The Strangest Things in the WorldFront matterReading editionChapter navigation194 reading sectionsGo to chapterChoose a chapter…Front matterTHE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLDINTRODUCTIONPREFACEThe Invisible Underground JungleThe Self-Perpetuating SpongeLiving “Stars” in CavesParenthood Among PenguinsThe Strategy of Warrior AntsUganda’s Miniature DinosaurThe Strange Ways of SpidersWorms With a Thousand EyesQueer Fish, But DefinitelyLove Life Among the SpidersThe Lace WeaversThe Ways of CrabsTicks With Noses in Their LegsThe Fourth Realm of LifeRubber-Band Worms that Stretch and StretchFrog VersatilityThe Horned Viper Spears Other AnimalsThe World of InsectsGigantic Serpents of the SkyThe Limbless LizardThe Maddening TarantulaA Flower That Grows Through Solid IceThe Versatile Ant FarmersOstracoderms: Ancestors of True FishThe Ever Faithful HornbillsAnts With Tailor SkillsFiend Symphonies of the JungleTyrants of the Polychaete RaceEating Habits of SpidersThe Suicide Instinct of IguanasForests That Eat MeatCave-Dwelling BirdsWhere Snails Become FlowersTermites That Eat LeadThe Plant That Eats AnimalsThe Ocean’s Sound BarrierSnakes That Act and Look Like WormsA Porcupine of the SeaWorms That Are UnkillableThe Remarkable BrachiopodsFeathers on Birds Adapt to the SeasonsWhy the Dodo Became ExtinctThe Shark of the SoilThe Sleeping Habits of MammalsThe Eerie Eyes of Animals at NightWorld of the BlindThe Remarkable Clam WormsWinged ReptileVicious Fire AntsThe Architectural Genius of BirdsThe Ferocious Leech WormsThe Complex Spider’s WebMonsters of the Deep: The Great SquidsThe Vanishing WhippoorwillAnts Can Smell Almost AnythingFish That Fish For FishWorms That Are FlowersThe Heavy Toll of Bird MigrationsDeadly Snakes That Take Life EasyWeird Plant-AnimalsWeird Ways of BirdsThe Fantastic Sea HorseThe Great Seal MigrationsMonsters With Buzz SawsTwo-Headed Snakes Aren’t RareFantastic Sea CreaturesThe Varieties of Raven LanguageWorms With Hypodermic NeedlesThe Fatal Black Widow SpiderPlants That are AnimatedThe Tomato—Cinderella of VegetablesThe Holiest Place on EarthThe Vanishing Golden CarpetEvolution of the BirdSpeed Ace of the AirThe Remarkable Instincts of the Silk WormThe Strange World of the SeaThe Cannibal Birds of the PacificEagles as Indian PetsThe Giant Insects of the CarolinesThe Valley Where Dusk is DeathEnigma of Evolution: the SnakeThe Fastest Growth on EarthBirds That DuelBrakes on Plant LifeSnails Are the Flowers of the SeaThe Brutal South Pole BirdsSilk-Bearded ClamsPearls Grow in BrooksGrasshopper-Infested GlaciersMonster Clams of PolynesiaCorals Combine Plants and Animal LifeThe First Engineers—TermitesOyster OdditiesThe World’s Biggest SneezeThe Luminescent CtenophoresThe Forest That Time ForgotThe Versatility of the Elephant’s TrunkFiendish Vampires of the NightRemarkable OrchidsNature’s Insecticide: The MillipedeBats Have Built-in RadarCrabs That Climb TreesThe Ferocious CentipedeThe Plant That Makes Men DumbThe Scourge of the Earth: LocustsTrees Can Grow SmallerUnderworld CitiesPlants That Create MiragesThe Octopus Worm: Evolution’s MysteryThe Monster Bear of KamchatkaStrange Denizens of the DeepCommunism Among the BeesCandles on BushesThe Desert Rat Manufactures WaterThe Caste System of the TermiteThe Shark That Stands UprightThe Dead Man’s VineThe Insect With Fourteen LivesShyness Characteristic of Giant RatsNocturnal PottoWhere Trees are SquareThe Lamp That is a BeetleRainstorms of WormsThe Icy Arctic WonderlandFish That Live on LandThe Special Language of BeesPoisonous Platters of the SeaOur Un-American FoodWorms That Commit Mass SuicideFish That Survive FreezingPlants That KillCaterpillars That Pretend to be SnakesAll Plants Are LuminousWorms That Live in the SnowThe Strange Ways of SnailsVision-Producing PlantsThe Abominable Snow ManFish That Sing in the MoonlightBrazil’s Vicious Glow WormGrasshoppers Like ChameleonsBeetles That Helped an ArmyWorms in Medical HistoryToads That Make Poison GasPlants That Thrive on Ice-BloomPoison Arrow FrogsThe Seal That Can “Lose” Its HeadThe Delectable Horned ViperFlying Snakes, Frogs and ToadsEagles Build Log Cabin NestsThe Predatory MantidFireflies as ElectriciansThe Mollusk Vampire of HellClimbing and Flying FrogsMad Dog CyclesThe Amazing Survival of the OpossumMammal Prototypes of the “Mermaid”Limbless Lizards and Glass SnakesThe Only Bug in the SeaA Crocodile With Life After DeathThe Salamander That Lives Like a WormThree-eyed Lizards of New ZealandProdigious Fertility of InsectsThe Lizard That Runs Out of Its Own SkinHigh Living in the HimalayasBarking Spider MonkeysThe Insect That is Born PregnantBull-dog AnimalsForesight of Kangaroo RatsThe Primitive ProturansAir-Conditioned Homes of BeaversThe Demon of Puerto RicoMan-Made PlantsThe Great Seal MigrationThe Magic Bark of the Cinchona TreeColombia’s Ant TreeThe Strange Behavior of PlantsVenezuela’s Nocturnal OrchidThe Plant That Strikes Men DumbCombat of Moth and ShrewThe Ferocious Snake WeaselThe Rabbit That SwimsGorilla Warriors of the Belgian CongoThe Biggest “Rat” in the WorldThe Suicide Marches of LemmingsThe Ferocity of the TigerThe Fearsome PorcupineThe Plant That Stimulates VisionsThe Puzzling PlatypusINDEXBeginning of this editionNext chapter →THE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLDAll chapters and sections (194)Opening pagesFront matterOther sectionsTHE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLDINTRODUCTIONPREFACEThe Invisible Underground JungleThe Self-Perpetuating SpongeLiving “Stars” in CavesParenthood Among PenguinsThe Strategy of Warrior AntsUganda’s Miniature DinosaurThe Strange Ways of SpidersWorms With a Thousand EyesQueer Fish, But DefinitelyLove Life Among the SpidersThe Lace WeaversThe Ways of CrabsTicks With Noses in Their LegsThe Fourth Realm of LifeRubber-Band Worms that Stretch and StretchFrog VersatilityThe Horned Viper Spears Other AnimalsThe World of InsectsGigantic Serpents of the SkyThe Limbless LizardThe Maddening TarantulaA Flower That Grows Through Solid IceThe Versatile Ant FarmersOstracoderms: Ancestors of True FishThe Ever Faithful HornbillsAnts With Tailor SkillsFiend Symphonies of the JungleTyrants of the Polychaete RaceEating Habits of SpidersThe Suicide Instinct of IguanasForests That Eat MeatCave-Dwelling BirdsWhere Snails Become FlowersTermites That Eat LeadThe Plant That Eats AnimalsThe Ocean’s Sound BarrierSnakes That Act and Look Like WormsA Porcupine of the SeaWorms That Are UnkillableThe Remarkable BrachiopodsFeathers on Birds Adapt to the SeasonsWhy the Dodo Became ExtinctThe Shark of the SoilThe Sleeping Habits of MammalsThe Eerie Eyes of Animals at NightWorld of the BlindThe Remarkable Clam WormsWinged ReptileVicious Fire AntsThe Architectural Genius of BirdsThe Ferocious Leech WormsThe Complex Spider’s WebMonsters of the Deep: The Great SquidsThe Vanishing WhippoorwillAnts Can Smell Almost AnythingFish That Fish For FishWorms That Are FlowersThe Heavy Toll of Bird MigrationsDeadly Snakes That Take Life EasyWeird Plant-AnimalsWeird Ways of BirdsThe Fantastic Sea HorseThe Great Seal MigrationsMonsters With Buzz SawsTwo-Headed Snakes Aren’t RareFantastic Sea CreaturesThe Varieties of Raven LanguageWorms With Hypodermic NeedlesThe Fatal Black Widow SpiderPlants That are AnimatedThe Tomato—Cinderella of VegetablesThe Holiest Place on EarthThe Vanishing Golden CarpetEvolution of the BirdSpeed Ace of the AirThe Remarkable Instincts of the Silk WormThe Strange World of the SeaThe Cannibal Birds of the PacificEagles as Indian PetsThe Giant Insects of the CarolinesThe Valley Where Dusk is DeathEnigma of Evolution: the SnakeThe Fastest Growth on EarthBirds That DuelBrakes on Plant LifeSnails Are the Flowers of the SeaThe Brutal South Pole BirdsSilk-Bearded ClamsPearls Grow in BrooksGrasshopper-Infested GlaciersMonster Clams of PolynesiaCorals Combine Plants and Animal LifeThe First Engineers—TermitesOyster OdditiesThe World’s Biggest SneezeThe Luminescent CtenophoresThe Forest That Time ForgotThe Versatility of the Elephant’s TrunkFiendish Vampires of the NightRemarkable OrchidsNature’s Insecticide: The MillipedeBats Have Built-in RadarCrabs That Climb TreesThe Ferocious CentipedeThe Plant That Makes Men DumbThe Scourge of the Earth: LocustsTrees Can Grow SmallerUnderworld CitiesPlants That Create MiragesThe Octopus Worm: Evolution’s MysteryThe Monster Bear of KamchatkaStrange Denizens of the DeepCommunism Among the BeesCandles on BushesThe Desert Rat Manufactures WaterThe Caste System of the TermiteThe Shark That Stands UprightThe Dead Man’s VineThe Insect With Fourteen LivesShyness Characteristic of Giant RatsNocturnal PottoWhere Trees are SquareThe Lamp That is a BeetleRainstorms of WormsThe Icy Arctic WonderlandFish That Live on LandThe Special Language of BeesPoisonous Platters of the SeaOur Un-American FoodWorms That Commit Mass SuicideFish That Survive FreezingPlants That KillCaterpillars That Pretend to be SnakesAll Plants Are LuminousWorms That Live in the SnowThe Strange Ways of SnailsVision-Producing PlantsThe Abominable Snow ManFish That Sing in the MoonlightBrazil’s Vicious Glow WormGrasshoppers Like ChameleonsBeetles That Helped an ArmyWorms in Medical HistoryToads That Make Poison GasPlants That Thrive on Ice-BloomPoison Arrow FrogsThe Seal That Can “Lose” Its HeadThe Delectable Horned ViperFlying Snakes, Frogs and ToadsEagles Build Log Cabin NestsThe Predatory MantidFireflies as ElectriciansThe Mollusk Vampire of HellClimbing and Flying FrogsMad Dog CyclesThe Amazing Survival of the OpossumMammal Prototypes of the “Mermaid”Limbless Lizards and Glass SnakesThe Only Bug in the SeaA Crocodile With Life After DeathThe Salamander That Lives Like a WormThree-eyed Lizards of New ZealandProdigious Fertility of InsectsThe Lizard That Runs Out of Its Own SkinHigh Living in the HimalayasBarking Spider MonkeysThe Insect That is Born PregnantBull-dog AnimalsForesight of Kangaroo RatsThe Primitive ProturansAir-Conditioned Homes of BeaversThe Demon of Puerto RicoMan-Made PlantsThe Great Seal MigrationThe Magic Bark of the Cinchona TreeColombia’s Ant TreeThe Strange Behavior of PlantsVenezuela’s Nocturnal OrchidThe Plant That Strikes Men DumbCombat of Moth and ShrewThe Ferocious Snake WeaselThe Rabbit That SwimsGorilla Warriors of the Belgian CongoThe Biggest “Rat” in the WorldThe Suicide Marches of LemmingsThe Ferocity of the TigerThe Fearsome PorcupineThe Plant That Stimulates VisionsThe Puzzling PlatypusINDEXTHE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLD◇Topic list◇THE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLD →