Hákarl hanging in a drying shed
FUGU. That’s the Japanese name for the poisonous puffer fish or blowfish—and you can die from eating one. The fugu is a pretty cool fish. Instead of scales, it has spines like a porcupine. When it’s scared, it puffs up and looks like a spiky balloon with fins. (It’s also the only fish that can close its eyes.) But the fugu’s main claim to fame lies in its guts. They contain tetrodotoxin, a poison 1,000 times deadlier than cyanide. In fact, the poison in one fugu could kill 30 people. So naturally, no one would touch this fish with a ten-foot pole, right?
Wrong! Many Japanese consider the fugu the best-tasting fish of all, and aren’t afraid to risk their lives to eat it. The Japanese eat 10,000 tons of fugu every year, even though a plate of it can cost $200! Fish restaurants in Japan have “fugu certified” chefs who know how to remove the poisonous parts. Still, even experts make mistakes: Every year, about 100 people die from eating fugu.
SURSTROMMING
What is with the Scandinavians? First the Icelanders, with their putrefied hákarl, and now the Swedes with their favorite disgusting fish dish—surstromming, or fermented herring. People have compared its taste to rotten garbage, but it’s a traditional treat in Sweden, where they gobble up cans of it by the thousands. It’s made by fermenting barrels full of Baltic herring (a small sardine-sized fish) and letting them sit for months. When the fish are good and stinky, the meat is packed in tin cans and the fermentation goes on. The tin cans often swell up like footballs from all of the gases inside. Airlines in Sweden have banned surstromming from their planes because they’re afraid a can will explode and shower the passengers with stinky rotten fish. Bon apetit!
NINE AMAZING FISH FACTS
These may sound fishy, but Uncle John swears they are absolutely true.
1. A lobster’s teeth are in its stomach.
2. A shrimp’s heart is in its head.
3. A horseshoe crab has 10 eyes. They’re placed all over its body—even on its tail.
4. You can guess a fish’s age by its scales. You can count the growth rings, just like you’d count the rings on a tree.
5. Fish can get seasick. Keep a fish in a pail of water on a rolling ship, and sooner or later that fish will barf.
6. Fish get dandruff. Like humans, it’s caused by flaking skin, and there’s nothing they can do about it.
7. Some fish can breathe air. Small fish like betas and gouramis have an organ called a labyrinth that lets them breathe fresh air. It allows them to survive in water with low oxygen levels.
8. Fish can talk to each other. Some rasp their teeth or make noises in their throats; other fish use their swim bladders like a horn.
9. Fish can change sex. Boy? Girl? Many fish start out as one sex and turn into the other one later on. Some deepwater fish are both sexes all the time. Then they never need to look for a mate to have babies.
ESCAPE ARTIST
The legendary Houdini claimed he was the greatest escape artist who ever lived. But he might have met his match with the octopus.
What has eight arms, two eyes, and a beak? You guessed it. The octopus. It doesn’t have a nose, ears, or fingers, but each arm is covered with a double row of white suction cups called suckers. It uses these suckers to explore its world. Each sucker moves by itself like the way we wiggle our toes or fingers. And a sucker not only grips objects, it tastes them. An octopus has a beak like a bird, and a tongue—called a radula—that’s covered with razor-sharp teeth. These teeth are able to cut through crab and snail shells like a buzzsaw. An octopus will often carry a crab back to its den for dinner. Then, after it’s finished eating, the octopus will deposit the shells just outside its den. Very tidy!
The octopus is the great shape-shifter of the sea. It can make itself big and wide like an umbrella, or long and thin like a piece of rope. It can squeeze through cracks under a rock or flatten itself against the walls of a cave. The octopus is also a master of disguise. Its skin can change color instantly, acting as a camouflage to protect it from sharks and other predators.
When it comes to brains, the octopus goes to the head of the class. It is the smartest of all invertebrates. It can find its way through a maze, or figure out how to unscrew the lid of a jar and remove the tasty fish that’s inside. The octopus is a very curious creature, and can actually die of boredom if kept in a tank with no world to explore and nothing to entertain it.
It can be pretty sneaky, too. Scientists at an aquarium were baffled by a mysterious disappearing act. Every day they’d place new fish in a tank, but when they returned in the morning, the fish would be gone. Finally they set up a video camera to see who was stealing the fish. They watched in amazement as an octopus in a tank across the room waited for the museum to close, then squeezed its way out of its tank, slid across the floor, slipped into the fish tank, and ate all the fish. Then it crawled back into its own tank and took a nap!
Caught in the act! This octopus is sneaking out of its tank through a tiny crack.
SCHOOLBOY SAILOR
Ever dream of going on an adventure? This teen did it.
Robin Lee Graham had just turned 16 when he asked his parents for a sailboat. When they asked why, he said, “So I can sail around the world.” He didn’t even have a driver’s license, yet in the summer of 1965 this high school student set sail from Los Angeles on an epic journey. On his tiny 24-foot-long boat, the Dove, he took a guitar, a radio, and two kittens for company. He made it to Hawaii…and decided to keep going. Most experienced sailors thought he’d never make it home. Sure, Robin had sailed a lot with his parents during his early teen years. He even knew how to navigate using the stars. But this was a giant trip and he was all alone. Still, Robin kept going.
He survived storms that swept him overboard and broke his mast. He was nearly mowed down by giant tanker ships. Once, he sat dead in the water for 22 days waiting for the wind to blow again. Yet somehow he was able to overcome every obstacle. In the Fiji Islands, he met and married a girl named Patti. But Robin was determined to finish his solo voyage alone. When he finally sailed into the bay of Los Angeles, hundreds of boats came out to greet him. “By the end of my voyage,” he said, “I had traveled over 33,000 miles. I was two inches taller and five years older. I was married and soon to be a father. I was a man—but I still couldn’t drive a car!”
MERMAIDS
There’s something fishy about this tale.
Their Japanese name is ningyo. In the Caribbean they’re called aycayia. West Africans call them mami wata. Folk tales of half-human/half-fish creatures go as far back as 1000 BC. And most of these mythical sea folk are female—the mermaids.
Mermaids often have long hair, and sing haunting songs that drive sailors mad with longing. Some are said to be able to grant wishes or foretell the future, while others kidnap people and take them to their underwater kingdom. Selkies from Scotland, Ireland, and Iceland are rumored to be women who take the shape of seals, then shed their sealskins when they come on land to marry and have children.
But do they really exist? Christopher Columbus thought so. On his journey to the New World, he wrote in his journal that he and his crew spotted mermaids in the Caribbean Sea. He said he was surprised the mermaids were so ugly. (Historians suspect that what Columbus saw were actually manatees, which might resemble humans from a distance because they cradle their young in their arms.)
SPEED SHARK
Ms. Jaws takes a holiday—and breaks every speed record known to sharks.
As great white sharks go, Nicole is not an exceptional specimen. She’s only 12 feet long and weighs 3,000 pounds (the biggest great white on record was 23 feet long and weighed 7,000 pounds). But Nicole (named after Australian actress Nicole Kidman) recently did something no other shark has ever done before—she swam farther than any known shark ever swam before, and she did it faster. Nicole swam from South Africa to Australia and back, a distance of 12,400 miles, and she covered the huge distance in only nine months.
DID YOU KNOW?
Even though it looks like a jellyfish, the blue bottle jellyfish, better known as the Portuguese Man of War, is actually a colony of 4 different tiny animals called zooids. Some of the zooids make the bell, others the stinging tentacles, another the stomach. All of them work together to make one nasty sea beastie! Swimmers around the world know to avoid the beach when an armada of blue bottles drift in.
The reason scientists know about Nicole’s feat was that she had been tagged with a tracking sensor a few weeks before she embarked on her record-breaking swim. Scientists used to think great whites hung around coastal waters eating the plentiful food that lived there, and didn’t venture out into the open ocean. But recent research seems to indicate otherwise. Scientists were hoping that Nicole’s sensor would provide them with some clues as to where the sharks went, and why.
Their best guess is that Nicole was husband-hunting, since she had lots of food in South Africa year round and had no reason to look for it elsewhere. But what surprised the scientists was how Nicole swam straight as an arrow across the ocean. Although she dove frequently, sometimes as deep as 3,000 feet, Nicole spent more than half her swim time right at the surface. Shark researcher Ramon Bonfil thinks Nicole was using the stars and moon to find her way to Australia, and back again.
So, did Nicole find a boyfriend on her trip to Australia? If she did, she’s not telling.
THE SLIMY “SEE”
Brian Reel and the folks at Aqua One Technologies were sitting on this idea for a long time. Now you can sit on it, too. It’s the Fish n’ Flush, the only toilet in the world with a built-in aquarium.
Brian adds that if you don’t like fish, you can make it into a terrarium and put other animals in there—like lizards, snakes, and scorpions.
Tales from the BARK side
Boo!
Don’t be scared—it’s only me, Porter the Wonder Dog. I’m wearing this disguise because Uncle John told me that ghosts can’t get me if they can’t recognize me (although I suspect his real reason was to trick me into wearing these dorky glasses).
Before you start reading, you might want to get your own disguise. Because I warn you: There are a lot of strange characters roaming through these pages—ghosts, vampires, zombies, aliens, a lizard guy, a real wolf-man…and a guy who wears inflatable underwear.
Here’s Part Three of Creature Feature:
Strange & Scary!
CABBAGE PATCH SON
And you think your family’s weird!
Pat and Joe Prosey from Leonardtown, Maryland, have spent 19 years raising a Cabbage Patch doll as their only son. Kevin, as they call him, is a one-foot-tall doll, “adopted” from the Coleco toy company. “With every kid that you adopt, you promise to love them and be a good parent, and take care of this child,” Pat Prosey explained. “And that’s what we did with Kevin.”
Their Cabbage Patch son has his own playroom, a complete wardrobe, his own pet dog, and a bright red (doll-sized) Corvette for zipping around the driveway. They’ve even set up a college fund for him.
The couple takes Kevin on all of their vacations. When they talk to the doll, he answers back—in a voice supplied by Joe.
The Proseys actually have a real daughter, too (her name is Vicky), but they’ve told reporters that Kevin is the ideal child. “He’s easygoing, quiet, and well-behaved.”
GAG ME WITH A SNEAKER
To find success, sometimes you must meet with de-feet.
It’s official! Noah Nielsen has America’s smelliest sneakers. Odor Eaters, maker of anti-foot odor products, declared Noah the winner in their 30th annual competition. Contestants came from as far away as Alaska, Texas, Washington, Arkansas, and Utah to compete, but the 10-year-old from Vermont was the winner.
Noah credits his success to “No socks, ever!” His sweaty, dirt-encrusted toes—which can be seen through the gaping holes in his Adidas—are the reason his shoes are so ripe. In fact, Noah’s feet were so foul that during the competition one judge gagged and another staggered backward, crying, “Human feet shouldn’t smell that bad!” But Noah just smiled because he won a $500 savings bond, a $100 check for new sneakers, and a large supply of Odor Eaters. P-U!
IF THE SHOE FITS
FEET FACTS
• Presidents George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Bill Clinton all wore size 13 shoes.
• Your feet can be up to 10 percent larger by the end of the day.
• What do you do when you need a little luck? According to Irish folklore, just nail a shoe to a tree. In 1996 a property owner in Bainbridge, Ohio, nailed a shoe to his tree for luck. Before he knew it shoes of all shapes and sizes were nailed next to his. Now the tree is known far and wide as…the Shoe Tree.
BUSTED!
Charles Taylor of Wichita, Kansas, was charged with holding up a store and stealing a pair of boots worth $70. At his trial, the man pleaded “not guilty,” and then took the witness stand wearing the stolen boots…with the tags still on them! (The jury found him guilty.)
MONSTER LINEUP
Thousands of people claim to have seen these creatures. Have you? Here’s the scoop on America’s least wanted.
MOTHMAN
Description: Stands seven feet tall. Has no head, yet has bright red eyes on top of its shoulders. Flies with featherless wings.
Behavior: Mothman screeches loudly and flies at speeds of up to 100 mph, sometimes straight up in the air like a rocket. Dogs disappear and UFOs are often sighted after an appearance.
Last Seen: Point Pleasant, West Virginia
BIGFOOT
Description: Seven to eight feet tall, weighs 300 pounds. Has reddish brown fur, long arms, and big humanlike feet.
Behavior: Bigfoot smells really bad, like a cross between a skunk and a wet dog. He is very shy so he runs away from humans, but he often leaves a strange calling card of stick structures woven into the forks of trees.
Last Seen: Lots of places, such as Northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Texas.
ZOMBIE
Profile: The “walking dead.” Has a blank face and staggering walk and speaks very slowly.
Behavior: Zombies are corpses raised from the grave by voodoo sorcerers, or bokors. They become mindless slaves seeking revenge for the bokor. Only a taste of salt will release the zombie so it can return to its grave.
Last Seen: Haiti
THE JERSEY DEVIL
Description: A cross between a snake, a horse, and a bird. And it flies.
Behavior: The Jersey Devil has terrorized the Pine Barrens of New Jersey for more than 260 years. It has been seen by more than 2,000 witnesses. A terrible disaster often follows this creature’s appearance.
Last Seen: New Jersey (obviously).
TOY STORIES
Here’s what happens when toy makers go…weird.
THUGGIES. These dolls come with something that no dolls ever had before—criminal records. That’s right, “Motorcycle Meanie,” “Dickie the Dealer,” and “Bonnie Ann Bribe” are all crooks who come packaged in their own jail cells. Introduced in 1993, Thuggies were designed to teach kids that crime doesn’t pay.
FORWARD COMMAND POST. Grandma’s doll-house never looked like this. Imagine a two-story house that’s been taken over by soldiers in a war zone, and you’ve got Ever Sparkle Toys’ strange creation. This bombed-out dollhouse comes with broken railings, walls filled with bullet holes, and soldiers armed with long-range sniper rifles. This 75-piece set includes high-tech cannons, weapons in footlockers, explosives, camo combat gear, and an American flag. (Ages 5 and up.)
WHAT’S IN NED’S HEAD?
Ned’s Head is a stuffed plush head filled with gross plastic things—fake vomit, moldy cheese, rats, spiders, worms, and more. Kids compete by fishing the yucky stuff out of Ed’s ears, nose, and mouth. The award-winning game’s creators call Ned’s Head “a wacky, silly, icky, sticky, and fun gross-out game.” It is.
SECRET AGENT DOLL
The National Security A
gency banned Furbys from their headquarters because these fuzzy toys have embedded computer chips that allow them to record and repeat what they “hear.” Officials were afraid they might remember phrases that are TOP SECRET.
FEAR FACTOR
Check out these famous fraidy cats.
QUEEN ELIZABETH I. England’s most famous queen had a fear of roses.
THOMAS EDISON. The inventor of the lightbulb was afraid of the dark.
ELVIS PRESLEY. As a young boy, the “king of rock ’n’ roll” carried his own fork and knife to school. Why? His mother thought germs on the cafeteria’s silverware would make him sick.
NIKOLA TESLA. One of the world’s greatest inventors was deathly afraid of round objects—especially pearl necklaces.
MOZART. When he was little, this famous composer was so scared of trumpets that he would get physically ill when he heard one blow.
RAY BRADBURY. He writes of traveling to distant planets, but this famous sci-fi author is actually afraid to fly.
YOU’RE MY INSPIRATION
Strange beginnings for strange characters.
OSCAR THE GROUCH
Muppets creator Jim Henson and Sesame Street director Jon Stone always had lunch at a New York restaurant called Oscar’s Tavern. Their waiter was the rudest, grouchiest man they’d ever met. But they thought he was funny…so funny that they used him as the model for Oscar, the world’s most famous grouch.
Uncle John's Creature Feature Bathroom Reader For Kids Only! Page 14