So what does it taste like?

By MartiAnimals, Dogs

Ah, too obvious! Of course it would have to be chicken.

So why does meat often taste like chicken?…Well maybe it doesn’t. Our friends at MythBusters did a taste test of different meats to see if ‘it is easy to confuse the taste of unusual meats with that of chicken.’ They had twenty meats prepared for tasting (if you’re a vegetarian, or animal lover, skip this paragraph and read the results in the following paragraph), including: frog, peacock, squab, alligator, goat and turtle (What the…!) For the non squeamish, check out there video here.

Tory got 17 out of 20 samples correct and Grant only 11. The giveaway for Tory was the texture of the meat, so they did the test again; this time with minced meat to take away the texture. The results improved with Tory identifying 18 of 20 and Grant 19 of 20. In the words of MythBusters – Busted.

I was once tricked with goat for lamb (not happy, goat is a no go zone for me), but never chicken.

Have you ever confused another meat for chicken?

May 21, 2015

Love1

The three toed sloth

By MartiAnimals

The three toad sloth with extra suction

Sloths are probably the closest looking real life cartoon in existence. After drawing this cartoon, I had to do a bit more research on this wonderful mammal. Here are some things you might’t know about the humble sloth.

They are so slow moving that algae grows on their fur – Well I joke partially, but it does help them stay camouflaged in the tree top homes.
There are both two toed and three toed sloths, but both have long claws up to 10cm in length, which they use to grip to tree branches.
Sloths once were as large as elephants…but that was thousands of years ago and these types have been extinct for over 10,000 years.
It can take up to a month for a sloth to digest it’s meal. Their leaf diet is hard to break down and they rely on stomach bacteria to help the process along.

So what’s your favourite animal?

Credit Wiki Commons: Drei Finger Faultier

May 10, 2015

Love2

How to make chocolate Easter eggs

By MartiAnimals

It’s obvious, I guess. What goes in, must come out.

Have a wonderful Easter, and overindulge knowing that these chocolate facts will be in your side

Chocolate may reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack and diabetes
Chocolate makes you smart – UK scientists completed a study that indicated that flavanols (a particular one found in chocolate) helped wit mental maths capabilities. “The findings suggest students who binge on chocolate when revising for exams may gain a real benefit from doing so,” the British Telegraph reported.
Eating chocolate can add to your life span. Research suggests it can add up to 2 years – that’s two extra years of chocolate eating

So, now, you know how good chocolate is, how many extra eggs are you going to eat this Easter? Let me know.

April 3, 2015

Love0

Guess who’s crashed the party?

By MartiAnimals

Maybe you don’t have an Ohrwurm, perhaps you have beans stuck in your ears

You’re in for a real treat this week. I’m going to share with you the song ‘Bohnen in die Ohren’ (beans in the ears). My father used to play it incessantly at night time, while I was trying to go to sleep in my bedroom, which unfortunately shared one paper thin wall with the living room.

You absolutely must listen to this shortened rendition by Gus Backus to the very end (it only goes for 1:26 min). The lyrics are stupid at best; so stupid you gotta laugh.

A quick translation, so you get a better feel…

Yes, my mother says, Don’t poke any beans in your ears, beans in your ears, beans in your ears.
Yes, my mother says, Don’t poke any beans in your ears, beans in your ears.
Yes, you must speak louder, I have beans in my ears, beans in my ears, beans in my ears…
You can’t hear the teacher, with beans in your ears….

All this Ohrwurm talk reminded me of this song and I Googled it, not thinking I would actually find it. But surprise, surprise, there it was. I played it to my children, who thought it was so wonderful(ly annoying), they downloaded it from iTunes while my back was turned.

So, what do you think of the song? Feel sorry my my cruel upbringing?

March 19, 2015

Love0

DIY dinner

By MartiAnimals

One of the 10 golden rules of cartooning is to make cartoons that don’t need explaining. Well, with good intent I assumed spanner crabs were common across the globe, but I discovered that they are predominantly found in the warmer parts of Australia.

I’m not sure why they call it the spanner crab, as it’s claws aren’t very spanner like. It lives in shallow sandy sea waters and hides itself under the sand. With only its eyes and mouth popping above the sand, it patiently waits for any small fish to unsuspectingly pass by.

Anyway, back to those golden rules. I’m assuming there are 10, but haven’t tried to create a list. Any ideas for 2 – 10?

January 13, 2015

Love0

The to do list

By MartiAnimals

September 16, 2014

Love0

How big, did you say?

By MartiAnimals

August 18, 2014

Love0

Second time lucky?

By MartiAnimals, Portuguese cartoons, That's life

Well, no – not for me, but don’t worry – lucky for you!

This is a self indulgent trip down memory lane showing the three cartoons I submitted into the 40th Piracicaba International humor festival (but I posted them first here on this website for you all to enjoy!). You may recall, my first modest submission two years ago (if not, take a peak here).

Well, here are my 2013 entries (maybe Brazilians don’t get Aussie humour). And they all come with bonus Portuguese captions too!

If you want to see who the winners were, click on here. My favourite is the archery shooting one – What’s yours?