Oddball Stuff You Should Know

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Dubbed by anatomists as an "unconventional bone," the hyoid is unique in that it's the only free-floating bone in the body. The horseshoe-shaped structure isn't connected to any other bones; instead, it connects to ligaments and muscles. In fact, its attachment to surrounding muscles is part of its key function - it holds in place the tongue (above it) and the larynx (below it), and gives force to the muscles responsible for opening the jaw.

True crime aficionados will recognize the hyoid bone for the role it plays in certain cases. A fractured hyoid is often indicative of manual strangulation; it's possible, but rarer, in a suicide. People often point to the bone (and its condition) as evidence for a certain cause of death.

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The Axolotl Is A Forever Baby

Legend says the axolotl first came to earth when Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lightning, turned into a salamander to avoid a deadly end. He could not escape his fate, and neither can his namesake, the axolotl.

Axolotls are highly prized pets, so no one is sacrificing them, but they are stuck in their larval, juvenile stage, and don't morph into adults as other salamanders do. Scientifically, this condition is called neoteny, and it's the reason axolotls look so adorable.
Other than being forever young, axolotls have amazing regenerative abilities.

Theoretically, axolotls can undergo metamorphosis with large amounts of iodine that activate their thyroid hormones. But because large amounts of iodine can be toxic, this process also ends the axolotl's life.

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[Catsumi]

Sell oil. You too can be a billionaire!

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