Survival of the weirdest

Survival at any cost: 10 absurd yet genius ways animals outsmart nature

Image: Caz Hayek

Nature is full of surprises, and some creatures have developed downright strange ways to survive. From self-amputating lizards to rejuvenating jellyfish, evolution has produced some of the weirdest adaptations in the animal kingdom. Here are 10 of the strangest skills that help animals navigate the harsh realities of their environments.

Image: Vladyslav Cherkasenko

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, can survive extreme radiation, boiling heat, and the vacuum of space. These microscopic animals achieve this by entering cryptobiosis —a state where they lose almost all water in their bodies, effectively pausing their metabolism until conditions improve.

Image: Amos

Electric eels generate up to 600 volts to stun prey and deter threats. Their bodies contain thousands of specialized cells called electrocytes, which act like tiny batteries that discharge simultaneously, producing a powerful shock. This adaptation makes them one of nature’s most shocking hunters, capable of incapacitating fish with a single jolt.

Image: Shannon Potter

Colobopsis explodens, a species of tree-dwelling ant in Southeast Asia, has a unique defense mechanism. When threatened, worker ants rupture their own bodies, releasing a toxic, sticky substance that immobilizes enemies. This suicidal defense strategy ensures the survival of the colony, and is particularly useful against predators like other insects that invade their nests.

Image: Jelle Taman

Autotomy, or self-amputation, is a survival tactic used by many lizards, including geckos and skinks. When grabbed by a predator, they can shed their tails, which continue twitching to distract the attacker while the lizard flees. Other lizard species can even push their spiky, venomous ribs through their skin to defend themselves.

Image: David Clode

Archerfish shoot jets of water at insects to knock them into the water for an easy meal. They even adjust their aim for light refraction, a skill requiring precise calculations that rival human marksmanship.

Image: Tim Zänkert

Turritopsis dohrnii, known as the "immortal jellyfish," has a remarkable ability to escape death. Instead of dying after reaching adulthood, it can transform back into its polyp stage and start its life cycle all over again. This process, called transdifferentiation, allows it to potentially live forever unless eaten or killed by external factors.

Image: Andre Mouton

The Bombardier beetle is known for its unique defense strategy. When threatened, it sprays boiling-hot chemicals from its abdomen to deter predators. The reaction inside its body reaches near-water-boiling temperatures, releasing a toxic burst in rapid-fire sequences.

Image: Naja Bertolt Jensen

Lungfish can survive for months, even years, without water by burrowing into mud and breathing air. This species secretes a thin layer of mucus that dries into a cocoon, allowing it to live out of water for up to a year. It then breathes through its lungs until the rains return and refill its waterway.

Image: Gene Taylor

Hippopotamuses produce their own sunscreen. Unlike most mammals, hippos secrete a thick, reddish fluid that acts both as a sunscreen and as an antibiotic. This secretion, often called "blood sweat," protects their skin from the harsh African sun and helps prevent infections.

Image: Zdeněk Macháček

Glass frogs, found in Central and South America, have translucent skin that makes their internal organs visible. This adaptation helps them blend into their surroundings by breaking up their outline, making them harder to detect in moonlight or shadowy forests.

Word drift

These everyday words had much darker origins

Words you once heard in a certain context may no longer mean the same thing today. Many terms we use comfortably in casual conversation were once considered shocking profanities or deeply offensive, and the journey from taboo to tame is often more surprising than you'd expect. We've all muttered "darn it" after spilling coffee on a clean shirt, or exclaimed "oh my gosh!" when a friend shared an unexpected piece of news, without giving it a second thought. Find out what really happened to these 10 words that used to be understood very differently.

It slips out easily in moments of surprise, like if someone told you you won the lottery, or mild frustration, like when the neighbor’s kid is making a racket when you’re trying to take a nap. But back in the 18th century, it was once considered a sneaky form of blasphemy.

"Gosh" emerged as a way to avoid saying "God," which many considered taking the Lord's name in vain. Ironically, the very attempt to be polite was itself seen as deceitful and irreverent.

We say it when we stub a toe or realize we forgot something at the grocery store. But "darn," a minced oath for "damn," was once viewed with suspicion precisely because of its apparent innocence, considered a sly, morally dishonest attempt to skirt around profanity while still invoking its spirit. Clergymen and etiquette guides alike warned against it as far back as the 19th century.

The edge wore off as the word passed from generation to generation, until all that remained was something almost endearing.

You might say it when you realize you've locked your keys in the car or knocked your phone off the counter. Hard to believe, then, that as recently as the early 20th century, this word was once a coarse and genuinely taboo scatological term.

Over time, as informal speech became more accepted in public life, it gradually shed its shock value, until it landed where it is today: mild enough to appear in mainstream advertising.

Today, "brass" mostly calls to mind a shiny metal or a jazz band. But, in 16th and 17th-century England, it was used as slang for a person's backside or private parts.

As the slang faded from common use, the word returned to its more literal, respectable meanings.

It sounds almost charming today; something a grandparent might say when they can't find their glasses. In the 17th and 18th centuries, however, it was used deliberately to replace much stronger expletives, carrying a weight that the whimsical word no longer suggests.

You hear it in movies, in song lyrics, in everyday frustration. But for much of Western history, well into the 19th century, "damn" was grave religious profanity, implying a wish for someone's eternal punishment.

Its sting faded as religious language lost its grip on everyday speech throughout the 20th century.

Today, the word sounds almost theatrical, something out of a period drama. From the Middle Ages through the 19th century, it was a sharp and damaging insult used against women considered to be of loose morals.

Over time, as the social and moral frameworks that gave the word its power shifted, it retreated into archaism.

You might come across it in a Victorian novel and barely notice it. At the time, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, it was a loaded minced oath for "God," and using it in polite society was considered outright blasphemy.

As religious strictures relaxed in the 20th century, the word lost its charge entirely.

These days, it's just a small, mouse-like mammal. But from the Middle Ages all the way through the 19th century, "shrew" was a vicious, misogynistic insult hurled at women considered argumentative or difficult.

Increased awareness of gendered language throughout the 20th century helped strip the word of its insulting edge, though Shakespeare's use of it still raises eyebrows.

We use it to express emphasis, disbelief, or frustration without a second thought. Once, however, – particularly through the 18th and 19th centuries – "hell" was reserved almost exclusively for warnings of divine judgment, and invoking it casually was seen as deeply irreverent.

As religious language became less central to everyday life in the 20th century, the word's fearful charge slowly dissolved.