Things I've Learned Recently

• There's a species of Slave Ants that are so specialized in their role of enslaving other ant colonies that they can't even forage for food on their own. These ants spend their entire days sneaking into other colonies, steal the pupae of other ants, bring them back to their colony until they hatch, and then, when they hatch, the new ants are hardwired to work for wherever they are born. New slaves for the colony, slaves that gather food for their new masters, and the cycle goes on. This is pretty interesting to start with, but the most interesting thing is that this has happened for awhile and no one thought much of it. Then, they started studying these ants and realized that at certain times, the pupae would hatch, work for awhile and then revolt against their new masters-- often decapitating them or attacking them, but then would go back to work afterward. If this isn't the weirdest parallel of society, I don't know what is. Weirder yet, I also read (when looking up pictures) that these slave ants also try to kill the offspring of their masters. What a crazy weird relationship. (National Geographic, August 2013)

• The cost per square foot of real estate in Hong Kong right now is $11,000. Which, compared to the $4,000 (on average) in Manhattan (one of the most expensive places to live in the United States), is more than double-- almost triple. The rising real estate market is somewhat attributed to the demand coming from mainland China, which, in 2003 had no billionaires on Forbes' list, but now, in 2013 has over 120. The newest status symbol, it seems, is to own property in Hong Kong. Again tying to the similarities in Manhattan, this demand is probably tied to the scarcity of real estate in Hong Kong. Hong Kong, being an island, is incredibly limited in the amount of space that it has, and this rare-ness has always seemed to draw in those who are wealthy. Especially those who are spectacularly wealthy-- or who are enjoying the new wealth that comes from the manufacturing industry in one of the busiest manufacturing countries on the planet.  (Elle, June 2013)

• I watched The Beaver today (the one about the beaver puppet) and it was a surprisingly good movie. I wonder if puppet therapy is a real thing. I don't think that this disassociative living is healthy, but hey-- who hasn't ever wanted to live vicariously through a (British) beaver hand puppet? In all seriousness though, the movie starts with an add about depression and, I never knew that 2 out of 3 people with depression don't seek help. I feel like this is something that's more widespread than even I probably realize. Having had family members that suffered through depression, I can only imagine how awful it is to go through it, but also go through it alone.