10 Animal Heart Facts For Valentine's Day
We know that our emotional connection isn't why the heart is important (to put it simply it pumps blood). However, I wanted to take this opportunity (as I stare at my newly acquired Valentines scattered with pink and red hearts) to share with you a few facts that demonstrate why the heart is amazing. Please feel free to send me other neat facts about the heart and I'll gladly post them!
Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day. (Believe me, this beats (ha!) me showing you some exposed wildlife hearts which I considered doing)
ADVISORY: The following facts make great date conversation.
The heart of a blue whale is as big as a car.Frogs and lizards have three chambers whereas birds and mammals have four.
The human heart beats roughly 35 million times a year.
Octopuses have three hearts.
Dogs have a larger heart to body mass ratio than all other mammals.
Scientists have re-created the heart of a rat and it even started beating!
Pythons grow bigger hearts at mealtimes.
A blue whale's heart beats six times a minute (next to a human's 70 times)A manatee's heart rate slows down by half during a long dive.
A giraffe depends on it's powerful heart that weighs up to 12kg so that it can fight the force of gravity up that long neck to the head.
isn't it octopi and not octopuses?
Posted by: Bill | February 15, 2008 at 02:07 PM
I've seen both used. :)
Posted by: Danielle | February 15, 2008 at 02:13 PM
So when I call my dogs "big hearted babies" I'm scientifically correct? :) COOL.
Posted by: La-G | February 15, 2008 at 02:23 PM
Its Octopi, this site fails
Posted by: Joe | February 15, 2008 at 02:41 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus
Posted by: Danielle | February 15, 2008 at 02:59 PM
To put to rest this argument I suggest everyone looks it up in the dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/octopuses
Posted by: Danielle Brigida | February 15, 2008 at 03:02 PM
I have some great facts can I get your email address.
Posted by: Kristie Richardson | February 15, 2008 at 03:18 PM
Any interesting info about cats?
And woodpeckers. I vaguely remember something special about their heartbeats.
Posted by: chikoos | February 15, 2008 at 03:20 PM
Secretariat's heart deserves mention: after his death it was found to weigh 22 pounds, 2.6 times more than the average thoroughbred heart.
Posted by: Audiart | February 15, 2008 at 03:20 PM
Email me at brigidad@nwf.org
Posted by: Danielle Brigida | February 15, 2008 at 03:37 PM
Yup: Octopi. And in La-G's case it's "it's" rather than "its"
Posted by: Carl | February 15, 2008 at 04:04 PM
Yup: Octopi. And in La-G's case it's "it's" rather than "its"
Posted by: Carl | February 15, 2008 at 04:04 PM
Oops, make that Joe's case, sorry. [And goodness knows why that was posted twice... I fail.]
Posted by: carl | February 15, 2008 at 04:22 PM
Carl: It's not Latin; it's Greek. Ergo it's not octopi. And, it was Joe who said "its" not La-G. Don't be a douche unless you're right about, well, anything.
Posted by: Josh | February 15, 2008 at 04:31 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus#Terminology
it is octopuses. america has been deceived. learning latin is so helpful in figuring out the intricacies of the english language.
Posted by: jon massie | February 15, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Oxford English Dictionary states that it is octopuses and that the latin way of forming the plural, octopi, is incorrect.
AND, just so this doesn't go too far off track, the ruby throated hummingbird's heart beats at a rate of over 1000 times/min while feeding.
Posted by: mg | February 15, 2008 at 05:57 PM
It is incorrect octopi but still used. Octopusses, Octopedes.
Posted by: buckalw | February 16, 2008 at 08:30 PM
yep...octopuses is definately correct. I looked it up myself...now, NO MORE ARGUEING!
Just a question...Don't worms have more than one heart?
Posted by: Chacho | May 17, 2008 at 12:32 PM