Coming to your inbox every Monday with educational fun-facts and all the answers to Trainwreck Labs games from the past week.
This week, we have…
A fun fact inspired by the Discord server
Answers to last week's games
…nothing else (short newsletter this week!)
Fun Fact: Christmas trees grow in coral reefs
A real Christmas tree farm in a coral reef is, of course, impossible. But it would make for a great new Christmas carol! Image generated by DALL-E.
Marine photographers love snapping pics of what appear to be miniature Christmas tree farms that grow in coral reefs. These aren’t real trees though; in fact, they’re not even plants! Rather, these photogenically festive spirals are the breathing and eating apparatus of Spirobranchus giganteus, otherwise known as Christmas tree worms.
These gorgeous annelids live embedded in coral reefs, mostly in tropical and subtropical seas, and can live up to 40 years in their calcium carbonate tubes. While there is only one species of Christmas tree worm, they come in a variety of colours, making them prime Ocean photography subjects. However, they have a tendency to retract their faux foliage when they get scared, so don’t get too close or you might ruin the shot!
Check out some great pictures and videos of the colourful creatures here.
McLendon, R. (2021). Welcome to the Magical World of Christmas Tree Worms. [online] University of Georgia. Link.
Answers to last week's games
Monday, December 11 to Sunday, December 17.
Globle
Dec 18 Central African Rep.
Dec 19 Morocco
Dec 20 Nicaragua
Dec 21 Malawi
Dec 22 Nepal
Dec 23 Seychelles
Dec 24 Tuvalu
Dec 25 Play now!
Globle: Capitals
Dec 18 Nicosia
Dec 19 Santiago
Dec 20 Islamabad
Dec 21 Brasilia
Dec 22 Paris
Dec 23 Jakarta
Dec 24 Zagreb
Dec 25 Play now!
Chronogram
#261 Marie Curie
#262 John Lennon
#263 Genghis Khan
#264 Alexander Fleming
#265 Charlie Chaplin
#266 Queen Victoria
#267 Benedictus de Spinoza
#268 Play now!
Fictogram
#29 Wonder Woman
#30 Hamlet
#31 Lisa Simpson
#32 Norma Rae Webster
#33 Olive Oyl
#34 Goku
#35 Luigi
#36 Play now!
Metazooa
#140 Giant panda
#141 Starfish
#142 Antelope
#143 Bonobo
#144 Tiger
#145 Ladybug
#146 Gazelle
#147 Play now!
Metaflora
#79 Cabbage
#80 Cotton
#81 Hazelnut
#82 Radish
#83 Chrysanthemum
#84 Orchid
#85 Asparagus
#86 Play now!
Forgeous
"Lucrezia Agliardi Vertova" by Giovanni Battista Moroni
Forgery of week, from Dec 20
87.3% Accurate
Play Forgeous for Dec 25.
Moroni, Giovanni Battista. Lucrezia Agliardi Vertova (1490?–1558). 1557. Oil paint on canvas, 91 x 69 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 437163. Wikimedia Commons, file: "Giovanni Battista Moroni - Abbess Lucrezia Agliardi Vertova - WGA16244.jpg", https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19911825.
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Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays!
