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Friday, May 18, 2007

Welcome to the land of the Salty Slug

Well here it is my very own Blog. Some said it would never happen, mostly cause I can't read. Well here it is. The reason why, I wanted to keep the 3.5 people that are always interested in my art up to speed on my latest works. And lets be honest it is a great way for me to get out some of my crazy rants.



Why Slugs? Because they crack me up! Below are 20 very interesting facts about Slugs. Check them out.

1. Slugs are gastropod mollusks without shells or with very small internal shells, in contrast to snails, which have a prominent coiled shell.

2. They are sometimes referred to as the farting shelless clams of the woods.

3. Although they go through 180 degree twisting of internal organs during development, their bodies are streamlined and worm-like, and so show little external evidence of it.

4. You can't beat a slug in a game of twister

5. Slugs include both marine and terrestrial species.

6.They have a rough, tongue-like organ with many tiny tooth-like denticles.

7. Like snails, most slugs have two pairs of 'feelers' or tentacles on their head.

8. Slugs produce two types of mucus: one which is thin and watery, and another which is thick and sticky.

9. Some species use slime cords to lower themselves on to the ground, or suspend from them during copulation.

10. The Ancient Romans used slug slime as an early form of KY Jelly.



11. Slugs are monoecious, having both female and male reproductive organs.

12. A commonly seen practice among many slugs is apophallation, when one or both of the slugs chew off the other's penis. The penis of these species is curled like a cork-screw and often becomes entangled in their mate's genitalia in the process of exchanging sperm. Apophallation allows the slugs to separate themselves. Once the penis has been removed, the slug remains female for the rest of its life.

13. Various species of slug can also reproduce via tiny "darts" of sperm which they fling in the direction of their mate's genitalia.

14. Most slugs eat leaves, fungus, and decaying vegetable material, but some are predators and most also eat carrion including dead of their own kind.

15. Frogs, toads, snakes, hedgehogs, and some birds and beetles are natural slug predators.

16. Slugs, when attacked, can contract their body, making themselves harder and more compact.

17. Some slugs are notable garden pests and there are various methods of controlling them, including slug pellets, beer traps, physical barriers and biological pest controls.

18. Slugs are Nature's Drunks

19. Pouring salt on a slug will draw out all the moisture in its body, causing it to die from desiccation.

20. Care should be taken when consuming slugs. In certain cases humans have contracted parasite-induced meningitis from eating raw slugs



Thanks to my buddy Nate for helping me come up with the cool Blog Title. Thanks DB!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're a Douche! But I got to say, well done my friend.

Joseph A. Dinunzio said...

Thank you Sir...Or should I say Lord of the DBs!