Hello folks who wonder if a Peloton exercise bike is the human equivalent of a hamster wheel,
Here's a thought we don't ponder enough: We all reach a point where we start complaining about slow Wi-Fi, melting ice cream, delayed Amazon packages, or boba shops running out of add-ons. In those moments, there's always a wisecracker reminding us to be more grateful - that we've got it easy compared to our cave-dwelling ancestors.
But really, you think they had it hard?
There are things we do constantly that would have scared them senseless: Riding the carousel, watching mukbang videos, doing escape room challenges, playing Candy Crush Saga while waiting for the traffic light to turn green, going on virtual reality thrill rides, eating kale as food - just to name a few.
One thing that connects me to my ancestors is our shared habit of vandalizing cave walls. They used charcoal and a variety of mineral pigments, while I use spray paint. Big whoop.
Recently, my services were requested to take a group of naturalists to locate a spider that is one of the rarest spider in North America. I have covered my experience stumbling upon this spider in my previous blog post titled "Hello darkness, my old friend".
Unlike last time, this cave had something extra special. But before we get to that, this is how the cave looked like which housed the treasure.
As you can see, there is a lot of crouching and crawling to get close to the spider, so wearing your Sunday best might not be such a bright idea.
Ok, let's cut the suspense, yes, we found the spider who is overblown in my opinion. In reality, it just sits waiting for you to request a selfie with it. You can tell fame has gotten to its head.
But that was not the best part of entering the cave. In the fall season, arachnids such as harvestmen (which some of you will call Daddy Longlegs and see me roll my eyes 🙄) will cluster together which is the harvest season for crops like potatoes, pumpkins and apples. Hence, they get their name, Harvestmen. Here is one I held in my hand, since they do not have fangs or venom to cause you any harm.
And since they do not have any way to defend themselves other than run away when confronted with a predator, they collectively indulge in a peculiar behavior that is unique in the animal kingdom. Here is how they behave before they freak out and detect someone is out to get them.
Once they detect a predator, they will start to vibrate their body rapidly in a behavior called bobbing. It looks like they are listening to their favorite music. Has to be a Taylor Swift single, am I right? #swiftiesunite
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