11,670

The Canary Islands were not named for a bird called a canary. They were named after a breed of large dogs. The Latin name was Canariae insulae - "Island of Dogs."

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Nubian

11,671

The cat lover is an ailurophile, while a cat hater is an ailurophobe.

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Nubian

11,672

The cat was domesticated over 4,000 years ago. Today's house cats are descended from wildcats in Africa and Europe.

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Nubian

11,673

The catgut formerly used as strings in tennis rackets and musical instruments does not come from cats. Catgut actually comes from sheep, hogs, and horses.

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Nubian

11,674

The Chinese, during the reign of Kublai Khan, used lions on hunting expeditions. They trained the big cats to pursue and drag down massive animals - from wild bulls to bears - and to stay with the kill until the hunter arrived.

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Nubian

11,675

The color of the points in Siamese cats is heat related. Cool areas are darker. In fact, Siamese kittens are born white because of the heat inside the mother's uterus before birth. This heat keeps the kittens hair from darkening on the points.

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Nubian

11,676

The dachshund is one of the oldest dog breeds in history (dating back to ancient Egypt.) The name comes from one of its earliest uses - hunting badgers. In German, Dachs means "badger," Hund is "hound."

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Nubian

11,677

The declawing of a pet cat involves surgery called an onychectomy, in which the entire claw and end bone of each toe of the animal are amputated.

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Nubian

11,678

The domestic cat is the only species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. Wild cats hold their tail horizontally, or tucked between their legs while walking.

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Nubian

11,679

The elephant, as a symbol of the US Republican Party, was originated by cartoonist Thomas Nast and first presented in 1874.

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Nubian

11,680

The English Romantic poet Lord Byron was so devastated upon the death of his beloved Newfoundland, whose name was Boatswain, that he had inscribed upon the dog's gravestone the following: "Beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, courage without ferocity, and all the virtues of man without his vices."

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Nubian

11,681

The expression "three dog night" originated with the Eskimos and means a very cold night - so cold that you have to bed down with three dogs to keep warm.

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Nubian

11,682

The fastest bird is the Spine-tailed swift, clocked at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.

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Nubian

11,683

The fastest -moving land snail, the common garden snail, has a speed of 0.0313 mph.

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Nubian

11,684

The first house rats recorded in America appeared in Boston in 1775.

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Nubian