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CONTRIBUTORS
avid Wanczyk David Wanczyk noticed his first comma splice at the age of two, and he's been editing ever since. Following a controversial tenure as editor o f his highschool newspaper, David studied film editing w/ith the guy who cut Prince's "Purple Rain" video. A l l o f this made him well-suited to w r i t e (and re-write) this issue's feature on 10 Perfert Moments i n the History of Editing (page 65). an article that has the distinction of covering both Virgil and Bugs Bunny David teaches writing at Ohio University i n Athens, where he lives with his wife and fellow disceraer. Megan.
W h e n she's n o t w o r k i n g o n her first-person comparison o f health care i n the U n i t e d K i n g d o m vs. the U n i t e d States, Erica Rex can be f o u n d chasing hens a r o u n d her garden i n West M i d l a n d s county. England. Erica w r i t e s about science, h e a l t h , and climate f o r The New York Times, The Times (U.K.). a n d Scientific American. But i n her article on page 39, Erica concentrates on her bafflement w i t h the soggy island n a t i o n she n o w calls h o m e .
Brian ^y^cMahon
Karl Shaw
As an a d v e r t i s i n g c o p y w r i t e r i n Ohio, Brian M c M a h o n gets to spend his days maki n g s t u f f u p . However, w h i l e researching Death Valley for his s t o r y o n page 32, Brian discovered t h a i some t h i n g s are j u s t too strange t o i n v e n t — l i k e the Vegas casino that's keeping an endangered species o f fish alive i n the desert, a n d the shockingly dark behavior o f the road-
W h e n i t comes t o p u t t i n g together really fascinating lists about really bizarre topics, Karl Shaw reigns supreme. His books include 5 People Who Died During Sex (2007). Curing Hiccups With Small Fires: A Miscellany of Great British Eccentrics (2010). and the f o r t h c o m i n g 10 Ways to Recycle a Corpse (2011). Perhaps not coincidentally, Karl recently took an interest i n the r u l i n g habits o f notorious leaders, w h i c h he w r i t e s about on page 28. It's based on the research Karl d i d for the latest addition to his canon. The Little Book of Loony Diaators (2011).
WHERE KNOWLEDGE JUNKIES GET THEIR FIX
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MAY-JUNE 2011 mental floss.com
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10 LIVING THINCfS THRIVING IN DEATH VALLEY
by B r i a n M c M a h o n
There's a reason it's called Death Valley. This vast expanse of the Mojave Desert gets less than 2 inches of rain per year, the daytime temperatures can reach upwards of 120 degrees, and the landscape is so salt-laden and windswept that it's nearly impossible for anything to take root. But there's more life in Death Valley than you'd imagine. Here are io stubborn plants and animals that refuse to retire to greener pastures.
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The Plant That Outshmes the Sun
The Rat with a Drinking Problem Like many Deatli Valley residents, the kangaroo rat lives for the n i g h t l i f e . It spends most o f its day napping u n d e r g r o u n d , only venturing out after sunset. Of course, takâ&#x20AC;˘2g advantage o f the cool nighttime temps is a common trick a m o n g desert mammals. What's not common is how t h e kangaroo rat has adapted to deal w i t h the scarcity of water: I t never drinks the stuff! Special organs inside its nose a l l o w i t to absorb moisture directly from the air, and h i g h l y efficient kidneys keep its b o d y hydrated. I n fact, t h e kangaroo r a t is so w e l l adapted to the d r y climate that even after l i v i n g i n captivity for years, i t w i l l still refuse water.
It's no secret t h a t Death Valley is a t r i c k y place f o r plants t o take r o o t . The earth there is so salty t h a t i t w o u l d k i l l m o s t v e g e t a t i o n . But the Desert H o l l y has developed a clever technique for dealing w i t h the u n f r i e n d l y soil. The l o w - g r o w i n g shrub soaks u p the salt i n the g r o u n d along wnth any m o i s t u r e , and t h e n , d u r i n g b l o o m i n g season f r o m January to April, i t excretes the sodium deposits onto its leaves. As a result, the plant turns f r o m green to silverâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a color change t h a t helps i t reflect the scalding sunlight instead o f absorbing i t .
The Fish That Got Lucky in Las Vegas Despite its bone-dry landscape. Death Valley is h o m e t o thousands o f p u p f i s h . The colorf u l , sardine-hke fish live i n isolated waterholes only a f e w feet wide. But h o w d i d all those aquatic animals get lured i n t o the desert? The p u p f i s h are actually stragglers f r o m the ice age 10,000 years ago, back w h e n the valley w a s a large glacial lake. As the glaciers m e l t e d , schools o f p u p f i s h became t r a p p e d i n the waterholes and evolved i n t o several distinct species. Today, the w a t e r i n the small ponds can be as w a r m as a b a t h (around 90 degrees F), and the salt concentrations can exceed t w i c e t h a t o f seawater. The conditions
Pupfish are stragglers from the ice age, when the valley was a glacial lake.
aren't ideal, b u t the pupfish survive b y d r i n k i n g copious amounts o f w a t e r and efficiently excreting the salt t h r o u g h t h e i r digestive tracts. Life for the p u p f i s h has become even more difficult i n recent years. Beginning i n the 1960s, farmers near Death Valley started p u m p i n g the desert's g r o u n d w a t e r for i r r i g a t i o n , w h i c h depleted the waterholes and caused serious declines i n p u p f i s h p o p u l a t i o n s . One particular species, the Devils Hole p u p f i s h , came close to e x t i n c t i o n i n 2006 w h e n its numbers d i p p e d b e l o w 40. But t h e n an unhkely savior emerged: the Mandalay Bay Hotel a n d Casino i n Las Vegas. The casino relocated several p u p f i s h to its swank aquariums, successfully r e v i v i n g the species before its luck dried out.
MAY-JUNE 2011 mentalflossxom
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LIVING THINGS THRIVING IN DEATH VALLEY
The Bird You Don't Want Your Children to See
Seeds of Greatness
Death Valley is home to the most iconic o f desert b i r d s — t h e roadrunner. Thanks to its Looney Tunes fame, the b i r d has become quite a tourist attraction. At the Death Valley National Park Visitor Center, sightseers can view roadrunners f r o m large glass w i n d o w s , and park officials often shout "meep. meep!" as they approach. However, the roadrunners don't frequent the visitor's center for the a t t e n t i o n ; they're l o o k i n g for fresh meat. Unlike their cartoon counterpart, real-life roadrunners are skilled hunters t h a t use their lightning-quick speed to catch mice, insects, and snakes. They're also pretty sly Some o f these clever creatures have figured out t h a t i f they wait by the visitor's center, sooner or later, a tasty b i r d w i l l accidentally fly into the glass w i n d o w s . The roadrunners t h e n pounce on the stunned animal, r i p p i n g i t apart and eating i t i n f r o n t o f the h o r r i f i e d onlookers, T^smanian Devil-style.
Every so o f t e n . Death Valley reveals a rare and b e a u t i f u l display o f hfe—a sea o f c o l o r f u l wildflowers, blossoming by the m i l h o n s . The flowers seem t o emerge o u t o f n o w h e r e , b u t i n t r u t h , the seeds o f these blooms are always h i d d e n on the desert floor, j u s t w a i t i n g for the r i g h t a m o u n t o f sunl i g h t and r a i n f a l l before s p r o u t i n g . The seeds are protected by a t h i c k , w a x y coating t h a t guards t h e m against the extreme heat. But w h e n the desert gets e n o u g h r a i n to w a s h a w a y the coating { w h i c h isn't often), the seeds sprout and the flowers b l o o m , temporarily transforming the b a r r e n landscape.
The Tortoise You Can Scare to Death The desert tortoise has a simple s o l u t i o n f o r copi n g w i t h Death Valley's extreme heat: I t avoids i t . The s l o w - m o v i n g creature hibernates d u r i n g the w i n t e r and stays i n its b u r r o w for m u c h o f the summer, m e a n i n g t h a t i t spends more t h a n 90 percent o f its life i m m o b i l e . I n fact, the t o r t o i s e usually only surfaces after a good r a i n . T h e n , i t gets t o w o r k . The tortoise stocks up on w a t e r by e a t i n g plants a nd d i g g i n g trenches to collect r a i n . But t o stay h y d r a t e d t h r o u g h its extended h i b e r n a t i o n , the reptile relies on s o m e t h i n g else—its h i g h l y sophisticated bladder Unlike m o s t animals, the tortoise's bladder acts as a h o l d i n g tank, a l l o w i n g i t to reabsorb w a t e r back i n t o its b o d y Incredibly, a desert tortoise can go a f u l l year w i t h o u t t a k i n g i n any fr e s hwate r at a l l . A n d because its bladder is so i m p o r t a n t t o a tortoise's s u r v i v a l , park rangers often r e m i n d visitors n o t t o stop and help the slow-movers across the road. Tortoises become so t e r r i f i e d w h e n people pick t h e m up t h a t t h e y void t h e i r bladders, losing t h e i r precious w a t e r reserves.
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The tortoises become so terrified that they void their bladders, losing their precious water reserves.
The Flower That Haunts The Gravel Ghost w i l d f l o w e r lives its hfe w i t h the u t m o s t discretion. I t starts off as a patch o f grayish leaves t h a t blends i n w i t h the s u r r o u n d i n g landscape. Then i t sprouts a w i r y stalk about 3 f t . h i g h , w h i c h is also camouflaged against the barren scenery. But w h e n the bulb atop the stalk blooms, i t produces a v i b r a n t w h i t e flower t h a t insects flock to pollinate. Still, the stalk is so d i f f i c u l t to see t h a t i t creates the eerie appearance o f a floating flowerâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;hovering, ghost-like, above the desert floor
MAY-JUNE 2011 iTientaltloss.com
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LIVING THINGS THRIVING IN DEATH VALLEY
Winning, by a Hare The black-tailed j a c k r a b b i t m a y get teased for its oversize ears, b u t those t r a d e m a r k appendages help i t beat the heat i n Death Valley. The rabbit's 7-in.-long ears contain a w e a l t h o f b l o o d vessels t h a t dissipate heat and help the a n i m a l regulate its body t e m p e r a t u r e . But the jackrabbit's voracious appetite also plays i n t o its success against the harsh chmate. Like m a n y desert creatures, the jackrabbit gets its w a t e r f r o m the plants i t eats. The clever hare switches its grazing seasonally, w a i t i n g u n t i l the h o t summer m o n t h s to consume the more w a t e r - f i l l e d cacti and grasses, often eating several times its b o d y w e i g h t every day j u s t t o r e m a i n h y d r a t e d .
10 The Lizard That Was Bom to Run
8 The Bird with Legs You Never Wont to Eat The t u rk e y v u l t u r e p r i m a r i l y feasts on decomposing animals, b u t that's not the most disgusting t h i n g about i t . To stay cool, the v u l t u r e makes use o f a process k n o w n as urohydrosis, a fancy w a y o f saying t h a t i t pees on its legs to keep f r o m overheating. This serves t w o purposes: The evaporating urine cools the blood circulating t h r o u g h the vulture's legs, and also acts as a disinfectant, k i l h n g any germs the scavenger may have picked u p f r o m its last meal. You k n o w you're a d i r t y animal w h e n peeing o n your o w n legs actually makes y o u cleaner.
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Like a w a t e r bug racing across a p o n d , the fringe-toed lizard ghdes w i t h gravity-defyi n g grace over the loose sand o f the desert. Specially shaped scales o n its toes a l l o w the small reptile t o scamper across the dunes and o u t r u n most predators. But speed isn't the hzard's only superp o w e r ; the l i g h t n i n g fast reptile can also vanish i n an instant by d i v i n g headfirst beneath the surface o f the sand. Thanks to special scales t h a t fold over its eyes, ears, and nostrils, the fringe-toed hzard can keep sand out o f its delicate parts w h i l e steering clear o f predators underground. ^"^ â&#x20AC;˘ 6 Animals That Show Mother Nature's Humor â&#x20AC;˘ The Mojave Desert's Airplane Graveyard -I- MORE at mentaIfloss.coiii/more