Do fish pee?

Yes they do! According to Nanfa, fish have active osmoregulatory systems which mean that fish do need to form and excrete urine to keep their body fluid in equilibrium. The amount that they excrete though depends on the type of fish.

Freshwater fish excretes large volume of dilute urine as they are constantly taking in the freshwater around them. Saltwater fish in contrary excretes small volume of concentrated urine as they are losing water to the environment.

So the next time you take a dip in the sea with a bunch of fish, you are swimming in their pee. No wonder, the sea is always “fishy“.

Picture source: Newpetmall.com

Top 3 Smallest Countries

When deciding where to go or what to do, it is not uncommon to hear Singaporeans say, “What to do? Where now? Singapore so small. Nothing to do!” (mind the Singlish). But do you know that we are in fact 1574 times bigger than the smallest country in the world?

Wow.

Before we begin, here is Singapore statistics:

Singapore size: 692.7 sq km
Population: 4,608,167
Pop per sq km: approx 6652.5

Now here is the World’s top 3 smallest countries:

3. Nauru

Nauru size: 21 sq km (32 times smaller than Singapore)
Population: 13,770
Pop per sq km: approx 655.7

Location: Nauru is an island in the South Pacific Ocean, south of the Marshall Islands. (South east of Australia)

History in a nutshell: Formerly known as Pleasant Island. During the British and Germany expansion in the 19th century, Nauru fell under the German’s rule. But after WWI, Britain seized control of the island. Nauru gained its independence in 1968. Nauru does have their own national airline.

Things to do: Fishing, swimming and scuba dive.

2. Monaco

Monaco size: 1.95 sq km (355 times smaller than Singapore)
Population: 32,796
Pop per sq km: approx 16818.5

Location: Monaco is on the southern coast of France.

History in a nutshell: In 1297, Francois Grimaldi disguised as a monk and seized Monaco in the name of the Pope. In 1861, in exchange for independence and cash, Prince Charles III sold half of Monaco. After realising that the portion that he sold was the portion that held most of Monaco’s natural resources, Prince Charles decided to reestablish the economy by introducing tourism and gambling.

Things to do: Casinos, Monaco Grand Prix

3. Vatican City

Vatican size: 0.44 sq km (1574 times smaller than Singapore)
Population: 824
Pop per sq km: -

Location: Vatican city is located in Rome, Italy.

Interesting facts: Economy is supported by the contributions of Catholics worldwide, sale of postal stamps, publications. Citizenship is awarded to people who are allocated work in the city and their spouses and their children (till they are 25 or for girls if they get married). Citizenship is revoked upon the termination of work.

Things to do: Tourism.

Sources: CIA factbook, Nauru tourism official site, Monaco tourism official site, Wikipedia, Neotarama, About.com Geography. Picture sources: Answers.com, Traveljournals.net, Wikipedia.

Fetus in Fetu

This is a bizzare medical fact - Fetus in Fetu. The definition is an encapsulated, pedunculated vertebrate tumor. It occurs when one of the twin do not develop past the fetal stage and is enveloped into the body of the other twin.

Imagine that you were part of a twin, but you never knew that you had a twin. Nor does your mother know that you were part of a twin. But your other twin has always been with you ever since you were in your mother’s womb. Reason? As your twin and you were developing inside of your mother’s womb, you were the stronger twin and your growth enveloped that of your other twin’s. So, since birth your twin was in you (literally speaking) and have been growing slow but surely within you. This twin does not have a brain nor any organs, but can develop bones, toes, fingers, nails, hair and even private parts. This other twin feeds off your blood to stay alive.

Actually, fetus in fetu usually occurs in mothers in which they become pregnant but the baby stop forming into a full grown baby (loosely put). It could be that the mother is unaware that she has fallen pregnant and thus did not undergo procedures to remove the fetus and thus the fetus continues to be in the mother’s womb. Also, like in the story of the other twin, it is possible for a man to be “pregnant” with his other twin baby in this situation. Additionally, it is also possible for someone to carry the other twin who is of the opposite gender.

Sources for the pictures: 1) Journal of Medical Reports: fetus in fetu case report Khalifa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd; 2) ABC News; 3) The Sun UK.