There’s a lot of strange pet trivia out there. (For example, did you know there’s a cat that has been mayor of a small Alaska town for the last 15 years?) This month in Pets+, we present you with 15 mind-bending pet facts. Some are true, some are false, and your challenge is to figure out which.
Dogs
___ 1. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic.
___ 2. Dogs have about 1,700 taste buds. Humans have approximately 9,000 and cats have around 473.
___ 3. At the end of the Beatles song, “A Day in the Life,” Paul McCartney recorded an ultrasonic whistle, audible only to dogs, just for his Shetland sheepdog.
___ 4. Your dog’s sense of smell can be up to 10 million times better than yours.
___ 5. Your dog’s sense of smell is so good, he can even smell your feelings.
Usain Bolt versus your housecat: who would win?
Cats
___ 6. It’s not by much, but the average house cat is slower than the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt.
___ 7. Cats have a third eyelid that is rarely visible. If you can see it, it is often an indication of sickness.
___ 8. A group of cats is called a “clowder”.
___ 9. Owning a cat can reduce a human’s risk of stroke and heart attack by a third.
___ 10. Female cats are typically left-pawed while male cats are typically right-pawed.
Fish
___ 11. Many popular lipstick brands include a surprising ingredient — fish scales.
___ 12. The longest a fish can live out of water is 24 hours — give or take two hours.
___ 13. Herrings have one of the least polite modes of communication: farts.
___ 14. One puffer fish contains enough poison to kill 5 people.
___ 15. Fish can drown in water.
DOGS ANSWERS:
1. T. It was two Pomeranians and one Pekingese, if you’re interested. | 2. T. | 3. F. This is actually more of a “maybe” than a “false.” There’s definitely some high-pitched sound on the record, which was easier to hear on CDs than on vinyl records. But Paul McCartney has never definitively confirmed this. | 4. T. | 5. T. Dogs can pick up on subtle changes in your scent, which help him sense your emotions — i.e. perspiration when you’re feeling uneasy.
CATS ANSWERS:
6. F. The average house cat actually has a higher maximum speed (30 mph) than the world’s fastest man (27 mph). | 7. T. | 8. T. | 9. T. | 10. F. It’s the opposite. Female cats are typically right-pawed; male cats, left-pawed.
FISH ANSWERS:
11. T. Check your lipstick brand ingredients for guanine, a crystalline substance derived from fish scales. | 12. F. The lungfish, found in Africa, South America and Australia, can live out of water for several years. These fish can also live up to 65 years. | 13. T. | 14. T.Actually, it’s way, way more — 30 people. Lesson: stay far away from pufferfish. | 15. T. If there’s not enough oxygen in the water.