Robinson Crusoe in Real Life

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

Three hundred and three years ago yesterday, on February 2, 1709, the sailor who was the inspiration for the book, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, was rescued from the island of Aguas Buenas off the coast of Chile.  Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk had been stranded for four years alone on that tropical island.  For more information, including how Selkirk might have survived on the island, click here.  I didn't know Robinson Crusoe was based on fact!

Where is the Driest Desert on Earth?

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The Atacama Desert is a 600-mile (1,000 km) strip of land on the South American Pacific Coast, running through Chile and Peru.  Outlying less-dry areas of the desert run through Bolivia and Argentina.  The Atacama Desert is the driest desert in the world with no rainfall having been recorded since rainfall records began being kept.  It is also the highest desert on earth, and one of the coldest deserts on earth.  Since certain bacteria and sea-life fossils have been found in gypsum boulders (similar to rocks on the planet Mars), it is believed that the Atacama Desert was once underwater.

For more information in addition to the above links, see the websites of the Gypsum Association and the ALMA telescope, which is the Atacama Large Millimeter Array telescope erected in the Atacama Desert by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.

Have You Heard of Herds of Seahorses?

Yes, a group of seahorses is called a herd.  Seahorses are carnivorous fish found in shallow tropical waters.  They do not have teeth or a stomach, so food passes quickly through them, which requires that they constantly eat to stay alive.   A two-week old seahorse can eat up to 4,000 brine shrimp per day.  The average lifespan of seahorses is one to five years.  The scientific name is Hippocampus, and there are over 50 kinds of seahorses.  The different kinds of seahorses range in size from 1/2 inch to 8 inches.

Mating occurs year-round, usually under a full moon.  During mating a female seahorse will deposit her eggs into the pouch of a male.  The male fertilizes the eggs by releasing his sperm into the water then swimming through it.  Then the male continues to carry the eggs until birth, which is unique in all of nature.  Gestation lasts up to six weeks.  As few as five or as many as about 1,500 can be born.  Less than 1% of young seahorses make it to adulthood, mainly because they have to fend for themselves as soon as they are born.

For more information, pictures, and videos, click to view Seahorse Worlds website.