CULTURAL QA 01-2024-21 All the BELOW QA are from Quora digest to me on 24-01-2024.
Quora answers need not be 100% correct answers .Compiled and posted by R. Gopalakrishnan, on 24-01-2024 Q1 Whatevolutionary advantage does a hyena have by having longer front limbs and muchshorter hind limbs? Or is there no advantage, but rather simply nodisadvantage? A1 GaryMeaney, author of Zoology's Greatest Mystery (2022)Sep 25 Contrary to popular belief, the forelegsof hyenas are not significantly longer than the hind legs! It’s easy tosee where this idea comes from, particularly when looking at a spotted hyena: But it is not the case. If we strip back the layers ofsoft tissue and look solely at the skeleton of the hyena, we discover that the two pairs of limbs arevirtually identical in length. If anything, the hind legs can be ever soslightly longer. It’s something else entirely that creates the slopingappearance of the hyena silhouette. The vertebrae of the thoracic spine (upper back) have extremely long protrusions,which we call spinous processes. These processes serve as anchor points for aset of utterly massive neck muscles. And why do they need these? Well, allhyenas suffer constant pressure from lions, and to a lesser extent, othercarnivores. When they have made a kill or found a carcass, one can besure that these rivals will soon be on the scene, ready to drive the hyenasaway. Because of this, ithelps to eat fast - a single spotted hyena can scoff an entire gazelle in twominutes flat! Another useful strategy is to carry the prey away to asafer, more secluded location. Carrying such aheavy prize at such a distance from the fulcrum requires an absurd amount ofstrength, so hyenas’ have gigantic neck extensor muscles. All this thick musculature, incombination with the long, bony spines it attaches to, create the illusion thatthe limbs at the front are longer than the limbs at the back. The exact sameillusion is seen in animals which have huge heads. The American bison, for example,has an immense skull and a heavy set of horns, which it has to carry around allday. Furthermore, this head must withstand devastating force duringhead-butting competitions over territory or mates. Bisons have that samesloping-backed appearance as hyenas: But again it’s the spinous processes, not the forelegs, that create the profile.They need to support incredibly large muscles, which in turn need to lift anincredibly large head. The same goes for the magnificent muskoxen of Arcticlands, and various other bovids. Do note thateverything I said above about hyenas applies only to spotted hyenas, stripedhyenas, and brown hyenas. The aardwolf, the oddball of the family, leads a verydifferent lifestyle, and as such has very different anatomy. It’s smaller thana beagle, and eats only termites. It may slurp up 300,000 of them in a singlenight!... Q2 Is itbelieved that all living things on Earth have evolved from a single commonancestor through natural selection? A2 ClaireJordan, Worked at National Health Service (NHS)Jan 18 Yes, everystill-living organism whose DNA we have tested appears to come from a singlespecies of single-celled organism we call LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor. There were probably other cell lines in existence veryearly on, but only LUCA’s descendantsmade it through, as far as we’ve been able to tell. If any other linesstill exist they’re somewhere inaccessible, such as deep in the Earth’s crust. Q3 What wasthe most humbling experience? A3 VaishaliVaira, Vo Kahani He 8h 4 years back I and my dad went to purchase a pair ofshoes from a footwear shop nearby. There was a man with a great height and physique , around the age of 30sitting there holding a girl child of around 4 years. He kept seeing mydad for few seconds , laterwhile going back he gave a pleasant smile and asked my dad “You are from' x' village right,with the home in the outskirts of the village”. My dad was surprised and said “ya but sorry i couldn't make out, how do u knowme?” He spoke with the calmness , pleasant smile on hisface ”i was one among the construction workers who built yourhouse( he said it in a local slang ಗಾರೆ ಕೆಲಸ ).i used to sleep there only at night.Ican't forget those days. Happy to see you” My dad was surpised hearing this”ohh, u still remember it.What are u doing now?”but my dad was not able to recognize him as it wasaround 10 yrs back He said in the most humble way”i am thecircle inspector here , came to purchase slippers for my daughter” andasked whether I was his daughter to which my dad replied yes , that mancontinued,’ she was asmall child when I last saw her, she is a grown up girl now ‘with the brotherlylove in his eyes. How can someone be so humble, the one who is a circleinspector now, recognized my dad and said that he had worked asa construction worker for his home without any hesitation even when my dadfailed to recognize him. That humbleness he had when he spoke was justinspirational. He reminds me of one saying”wherever you go, whateveryou become you should never forget your roots, you should be proud of them” X Edit:To all those who are asking who is a circleinspector, he is a police officer who is in charge of 2 or more policestations, he supervises the sub inspectors of those stations. My note- Even one in 1000 will not have such qualities ofremembering the steps of ladder they climbed up. If some members of thegroups recollect it, many unwantedstupid mails from them either one to one or through groups might not have cometo others. Q4 Were anyShankaracharyas present at the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya? If so, whatwas their opinion on the issue? A4 R.Chandrasekharan Kannammal, Muruga Saranam21h Yes- the KanchiSankaracharya Sri Viyendra Saraswathi Swamigal was very much present in thefunction. In fact the Kanchi Sankaracharya Mutt (late) Sri JayendraSaraswathy Swamigal very actively inivolved to find a reconciliation betweenHindus & Muslims to find out of court settlement. It did not come to fruition. Now the date and time for Prana Pradhistan was decidedonly after consultation with Sri Viyendra Saraswathi Swamigal Sri Viyendra Saraswathi Swamigal was present during thefunction - he was emotionally moved also. Q5 Do youknow a joke about a Jewish beggar? A5 AndrasLu, Nov 20 Two beggars are sitting side by side on the street inRome. One has a cross infront of him, the othera Star of David. Many people go by, but only put money into the hatof the beggar sitting behind the cross. A priest comesby, stops and watches throngs of people giving money to the beggar sittingbehind the cross, but none give to the beggar sitting behind the Star of David.Finally, the priest goesover to the beggar behind the Star of David and says: "Don't you understand? This is a Catholic country.People aren't going to give you money if you sit there with a Star of David infront of you, especially if you're sitting beside abeggar who has a cross. Infact, they would probably give to him just out of spite!" The beggar behind the Star of David listened to thepriest, turned to the other beggar with the cross and said: "Moshe, look who's tryingto teach the Goldsteinbrothers aboutmarketing!" -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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