Scientists just found a 46 million-year-old mosquito fossilized in amber and filled with blood!

Sounds like something out of Jurassic Park, except this mosquito is a lot younger than dinosaurs. This is the first time in history that scientists find a mosquito with a belly full of blood. It was actually discovered 30 years ago in northwestern Montana. The fossil spent years in a basement and nobody had realized how significant it was until now. A retired biochemist donated it to the Smithsonian, where they tested it and found iron and heme in it's abdomen, indicating blood. But don't think we'll be able to get DNA from it. Even though the blood is still there, the actual DNA is long gone. Scientists can't even tell what species the blood came from!

Centipedes are the best insect to have in your home!

Most people shriek and run when the multiple legs of a centipede are discovered, yet they are actually one of the more beneficial insects that can infest a home. The reason for this is because the diet of a common house centipede usually consists of a rather large assortment of other insects including roaches, houseflies, moths, silverfish, termites, and nearly ever other bug that infects a home. In addition, they do not harm humans, eat plants, carry diseases, or damage homes, which means their entire life purpose is to pretty much rid your house of every other insect! So next time you see a centipede lurking around, give him thanks rather than the bottom of your shoe and your house just might end up a little less infested.

Insects don’t feel pain!

Pain is officially defined as, “An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage,” yet is experienced differently by each person and organism. Because of this it is extremely difficult to describe just how an animal experiences pain. To study how an animal experiences pain “argument-by-analogy” is applied. This means if the animal reacts in a similar way to how we would, we believe they are experiencing pain. An example of this is if a dog was pricked with a pin and ran away, just as a human would. The strange thing with insects is that they have no capacity to feel pain at all! Nociceptors are what carry the feeling of pain to the brain. These are essential to experience pain, yet insects and crustaceans have never been found to have any! This means most of these animals are unable to feel any sort of pain!

Government vehicles in Cuba are legally required to pick up hitch-hikers!

Hitchhiking is a historically common (self-policed) practice worldwide and hence there are very few places in the world where laws exist to restrict it. However, a minority of countries have laws that restrict hitchhiking at certain locations.In the United States, for example, some local governments have laws outlawing hitchhiking, on the basis of drivers' and hitchhikers' safety. In all countries in Europe it is legal to hitchhike, and in some places even encouraged. Cuba, picking up hitchhikers is mandatory by government vehicles, if passenger space is available. Hitchhiking is encouraged, as there are few cars, and designated hitchhiking spots are used. Waiting riders are picked up on a first come first go basis.