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no_step t1_iy64ugn wrote

There is a story, possibly apocryphal, of the distinguished British biologist, J.B.S. Haldane, who found himself in the company of a group of theologians. On being asked what one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of his creation, Haldane is said to have answered, “An inordinate fondness for beetles.”

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albertcamusjr t1_iy7alap wrote

And crabs. Evolution keeps making crabs...

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manic47 t1_iy7rh81 wrote

>“An inordinate fondness for beetles.”

There's a great book all about beetles with exactly that as a title.

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Arctos11 t1_iy69yaa wrote

Came here to say the very same thing. Nicely done

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no_step t1_iy6b2rn wrote

I cut and paste with the best of them 😉

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herbw t1_iy6okm1 wrote

And not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we CAN imagine.

The brain isn't that big or good at info storing or processing .Too small.

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blumdiddlyumpkin t1_iy8t31e wrote

Not that good at it as compared to what? I’d say the brain is exceptional at info storing and processing. I’m honestly shocked sometimes by how much information is in my brain.

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SirGrimble t1_iycsppv wrote

Thank you for helping me understand a referential character in The Last Continent.

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pezident66 t1_iy64hfb wrote

I'm so dumb I thought animals and insects were two different things.

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SpamOJavelin t1_iy6t307 wrote

I've had a teacher tell me that whales aren't animals, because they're fish.

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Bierbart12 t1_iy668he wrote

Bacteria are apparently not considered animals

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herbw t1_iy6ove2 wrote

Bacteria live off and on us. We don't live on them.

Let's be clear about colon bacteria, they are longer living and hardier than we are. Long after humans are gone, the bacteria will still rule earth. As they have for billions of years.

We will carry them into space and they will survive us on our habitats and the planets, there, too. Billions of years old, they will outlast us as they have already.

The lowly chloroplasts and MC also will, too. We are just the ways their nutrients are recycled, and increased.

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pezident66 t1_iy6ago4 wrote

Barry the bacteria will be happy to hear that, he might be allowed back in the pub.

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-null t1_iy66lnm wrote

I still remember that from 7th grade biology.

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pezident66 t1_iy6a6co wrote

Same either school or Bloodhound gang getting me interested in Discovery Channel (just joking I'm way older than that , definitely school )

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BigBrashT t1_iy68lza wrote

It's okay because they're animals, but not really.

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rxneutrino t1_iy68zns wrote

>Approximately one quarter of all animal species known to science and a third of all described insects are beetles. 

1/4 of all animal species are beetles, and beetles are 1/3 of all insects. TIL 3/4 of all animal species are insects.

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molotovzav t1_iy6atf1 wrote

My reaction to this: this is fucked up (I hate insects, but I'm not going out of my way to interact with them either so I'm not a super big killer). 25% is alarmingly high, but it's an insect and probably has some crucial purpose in their respective ecosystems.

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L0gical_Parad0x t1_iy8zilz wrote

You'll probably hate this fact then. "Integrating data from all continents and major biomes, we conservatively estimate 20 × 1015 (20 quadrillion) ants on Earth, with a total biomass of 12 megatons of dry carbon. This exceeds the combined biomass of wild birds and mammals and equals 20% of human biomass"

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Scumwaffle t1_iy69txz wrote

At one point in time 25% of all vehicles were beetles too.

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GoblinCorp t1_iy68xvp wrote

I believe this factoid came from a Sue Hubbel book but there are 90lbs of insects for every 1l a of human flesh.

Hope they don't get organized.

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rimshot101 t1_iy85sdl wrote

I once heard some science guy say that every fourth animal in the world is a beetle. I thought he said every fourth animal in the world is a meal, which sounded more right than beetle.

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mogreen57 t1_iy6g45r wrote

But how many know about us?

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flippythemaster t1_iy6isdn wrote

I mean, think about how many times you’ve had to buy The White Album. So many different formats….

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206grey t1_iy78by0 wrote

Scarabs were revered for a reason.

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JamCCH t1_iy65nj4 wrote

Depends on how you define species tho

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A40 t1_iy68edn wrote

Nematodes laugh at beetles.

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simojako t1_iy97suc wrote

What would they laugh at?

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A40 t1_iy9assk wrote

Why, how very few species of beetles there are!

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AgentParkman t1_iy7th5u wrote

👋🏼 *Pyramid emoji ♥️

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