Lol, unicorns turned out to be one of the best pranks the Scots ever thought up.

"Black swan" was a term used for something that didn't exist, until they were discovered in Australia!

I completely forgot about this channel Im glad it showed up on my homepage!

@mentalflosserin

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@RobertRedland

2 ай бұрын

Don't let KZread dictate your entertainment. Turn on notifications for channels you like👍

The discovery of the first living Giant Squid belongs to Nigel Thornberry.

I had a high school classmate who was convinced reindeer were mythical creatures.

@jannisares

2 ай бұрын

Omg, lol. In the information age you would think that student could have done a search to find they are real.

@duncandewar9885

2 ай бұрын

​@@jannisares we don't know that they went to high school during the information age. Computers were just coming into schools when I graduated in the 80s for example.

@jliller

2 ай бұрын

Considering their strong association with Santa Claus and their very limited range (basically just the Arctic and Sub-Arctic regions) this is kind of understandable.

@CatherineDupuis87

2 ай бұрын

@@duncandewar9885 I'm an 06 graduate, so search engines were a thing, but "just Google it" wasn't in the vernacular yet.

@sandybruce9092

2 ай бұрын

Before we had Google and all the rest of technology to look up things, we had these magical books called encyclopedias! All someone needed to do was,go,to any library and there was usually several different ones! Not having technology is no excuse for not knowing about things!!!

As inaccurate drawings of animals go, that Rhino isn't too bad. It's still very much recognizable as a rhino. Just looks like it was crossed with an armadillo, or something.

@qofaconfirmation

2 ай бұрын

Yes, my thought during that section of the video was that Durer's rhino is a heck of a lot more accurate than the average medieval European depiction of animals the artist had never seen but just knew of from someone else's description. I've seen a lot of illuminated lions and elephants that looked much less like themselves than Durer's rhino looked like a rhinoceros.

@erikallen863

2 ай бұрын

A mecharhino

@dianagibbs3550

2 ай бұрын

Given that he'd never seen one, that's pretty good!

@MentalFloss

2 ай бұрын

It's true, compared to the INCREDIBLE (and horribly inaccurate) drawings from the Middle Ages, this is definitely a step up.

"No, I swear! It's like a duck-billed beaver, but with claws. Venomous claws! And it lays eggs!" "Right, so we're all in agreement to pull the funding for Perry's future expeditions?"

@angeluslupus

2 ай бұрын

Perry the platypus hunter?😄

I actually know the scientific name of the duck billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) because of Mr Rogers Neighborhood! It was Anna Platypus’s full name. Happy Belated Birthday, Mr Rogers!

"A platypus?" *puts on hat* "PERRY the platypus??"

It's my dream to see a platypus IRL!

@goofoffchannel

2 ай бұрын

Is this the real Erin

@mentalflosserin

2 ай бұрын

@@goofoffchannel It's me! You can't tell through my Einstein costume? 😹

@charlomaigne211

2 ай бұрын

You can see them in Australia and San Diego in the states.

@mentalflosserin

2 ай бұрын

@@charlomaigne211 I really want to try to see them in Australia but it's so far! Definitely want to go to San Diego in the future-sometimes I watch them on the live cam. 😹

I'm really surprised there was no mention of the Panda. Westerners were skeptical of its existence - less than a hundred years ago! Pandas were borderline mythological creatures and were usually depicted as yellow and black. To settle the question of whether pandas existed or not, the Museum of Natural History sent Teddy Roosevelt on a panda hunting expedition in 1929. Pandas exploded in popularity afterward.

@petuniasevan

2 ай бұрын

Kind of hard to do....did they send the coffin? Roosevelt died in 1919. Or are you referring to his son?

@jeffgray1884

2 ай бұрын

@petuniasevan whoops - you are 100% right. It was Kermit Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt Jr. I appreciate the correction. There is a book called "Trailing the Giant Panda" by the Roosevelts. There's also a lot of info online - look for the Kelley-Roosevelt Asiatic Expedition.

If you lost a ship to incompetence or just plain stupidity you might be tempted to blame it on whatever comes to mind while the charges are being drawn up.

@james_baker

2 ай бұрын

"you fell asleep at the wheel of car and ran off the road" sounds like a big foot sighting

I had no idea how big Komodo dragons were until I saw those specimens in the AMNH and I was shocked I knew they were big but not THAT big

@sandybruce9092

2 ай бұрын

Scared the crap out of me the first time I saw a Komodo dragon “in person”! And yes, they are big!!!

I love the gorilla story!

The coelacanth was thought to have been long extinct until in the 1930s a fisherman pulled one up somewhere off the coast of southern Africa. Doesn't that make you wonder if there are other animals we think are extinct that aren'T?

@sandybruce9092

2 ай бұрын

I truthfully think, it’s very possible that there are more animals/fish/birds that still exist!

@phoenixxavier9615

24 күн бұрын

I have a T-Rex that lives at the bottom of my garden, but everyone laughs when I tell them. He's not as nasty as other T-Rex's that are typically shown in films. He likes eating panckes & pickles but I've never seen him attacking & eating other animals. We've trained him to dance for pancakes. The kids love him.

In fourth grade a kid told me that there was a whale with a unicorn horn, and I definitely thought for years that they were full of sh*t

On "20,000 leagues under the sea." The phrase and title refer to distance traveled, not to depth. A "league" has varying definitions, but 20,000 of them is (more or less) about 80,000 kilometers. That's significantly more than the circumference of the Earth, and certainly longer than any given depth on Earth. The mistake of thinking it refers to depth is common to modern readers, since its usage is antiquated and no longer used by any nation.

The platypus is proof that God has a sense of humour. LOL!

wait wait wait....narwhals are REAL???? oh ma gawd

Why is the black swan not on this list? They were thought to not to exist until they were discovered in Australia in the 1600s.

I believe you about all except the last because Birds Aren't Real!! :)

@Colorado_Native

2 ай бұрын

What about bees? I just want to know if the 'birds and the bees' story is accurate.

@louiedidcote8260

2 ай бұрын

IF IT FILES IT SPIES!

@stephenlitten1789

27 күн бұрын

@@louiedidcote8260 So, secretary birds a doubly suss?

I think kraken truly are results of giant squid encounters, but in small boats. Giant squids are absolutely capable of reaching into and tipping over small boats, and though they don't make a habit of it, the ones who're hungry, and/or injured, and/or disoriented have been known to do odd things near the surface, including likely messing with small boats. So if you're a fisherman who sees a big ass squid reaching tentacles into your boat, possibly finding something that they recognize as prey like a fish, then that could lead to a conflict and a struggle with a squid that size could turn into the boat tipping over. It also would generate one hell of a story. And then as that story passes on and time passes and the size of fishing vessels grows, then the size of the squid in public consciousness also grows.

When I was a kid, about 12, I came home one night from babysitting around the corner and warned by entire family that there was a white skunk , and not to let the dogs out. They laughed at me. For three weeks, on and off I would see this skunk. My dad kept telling me I was seeing a ‘possum. I was not. It made the newspaper with a picture. Albino skunk. 😂😂 I felt vindicated.

Can I suggest adding something about the preexisting indigenous knowledge of many of these animals? Just because it was new to Europeans doesn't make it a "discovery"

@DefaultSettings9

2 ай бұрын

Indigenous people have every right to be proud of living with animals. Bringing these animals to the rest of the world is a discovery.

@debbylou5729

2 ай бұрын

Yes they are ‘discovered’. Your woke argument is empty

I went to high school with someone who thought narwhals were fake

@stephen3164

Ай бұрын

I went to high school with someone who thought they were real! 😅 I don’t think I even heard of them, real or fake, until I was an adult. When Elf came out, I googled it to find they surprisingly were real. It’s just not a creature that comes up for discussion often.

A+ video! LOVE IT! Such a great video and very helpful too!

I have a friend who until recently had no idea kiwis were a real animal

Platypuses aren't venomous because "...why not?" They're venomous because 'Straya, mate

20000000 leagues refers to the horizontal distance traveled in the sub marinal vessel Nautilus in Jules Verne's story. The ocean only goes about 40 leagues (about 200km) down at its deepest point.

I've seen the Platypus at the Healesville Sanctuary quite a few times, but sadly not in the wild. Many people overseas might find them weird, but I see them as perfectly normal animals. If you dig into any species, you can find some strange fact about them. The Platypus happens not to be an exception to this.

People in the middle ages didn't know about Narwhals? Mate, I *always* forget they're a real thing until someone mentions them!

awesome as always

Would adopt Bigfoot.

@mentalflosserin

2 ай бұрын

me too!

@ellengutoskey2604

2 ай бұрын

yeah but only if he only had the one big foot

@jennifer_m_wood

2 ай бұрын

@@ellengutoskey2604 You make a good point. He's not called Bigfeet. He may already only have one foot!

@joelbrown3479

2 ай бұрын

​@jenniferwood9012 This is a HOBBIT joke...?

@foureyedelf6151

2 ай бұрын

Bigfeetsies

rinos are the mythical unicorn

take comfort in the knowledge that big foot does not believe in you either

People were sceptical about the Magdeburg Unicorn too.

Why didn't you include song/sounds of the king bird?

Glad we can take pictures now.

Several things: A league is approximately 3 miles, so 20,000 leagues under the sea is not the depth, but the length of the voyage. Why, why, why do people not understand that a unicorn is commonly known as a rhino?

I once saw an albino muskrat that lived in the siphon under the railroad tracks ... but I saw him come to the surface of the canal one night while getting my cow a drink of water there he was pink nose and all ..!

What about the cameoleopard, which was renamed giraffe?

A single-horned animal IS a unicorn.

Brilliant!

Platypuses produce eggs and milk. Has anyone ever made Platypus custard ?

Let's not forget that the national animal of Scotland is ... the unicorn; which is why it appears in the UK coat of arms alongside the English lion.

@GhostBear3067

2 ай бұрын

They chose it because it is an enemy of lions (England), which is awful close to a rhinoceros.

I first learned of the komodo dragon from a Bob & Ray bit. I wonder if anyone here knows it.

…and the platypus is bio luminescent. So cool.

Rhinos are the real unicorns, just with curves.

we do call it "ornitorinco" in portuguese though

Narwhals, Narwhals Swimming in the ocean Causing a commotion Coz they are so awesome Narwhals, Narwhals Swimming in the ocean Pretty big and pretty white They beat a polar bear in a fight Like an underwater unicorn They've got a kick-ass facial horn They're the Jedi of the sea They stop Cthulhu eating ye Narwhals They are Narwhals Narwhals (Just don't let 'em touch your balls) Narwhals They are Narwhals Narwhals Inventors of the Shish Kebab

There is a Biltartin that lives next door to me.

Idk, that rhino sketch is pretty close. It's not perfect, no, but the way rhino skin folds I can see how it could be mistaken for plates, and that aside it was mostly spot on besides being a bit stylized (as art often is).

Cool!

3:47 “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” does not refer to a depth, but to the distance traveled. It wouldn't make much sense as a depth, since 20,000 leagues is about 6 times the radius of the earth.

@MentalFloss

2 ай бұрын

Absolutely correct! Here's a note from our fact checker: "20,000 leagues is the distance traveled, not the distance below the ocean’s surface (20,000 leagues is considerably more than the diameter of the Earth). According to Royal Museums Greenwich a bit of the problem is the translation-the French is plural seaS, so 20,000 Leagues under the Seas, which makes it a bit clearer."

I heard it was bad luck to have a kraken on a ship....

20,000 leagues is a distance, not a depth.

What about the piecost?

Platypus God was doodling, and it walked off the page, oops

It’s really shocking that a unicorn (basically a horse with a horn) doesn’t exist. Plenty of horned animals - deer being super common. A single horned horse seems like it would be real, at some point. Same with dragons. We had dinosaurs long ago. We have alligators and other reptile today. Not saying a dragon would breathe fire, but could be some huge flying reptile. Again, dinosaurs existed. Not saying the dragon would have existed at the same time as man. Lastly, Rodents of Unusual Size - pretty sure those don’t exist, except they do - as capybara! Also, I learned only as an adult that narwhals were real. They just seem like a fantasy creature.

This vid conflates people with Europeans multiple times: these nouns aren't really interchangeable.

@jliller

2 ай бұрын

People = the rest of the world beyond the local population.

@clericregnor

2 ай бұрын

@@jliller Your provided refutation attempts to justify the use of "people" as synonymous with "the rest of the world beyond the local population." However, it's important to note that such a definition still falls short in accurately representing the diversity of cultures, perspectives, and experiences globally. While "people" can indeed refer to individuals beyond a specific local population, it doesn't inherently imply a Eurocentric perspective. Using "people" as a blanket term without acknowledging the multitude of cultural backgrounds and identities worldwide can overlook the richness of human diversity. Therefore, it's valuable to be mindful of language usage and strive for inclusivity in our communication.

9:17 It’s pronounced Doo-er(not Der). At least in English. I don’t know how it’s pronounced in German.

You should spend more time showing us photos of what your discussing and less time of you just reading from the teleprompter. Interesting video. Thanks.

@Dragantraces

2 ай бұрын

Really good suggestion.

The platypus is call ornitorrinco in Spanish

HANS WORMHAT where u at?

Kraken and giant squid are not the same thing

"... people didn't think were real and some are definitely going to surprise you" I doubt it, considering there are people today that believe penguins are anamatronic frauds, and zebras are painted horses 🤔🤣 Oh, and I can attest that the platypus does indeed look fake, there was a taxidermied one in my junior school classroom. I've also seen a monkey/fish 'mermaid', it looked more convincing than the platypus! 🥴

John Green looks different...

@jliller

2 ай бұрын

When was the last time John Green was on this show at all? I don't think he's hosted an episode since before the pandemic.

And sometimes they are faked… Like giraffes…

good video, only negative was that (poor) joke about the 'kraken's native habitat. not due to the bad pun so much, as to it 'revisiting' an error routinely made about Verne's book. (at one time) many who heard the title assumed it referenced depth (as they had no clue about league as a measurement) rather than distance traveled. thou the idea of any submarine (even modern ones) traveling 60,000 miles is staggering.

Birds aren't real

@joelbrown3479

2 ай бұрын

Don't start that... AGAIN

@rogermiller2159

2 ай бұрын

It’s germs. Germs aren’t real. Yes. I am a germ denier. (As long as it is convenient).

@erraticonteuse

2 ай бұрын

Horses aren't real.

@shutterchick79

2 ай бұрын

Seek help....

@dad_jokes_4ever226

2 ай бұрын

Damn right !

Fish arent real

Zorses aren't real

First comment?

Newfound-land, like land, not lund.

@jliller

2 ай бұрын

Nufundland, home of nu metal and cryptocurrency.

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

@kcrowell3003

2 ай бұрын

Not a political vid dude

A question for you… At ~3:50 you said that the giant squad wasn’t filmed at 20,000 leagues under the sea, but a mere 2,000 ft. Are you one of the people that thinks 20,000 leagues under the sea refers to depth? That’s a common misconception. 20,000 leagues refers to distance traveled under the sea, not the depth. 20,000 leagues equates to 40-80,000 km, depending on whose measurement you accept. That’s ~twice around the world. 🐙📏 Just FYI.😊