Why Do Rabbits Have Claws?

When I was very young, I remember having a lucky rabbit’s foot keychain. I thought it was a cool deal. I’m sure the rabbit did not. It sure wasn’t lucky for him. I do remember that the little foot had claws, but I never really thought about it until now. This week my granddaughter asked me why rabbits have claws. So here’s the scoop.

Rabbits have 4 claws on each hind foot and 5 claws on each of their front feet. The hind feet are webbed to help keep the toes together. This helps them as they run.  The front feet are small. The back feet are longer and help them stand.

The claws are helpful for 4 things.

1.Wild rabbits love to dig. They use their sharp claws to dig out underground houses called “warrens” where a whole family of rabbits can live and be protected. The females also carve out nesting burrows for a place to have their babies.  

2. Claws can be used as defense. A rabbit would rather run away to it safe underground burrow, but when they are cornered, they can sit back on their hind legs and use their front paws to scratch and claw a would-be attacker. They can leave deep scratches that can be very painful.

3. Rabbits love to groom their fur. They use their claws to scratch an itch or to help keep burrs or little twigs out of their fur. Grooming helps keep their fur clean, smooth, and healthy.

4. Claws also help rabbits to run. The claws dig into the ground like a football player’s cleats and give them better traction. They can jump, hop, or make sharp turns without slipping.

For domestic bunnies it is important to keep their claws trimmed. A rabbit in the wild run on enough rough ground to keep them worn down. In a cage or a house, they keep growing and might get too long.

Well, it’s time for me to hop! Hope you liked out bunny talk.

Love, Papaw

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit

 

What's Up with Hiccups?

Have you ever had the hiccups? I bet you have. You’re sitting there minding your own business and then, “Hic!”, they start. It makes it hard to swallow and hard to talk. Sometimes they make you feel funny. You might even start to laugh. Most of the time they only last a few minutes. But how do they happen? Hiccups happen when we get sudden involuntary (that means we can’t control it) contractions of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a muscle that helps us breath. It stretches across your body just under your rib cage. It is a divider between the lungs, and your stomach and intestines. It usually helps you breathe, but when you get hiccups, it kind of just starts doing its own thing.  It jumps every few seconds and causes the funny sound we all know.

 So what causes hiccups? Some common triggers are:

Eating too much or too fast

Drinking carbonated drinks

Swallowing extra air

Feeling excited or stressed.

 If babies swallow to much air when they are drinking from a bottle, they can get hiccups.

What can someone do to stop them? Well, I’m glad you ask. Here are some ways to help get hiccups to stop.

Hold your breath for a short time

Sip a glass of cold water

Breathe into a paper bag

Swallow a small spoon of sugar

Most sources say that breathing in a little more carbon dioxide into your lungs is the best way to get them to stop. That’s why holding your breath or blowing in a paper bag usually helps. For me, just relaxing often helps. The only time you have to worry about them is if it lasts for days. Then you may need to see a doctor. But that’s pretty rare.

I hoped you liked learning about hiccups.

 

Until next time,

Love Papaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19932525/hiccups

Why Do We Yawn?

You get up in the morning. You stretch your arms and there it is. Your mouth opens wide, you breathe in slowly and deeply, and then exhale quickly. You might even hear a rumbling sound in your ears. We call that a yawn. In fact, chances are that you just yawned right now because you were thinking about it. Babies do it. Adults do it. Even birds and mammals like our dogs and cats do it. We yawn when we wake up. We yawn when we need to go to bed. We yawn when we are bored.

But why do we yawn? There are several theories about why it happens. One idea says that the body is trying to get rid of excess carbon dioxide in our blood. Carbon dioxide is the stuff we breathe out. Another one saws that it is the body’s attempt to help keep us alert. It’s possible that the extra oxygen we breathe in can help wake us up. One researcher thought it might help cool the brain. For me, I notice is that my eyes get watery when I yawn. Maybe it helps us see better also.  Others think it could be a group signal to tell everyone it’s bedtime. One other theory says that it might help us keep our airway open and help us to be able to swallow and speak easier.

Did you know that yawns are thought to be “contagious”? Try it. If you are someone around you yawns, there’s a good chance that it will cause others to yawn also. Group yawn everybody! It could be that we are showing empathy (letting them know that we know how they feel). It might be that we just learn to imitate it when we were children. They say that our dogs learn to yawn from us!

Most of us cover our mouths when we yawn. Most likely this is because your parents said that is the polite thing to do. I mean, no one really wants to look down your throat! (We’ll maybe your doctor: and he tell you to say ah.) Originally it was thought that you might “yawn out your spirit”, or that and evil spirit might get in if your mouth was open too long, but we know that was just a myth. Still it’s probably better for everyone if you still cover your mouth when you yawn. Don’t want a fly to get in! Wow, I think I have yawned 5 times just writing this.

Thank you to my granddaughter Coco for requesting a blog about yawning. It was (yaaaawwwwn) fun!

That’s all for this week.

Love, Papaw.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yawn

Castles With Style

 This week, Dylan, one of my grandsons ask me to write about castles. I asked him what kind of castle he wanted. He said his castle needed to have walls that couldn’t be broken. It has a drawbridge made of diamonds. There is a moat of lava surrounding the castle. Guarding this mighty fortress is an elite team of 1000 ninja alligators wearing armor.  Pretty cool idea, don’t you think?

So I got my friends at AI to do some drawing for me. (Actually I don’t know any AI computers personally, but they do some cool work if you ask nicely.) Here’s what they came up with.

So what would you find in a castle? Of course there is the wall. That’s for protection. The main gate has a huge iron gate. The diamond drawbridge can be lifted so enemies can’t walk right in. I don’t think many attackers would want to walk on the lava.

Inside the walls you would find the bailey a large courtyard area that has other buildings. There is a great hall where everyone can eat. The king’s throne would also be there. There would be a well for water and maybe a fountain. (I personally hope it’s made of chocolate.) There would be shops, a blacksmith to make weapons, and a stable to keep his flying horses. (Hey, he’s got alligator guards. Why not flying horses?) In the many towers on the wall are rooms for people to sleep.

The whole castle is guarded by 1000 ninja alligator guards in heavy armor. Each one has a diamond tipped spear. You don’t want to make them mad!

It’s almost sunset, so King Dylan is preparing for his famous fireworks display. People from all the surrounding villages gather to see the spectacular show. King Dylan is a wise, kind, and mighty king. He makes sure all of his subjects have the food they need and are protected at all times. Long live the King!

Well that was fun! I wonder what I’ll write about next week?

Until then,

Love Papaw.

Slime Time!

Almost every kid I have met likes to play with slime. It’s a common toy in many stores. It comes in all kinds of colors, textures, and levels of “sliminess” (called viscosity) and can even come with glitter or other texture items in it. It tends to get dirty quickly and will often dry out if left uncovered. This mean you need to keep going back for more.

But did you know you can make your own slime right at home? Papaw will show you his formula that he uses at school. You will need:

1.       A pan

2.     Water (1 quart)

3.     A box of Twenty Mule Team Borax

4.     A bottle of Elmer’s white glue.

5.     Food coloring, glitter or other things you want in your slime.

 

• Start be heating a 1 quart of water in a small sauce pan. Add about 1 cup of borax. Slowly stir until all (or most of it) is dissolved. Set it aside to cool.
• Mix 1-part glue with water.
• Add the color and glitter and mix again.
• Slowly add the borax solution a little at a time, mixing as you go until it becomes slime.
• Have fun playing!

**Be sure to keep it off of clothes and furniture, and don’t put it in your mouth!

Experiment with the glue and the borax mixture. If you add less water to the glue it will make thicker slime. It might even act like rubber!

Here are a couple videos about making slime using other materials you might have at home.

Hope you have fun!

Love Papaw.