YouTuber Retic over at Prehistoric Pets TV has a huge collection of pythons and other ancient creatures. Here he shows how and why a clutch of python eggs can be lifted up in giant sticky clumps. Read the rest
I've never seen anything like this before and neither had Matt Dunbabin, the owner of the Bangor Vineyard Shed in Dunalley, Tasmania, who shot this now-viral video of a Tasmanian tiger snake slithering along the top of a wire fence.
Dunbabin said there are plenty of snakes in southern Tasmania, but he had never witnessed one climbing a fence, he told The Mercury.
“Certainly not along a strand of wire on the fence, it seemed really bizarre..."
“They’re a part of the landscape that is great to see, and it’s fascinating to see behaviour that you just don’t normally see, it’s quite amazing.”
This Tasmanian tiger snake certainly has an interesting way of getting around @bangorfarm! #WildOz pic.twitter.com/Y0OPQtuboM
— Wildlife Land Trust (@wlt_au) February 14, 2018
Black mambas are among the deadliest snakes in the world, but when they fight each other, it's more like an MMA match than a use of deadly force, called plaiting combat by scientists. National Geographic posted this remarkable drama that unfolded on a South African golf course. Read the rest
According to the guy who shot this with a Brazilian potato-cam, the boa constrictor attacked a porcupine, which managed to escape after leaving a few hundred spines in its attacker. Read the rest
Pippin Barr's Snakisms is a version of the classic game Snake, but with a selection of philosophical viewpoints to choose from at the outset.
SNAKISMS was begun on the strength of the idea of "Ascetic Snake", a game of Snake in which the snake isn't meant to eat the apple (or whatever that thing is in Snake). That basic reversal of the standard form of the game struck me as funny because those sorts of things always strike me as funny, but on turning to actually make the game it seemed pretty clear it was too much of a throw-away idea all on its own.
And so it came to pass that I decided I needed to make a whole set of Snake games based (loosely) on different philosophies, eventually settling on the idea of "isms" because SNAKISMS is really a pretty great title for a game, I think you'll agree. The design process took a surprisingly long time in terms of coming up with a set of "reasonable" interpretations of philosophies/isms that could be translated in some way to the mechanics of the original Snake game.
The creator's Comp Sci PhD thesis concerns the moral dimensions of gameplay. Read the rest
As warned last week, Nokia has relaunched its classic 3310 model candybar phone. The good news: it's a pretty little burner that honors and updates the original's design. The bad news: that's the only connection, and it's otherwise a modern dumbphone with no clear picture yet on how well-designed the interface and hardware is. It's not even made by Nokia, but under license. [via Daneel]
The new device is very cute and looks like a sleeker, updated version of the original. HMD Global retained the keypad buttons and the general shape of the old device. On the back, we see a camera. The new phone also has a color display.
As for details about the phone’s specifications and what HMD has done to update a very rudimentary device for the modern world, we didn’t get much. The company spent less than five minutes on the new device, and only rattled off some battery life details: The new 3310 is going to have 22 hours of talk-time (LOL), and one month of standby battery life. But hey, it has Snake and the classic Nokia ringtone. Take my money!
One worriome portent: you can apparently go diagonally in the new version of Snake.
UPDATE: Reader Brian_McNett writes in to point out that the licencee, despite having the banktastic name HMD Global, is stocked to the gills with former Nokia executives and based in Finland. A good sign! Read the rest
After going down a rabbit hole of watching snakes drinking water, I can say this is the best one: a two-headed albino snake, with one head fighting with the other on getting some water. NEED SNEK DRINX PLS BRO. Read the rest
Imagine you are playing the classic arcade game Snake against your friend, except the "snakes" are Solid Snake and Liquid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Well, your imagination is real.
Nathaniel Buck Harrison of Oracle, Arizona sought vengeance against a foe by hitting him on the head with a board and then attempting to sic a rattlesnake on him. Apparently, the snake declined to participate. Read the rest
Here's an amazing YouTube video of a snake about to feast on a baby bunny when along comes mama rabbit to the rescue. She separates the snake from her baby, but doesn't stop there. She then proceeds to repeatedly stalk and attack the snake with a frenzy of kicks. Awesome rabbit!
San Diego County's Department of Animal Services announced a 5.5 foot Colombian rainbow boa emerged from an office building's toilet. Read the rest
A farmer found a two-headed baby snake in north-eastern Turkey. The snake, now at a reptile house, must be fed "small portions" due to its unique anatomy. From BBC News:
Read the restCuneyt Alpguven, who works at Antalya Aquarium's reptile house, says two-headed snakes are very rare and have little chance of surviving in the wild. "Being two-headed is a major disadvantage, because its anatomical structure makes it more vulnerable to attacks while it also draws the attention of predators."
