Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@Woomy_NNYes No need to be sorry, I was just kind of taken aback, expecting another "funniest home video". Another thought also came to mind: the person who filmed it, could have intervened a lot sooner, instead he let the bird struggle for far too long, so I'm kind of suspecting him not to be the biggest humming bird fan, regardless of him having a feeder in his garden...

@StephanDLW Oh, there are enough people like that on this site as well, unfortunately. And with enough I don't even mean many, because far as I'm concerned, one toxic idiot is already one too many, but they're simply everywhere, unfortunately.

The way I see it is that online, the anonymity gives individuals power and added courage, so what it does is it removes filters, because of the far lower risk and practically zero consequences. It's not always the case, but it has already been more or less proven that often times, these individuals are either close-minded or very introverted in real life, having little to no social life, being angry or depressed a lot, and lashing out online, because of all the aforementioned reasons.

I sometimes say that a certain part of these toxic individuals shouldn't have a voice at all, but the online anonymity gives it to them regardless, and not exactly to the benefit of mankind, because it brings out the worst in people sometimes, becoming absolute bottom feeders.

Best thing to do is not to get dragged into it, so even if you have already made the effort of commenting and/or replying to them, and you see it serves no purpose, then just ignore them, because it'll be an exercise in futility. And let's also not forget that most of them confuse opinions with facts, and that is also at least part of the reason why some of them defend it so aggressively.

None of that in here, though. We do have a bit of an argument every now and then, depending on the topic, but in the end, it's always respectful and with a bit of fun whenever applicable, so if the comments sections in articles get you down, just come in here and have a chat with us. At any given time, you'll always find someone to talk to, because we're all from different parts of the world, which is also part of what makes it more interesting, in my opinion.

@bimmy-lee Yeah, you learn something new every day, right? I also didn't know about all of that, so I figured I'd share the knowledge with you, because I reckoned you'd appreciate it.

Now just imagine humans having sensitive hands like that, and then going to a cattle auction to clap hands on a sale...

On a brighter note: might make couples interaction a whole lot more arousing, though...

@ThanosReXXX - Haha, yes, I definitely thought of other organs as possibilities before I settled on raccoon brain hands as the most appropriate analogy here. It’s a really interesting bit of knowledge though. Reminds me a lot of young humans and how much of our initial understanding of the world comes from calm, tactile interactions as our brains learn to weave and fuse the overload of more advanced information.

Guess It's kinda like that video of a dog owner watching his dog getting close to a crow sitting on the fence, all curious and cute.

Then the dog gulps the bird in one bite.

Sometimes you just don't expect things.

@bimmy-lee Except raccoons are a bit smarter about it than babies/toddlers. At least they just use their hands instead of sticking almost every potentially bacteria-ridden object in their mouths...

@Eel Mjeh.... except when you have a praying mantis sitting in strike position on a bird feeder, you actually do already know what you can expect...

Well it's not like I can actually find the video anymore so I can only guess so much.

@Eel Find it? It's literally one page back...

EDIT:
Hey, it's gone. Guess he removed it.

Not really

@Eel Already added an edit, after I checked myself.

Well, here then:

@ThanosReXXX - Very true. It builds resistance though. Raccoons get plenty of that when they’re dumpster diving. I did not expect that mantis to be able to latch on to a hummingbird like that, and it even pulled it in and went in for the kill as if it was food. I bet the bird got away as soon as they hit the ground. I wonder if the mantis was drawn to the feeder for the sugar water, or if she was there to hunt.

@ThanosReXXX thanks.

You can see the person was filming out of pure curiosity. And after it seemed the bird was in pain, they intervened.

@StephanDLW That's because one inspires the other. Once you've learned to become more bold and aggressive online, that also builds confidence, however misplaced, but that in turn does also have "empowering" effects on real life, hence the hardening of the world around us.

On the other hand, the world is also becoming more and more sensitive at the same time, making all of us older people walk on egg shells, almost out of fear that we're saying or doing something wrong, or looking at someone the wrong way, so across the board, the world's societies are changing at an what I would tentatively call alarming rate, and definitely not always for the better...

And yes, I actually did know that about penguins. Certain species of monkeys do the same, but instead of stones they do it for food and for becoming one of the underlings of a dominant male, which often also results in them being protected from outsiders as part of a group.

@bimmy-lee Yeah, I know. I was only kidding, obviously. I'll be the last person in the world to slap something out of a child's hand that he picked up from the street, let alone using clean wipes to sterilize their hands or something. Let them become a bit sick every now and then, and build resistance, instead of becoming weak, dependent individuals.

As for the hummingbird vs mantis video: I highly suspect it was staged, also after having read some of the "wonderful" comments underneath it on its own YouTube page.

I do fear that the bird didn't make it, though. Mantises not only have strong mandibles, but also acid, so the head must have already been damaged anyway, because the person who filmed it let them go about it for too long before intervening. And a hummingbird is no good on the ground, so seeing as they both fell off, the mantis would probably be at and advantage in the end.

@Woomy_NNYes Pretty much what @Heavyarms55 mentioned. Age isn't a thing usually; I've caught plenty of adults in public comment sections on sites like FB being complete jerks about matters. Doesn't matter what "side" on an issue they are; every opinion out there has people perfectly willing to insult those who don't agree with them.

Some sites with abused upvote/downvote features (Ex. Reddit) encourage groupthink as well. I've seen some perfectly phrased opinions, whether or not I've agreed with them, that have been downvoted into oblivion.

@StephanDLW I've never used Twitter but am unfortunately stuck with Facebook; the latter is the only way that I've maintained some connections and is also how a group I'm in communicates and schedules calendar events. I also need to use the adjoining Messenger app to chat with my mom on occasion; my parents live in a wooded area where cell reception is often a dream until you get closer to the main road. Gotta rely on their okay-ish internet instead.

Thank goodness FB introduced the unfollow option. It's really cut down on the toxic memes and content. Politics here in the States (and I know people on many sides of various issues) can be pretty volatile.

I also forgot to mention this earlier, but it's awesome that you can turn your experiences into something positive! It's amazing what a listening, nonjudgmental person can do when you just need to get something off your chest.

Some adults can be worse because they tend to think age justifies/validates their opinions.

@ThanosReXXX - I kind of wondered about the legitimacy when the person filming intervened in the tussle. It was a reaction like, “Crap, I didn’t realize it would go this far.” It’s really lame if they staged it. It would have been an amazing interaction if it happened naturally, but setting up Mantis vs Hummingbird, round one, fight! for views is really gross.

Mantis' always creeped me out for some reason. Felt bad for the bird though.

They are creepy by default if you ask me.

Most bugs don't bother me, but they do especially. They can't be from this world 🤔

I like watching nature in action, or its inaction. I'd spend time as a kid watching anthills, a beehive in part of an outbuilding on the family property, praying mantises chilling, etc. Of course, mom had to step in when I started feeding the ants watermelon rinds....

Definitely another observation of mine. Heck, one of my grandmothers is pushing 92 and is generally a pleasant person, but she's definitely pretty vocal about some things and is pretty set in her ways by this point.

@StephanDLW Too true. I definitely don't mind lending an ear if someone needs it, though I also couldn't do it for a living; I'm an introvert and can only do so much with people in a day before I've reached my limit. I'm also not the most pleasant person first thing in the morning. XD

I also understand trying to work on yourself in your own way. It's quite a process. I'm still trying to iron out a few things with myself. I've made progress but still have a ways to go. IMO it's a lifelong process for most people if not all. We learn every day, after all.

@bimmy-lee Mind you, I'm not completely sure if it IS staged, I just (strongly) suspect it. And of course, it's not a natural setting (regardless of what certain idiots and/or pro-Mantis people in that comments section seem to think), once you hang up a feeder to lure in animals, and you've got a camera set up as well.

If this would have just happened in a tree or a shrub, then I would still dislike it, but then it would actually be nature going about it's way, regardless of how gruesome that can be sometimes.