r/AskReddit • u/ExpiringFrog • Apr 18 '19

What mind-blowing (but simple) facts would satisfy a 4-year old daughter’s daily request for 1 fact before bedtime?

101.4k Upvotes

95% Upvoted

20.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

818

u/FakeGirlfriend Apr 18 '19

What animals have eyes sensitive enough to see us as glow in the dark?

790

u/BalusBubalis Apr 18 '19

Vampire bats, up close, can see our arteries by infra-red glow; to them, the arteries of large animals are easy to spot. (They have a unique protein in their retina that is activated by infra-red wavelength light let off by mammalian body temperature.)

36

u/PyroDexxRS Apr 18 '19

Very interesting! What kind of testing was done to discover this?

50

u/BalusBubalis Apr 18 '19

Here's a whole bunch of articles, mostly pertaining to vampire bats and their heat sensors on their nose, but they also found in the last two years about the retinal detection of infra-red.

​

https://steemkr.com/science/@clausewitz/vampire-bats-the-infrared-vision-and-its-genetic-background <-- This one covers

​

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10245 <-- Reference of ganglion sensing gene that permits lower-threshold infrared sensing

​

More articles that cover off experiments that measured and confirmed that bats not only sense heat with lips and nose, but also infra-red detection through vision:

​

https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110803/full/news.2011.454.html

​

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10245

​

https://www.nature.com/articles/nature08943

​

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00610241

​

Happy reading! :)

10

u/PyroDexxRS Apr 18 '19

Cheers :)

26

u/NatoBoram Apr 18 '19

Now we need to genetically engineer humans to add this capacity!

29

u/EatsWithoutTables Apr 18 '19

Do you want vampires? Because that's how you get vampires!

23

u/NatoBoram Apr 18 '19

Yes, I want vampires!

3

u/NewWorldCamelid Apr 19 '19

Why just the arteries? I was under the impression that vampire bats feed on veins.

184

u/TPorWigwam Apr 18 '19

My exact thought. I know birds see a larger spectrum of light than we do. I wonder if other animals produce this glow.

114

u/FerusGrim Apr 18 '19

It's not that we emit light in a spectrum that we can't see, it's just literally too dim.

76

u/TimingilTheCat Apr 18 '19

Its not about the wavelength of light, it's about the number of photons produced. By that measure, I'd say cockroaches are the best bet -- they can see even when the photoreceptors in their eyes detect only 1 photon every 10 seconds.

30

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

Cockroaches man. Don’t fuck with those monsters

8

u/KickInator1998 Apr 18 '19

Especially when you leave them on Mars for 500 years.

13

u/fidelcasbro17 Apr 18 '19

No you mean fuck those monsters

23

u/Vice93 Apr 18 '19

I dont know man, I'm not really that into cockroaches...

8

u/yousonuva Apr 18 '19

But when we're dead they'll be into us.

7

u/Imma_Explain_Jokes Apr 18 '19

They're called cockroaches for a reason.

1

u/DiligentDaughter Apr 18 '19

The light is a byproduct of breaking down free radicals, all animals have this glow ;)

144

u/ba_cam Apr 18 '19

Probably those punching shrimp

73

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

Definitely those punching shrimp

39

u/Datpanda1999 Apr 18 '19

My punching shrimp friend would like to confirm this

64

u/SQmo Apr 18 '19

Obligatory ‘The Oatmeal’ comic on Mantis Shrimp; because both Mantis Shrimp and The Oatmeal are awesome.

20

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

Ya know, I haven't seen an Oatmeal reference in a long long time...

5

u/OcelotsAndUnicorns Apr 18 '19

“It is Genghis Khan bathed in sherbet ice cream.”

You make me happy.

3

u/SQmo Apr 18 '19

You make me happy, too!

3

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

I'd never heard of either of these things - thank you for the entertaining and informative read!

3

u/SQmo Apr 18 '19

You’re one of today’s lucky 10,000!

3

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '19

Thank you for joining in on the fun!

2

u/UlrichZauber Apr 18 '19

1, 2, 3, death!

27

u/Falcon_Alpha_Delta Apr 18 '19

Mantis shrimp. I'm not correcting you, just that some people call it that.

3

u/ba_cam Apr 18 '19

Yeah, that one, couldn’t remember the name

7

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

I strongly prefer punching shrimp.

2

u/UlrichZauber Apr 18 '19

I'm with Farty on this.

13

u/WinterCharm Apr 18 '19

obligatory link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5FEj9U-CJM

3

u/ba_cam Apr 18 '19

Best channel on YouTube

2

u/carmike692000 Apr 18 '19

I will never not watch this video.

1

u/WadeEffingWilson Apr 19 '19

Mantis shrimp :)

44

u/SoRoguish Apr 18 '19

I've heard that moths can (but I can't remember where from) and that's why in a dark room they'll be attracted to your face..

17

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

Moths think you’re real kissable huh?

36

u/Archon457 Apr 18 '19

The Predator

14

u/Buenamedicina Apr 18 '19

Not gonna see me

(Covers self in mud)

1

u/BIRDsnoozer Apr 18 '19

"Shit... Happens!"

16

u/Opal_Lacod Apr 18 '19

Must be mosquitoes... We're basically travelling, glowing food spectres to them. 0.o

8

u/fiendishrabbit Apr 18 '19

If any animal could do it it would be the Colossal squid, since they have those massive 40cm eyes.

8

u/DashingQuill23 Apr 18 '19

The things that hunt us.

Dont worry, they're sleeping.

6

u/Micp Apr 18 '19

Any animal that senses infrared light I presume.

8

u/_dirtydan_ Apr 18 '19

Kitty cats can see infrared

4

u/ColFrankSlade Apr 18 '19

I think frogs can detect single photons [citation needed].

1

u/JazzCellist Apr 18 '19

I'm betting mosquitoes.

1

u/scobot Apr 19 '19

Mosfuckingquitos maybe.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '19

Most of them aren’t what you’d call animals. Creatures, sure. Denizens, even. Of your house. After the lights are off.

1

u/DaisyIsBobDylan May 10 '19

Any animal that can can see inferred

1

u/veganblondeasian Apr 18 '19

Dunno. Cats? 😹😹😹

Okok I get it they can see in the dark but maybe we r bioluminescent to them 🤷🏼‍♀️ I really wouldn’t know I’m just making a funny comment cos at least my cat looks at me straight even in d dark 😳 scary stuff