Chinese Cricket Cages

Crickets have long been fascinating pets in China and Japan. They are hunted, brought home, and put in tiny, ornate cages. Some were also made to fight. Some of these crickets are fairly large and can get quite loud.

Cages from the early 20th century can be from straw, wood, gourd, brass, ivory--you name it. You can get an idea of how precious and diverse they are on sites like THIS. 

Here's a modern market in Shanghai:

The Shape of Snails

“the conceptual world of pre-eighteenth-century zoology must
have accorded little importance to the orientation of a
shell”. We will refer to this as the ‘Gould hypothesis’.

-from: From a ‘domestic commodity’ to a ‘secret of trade’: snails and shells of land molluscs in early
(mainly 16th and 17th century) visual arts 

"chirality" is the direction in which the snail shell is oriented

Shameless Wikipedia Text Sharing

Wikipedia on the Least Weasel:

The Ancient Macedonians believed that to see a least weasel was a good omen. In some districts of Macedon, women who suffered from headaches after having washed their heads in water drawn overnight would assume that a weasel had previously used the water as a mirror, but they would refrain from mentioning the animal's name for fear that it would destroy their clothes. Similarly, a popular superstition in southern Greece had it that the least weasel had previously been a bride, who was transformed into a bitter animal which would destroy the wedding dresses of other brides out of jealousy.[38] According to Pliny the Elder, the least weasel is the only animal capable of killing the basilisk;

To this dreadful monster the effluvium of the weasel is fatal, a thing that has been tried with success, for kings have often desired to see its body when killed; so true is it that it has pleased Nature that there should be nothing without its antidote. The animal is thrown into the hole of the basilisk, which is easily known from the soil around it being infected. The weasel destroys the basilisk by its odour, but dies itself in this struggle of nature against its own self.[39]

The Chippewa believed that the least weasel could kill the dreaded wendigo giant by rushing up its anus.[40] In Inuit mythology, the least weasel is credited with both great wisdom and courage, and whenever a mythical Inuit hero wished to accomplish a valorous task, he would generally change himself into a least weasel.[41] According to Matthew Hopkins, a witch hunter general during the English Civil War, least weasels were the familiars of witches.[42]

Thanks RS!

R.I.P. Coal Mine Canary

From HERE

Camel Pee. Yes, that's correct.

Rakuda no zu

• It is well known to scholars of Dutch knowledge that processed urine of a camel is a miracle medicine to cure a person in critical condition. If a child puts this picture up and always takes a look at it, it will help improve the condition of rashes and smallpox, and an evil being will disappear from the child's mind. Thunder monsters are so fearful of camels that a thunder will never hit where a camel is present. Therefore, the Dutch use a picture of a camel as a charm to protect them from thunders.

Stolen in its entirety from HERE

The Art of Natural History Dioramas

Sally: How do they get all these animals?
 Glen: Teddy Roosevelt killed them.
 Sally: Do you think they were a family?
 Glen: I hope so. Otherwise, they’d be walking around saying, “We just need a baby to finish this diorama.”

From The Atlantic

The Natural History of Centaurs

This wonderful short story, Quaestio de Centauris, is not only gut-wrenching, but features an interesting take on the evolution and folklore of the centaur.

Image from Deviant Art

The Colors of Blood

Many of us know that horseshoe crabs have creepily periwinkle blue blood, but other animals can range from green to clear.

See the full story HERE from National Geographic

And here's a handy chart from Compound Interest

Bestiality and Breeding Hogs

One of the creepiest articles I've ever read. (Considering what I read, that's pretty spectacular).:

Where Are Animals in the History of Sexuality?