Did You Know?

Elephants can distinguish human languages associated with danger.

Elephants have a remarkable ability to use sight and scent to distinguish between African ethnic groups that have a history of attacking them and groups that do not. They move away from those considered a threat, a skill they have honed to survive in the wild, researchers.
Study reveals that they can even discern these differences from words spoken in the local tongues.

TODAY IN HISTORY: OCTOBER 9

October 9 1888        
The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills, was opened to the public on this day.

October 9 1940: St. Paul’s Cathedral bombed
During the Battle of Britain, the German Luftwaffe launched a heavy nighttime air raid on London. The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral was pierced by a Nazi bomb, leaving the high altar in ruin. It was one of the few occasions that the 17th-century cathedral suffered significant damage during Germany’s nearly ceaseless bombing raids on London in the fall of 1940.

Did You Know?

African elephants have pregnancy that runs for 21-22 months.

An elephant's pregnancy lasts for 21 - 22 months which is the longest in the animal kingdom.
The unborn elephant develops in the womb for almost two years, giving it the brain power it needs to survive from birth.
Elephants are known to have the longest-known gestational period lasting up to 680 days.
They are born with an advanced level of brain development, which they use to recognise the complex social structure of the herd and to feed themselves with their dextrous trunks.

TODAY IN HISTORY: OCTOBER 8

October 8 1871: The Great Fire attacked Chicago
On this night in 1871, fire broke out in a barn behind the Chicago cottage of Patrick O’Leary. Winds blowing off the prairie fed the flames, and the fire spread rapidly, eventually consuming a four-mile-long and two-third-mile-wide swath of Chicago. When the Great Fire was finally over two days later, nearly 300 people were dead, one hundred thousand were homeless, and Chicago’s booming downtown was in ashes. Despite the devastation, Chicago would rise again and continue to be the economic center of the American West for decades to come.

Did You Know?

Elephants are scared of bees

Scientists have discovered that the largest beasts on land are truly afraid of bees. The Elephants flee when they hear the buzz of a bee swarm.
The findings are surprising because elephant skin was thought to be so thick that bee stings do not make any effect on them.

TODAY IN HISTORY: OCTOBER 7

October 7 1949: East Germany created
Less than five months after Great Britain, the United States, and France established the Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany, the Democratic Republic of Germany was proclaimed within the Soviet occupation zone. Criticized by the West as an un-autonomous Soviet creation, Wilhelm Pieck was named East Germany’s first president, with Otto Grotewohl as prime minister.
Approximately half the size of West Germany, East Germany consisted of the German states of Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Lusatia, Saxony, and Thuringia. Berlin, the former German capital, remained divided between West and East German authorities, even though it was situated deep within the communist Democratic Republic of Germany. East Germany ceased to exist in 1990, when its land and people were absorbed into the democratic Federal Republic of Germany.

Did You Know?

African elephants have the best sense of smell in the animal kingdom.

Researchers have confirmed that the African Elephants's sense of smell is legendary.
It is scientifically proven that the African elephant has the most powerful sense of smell in the entire animal kingdom.
Researchers examined the olfactory receptor (OR) repertoire encoded in 13 mammalian species and found that African elephants have the largest number of OR genes ever characterized; more than twice that found in dogs and five times more than in humans.