this post was submitted on
514 points (57% like it)
2,017 up votes 1,503 down votes

todayilearned

subscribe1,995,537 readers

2,743 users here now

You learn something new every day; what did you learn today?

Submit interesting and specific facts that you just found out (not broad information you looked up, TodayILearned is not /r/wikipedia).

Posting rules

  1. Submissions must be verifiable. Please link directly to a reliable source that supports the claim in your post title. Images alone do not count as valid references. Videos are fine so long as they come from reputable sources (e.g. BBC, discovery, etc).

  2. No personal opinions, anecdotes or subjective statements (e.g "TIL xyz is a great movie").

  3. No news or recent sources. News and any sources (blog, article, press release, video, etc.) more recent than two months are not allowed.

  4. No politics. Historical politics are fine, but anything relating to current politics/politicians is not allowed.

  5. No misleading claims. Posts that omit essential information, or present unrelated facts in a way that suggest a connection, will be removed.

  6. Rephrase your post title if the following are not met:

    1. Titles must begin with "TIL ..."
    2. Make them descriptive, concise and specific (e.g. not "TIL something interesting about bacon").
    3. Titles must be able to stand on their own without requiring readers to click on a link. Starting your title with a why/what/who/where/how modifier should be unnecessary.
    4. "TIL about ..." and other broad posts don't belong on TIL. Try /r/Wikipedia, etc. instead, or be more specific (and avoid the word "about").
    5. "TIL how to ..." posts belong on /r/HowTo.
  7. No trivial or obvious facts (e.g. "TIL the sky is blue"), or facts that appeal only to a narrow audience, specifically no software/website tips (e.g. "TIL you can click on widgets in WidgetMaker 1.22").

(Why we need rules and the TIL FAQ)

Additional info

If your post does not appear in the new queue and you think it meets the above rules, please contact the moderators (include a link to your reddit.com post, not your story).

Please report spam, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate posts by messaging the moderators), as this helps us remove them more quickly!

Etiquette

We ask that you please do the following:

  1. avoid mobile versions of websites (e.g. m.wikipedia.org)

  2. link to the appropriate heading when referencing an article (particularly on Wikipedia)

  3. link to the appropriate start time when referencing videos (e.g. on YouTube)

  4. add [PDF] or [NSFW] tags to your posts, as necessary.

Please also read the site-wide Reddiquette.


Talk with us on IRC: #todayIlearned on irc.freenode.org, or just click here.


You are loved.

a community for

reddit is a source for what's new and popular online. vote on links that you like or dislike and help decide what's popular, or submit your own! learn more ›

all 129 comments

[–]I_Stole_This_Comment 66 points67 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My dog's going to be really confused as to why my face is so close to his bowl next time he drinks...

[–]probly_not_true 23 points24 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Give it back

[–]perfectly_cr0mulent 7 points8 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Those don't even fit

[–]Enjoyitbeforeitsover 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Is it weird that I recognized that comment and Had immense deja vu? Then I looked at his username and it all made sense.

[–]WeenisWrinkle -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Upvote for the perfect username. Niiice

[–]hangingaround1 26 points27 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My cousins dog shoves his whole face in the bowl and slobbers around. He is not sophisticated.

[–]veggiesoup 8 points9 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I think that dog has the right idea, the other way just looks like a pain.

[–]ashdrewness 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yep. My dog does the same. He sucks the water up.

[–]allday_everyday 64 points65 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That has got to be the most ineffective way of drinking ever. No wonder water gets everywhere!

[–]KindlyKickRocks 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Much easier to sniff/drink the water through their streamlined noses. I think somewhere along the line dogs ignored evolution.

[–]mamabear08 16 points17 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It's probably because, cute as they are, dogs are really wolves inbred thousands of times over.

[–]smokebudsmoke 23 points24 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You know why?

Cus dogs said fuck evolution, that's why.

[–]PeterTable 21 points22 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I thought that was a honey badger thing

[–]texasflip 13 points14 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Ew. They eat larva.

[–]oddthingtosay 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]decavolt 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Much easier to sniff/drink the water through their streamlined noses.

That's how my dog used to drink. Whenever the water was deep enough he'd put his whole snout in and suck in water through his mouth.

[–]DY357LX 8 points9 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Let's be honest, cat's aren't exactly being as efficient as they could be either:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KswnjMa-MQ

[–]ztherion 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

"These animals are around and they have evolved these very great ways to deal with very small quantities of water," Hu says. "How to deal with very small amounts of droplets is a very hard problem, and we're just looking for inspiration wherever we can get it.

source 1

source 2

[–]chriswu 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Silly dog should use a straw!

[–]98PercentChimp 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yeah...because dogs are known for being efficient animals...

[–]nothis 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I was actually pretty disappointed when first seeing it in slow-mo. It looks just as clumsy and, well, stupid as it looks normally. For being basically the most important thing an animal does in order to survive next to eating, it seems terribly unevolved. Maybe just "good enough"?

Just so strange compared to, say Darwin's finches.

[–]danfanclub 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

"good enough" is good enough, until it starts killing you. There haven't been any conditions where slow drinking is deadly...

[–][deleted] 19 points20 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

frat parties

[–]tandembandit 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Slow drinking in terms of domesticated dogs or animals in general? Because I have a few crocodiles that would like you to slowly drink water on the bank of their lake.

[–]Kinbensha 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Evolution is nothing but terrible blunders. Take the human eye or any number of our vestigal organs/deactivated genes.

Evolution has created some startling and amazing things, but efficiency has never been a goal. There is no goal. It's simply "good enough" that keeps you alive to have offspring.

[–]Stop_Sign 80 points81 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

DAE start doing that motion with their tongue?

[–]stillalone 25 points26 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

well NOW I am.

[–]modus 14 points15 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

DAE run right to the toilet bowl to try it out?

[–]lowhy 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Not until I read this comment... Then I did.

[–]Caspus -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

lick, lick, lick ... shit

[–]Aww_Shucks 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

0.o

The dog's licking water, not shit.

[–]jaavaaguru -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]Driftwood- 5 points6 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Relevant from NPR's Science Friday

[–]no_youarewrong -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That was some dirty ass water.

[–]dydxexisex 18 points19 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I have the weirdest boner.

[–]babaganushh 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I have the weirdest red rocket. FTFY

[–]Xaevier 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Don't let the dog see it

[–]lawyernheart -3 points-2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Rule 36 ...

[–]Kinbensha 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I believe you're being downvoted because it's rule 34.

[–]omnithrope 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I learned that several weeks ago from Reddit.

[–]goodgolly 4 points5 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

With the same GIF attached.

[–]plasticmouse 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Me too!

[–]SleepInMonday 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I work with a boxer that sticks her whole mouth into a water bowl and just sucks/gulps down water, they should expand the study to brachycephalic dogs as well.

[–]jhra 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My two boxers do the lapping drink style while my sisters Shitztsu mashes her face in and slurps.

[–]Midda 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Our dog usually just sticks his snout in the water and eats it. He's a bit of a doofus. Spends the next 20 seconds or so coughing and trying to get the water out of his nose.

[–]slowmoon 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Maybe his mother didn't teach him how.

[–]BrokenWindowTheory 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Now I'm sad, you ass.

[–]putnut00 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is true but if you want to know more.. npr has a science Friday video podcast about this. It's quite.amazing. even more than just cupping the water. It is a complicated system.

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]stinkytaco 13 points14 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You just said that to make me do stupid stuff with my tongue.

[–]happinessiseasy 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

There is no "drawing" water involved. They catch a column of water that gets splashed up, as shown by X-ray video: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2011/05/x-ray-video-reveals-how-dogs-drink.html

[–]therightclique 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The animation even indicates clearly that the under side of the tongue is not really being used here.

[–]alldayeveryday 6 points7 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrepost!

[–]skdslztmsIrlnmpqzwfs -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

*ostostostostostostost *

[–]unholynapkin 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This video came out today, extremely relevant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDuOMF0qCMk

[–]Chumbodonk 3 points4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The writeup is also extremely relevant and basically says that no, dogs do not drink with the underside of their tongue.

[–]bluefold 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This was from a show on discovery called Time Warp if anyone was curious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ch2pNkZwU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Warp_(TV_series)

Despite the melodrama it was a pretty good show

[–]timewarp 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I liked the show, but hated the fact that they picked my online handle as their title.

[–]Facial_Reactions 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]BRAlNlAC 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is not how cats drink however; much more elegant

(slow-mo vid inside)

[–]Penixx 17 points18 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

The same mechanism is thought to be used in dogs now too link

[–]madboy99 15 points16 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That's the exact same mechanism. Cat snob.

[–]NeonCombat 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Do not worry soon us cats will take over the world. -Vanishes into the alley-

[–]Ichiinu 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Nah, Nyancat and TACNAYN will be too busy duking it out to actually lead the takeover.

[–]bsod550 1 point2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

He described inertia as a force. My physics teacher would have a heart attack.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I wouldn't say more elegant, despite how flowery the narrator's description was. This is simple pull-catch, it's not some "innate understanding of gravity and inertia".

What a dog does is actually a lot more interesting.

[–]naoptovke 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

And if you look at the cat video again you'll see that he also bends his tongue backwards, just like the dog. :)

[–]dlink 2 points3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Today I learned. Thanks for this!

[–]no1113 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Yep. So do cats.

[–]GoatBased 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Cats tap the surface and draw up a jet of water. They don't ladle water with their tongues.

[–]no1113 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

If I understand correctly, you seem to be attempting to make some significant or discernible difference between the way that cats drink and the way that dogs drink.

Cat drinking

Dog drinking

As far as I can tell by the two above (and very indicative) videos, they drink EXACTLY THE SAME.

i.e. both cats and dogs drink with the underside of their tongue.

[–]GoatBased 0 points1 point ago*

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

That's a terrible video of cats drinking because it shows nothing. Cat's do not use their tongue as a bowl/spoon, which is hard to tell from that video. They do not use the underside of their tongue in this process. They the top of their tongue flat when it hits the surface and draw up a column of water by making use of inertia. (source)

[–]no1113 -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

lol. Wow. You actually can't fucking see the cat drinking with its tongue scooped the same way the dog's is?

lol . . . again wow. Some redditors just want to argue just BECAUSE. lol

Here, dumb ass. Try this one

Are you going to try to argue now that THAT cat's tongue is not scooped backwards either?

LOL! And Oh my God!! Bro are you DELUDED? The cat in the fucking link that you just sent is drinking the fucking water with the end of its tongue CURVED BACKWARD!! lol.

What - you can't see that? Look at the very end of its TONGUE! It's curved backward!

Damn, dude . . . This conversation is over, man. Seriously. lol

[–]GoatBased 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Go back to youtube.

Observing a cat's tongue in slow motion as it drinks reveals that it's not used as a ladle as is commonly believed, but as a tool to drawl liquid into a column that the cat catches for the optimal mouthful. (source)

[–]no1113 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

But man (and I'm sorry for using so many curse words before, but I started feeling like you were trolling me or something) I didn't read A THING. All you have to do is LOOK at the fucking video! If a scientist said "The cats are apparently lapping the water with their nut sacks." I'd say WHAT?? They're sticking their tongues in the fucking liquid, and - regardless of anything else that appears to be happening - the END of their tongue is curved backward JUST LIKE THE DOG'S!!

I understand that perhaps you're basing your info on what the TEXTUAL material said . . . but, again, all you have to do is look at what's happening and you see that the cat's tongue is shaped similarly to the dog's tongue when it drinks. Right? Or am I simply not seeing that correctly?

[–]GoatBased 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

You're not seeing it correctly. This is why it took scientists from the dawn of man until a few years ago to learn that cats don't actually ladle water. It's not obvious, but there is no water carried up by their tongue - the back surface of the tongue never touches the water. Dogs use a mixture of both (ladling and drawing), but the column they pull up is not calculated, it's more like a splash.

And your video of a cat licking a stream of water is neither here nor there.

[–]no1113 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Wait a minute. The back surface of the tongue never touches the water? How is it that you - or anybody - can say that when that portion of the tongue actually goes IN the water while the tip of the tongue is curved backward into itself? If that happens, then water WILL be collected in that portion that is curved backward.

Now, it DOES look like the cat doesn't curve it's tongue back as much as a dog's does. As such, perhaps there is another, additional factor that takes in the water. However, the tongue being curved backward when it goes into the water/milk/whatever means that at least SOME of the liquid is being taken up by that curved portion of the tongue.

And the the video of the cat licking the stream of water is EXACTLY relevant to this because it shows this very same action regardless of the cat's positioning.

[–]GoatBased 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

How is it that you - or anybody - can say that when that portion of the tongue actually goes IN the water while the tip of the tongue is curved backward into itself?

Physics. The same reason when you swing a bucket of water around your head, the water doesn't fall out even though there's nothing underneath it. In this case, the tongue is too quick for gravity's effect on the liquid to cover the back of the tongue. However, if you refuse to trust the Washington Post about this, I doubt you'll trust me. And I guess you won't trust this photo either, which shows the cat's tongue fully extended, the back of the tongue uncovered by milk.

It's summer, so you might have access to a pool. Go into the pool, and punch the surface of the water, pulling back the second you break the plane. Though the top of your fist may be beneath the water level, if executed correctly, it can be removed faster than the water can cover it. You have extremely slow muscles compared to the cat's tongue, but even if you can't execute it correctly you'll be able to see that it's possible.

The stream of water isn't relevant in any way. It's an entirely different motion with a different purpose. We don't drink out of water fountains the same way we drink out of straws, do we?

[–]thecotton 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I wish my tongue was a spoon.

Then again, drinking fountains would never be the same...

[–]FiftyTonBullet 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It makes sense if you think about it.

[–]boobie-master 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Cats do the samething

[–]Holiday_IsleTropics 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Did you learn it from seeing this clip? Or did you search for this clip to prove your new knowledge?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Did someone else watch that New Scientist video too?

[–]WeenisWrinkle 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]evewow 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

i saw an article about this in either Science or Nature. it also discussed how cats drink, which was ridiculously interesting as well (no joke).

[–]evewow 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

i saw an article about this in either Science or Nature. it also discussed how cats drink, which was ridiculously interesting as well (no joke).

[–]runin2astndstill 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

i. cant. stop. watching. this.

[–]Andralynn 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

No wonder why their so messy when they drink. Huh.

[–][deleted] ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[deleted]

[–]neversleep 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

As someone who has never seen this before I approve this repost.

[–]Creative_eh -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This is just fascinating, my mind is blown. Thanks, enjoy your upvote :)

[–]sodele -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

DAE get really thirsty watching this?

[–]gnarzilla_ -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

How do they knowwwwwwww?

[–]canadiansareEHholes2 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

This was on reddit's front page less than a month ago.

[–]andrey_shipilov -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I thought it was the throat they use do drink. Like cats do.

[–]Self_Manifesto 4 points5 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

No, that's your mom.

[–]Sypher03 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

YOU MEAN YOU DIDN'T KNOW!?

[–]bailz -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Why don't they curl their long tongues into a tube? They would have a built in straw?

[–]sweettea14 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Sort of related. My cat drinks with his paw. He is too good to drink straight from the water like a dog.

[–]kuntakintai -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

i watched that way for way longer than i should have

[–]cozzy891 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My question is why don't they just stick their whole mouth into the water bowl and just suck in? xD

[–]therightclique -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

They don't have articulated lips. That wouldn't work at all.

[–]cozzy891 0 points1 point ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Good point.

[–]herox7 -1 points0 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I always thought it would be easier for them to just stick their whole face in, and slurp it o.o

[–]leviathan42x -4 points-3 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Blew my mind. Thank you.

[–]bigtelephone -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

WTF.

[–]RepostCounter -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

[–]naoptovke -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Then how do they eat pussy?

[–][deleted] -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

It changed my life when I was a little kid and learned this. It was one thing eating dry cereal out of a bowl on the floor, but you try drinking a bowl of water like this when you're 4! It was almost as bad as when my cat had kittens and I realised that they were born with their eyes closed. It was years before I told my mom why I had a giant lump on my head. I'm surprised she remembered what I was talking about.

[–]ballstein -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Holy fucking repost

[–]FrostByt -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Old news. By about 10,000 years.

[–]Absturz -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

My dog drinks with a straw.

[–]scrimsims -3 points-2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Huh, I knew cats did. I didn't know knows did. Go figure.

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Welcome to kindergarten

[–]canijoinin -3 points-2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

TIL this really will be on the frontpage of reddit at least once a month for the rest of eternity.

[–]calvinvle -5 points-4 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

[–]markio -3 points-2 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

I already knew this so I down-voted it

[–]therightclique -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

So, you knew that it was wrong already?

[–]f1zombie -2 points-1 points ago

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

From a dog lover - thank you for sharing that!