Saturday, May 5, 2012

Happy Hippo

Happy hippo is a candy/cookie. I was also thinking about hungry,hungry hippo,which is a kids game,but neither one of these is actually the subject of today's blog.
I read somewhere that hippo milk was bright pink,and having never milked a hippo I was unaware of that. My first thought after that was,I wonder if it is strawberry flavored?
Hippos are the third largest living land mammal and their hide alone can weigh 1/2 ton. Their bodies are almost completely hairless,what hair they have is found on the tip of the tail and around the mouth. The hippo has neither sweat glands or oil producing glands,but they do have a unique gland that produces a thick red fluid,which is where the idea that hippos sweat blood came from. It is thought that this fluid may be part of their cooling system or maybe a form of sunblock. Hippos are very aggressive,and what one would think of as a yawn is actually a show of aggression. They have long,razor sharp incisors and tusk like canines. Hippos have killed hundreds of people,more than any other wild animal,and despite their size and shape can outrun a human.
An interesting side note,many people thought George Washington's teeth were made out of wood but it was actually ivory from a hippos tusk.

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