My Z News

Imagine for a moment that you’re camping. It’s dark, you’re in your tent, and just as you snuggle into your sleeping bag, a sound comes from outside. Not a rustling. Not movement. Just a blood-curdling scream. It sounds like someone in pain screaming for help. It’s the stuff of horror movies. Only, it isn’t. It’s just a mountain lion trying to get a date.  Although it sounds like something out of an old horror movie, the mountain lion’s scream is part of its mating ritual. The piercing scream is used to attract a mate, and to scare off rival mountain lions who might be competing for their mate’s affections. If you’re looking for a scream to use in your haunted house this year, consider using the mountain lion’s. And if you’re camping and hear screaming in the woods, don’t investigate. In the best case scenario, it might be a mountain lion looking for love, and you don’t want to interrupt that. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/mountain-lion-screams/

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I’ve seen a lot in my day – I once drove within sight of a tornado, once witnessed a live stampede of zebras and I’ve even been lucky enough to marvel at the sight of the Grand Canyon. I can honestly say after seeing this video, however, that I’ve never seen anything quite like that.  Tom Forwood Jr., a resident of Bozeman, Montana recorded this video of the aftermath of a windstorm which resulted in thousands of tumbleweeds just rolling on by. Tumbleweed is something I’m used to seeing in a single, solitary roll across the screen just before epic Western gunfights in the movies, so this was definitely extraordinary to see. Forwood says that the storm that brought this “stampede” also resulted in a 19 degree drop in temperature over a span of just 15 minutes. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/thousands-of-tumbleweeds-stampede-montana/

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If you’ve ever been to the beach, you may have found flat, white discs, with a little star/flower on them. These are known as “sand dollars,” and they are the remnants of a once-living organism belonging to the sea urchin family. Sand dollars are relatives of starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. They get their name from the fact that their sun-bleached remains in the sand resembled large, silver coins to early beachgoers.  Because they’re most usually seen long after they’re already dead, it’s easy to think of sand dollars as being an inanimate object rather than the remains of a once-living creature. In this clip from the Sea Something YouTube channel, we get a closer look at a live sand dollar, as well as what it looks like compared to an already dead one. The dead sand dollar has visible grooves and a clear opening on the underside. The living sand dollar, however, has a blackish skin on its exoskeleton, and the underside is covered in a writhing mass of tiny bristles, known as cilia.  These cilia can vary in color drastically from one species to another, but they all serve the same purpose. By coordinating their movement, the sand dollar is able to move along the ocean floor. These microfine bristles also help trap the microscopic organisms the sand dollar feeds on, and moves them towards its mouth at the center. Don’t forget to SHARE this fascinating video with your friends and family. H/T: Sea Something Read more: http://www.wimp.com/take-a-look-at-a-live-sand-dollar/

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It looks like a scene from a Jackie Chan movie, but this is just another day at the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu Academy in China. The school was founded in 1978, and to date stands as the largest and most authentic Kung Fu academy in China. Everything about it is epic – with a property spanning over 180 acres, a staff of 258 and 35,000 students, it’s no wonder that the academy has played an integral part in martial arts films and movies over the years. The academy received notable attention in 2012 when it became the subject of the documentary Dragon Girls, which tells the stories of three young students training to be Kung Fu masters. If you watch closely, you’ll catch a glimpse of the film’s stars at the end of this video.  Read more: http://www.wimp.com/kids-perform-kung-fu-unison/

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The Harry Potter series of books and movies is one of the most popular media franchises of all time. The books have been translated into countless languages and the boy wizard’s impact has reached the entire world. Recently, a group known as the Indian Jam Project paid tribute to the films with their own rendition of the movie’s score.  The Indian Jam Project is a cover band that plays American film scores on traditional Indian music. In addition to Harry Potter, they have also played Pirates of the Carribean, Game of Thrones, and Interstellar. The instruments featured in the video are a tabla, a sarangi, a flute, a santoor, and a violin. Read more: http://www.wimp.com/harry-potter-theme-played-on-traditional-indian-music/

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