. It’s a good thing that we’re safe behind this screen and not out in the jungles actually interacting with nature’s most disgusting little creatures.

So if this list of slimy, grimy little things gives you nightmares tonight, you can thank the biologists who discovered them. Don’t shoot the messengers!

40

The Water Boatman

One bug makes a sound as loud as an orchestra, with its penis. CRACKED.COM The water boatman is an aquatic insect about the size of a fingernail that makes a deafening call, reaching nearly 100 decibels. It achieves this impressive sound with a similarly impressive process known as stridulation, which involves rubbing its penis against its abdomen. — Source: Daily Mail

39

Snake Bites

One in three snake bite victims is drunk. One in five is tattooed CRACKED.COM Researchers found male victims outnumbered females 9-to-1. The aver- age age was 24, 57% were handling a venom- ous snake, and 28% had appeared intoxicated. — Source

38

Caterpillars

There is a species of caterpillar that sticks out long appendages when it is yelled at. The Amazonian insect responds to noise by firing four spiraling tentacles. the caterpillar belongs to the Nematocampa genus of moths, which enlarge the long appendages until they become erect. CRACKED.COM — Nerdist

37

Leopard Slugs

Leopard Slug Mating Just a normal love story...two slugs dangle upside on a mucus rope, where their giant blue penises (protruding from the sides of their heads) wrap around the writhing mates, fertilizing each others' eggs. CRACKED.COM — Source: 13 Reminders That Nature Is Disgusting

36

Snails

In 2016, scientists mobilized to find a way for a snail to have sex. Jeremy was a snail with a very rare left-curling shell, and he could only reprodu — Source: NPR

35

Snake Venom

Hedgehogs have a natural immunity to snake venom. GRACKED COM Other mammals with immunities are mongooses, honey badgers, and pigs. Some populations of California ground squirrels are at least partially immune to rattlesnake venom as adults. — Oxford

34

Bees

Making a pound of honey requires 50,000 hours of bee flight. In other words, a bee is going to fly over a distance that's twice the circumference of the Earth to gather enough nectar to make one pound of honey. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

33

Saved by Slugs

CRACKED THE ANIMAL: Paul Bartsch discovered that slugs can detect mustard gas, which saved thousands of soldiers. THE PITCH: THE SLUG BRIGADE: SLOW AND STEADY We like to picture a General Patton type slug's impassioned speech to his slug army. — Grunge

32

Scallops

A new scallop fishing technique involves showing them disco lights. CRACKED.COM Small underwater pot- lights were designed for lobster and crab traps to prevent the need to use fish as bait, but it was ac- tually scallops that were the most interested in the LED lights. — The Guardian

31

Beetle Infestation

A tree planted in LA in memory of George Harrison died because of a beetle infestation. The former Beatle spent his last days in LA and enjoyed garden — Source: BBC

30

Flatworms

Baicalellia daftpunka is a flatworm with a very strange penis. Its penis, in fact, looks almost like a helmet, leading zoologist India Stevenson to name it after the world's most famous helmeted electronic duos. CRACKED — Source / Wikipedia

29

Bulldog Ant

CRACKED BULLDOG ANT Not nearly as cute as the dog it's named after, this Australian ant enjoys biting and stinging its victims simultaneously. Their venom is strong enough to kill a grown man in under 20 minutes. — Ants.com / Wikipedia

28

Beetle Mania

CRACKED THERE ARE MORE SPECIES OF BEETLE THAN ANY OTHER ANIMAL. Thieme There are over 400,000 species of beetles- which, on their own, makes up a quarter of all species on earth. — NPR / DW

27

The Giant Water Bug

The Giant Water Bug CRACKED.COM These winged nightmares fly and bite. They're 4 inches long and have one of the more painful bites of the insect kingdom. — Source: 19 Terrifying Real-World Monsters Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

26

Japanese Spider Crab

Japanese Spider Crab CRACKED.COM The Japanese spider crab can measure 12 feet across. They're omnivores and use those long claws to pry open mollusks, like clams. — Source: 19 Terrifying Real-World Monsters Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

25

Rat Infestations

All bamboo across the planet blossoms at the same time, every 80 years. Some species of bamboo flower only once in decades, and do so simultaneously across the entire planet. This happens every 40-80 years and it is seen as a curse in East Asia because it is immediately followed by a rat infestation and the spread of famine. CRACKED NOW YOU KNOW — Down To Earth

24

Crab Blood

GROSS BUT VALUABLE CRAB BLOOD The pharmaceutical industry spends around $50 million every year on horseshoe crab blood, which costs about $15,000 for each quart. It's enormously valuable for its unique immunological properties. GRACKED — Source

23

Spiders

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM OFFER GIFTS Before breeding, the male nursery web spider will wrap up an insect in silk. This sweet gesture is to prevent the female from eating him. How romantic! — Source: Phys.org

22

Sea Slugs

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM DISCARD YOUR PENIS Both sea slug partners have both a penis and vagina, and all are used in mating. Sea slugs have spines on their penises that may help remove rival's sperm from their mate's vagina. 20 minutes after sex, they discard their penis to ensure it's not contaminated with rival sperm and grow a new one the next day. — Source: Nature

21

Roleplaying

NATURE'S DATING TIPS CRACKED.COM ROLEPLAYING Bee orchids grow flowers that look like a lady bee to deceive male bees into mating with them so bees will transfer their pollen. (We certainly don't recommend you try sexual deception at home.) — Source: Beaty Biodiversity Museum

20

Ancient Rodents

Phoberomvs pattersoni 80 MILLION YEARS AGO wou If you think a mouse infestation is bad, imagine this 4-foot-tall, 9-foot-long, ,500-pound rodent roami — Source: Scientific American

19

Snakes

WEIRD WORLD Someone in Maryland tried to fight snakes in their house... ... and burned it down. The homeowner destroyed their house in an attempt to control a snake infestation, officials said. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Fear Factor

CRACKED.COM In Hollywood, a GROSS STUNT TESTER taste-tests unusual food (and other) items before the talent chows down on TV. T. VA CO LIVE UCOUS TOCK- VA LIVE ROA ROACHES MUCOUS COCH CHES LIV COC MUCOU RAT ROAC RAT NADS GONADS GROSS RAT - - INTERN ONE GROSS - GONAD ROSSON ONE GROSS RTED RO ASSORTED INE ROVI BALLS The gross-out game show FEAR FACTOR has paid interns $100 to swallow wine made from worms they stomped into slush themselves, and maggot shakes full of live flies. — Source: 29 Weirdo Jobs Nobody Thought Existed

17

Worm Moon

The last full moon of the winter season is called the Worm Moon. This is because it's when beetle larvae begin to appear after emerging from their winter hideouts. The Farmer's Almanac has names for every full moon of the year. CRACKED.COM — Almanac

16

Sand Fleas

Let a bug live in her foot CRACKED.COM Scientist Marlene Thielecke let a sand flea live in her foot for days to study sexual reproduction of the bug. Don't worry, it was a virgin flea. — Source: Science.org

15

Sea Hares

CONGA LINE GRACKED.COM Sea hares (a type of sea slug) are hermaphrodites that mate in groups by creating a mating chain. The one in front acts as a female to the one behind it in a giant sea slug orgy. — Source: blog.padi

14

Turtles

Alligator Snapping Turtle CRACKED.COM The alligator snapping turtle engages in a tactic known as lingual luring. It wiggles its worm-like tongue as a lure, attracting gullible fish right between its jaws. — Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

13

Cockroaches

THE CIGARETTE-SMUGGLING ROACHES IN ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK WERE REAL TRAINED COCKROACHES. - Prop master Rachael Weinzimer said she CRACKED.COM couldn't just attach a cigarette to a cockroach and send it on its way, SO insect handlers had to teach the bugs to navigate a prototype maze they designed. — Source: 46 Next-Level Movie Facts To Know

12

The Yeti Crab

The Yeti Crab CRACKED.c .COM Besides looking strange, the yeti crab is crawling with bacteria. Scientists think it cultivates these bacteria, which live in its arm hair, to eat. — Smithsonian

11

The 1927 Pregnancy Test

Gross and weird things before modern technology PREGNANCY TEST Injecting urine into a mouse or rat to see if it went into heat: that was the 1927 pregnancy test. CRACKED — Pexels/Pixabay,
sibya/Pixabay
The Atlantic

10

Chickens

Chickens eat dead rats and mice. That's why it's important not to use rat poison around chicken coops -. if a chicken eats a poisoned rat, it can be poisoned itself. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source: University of California

9

Fitzcarraldo

CRACKED Death and snake venom on FITZCARRALDO In Werner Herzog's 1982 film, several indigenous extras were killed or injured. A logger was bit by a venomous snake, and had to cut off his own foot with a chainsaw to stop the poison from spreading. — Source

8

The Bobbit Worm

The Giant Water Bug CRACKED. .COM These winged nightmares fly and bite. They're 4 inches long and have one of the more painful bites of the insect kin — Source: Smithsonian

7

The Squid Worm

The Squid Worm CRACKED COM This bug is perfectly named. It's a worm with a head that looks like a squid. It uses those tentacles for breathing and grabbing stuff. — Source: National Geographic

6

Scaly-Foot Snails

A single animal species has a skeleton that's part metal. It's the scaly-foot snail, a critter found on hydrothermal events deep in the ocean, and its shell and scales (i.e. its skeleton) are partly made out of iron sulphides. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM — Source

5

Ants

A Malaysian soldier ant will flex its abs until it explodes. Specifically, they intentionally burst a poison-filled gland. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED COM

4

Assassin Bugs

The Assassin Bug A crafty insect that preys on spiders using such dastardly methods as plucking on a spider's web so it thinks a small insect is caught and then striking when the spider comes close enough. They're also known to physically dismantle webs to get to spiders on windy days, so the spider doesn't notice the vibrations. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

A Raging Cockroach Infestation

A HOUSE IN ILLINOIS WAS SO INFESTED BY GERMAN COCKROACHES THAT IT HAD TO BE BURNED DOWN. Firefighters set controlled a burn and started with ring of a

2

Blister Beetles

BLISTER BEETLE GRUBS POSE AS LADY BEES TO LURE MALE BEES TO INFEST. They clump together in a shape that resembles a bee, and then emit pheromones to a

1

Snake Venom

Don't try to suck out the venom froma snake biteo Despite what the movies tell you, trying to suck out snake venom is a bad idea. Once in the body, th

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