Learn all about spiders in little tidbits each day from Varmints! Podcast cohost Donna Hume. 

Today Spider Q&A!

Myth: Spiders only "suck juices" of prey [https://www.burkemuseum.org/collections-and-research/biology/arachnology-and-entomology/spider-myths/myth-spiders-only-suck#:~:text=As%20a%20first%20step%20in,%22meat%22%20from%20the%20prey.]

Learn all about spiders in little tidbits each day from Varmints! Podcast cohost Donna Hume. 

"File:Argyroneta aquatica Paar.jpg" [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7273120] by Norbert Schuller Baupi [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Baupi&action=edit&redlink=1] is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich]

Learn all about spiders in little tidbits each day from Varmints! Podcast cohost Donna Hume.  Today: The Black Widow Spider

Hey everyone! It's your buddy Paul.

You may have noticed that there has been no episodes lately and if you don't follow us on Twitter or Facebook you might not know why so here I am to tell you.

Back on September 3rd I found out that my someone at my day job tested positive for COVID-19. The next day I also tested positive for COVID-19. I had a breakthrough infection which means that I was fully vaccinated at the end of April and got sick anyway. Which is fine. I knew that was a possibility. There are nine employees at my job and seven of us tested positive and one employee's wife tested positive as well and we are all dealing with varying degrees of symptoms. I am happy to tell you that as of this morning, September 16th, I am about 85% healthy, I tested negative for COVID-19 and even though I had some pretty rough days and nights I think the vaccine did its job and kept my symptoms mild enough that I could stay here at home in almost total isolation for 10 days. I think in ten days I left my room for six hours maybe? For walks outside and going to the pharmacy to get tested. Lots of cotton swabs in my nose there for a while. Anyway I have no doubt that if I hadn't been vaccinated that this would have been much, much worse. So if you haven't been vaccinated already please go do that. I told people that I'm glad that instead of Original Recipe Covid that I had Diet Covid instead. It's no fun. It's not like any cold or flu you've ever had. Losing your senses of taste and smell is one of the most bizarre things I've ever experienced. 0/5 stars on Travel Advisor. Do not recommend.

I decided shortly after I tested positive that I would take the month of September off as far as podcasting and even though I'm feeling much better I still have a lot of fatigue and I can't talk that much which is pretty important if the content you create involves talking into a microphone for an hour or more at a time. My voice gives out. My hope is that we can publish the second part of our episode about pigeons and doves sometime in October. I don't know when because we haven't recorded it yet. And we have other episodes planned after that but I just need to get a little more healthy.

We are going to do our second annual Fat Bear Week tournament in the Varmints Discussion Group on Facebook. The Katmai National Park does a Fat Bear Week tournament and in the group we play along and we give the winners of the tournament prizes and it's a lot of fun. You'll hear trailers for that in the next couple of weeks but if you're on Facebook look us up. It's the Varmints Discussion Group. We ask you a couple of questions about the show. And it's just a nice, positive group where we share funny animal memes and news stories and I hope you check it out. The Fat Bear Week Tournament starts on September 29th and we'll remind you about it next week.

It's also time for the Discover Pods awards! We won the award for Best Kids and Family podcast a couple of years ago and it would be cool to do that again. You can go to awards.discoverpods.com and nominate us for Best Kids and Family. It's super easy and that would be amazing.

If you are a Patreon supporter first of all thanks for your support. We're not going to bill you on October 1st. You're getting a free month which means that if you join our Patreon now you'll get all of the bonus content and you won't be billed until November 1st. If you've been kicking the idea around of helping the show through Patreon it's a great time to do that.

I'll put the links to everything I've talked about here in the show notes. And that's it. I'm really looking forward to giving you a proper show in the next month or so but I'm not 100% and I'm probably going to go lay down after I publish this so thanks for listening. Thanks for all of your support. Thanks for your patience. Just thanks. Until we talk again, be nice to animals. Take care.

Links:

Flap on over and join Paul and Donna for a coo episode about those head-bobbin', saucy-walkin', statue-poopin' pigeons and doves! Did Thousands of Pigeons Poop on Spectators at 1936 Olympic Games? [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pigeons-poop-on-1936-olympics/]

Quiz for Paul: Pigeon or Dove? [https://abcbirds.org/blog21/pigeons-doves-of-united-states/]

https://birdfeederexpert.com/pigeon-diet-list/

https://www.amesgroup.uk.com/blog/what-do-pigeons-eat/

https://pigeonpedia.com/why-do-pigeons-poop-so-much/ [https://pigeonpedia.com/why-do-pigeons-poop-so-much/]

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching

Mighty Bird Brains [https://www.studyfinds.org/bird-brains-pigeons-multitasking-humans/#:~:text=It%20turns%20out%20that%20bird,sometimes%20more%20quickly%20%E2%80%94%20than%20people]

How Two Pigeons Helped Scientists Confirm the Big Bang Theory [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-scientists-confirmed-big-bang-theory-owe-it-all-to-a-pigeon-trap-180949741/]

 

Featured image is:

"Pigeon" [https://www.flickr.com/photos/30845197@N00/19988996970] by RG in TLV [https://www.flickr.com/photos/30845197@N00] is licensed under CC BY 2.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich]

Technical support by Matthew Csomo, bed music by Kevin MacLeod, our logo was created by Imran Javed. Our vocal talent was by Kari McGinnis, Jennifer Csomo, and Stacey and Frosty.

Wanna hear one person talk about a krillion of something? Paul goes solo this week to talk about the planet's biggest, coolest swarm: krill! Our sources: https://www.theonion.com/red-lobster-celebrates-return-of-annual-all-you-can-eat-1819576667 https://www.superbakrill.com/blog/5-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-krill

https://happyfeet.fandom.com/wiki/Will

https://www.edexlive.com/news/2021/jan/29/aussie-scientists-embark-on-voyage-with-new-technology-to-count-antarctic-krill-17748.html

https://www.ccamlr.org/en/fisheries/krill-%E2%80%93-biology-ecology-and-fishing

With technical support by Matthew Csomo, bed music by Kevin MacLeod, our logo was created by Imran Javed. Our vocal talent by Kari McGinnis, Chris "The Toph" Green, Stacey and Frosty, Justine and Santiago.

Featured Image:

"Antarktický krill" [https://www.flickr.com/photos/norkrill/7302489100/] by Norkrill [https://www.flickr.com/photos/norkrill/] is licensed under (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/]

Join Paul and Donna this week to learn about the many and varied species of audacious, adventurous, and adorable armadillo!

San Antonio man's backyard invaded by pack of adorable armadillos [https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/communities/article/San-Antonio-backyard-invaded-pack-armadillos-holes-16239565.php]

Nine-Banded Armadillo — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department [https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/resources/texas-junior-naturalists/watching-wildlife/nine-banded-armadillo]

LiveScience - Armadillo Facts [https://www.livescience.com/52390-armadillos.html]

Armadillomon | Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki | Fandom [https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Armadillomon]

Armadillo (comics) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo_(comics)]

Armadillos Carrying Leprosy Bacteria Spreading in Southern US [https://www.livescience.com/52792-armadillos-leprosy-bacteria-spreading-southern-us.html]

21 Pink Fairy Armadillo Facts [https://factanimal.com/pink-fairy-armadillo/]

Featured Image:

"Nine-banded Armadillo" [https://www.flickr.com/photos/82242140@N05/19756007410] by LandBetweentheLakesKYTN [https://www.flickr.com/photos/82242140@N05] is marked with CC PDM 1.0 [https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich]

Any other images on the page are featured on the linked websites. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. "Fair use" is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

All right everybody, let's not butt heads; it's time to stand in a circle and learn about musk ox! 

Ice Age Musk Ox? Nevada Man Finds Bones in Backyard | Nevada News | US News [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/nevada/articles/2020-08-30/ice-age-musk-ox-nevada-man-finds-bones-in-backyard]

https://www.nps.gov/gaar/learn/naMusk Ox: Circle Defense by the National Park Service [https://www.nps.gov/gaar/learn/nature/muskox-circle-defense.htm]ture/muskox-circle-defense.htm

Inside the Mind of a Musk Ox [https://youtu.be/FXCPsghfp1k]

How Musk Oxen Make It Through Arctic Nights and Never-Ending Days [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/science/musk-ox-circadian-rhythm.html]

Featured Image:

Image from Public domain images website, http://www.public-domain-image.com/full-image/fauna-animals-public-domain-images-pictures/musk-ox-pictures/adult-musk-ox-bulls-animals.jpg.html

Any other images on the page are featured on the linked websites. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. "Fair use" is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Take a dip into the sea with Donna and special guest Megan "Danger" Hesse to talk about the weird and wonderful sponge!

Sea Sponges: Nature's Disinfectants [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/22/science/sea-sponges-bacteria.html]

Unusual Sea Sponge Movement in the Arctic Ocean is Remarkable But Comes at a Horrific Price [https://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/45883/20210430/unusual-sea-sponge-movement-arctic-ocean-remarkable-comes-horrific-price.htm]

"Sleezy" sponge sexuality [https://www.deepseanews.com/2009/05/sleezy-sponge-sexuality/#:~:text=*Like%20a%20crash%20of%20rhinos,are%20not%20yet%20common%20knowledge.]

Spongebob Squarepants Theme Song [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykKd8jsCREQ]

Sea Sponges Facts [https://www.thoughtco.com/sponges-profile-2291833#:~:text=Two%20organisms%20that%20eat%20sponges%20though%20are%20hawksbill%20sea%20turtles%20and%20nudibranchs.]

 

Featured Image:

Sponges in Caribbean Sea, Cayman Islands [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sponges_in_Caribbean_Sea,_Cayman_Islands.jpg] ,Twilight Zone Expedition Team 2007, NOAA-OE, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Any other images on the page are featured on the linked websites. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. "Fair use" is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Paul's segment on the Livestream for the Cure telethon for cancer research recorded on May 21, 2012. Edited for time and content.  Please be advised that this episode has mild and bleeped swearing and a little bit of adult subject matter and may not be suitable for very young children.