How Many Eyes Does a Praying Mantis Have?

[Recidiva]

You'd think two. Wouldn't you?

Stupid science. Why does reality insist on having weird stuff I didn't know about and thought I knew?

"Mantids have two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them."

WTF is a simple eye? Why didn't I learn about this in Biology?!

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

lol..

 

[Recidiva]

lol..

I could have bet my house on the fact that there were only two. WTF?

 

[Sean Renaud]

Without even looking it up I'm betting a Simple eye can only differientiate light and dark or something like that.

I wouldn't have guessed two though, I would have looked it up. Most bugs (insects and arachnids) seem to have set ups that often flat out have more than two eyes quite commonly have set ups that can easily be interpreted as multiple eyes and if you aren't a biology expert you'll lose the argument on how many eyes a fly has no matter which way you go.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

You'd think two. Wouldn't you?

Stupid science. Why does reality insist on having weird stuff I didn't know about and thought I knew?

"Mantids have two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them."

WTF is a simple eye? Why didn't I learn about this in Biology?!

would you have given a shit, back then?

 

[Recidiva]

Without even looking it up I'm betting a Simple eye can only differientiate light and dark or something like that.

I wouldn't have guessed two though, I would have looked it up. Most bugs (insects and arachnids) seem to have set ups that often flat out have more than two eyes quite commonly have set ups that can easily be interpreted as multiple eyes and if you aren't a biology expert you'll lose the argument on how many eyes a fly has no matter which way you go.

My son said they had five and I went to Wikipedia and they didn't mention five, so I said "Where did you get your information" and he said "Wikipedia isn't a reliable source" and I said "I know, but you'd think if something had five eyes, it'd be relevant."

Stupid Wikipedia. I TRIED to look it up. I made the "simple eye" argument in essentially the same way but really, Biology and Wikipedia failed me. My son's cool though.

Now the running joke is "I don't know about that, but are we SURE we know how many eyes _________ has?"

Works on anything that's a noun. It's a science Mad Lib.

 

[Recidiva]

would you have given a shit, back then?

Yes, I've always been a precocious nerd. I like knowing stuff.

Which does sometimes lead to ridiculous bets where I do not bet the house but maybe $5 that something obviously untrue (really true) is definitely untrue and I know it!

I think the last time I lost in that overblown way was being sure that Bruce Springsteen wasn't singing a certain song. My daughter could have won, but they're so used to me making ridiculously overblown bets and winning that there are very few takers anymore.

In general, though, I can't pass by a bit of trivia without clarifying.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Yes, I've always been a precocious nerd. I like knowing stuff.

Which does sometimes lead to ridiculous bets where I do not bet the house but maybe $5 that something obviously untrue (really true) is definitely untrue and I know it!

I think the last time I lost in that overblown way was being sure that Bruce Springsteen wasn't singing a certain song. My daughter could have won, but they're so used to me making ridiculously overblown bets and winning that there are very few takers anymore.

In general, though, I can't pass by a bit of trivia without clarifying.

the last bet i had cost me a crate of skol lager. i bet my landlord that jackie chan was dead.

...fuck.

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

I could have bet my house on the fact that there were only two. WTF?

lol, sheiiiiit.. i wouldve thought they had 2 eyes too hahah

 

[Sean Renaud]

Wikipedia is a reliable source by the by. People should really stop claiming that it's not.

 

[Recidiva]

the last bet i had cost me a crate of skol lager. i bet my landlord that jackie chan was dead.

...fuck.

So you sympathize. I am prone to overemphasizing the importance of trivia in my life, but what the hell, it makes for fun conversations.

 

[Recidiva]

lol, sheiiiiit.. i wouldve thought they had 2 eyes too hahah

I have watched so many nature documentaries...and nobody bothered to tell me.

 

[Recidiva]

Wikipedia is a reliable source by the by. People should really stop claiming that it's not.

It's not necessarily complete or unbiased.

But I didn't need my son to point that out to me and be right.

I usually cross-check, but seriously I would have thought it'd be at least worth a mention.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

So you sympathize. I am prone to overemphasizing the importance of trivia in my life, but what the hell, it makes for fun conversations.

trivia knowledge wins game-shows.

 

[Recidiva]

trivia knowledge wins game-shows.

Yeah, I've always loved those shows. I do well. I had an uncle stare at me once and say "Did you WRITE this thing?"

Those are fun moments.

 

[Balladeer08]

You'd think two. Wouldn't you?

Stupid science. Why does reality insist on having weird stuff I didn't know about and thought I knew?

"Mantids have two large compound eyes and three other simple eyes located between them."

WTF is a simple eye? Why didn't I learn about this in Biology?!

No there are only two "i"'s in Pray*i*ng Mant*i*s.

What did I win?

 

[LiFeNdEaTh]

I have watched so many nature documentaries...and nobody bothered to tell me.

lol.. shit happens

 

[Recidiva]

No there are only two "i"'s in Pray*i*ng Mant*i*s.

What did I win?

We also had a discussion about the plural, is it mantids or manatees? (that last part is a joke)

I thought it was mantid, but that only applies to an entire genus, like Arachnid.

The correct plural is mantises. Unless fucking Wikipedia fucking lied to me again.

So I've been telling stories about raising mantids from an egg case for years and I was WRONG.

Dammit.

I'm sorry, did you say something?

 

[Recidiva]

lol.. shit happens

Yeah, it does. I just want to be informed about it.

 

[Balladeer08]

We also had a discussion about the plural, is it mantids or manatees? (that last part is a joke)

I thought it was mantid, but that only applies to an entire genus, like Arachnid.

The correct plural is mantises. Unless fucking Wikipedia fucking lied to me again.

I was holding out for the Latin, Mantii.

(Latin is a dead language. I'm trying to drive a stake through its heart.)

 

[Recidiva]

I was holding out for the Latin, Mantii.

(Latin is a dead language. I'm trying to drive a stake through its heart.)

Well, you came and you gave without taking, and I sent you away oh Mantii.

 

[Balladeer08]

Well, you came and you gave without taking, and I sent you away oh Mantii.

Ah, a variation on the music in everyday language.

I prefer the purer form, and am most prone to recognize "doo dahs" and "bon say bons".

But I appreciate this variation, especially when as well done as that was.

 

[Recidiva]

Ah, a variation on the music in everyday language.

I prefer the purer form, and am most prone to recognize "doo dahs" and "bon say bons".

But I appreciate this variation, especially when as well done as that was.

Thank you. My brain is weird.

 

[pointless]

i was dive bombed by a mantis when i was mowing the other day. i'd forgotten they could fly until that moment.

 

[Recidiva]

i was dive bombed by a mantis when i was mowing the other day. i'd forgotten they could fly until that moment.

I tried to do some organic farming in my little strawberry patch. I bought a case of (mantises, not mantids) and when they hatched, I set them loose in the strawberries. Then I set loose a bunch of ladybugs.

Within a few days the mantises ate all of the ladybugs and then ate each other.

There was just one huge mantis in the strawberry patch that tried to eat my hand whenever I reached in.

Creepy fucker.