"The Soup Restaurnt"

Last Saturday, I met up with some friends for dinner at ‘The Soup Restaurant’ to celebrate a birthday in the group.

‘The soup restaurant’ is a home-grown, mid-level chain of restaurants known for its family recipes and traditional home-cooked style dishes.

We had the set menu for seven. These were the dishes.

Crab meat seafood soup.

Samsui ginger Chicken
Samsui Ginger Chicken is their signature dish featuring gently steamed, tender chicken served with a fragrant minced ginger sauce. It is typically eaten by wrapping the chicken and a spoonful of the savoury ginger sauce inside a crisp lettuce leaf, creating a refreshing contrast in texture and flavour.

Diced thick mushroom with beancurd skin and broccoli.

Pumpkin steamed rice with sakura prawns.

Honey truffle pork chop. This is nice

Sweet soya prawn.

Doubled-boiled peach gum with snow pear and red dates.

This is the 'Eight Treasure' tea

The steamed samsui chicken was very nice. The honey truffle pork chop was not too bad. The dessert was refreshing. The other dishes are nothing to write home about. Maybe the others will disagree with me.

We brought a birthday cake – a cheese cake.

The branch that we went to – in ‘Vivo city’, had just recently opened and they were offering a 35% discount on their menus. Needless to say, with it being newly opened and having special offers, they were very busy. Luckily, we had booked a table.

Customers were allowed one and half hours to finish their meal and leave. There was ample time to finish the meal in one and half hours, but we did not have the luxury of staying behind after the meal for a drink and a chat. Anyway, we were able to move on to another place for that.

A view from inside the restaurant.

The mall was very busy. There were queues everywhere. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Anyway, we all had a pleasant evening.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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Our Feathered Friends

“The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

A peek into the world of our feathered friends.

Some interesting fun facts about birds – courtesy of Facebook pages ‘Wild Wonders’, ‘Zootopia’, ‘David Attenborough’, ‘Plant Care Today’, ‘Build For Evolution' etc… However, I do not know if they are true. Some of them sound really incredible.

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A male palm cockatoo does not just sit in a tree and yell until a female gets impressed. That would be too easy. He makes an instrument first.

In the rainforests of northern Australia and New Guinea, male palm cockatoos have been seen breaking off sticks or seed pods, holding them in one foot, and beating them against hollow tree trunks. Not random tapping. Not a nervous habit. A real display.

Researchers documented this in wild palm cockatoos and found something rare. These birds were not just using tools. They were using tools to make sound.

That matters because most animal tool use is practical. Get food. Crack something open. Reach something hidden. Palm cockatoos are doing something different. They are making noise for display, which puts them in a very small club. And they do not all drum the exact same way.

Some males have their own rhythm. Some prefer certain tool shapes. One male might use a short stick. Another might use a seed pod. That makes the performance feel less like a preset bird behavior and more like a guy showing up with his own style.

The female is not just watching feathers. She is watching tool choice, timing, confidence, and whether this bird can turn a tree trunk into a stage.

Imagine standing in a rainforest and hearing a slow knock coming from somewhere above you. You look up expecting a branch hitting bark. Instead, there is a black cockatoo with a red cheek patch holding a stick like he booked the venue. – A Facebook post by ‘Build By Evolution’

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The pheasant-tailed jacana is one of the most remarkable wetland birds found across parts of Asia. Known for its extremely long toes and elegant appearance, this bird can walk across floating vegetation such as lily pads and lotus leaves with surprising ease.

Among dense reeds and wetland plants, the jacana builds a floating nest made from aquatic vegetation resting directly on the water’s surface. The flexible nest rises and falls naturally with changing water levels, helping protect the eggs from flooding.

Newly hatched chicks are also highly adapted to wetland life and can quickly hide among floating plants and marsh vegetation when danger approaches.

With delicate movements across the water and an ingenious nesting strategy, the pheasant-tailed jacana is perfectly adapted to life in floating marsh ecosystems. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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You think the mafia is strictly human. You're wrong.

Deep in the woodlands of Europe, a feathery Don Corleone runs a protection racket so ruthless that scientists named it after the mob.

THE CUCKOO MAFIA:
The great spotted cuckoo doesn't just sneak its eggs into magpie nests. It returns to check on them. If the magpie has rejected the cuckoo's egg and thrown it out, the cuckoo does something that shocked the scientific community. It comes back for revenge.

The cuckoo destroys the magpie's entire nest. It smashes the magpie's own eggs. It kills the magpie's chicks. It leaves nothing but carnage.

THE EXPERIMENT:
In a study published in Animal Behaviour, researchers removed cuckoo eggs from 29 magpie nests. They left cuckoo eggs untouched in 28 others.

The results were staggering. Cuckoos destroyed 16 of the 29 experimental nests — over 55% — within days. Only 3 of the 28 control nests were destroyed. One nest was found "completely destroyed." Eggs were "smashed." Magpie chicks were "injured".

THE EXTORTION:
This isn't random violence. It's calculated. By destroying the magpie's nest, the cuckoo forces the magpie to rebuild elsewhere. Then the cuckoo returns to parasitize the new nest.

The message is clear: raise our chick, or your whole family dies.

THE TRAGEDY:
Magpies that comply actually raise more of their own young than those that resist. In cowbirds, complying warblers raised three of their own chicks. Rejecters raised only one. The mob's offer is simple: accept our egg, and at least some of your babies survive.

A bird that runs a protection racket. A nest that becomes a hostage situation. A species that has been running this extortion scheme for millions of years. The cuckoo mafia is real. It's been hiding in our forests this whole time. – A Facebook post by ‘Wild Wonders’

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The Lyrebird is native to the forests of southeastern Australia, where it spends most of its time hidden on the forest floor.

It is considered one of the greatest mimics in the animal kingdom, capable of copying camera shutters, chainsaws, car alarms, and even other birds with incredible accuracy.

Some lyrebirds can remember and repeat sounds they heard years earlier, turning the forest into a bizarre natural soundboard. – A Facebook post by ‘Zootopia’

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There's a ritual happening in your garden that looks completely absurd until you understand what's really going on. A robin lands on your lawn, grabs an ant, and instead of swallowing it, starts rubbing the squirming insect all over its wings and tail feathers. Over and over. Methodical. Deliberate. Sometimes for ten minutes straight.

This is anting, and it's one of nature's most sophisticated self-care routines.

When a bird rubs a live ant across its plumage, the ant does exactly what ants do when threatened — it releases formic acid as a defense chemical. That's the same compound that makes ant bites sting. But the bird isn't being attacked. It's being medicated. The formic acid acts as a natural pesticide, killing feather mites, lice, and other parasites that burrow into the spaces between feathers. It's topical treatment, applied with precision to the places a beak can't easily reach.

More than two hundred bird species have been observed anting. Jays do it. Starlings do it. Even crows, which we think of as scavengers with iron stomachs, take time to run ants through their feathers before eating them. Some birds go passive — they'll actually lie down on an anthill and let the insects swarm over them, turning their bodies into a treatment zone. Others go active, picking up individual ants and applying them like tiny tubes of ointment.

What makes this even more remarkable is that birds aren't born knowing how to do it. They learn. Young birds watch older ones and pick up the behavior, which means this knowledge is being passed down, generation to generation, in your backyard right now. It's culture. It's medicine. And it's happening just outside your window.

The timing matters too. Birds tend to ant most during molting season, when old feathers are being replaced and the skin is more vulnerable. That's when parasites move in, trying to colonize the new growth. The formic acid disrupts that invasion before it starts. After the treatment, many birds will eat the ant — waste not. But the meal was never the point. The point was the pharmacy.

Once you know what you're looking at, you start seeing it everywhere. That odd little dance a blue jay does on the lawn. The way a grackle pauses mid-hunt and seems to rub something invisible into its wing. They're not confused. They're not playing. They're taking care of themselves with a technology older than anything we've ever bottled.

Your garden isn't just a place where birds stop to eat. It's a clinic. A spa. A место where ancient knowledge gets practiced in the open air, right next to the tomatoes. And the ants — those same ants we spend so much energy trying to relocate — are the ones making it all possible. They're walking medicine cabinets, and the birds know it.

Every time you see a bird behaving strangely with an insect, pause. You might be watching something that's been happening since before we had words for it. The garden has always been smarter than we give it credit for. – A Facebook post by ‘Plant Care Today’

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The World of Animals

“Animals are, like all living things, self-building, self-maintaining, and self-protecting embodiments of their genetic designs, and they are therefore in human eyes objects of their own operations.” - A.Van Ginkel

A peek into the world of animals. I think it is good that we learn something about the animals that share our wonder-ful world.

Here are some fun facts and trivia about animals, courtesy of Facebook pages ‘Stangest Facts’, 'Wild WOnders', 'Amazing Facts', etc… However, I do not know if they are true. Some of them sound really incredible.

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The Arctic wolf is one of nature's most resilient predators. It survives months of darkness, temperatures as low as -70°F, and hunts prey ten times its size. But its most astonishing feat is one you've probably never heard of.

In the 1930s, commercial hunters exterminated the Arctic wolf from eastern Greenland. For 40 years, the region was wolf‑free. Scientists assumed they were gone for good. Then, in 1978, military patrols in northern Greenland encountered a pair of wolves. By 1979, a wolf pair had appeared in the abandoned territory. A slow, silent invasion had begun. The wolves had traveled hundreds of miles across treacherous sea ice and glaciers to reclaim their ancestral home. By the 1990s, a new population was firmly established. A ghost that refused to stay dead.

Since 1930, Arctic wolf skulls have been getting smaller. Their braincases have widened, their facial regions have shortened, and their teeth have shrunk. Scientists believe this progressive reduction is the result of wolf‑dog hybridization – the Arctic wolf is literally breeding itself into a smaller, less specialized form. Evolution is happening in real time, and we're watching it.

For four months of the year, the Arctic wolf lives in 24‑hour darkness. There is no sun, no moon – only stars and the faint glow of the aurora borealis. During this time, temperatures can drop to -53°C (-63°F). Yet wolves remain active, hunting muskoxen and arctic hares in complete blackness, using only their hearing and sense of smell to track prey. They are the undisputed masters of the polar night.

Due to the scarcity of prey, Arctic wolf packs require territories of well over 1,000 square miles – much larger than their southern relatives. A single pack may roam hundreds of miles in a year, following migrating caribou herds and tracking the movements of muskoxen. Their home ranges are so vast that they rarely encounter other packs or humans. Arctic wolves typically hunt muskoxen, caribou, and arctic hares. But there are two documented records of wolf packs killing polar bear cubs. It's an incredibly risky strategy – adult polar bears are massive and formidable opponents – but desperate times call for desperate measures. The wolves target cubs that have wandered from their mothers, using their superior teamwork to overwhelm the young bears. – A Facebook post by ‘Wild Wonders’

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The opossum is a 65‑million‑year‑old biological miracle. It’s walked with dinosaurs, shrugged off snake venom, and helped control deadly diseases. Yet most people see it as a rat with a weird tail.

Scientists have known since the 1940s that opossums are immune to rattlesnake venom. But in 2015, researchers discovered the exact compound responsible: a peptide called Lethal Toxin Neutralizing Factor (LTNF). In lab experiments, mice given rattlesnake venom that had been incubated with this peptide showed no signs of sickness. The peptide also neutralized the venom of Russell’s vipers, and even the plant toxin ricin. This could lead to a universal antivenom, yet 80 years later, we still haven't brought it to humans.

Opossums are the only marsupial in North America, and they’ve been around for over 65 million years — meaning they coexisted with dinosaurs. Their gestation period is just 12 days, shorter than any other mammal. Newborns are the size of honeybees and must crawl into their mother’s pouch to finish developing.

A single opossum can eat up to 5,000 ticks per season. This directly helps control the spread of Lyme disease, making them nature’s own public health workers.

Opossums have 50 teeth — more than any other North American mammal. That’s a lot of dental power for an animal that mostly eats garbage and ticks.

Beyond snake venom, opossums are also immune to botulism, honeybee stings, and scorpion venom. Their low body temperature (around 94°F) makes them resistant to rabies, and they’ve been used in scientific research to study Zika virus and other diseases.

Opossums are marsupials, more closely related to kangaroos than to rats. Female opossums have two sets of reproductive organs, a fur‑lined pouch, and even a forked penis in males — a trait that once convinced colonial settlers that they bred through the female’s nostrils.

When “playing possum,” the opossum’s body involuntarily seizes up, its tongue lolls out, and it releases a foul‑smelling greenish fluid from its anal glands that mimics the smell of a rotting corpse. This macabre performance can fool even the hungriest predator.

Most opossums die young, often hit by cars while scavenging roadkill. In the wild, they seldom survive more than a year. Yet their short lives are packed with ecological benefits: cleaning up carcasses, eating thousands of ticks, and controlling venomous snakes. – A Facebook post by ‘Wild Wonders’

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Flat-headed cats are built for water, hunting like small otters with teeth instead of paws. Their flattened skull is a precise adaptation, not an accident.

The overlooked part is how specialized that design really is.

Their eyes face forward for depth, their ears sit low to reduce drag, and their teeth angle backward to grip fish that would otherwise slip free. When they strike, they do not bat or chase. They bite first, locking onto prey in a single, efficient motion.

Their paws are partially webbed, giving them control in slow, muddy streams where visibility is poor and every movement has to be exact. This is not a generalist predator. It is a cat engineered for water, operating where most of its kind would struggle.

For decades, that specialization became a liability. Wetlands disappeared, forests thinned, and by the early 1990s the species was widely feared extinct after vanishing from sightings.

Then in December 2025, a camera trap recorded a mother moving through shallow water with a cub behind her, both perfectly at ease in a habitat that had nearly erased them.

They did not return. They were simply never noticed. – A Facebook post by ‘Strangest Facts’

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Meerkats don’t just stand guard. They climb onto warthogs, turning a moving animal into a higher vantage point for spotting danger.

The key detail is what that extra height changes.

From a warthog’s back, a meerkat can see farther across open ground without sacrificing mobility. Instead of freezing upright on its hind legs, it stays elevated while the warthog keeps moving, extending both range and reaction time in one simple shift.

Warthogs tolerate it because the cost is negligible and the benefit is real. Meerkats are often the first to react, scanning constantly for predators like eagles or jackals. A sudden alert from above can trigger a faster escape, giving both animals a better chance to avoid an ambush.

There is no formal partnership, just overlapping instincts that happen to align. One animal gains height, the other gains awareness, and neither has to change much to make it work.

What looks like a small, almost playful behavior is actually a precise adjustment, where a few extra inches of vision can quietly tip the balance between calm and chaos. – A Facebook post by ‘Strangest Facts’

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In parts of South America, some people say jaguars look for the roots of the caapi plant and chew on them. The roots are believed to have strong effects that can make animals see or feel things in a strange way. Jaguars, being curious and bold, may try the plant out of interest.

When they gnaw on the roots, the big cats can act different. They might sway, move slowly, or seem confused, and observers describe this as the jaguars being “high.” These scenes can be surprising to watch, since jaguars are usually quiet and focused hunters.

Local people and visitors in the forests sometimes report seeing jaguars do this, and the stories are part of the region’s natural lore. Scientists study animal behavior to learn more, and it is not always clear how common the practice really is. Whether rare or regular, the idea of jaguars using caapi roots is a striking and memorable part of Amazon life. – A Facebook post by ‘Amazing World’

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Trivia

We live and learn. That is one way to make our lives more interesting and meaningful. And there is so much to learn about this amazing, wonder-ful world we live in.

What an amazing world we live in. Here are some interesting fun facts, trivias about this wonder-ful world – courtesy of Facebook pages ‘David Attenborough', 'Ovean Nova' etc… However, I do not know if they are true. Some of them sound really incredible.

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During the 1960s, Switzerland faced a serious rabies outbreak among wild foxes. The disease was spreading quickly, and the government needed a way to stop it before it became an even bigger problem for animals and humans.

At first, officials considered vaccinating foxes by hand. But catching wild foxes one by one across mountains and forests was far too difficult and expensive. They needed a smarter solution.

That’s when they came up with an unusual idea: placing rabies vaccines inside chicken heads and dropping them across the countryside for foxes to eat. Since foxes naturally hunted and scavenged for food, they eagerly ate the bait without realizing they were being vaccinated.

The strategy worked surprisingly well. Over time, more and more foxes became immune to rabies, the spread of the disease slowed down, and eventually rabies disappeared from the fox population in Switzerland.

What sounded like a strange experiment turned into one of the most successful wildlife vaccination campaigns ever. – A Facebook post

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For more than 2,000 years, people lived on the remote island of Hirta in Scotland’s isolated St Kilda archipelago.

In the 1800s, the islanders built a row of stone cottages with chimneys and slate roofs known as the “main street,” replacing older blackhouses damaged by severe storms.

Life on Hirta was harsh and deeply isolated. Families survived through crofting, raising livestock, growing crops, and collecting seabirds and eggs from towering cliffs surrounding the island.

The surrounding Atlantic waters were dangerous, making regular fishing and travel extremely difficult.

By the early 20th century, disease brought by visitors, economic hardship, and the impact of World War I slowly reduced the population. In 1930, the remaining residents requested evacuation after life on the island became unsustainable.

Today, Hirta stands empty of permanent human residents but remains protected as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its dramatic landscapes, rare Soay sheep, and enormous seabird colonies.

The stone cottages still overlook the sea — silent reminders of one of the most remote communities in British history. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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A town of 2,600 people in northwest Iceland got tired of drivers ignoring the speed limit on their narrow streets, so they did something no one in Iceland had ever done before — they painted a crosswalk that isn't really there.

The stripes are flat on the ground like any other zebra crossing, but thanks to carefully calculated shadows and shading, they appear to float several inches above the road. Drivers approaching it see what looks like a row of concrete blocks hovering in the street and instinctively hit the brakes.

The idea came from Ísafjörður's environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla, who stumbled across a similar design in New Delhi while searching for alternatives to speed bumps. He teamed up with a local road-painting company, spent several weeks perfecting the technique, and had all the necessary permits from police and transport authorities within a fortnight.

The town's speed limit was already 30 km/h. Residents felt that wasn't slow enough.

The crosswalk went on to inspire cities across the United States, Europe, India, and China to try the same trick. Kansas City built one modeled directly on Ísafjörður's design. Town officials were reportedly flooded with inquiries from urban planners around the world wanting to know how it was done.

All of it traces back to one small fishing town, a mountain backdrop, and a paint crew that understood geometry better than most drivers understand road signs. - A Facebook post

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More than 500 years ago, the Portuguese ship Bom Jesus vanished while sailing from Lisbon. For centuries, its fate remained one of history’s mysteries — until its remains were unexpectedly uncovered in the Namibia desert during diamond mining operations near the Atlantic coast.

The discovery became one of the most remarkable archaeological finds in recent history. Inside the wreck, researchers uncovered Portuguese and Spanish gold coins, thousands of copper ingots, and over 100 elephant tusks, helping experts identify the lost vessel. The treasure and artifacts found aboard were estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

The shipwreck, hidden beneath desert sands for centuries, offered a rare glimpse into the global trade routes and maritime history of the 16th century. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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What an incredible creature

Cut open an octopus... and what you find will rewrite everything you thought you knew about life. Three hearts — not one. Two pump blood exclusively to the gills. The third pushes it to the rest of the body. And that blood? It's blue.

Copper-based. Running through a system so ancient, it predates dinosaurs by hundreds of millions of years. Its brain wraps entirely around its esophagus — meaning every single bite of food passes through the center of its mind.

One wrong meal... and it damages its own intelligence. Hidden inside that mantle: a ink sac loaded with chemical weaponry, a funnel that jets water for instant escape, and a liver so complex it acts as both digestive organ and immune system simultaneously. This is not a simple sea creature. This is a living machine — engineered by evolution over 300 million years — into something so sophisticated, so alien, so perfect... that science is still struggling to fully understand it. – A Facebook post by ‘Ocean Nova’

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This Wonderful World

“People learn more on their own rather than being force fed.” - Socrates

“Knowledge is like a rare gem; the more facets it has, the greater its brilliance.” - Validivar

What an amazing world we live in. Our planet is far more complex, adaptive, and mysterious than we give it credit for. Here are some interesting phenomena discovered across the globe – courtesy of Facebook pages ‘Strangest Facts’, ‘David Attenborough’, etc… However, I do not know if they are true. Some of them sound really incredible.

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Near Franklin, the sky recently displayed a rare and striking optical phenomenon often called a “fire rainbow.”

Despite the dramatic name, it is neither fire nor a traditional rainbow. The effect is scientifically known as a Circumhorizontal arc — a band of vivid color that appears when sunlight passes through hexagonal ice crystals suspended in high-altitude cirrus clouds.

Under the right conditions, these crystals refract light in a way that spreads colors across the sky in bright, flame-like patterns.

Because this phenomenon requires very specific angles of sunlight and precise atmospheric conditions, it is rarely seen — making each appearance especially remarkable.

The result is a soft yet brilliant display of color that seems almost unreal, briefly transforming the sky into something extraordinary. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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Every year, something amazing happens high above our heads. Huge clouds of dust rise from the vast Sahara Desert and begin a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Carried by strong winds, about 182 million tons of this fine dust travel thousands of kilometers through the sky until they finally reach the lush Amazon rainforest.

At first, it might sound strange — why would dust matter to a rainforest? But this is no ordinary dust. It is rich in important nutrients, especially phosphorus, which plants need to grow. The soil in the Amazon, surprisingly, isn’t very rich on its own. Heavy rains often wash nutrients away. That’s where the Saharan dust plays a crucial role.

When this dust settles over the Amazon, it acts like a natural fertilizer. It replaces lost nutrients and helps trees and plants stay healthy and strong. Without this yearly delivery, the rainforest would struggle to support its incredible variety of life.

This natural process shows how connected our planet really is. A desert in Africa helps feed a rainforest in South America, all through the power of wind and nature. It’s like Earth has its own system for sharing resources — quietly working in the background to keep ecosystems alive and balanced. – A Facebook post

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If you’re planning a hike through Canyonlands National Park, don’t miss the striking formation known as Black Crack. Located in the Island in the Sky district, this remarkable geological feature is a deep, narrow fissure—dropping roughly 65 feet—formed over millions of years through erosion and tectonic activity.

The Black Crack is part of a broader network of fractures that run across the park, offering a powerful glimpse into the forces that shaped the Colorado Plateau over vast stretches of time. Its dramatic appearance and depth make it both fascinating and humbling to witness.

Visitors should be aware that the surrounding terrain can be steep, uneven, and exposed. Proper footwear, sufficient water, and caution are essential when exploring this area. With the right preparation, experiencing this natural wonder can be a truly unforgettable part of your Canyonlands adventure. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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For centuries, a unique community known as the Tanka people has lived almost entirely on the water along the southern coasts of China. Often referred to historically as “sea gypsies,” they have built a culture deeply connected to the ocean.

Their homes are traditional houseboats, many equipped with living spaces for everyday life, including cooking and sleeping areas. Important life events — from marriages to funerals — have long been held on these boats, reflecting a lifestyle centered on water.

The Tanka people have traditionally relied on fishing as their main livelihood, while some have also worked in salt production or pearl diving. Their daily routines, economy, and identity are closely tied to the sea.

Although it is commonly said that they have lived this way for over a thousand years, the idea that they have never set foot on land is more symbolic than literal.

Today, many Tanka people have transitioned to living on land, though their cultural heritage remains strongly rooted in maritime traditions. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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The Atlantic Ocean Road in Norway is one of the most visually striking drives in the world. Known for its dramatic ocean views and winding bridges, it offers a unique and unforgettable driving experience.

Stretching about 8 kilometers, this section of County Road 64 connects a chain of small islands between Molde and Kristiansund in the Møre og Romsdal region. The road crosses open sea via a series of low bridges, creating the illusion of a highway floating above the ocean.

While breathtaking, the route can become hazardous during severe weather. Strong winds and waves from the nearby Hustadvika can crash over the roadway, making driving challenging. Travelers are advised to check weather and road conditions before setting out.

In calmer conditions, the area offers peaceful views and even opportunities to spot marine life such as whales and seals, making it both a scenic and dynamic destination. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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Humorous Quips

Quips – a witty or funny observation or response, usually made on the spur of the moment, or it could be a clever, usually taunting remark.

Enjoy this selection of humorous quips. They are funny but at the same time, there is truth in some of these quips.

Life is too short to waste it worrying about things you have no control over. So, relax, laugh as heartily as you can, as often as you can. It is through humour, and laughter, that we soften some of life’s demand on us. And once we can find laughter, no matter how painful the situation might be, we can survive it.

May your days be filled with laughter.

Image created on Canva

I have been a believer in the magic of language since, at a very early age, I discovered that some words got me into trouble and others got me out. - Katherine Dunn

To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable. - Oscar Wilde

I always read the last page of a book first so that if I die before I finish I’ll know how it turned out. - Nora Ephron

You don’t need to know all the answers. No one is smart enough to ask you all the questions. - Unknown

Now, as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother. - Beverly Jones

During a test, people look up for inspiration, down in desperation, and left and right for information. - Unknown

In department stores, so much kitchen equipment is bought indiscriminately by people who just come in for men’s underwear. - Julia Child

For disappearing acts, it’s hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work. - Doug Larson

A woman is always ready to describe another woman as charming, but only if the other woman is not charming. - Evan Esar

Always acknowledge a fault. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you an opportunity to commit more. - Mark Twain

Image created on Canva

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Underwater World

Try to learn something about everything and everything about something. Nothing we learn in this world is ever wasted.

“To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge.” - Benjamin Disraeli

There is so much in the deep sea that we are unaware of. Here are some trivia, fun facts on the creatures of the sea, courtesy of Facebook pages ‘Wildest Facts’, ‘Strangest Facts’, ‘Brainy Monkey’, ‘David Attenborough’ etc… However, I do not know if they are true. Some of them sound really incredible.

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In the open ocean, birth happens without shelter — only the presence of others who stay. As a calf is born, a circle begins to form around the mother. But what stands out is how quickly and deliberately that formation takes shape.

In many cases, members of the pod move into position within moments. One stays close to the mother’s side, another supports beneath the calf, while others spread outward, creating a protective boundary.

A newborn Dolphin cannot swim with full control at first. Its movements are unsteady, and reaching the surface for its first breath is critical. The surrounding adults assist — gently guiding and nudging the calf upward to ensure it reaches air.

Meanwhile, the pod provides protection. By staying close and organized, they reduce the risk from predators and help stabilize the situation in open water.

The mother is not alone in this moment. Instead, the group shares the responsibility, turning a vulnerable beginning into a coordinated effort. In the vast ocean, survival often begins together. – A Facebook post by David Attenborough

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Scientists say orcas appear to be getting smarter… and scarier.

Orcas are proving that their social intelligence is a powerful tool for survival in an increasingly human-dominated ocean. Orcas are demonstrating that they are much more than just apex predators; they are strategic thinkers capable of rapid cultural evolution.

Recent observations have documented pods coordinating attacks on blue whales, outsmarting commercial fishing lines, and even teaching one another to disable vessels. This surge in complex behaviors isn’t a result of biological evolution, but rather an extraordinary capacity for social learning. By sharing specialized techniques within their pods, orcas are effectively building a collective knowledge base that allows them to master new challenges and pass those skills down through generations in real-time.

This cognitive agility is being pushed to the limit as human activities, such as overfishing and climate change, reshape the marine landscape.

Scientists suggest that the increasing frequency of these sophisticated behaviors — from scavenging to navigating melting Antarctic ice — is a direct response to environmental stressors.

While there is no evidence that these marine mammals are intentionally targeting humans, their ability to innovate and pass on survival strategies highlights a form of intelligence that mirrors human culture.

As we continue to alter their habitats, we are witnessing the emergence of a highly adaptable apex intelligence that is redefining the rules of the ocean. – A Facebook post

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If any other fish touches the Sea Anemone, it is instantly paralyzed and eaten alive. So how does Nemo survive?

He literally steals its identity!

We all know the Clownfish lives safely inside the venomous tentacles of the Sea Anemone to hide from sharks and larger predators. But they are NOT naturally immune to the venom!

If a brand-new Clownfish swims directly into an anemone, it will be stung and killed. The Biological Hack:
To survive, the Clownfish performs an incredibly delicate "dance." It swims up and very lightly taps its belly and fins against the edges of the anemone.

Slowly, the fish rubs the anemone's thick, sugary mucus all over its own body.

The Anemone has no eyes; it hunts entirely by chemical touch. By coating itself in the Anemone's exact chemical mucus, the fish acts like a biological spy!

When the fish swims into the deadly tentacles, the Anemone's chemical sensors get confused. It feels the fish, but smells its own mucus, tricking the Anemone into thinking the fish is just another one of its own tentacles!

Identity theft in the ocean! – A Facebook post by ‘Wildest Facts’

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The triggerfish has a dorsal fin that locks like a gun.

Look at the top of a triggerfish. You'll see three spines. The first is large and strong. It can be raised upright. The second spine — the "trigger" — locks the first in place.

To lower the fin, the fish must press the trigger spine. Like a gun. That's how it got its name.

At night, the triggerfish wedges itself into coral crevices. It raises the first spine. It locks it in place. No predator can pull it out. The fish sleeps safe, locked in its own fortress.

Divers say triggerfish are more dangerous than sharks.

"Bro, I dive with sharks like they're marshmallows. These... I stay away from."

That's a real comment from a diver. On a video with 4.4 million views.

The video shows a triggerfish attacking a diver. The diver wasn't bothering it. He was just swimming. The fish charged at his face. It bit his mask. Then it returned to grazing, leaving the diver stunned and disoriented.

Why? Triggerfish are territorial. During nesting season, they guard their nests aggressively.

A triggerfish's territory extends in a cone shape, upward from the nest to the surface. Swimming upward puts you deeper into its territory. The fish attacks harder. The correct response is to swim horizontally away. Not up. Not down. Sideways.

Triggerfish have powerful jaws and large, sharp teeth. They use them to crush sand dollars, sea urchins, and hard-shelled prey. That same bite can go through a wetsuit. Through skin. Through flesh.

"They eat coral. That means they can pick a chunk off your face like it's made of cake."

The triggerfish is not the biggest fish in the ocean. It grows up to three feet long, 13 pounds. But size doesn't matter when you have zero fear.

The fish with a gun on its back. The fish that attacks divers twice its size. The fish that divers fear more than sharks. And it's been here the whole time. Hiding in shallow water. Waiting for you to swim too close. – A Facebook post by ‘Wild Wonders’

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The mudskipper is a fish that decided water was overrated.

It lives in muddy swamps across Africa, Asia, and Australia. When the tide goes out, other fish hide in tidal pools and wait. The mudskipper crawls out and starts walking.

Using its muscular pectoral fins like tiny arms, it drags itself across the mud, climbs mangrove roots, and can even scale vertical surfaces. Some species can jump two feet in the air. Others can climb six feet up a tree trunk. This is not a fish. This is a tiny, scaly mountain goat with gills.

It breathes through its skin like an amphibian, holds air in its gills like a scuba tank, and males will fight to the death over mud territory.

Mudskippers can drown. Spend too long underwater and they die. They have to come up for air. They keep a bubble of air trapped in their gill chambers like a biological scuba tank. They also absorb oxygen directly through their skin and the lining of their mouth. Triple breathing. A fish with backup plans for its backup plans.

Males are fiercely territorial. They fight by gaping their mouths, raising their fins, and sometimes killing each other. They build elaborate burrows in the mud to attract females. Then they guard the eggs alone, pumping air into the burrow to keep the babies alive.

This is a fish that gave up on water. It walks. It climbs. It fights on land. It breathes like an amphibian. It is, in every way, a creature in the middle of becoming something else.

Evolution takes millions of years. The mudskipper is already there. – A Facebook post by ‘Wild Wonders’

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Hydrangeas

I captured these beautiful hydrangeas at the ‘Blue Beauties 2026’ display in the Flower Dome recently. From the display, I was able to glean the following information on Hydrangeas.

What most people call a hydrangea ‘flower’ is not a single flower but an inflorescence, or a compound cluster of dozens to hundreds of florets. The large, showy, papery structures are sterile florets, containing no pollen or nectar and serving to attract pollinators. The smaller, star-like fertile florets bear stamens and pistils, producing pollen and nectar and setting seed. The proportion of sterile to fertile florets determines the inflorescence’s overall form.

An interesting fun fact about Hydrangeas which you may not be aware of. Hydrangeas are by default pink or red. In acidic soils, aluminium becomes available to the plant and alters the flower’s anthocyanin pigments from pink to blue, making hydrangea one of the few ornamental plants whose colour responds to its environment.

In acidic soils, aluminium becomes water-soluble and is absorbed by the plant’s roots. It travels to the sepals where it binds with the pigment and alters its light absorption from the red end of the spectrum to the blue.

Without enough aluminium, even acidic soil will produce pink flowers. This is why commercially sold hydrangeas grown blue with added aluminium sulphate in nurseries might turn pink after planting, if the garden soil lacks enough aluminium to sustain the blue complex.

Hydrangea macrophylla cultivar, commonly known as a "Sumida Fireworks" hydrangea.

This is the Panicle Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), recognizable by its elongated, conical flower clusters.

Hydrangea macrophylla – these are the more common hydrangeas

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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