Growing up on a farm in East Texas, one learned to keep an eye out for snakes, especially near the creeks, woodpiles and other snaky places. I have had many encounters with snakes. One summer day ...

Dusk starts to settle across the landscape. The dirt trail, lit by the last licks of sunlight, winds through the trees. The sound of your shuffling footfalls fills the quiet. Suddenly, you stop.

Using the internet to untangle the messy world of animal superlatives (fastest animal, strongest animal, smallest animal, etc.) is inherently risky – partly because many of these questions have a lot ...