Fact of the Day

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - QUACKS HAVE ACCENTS

Did you know.... You probably know the old saying, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it just may be a duck.” But there’s a slight wrinkle in that logic, because not all ducks quack the same.

 

Research has shown that ducks from different areas can develop regional “accents,” not unlike humans, that can be heard in their quacks. Professor Victoria de Rijke of London’s Middlesex University found that London ducks have a louder and rougher quack, described as sounding like a shout or a laugh, compared to the softer, more relaxed sounds of countryside quackers in Cornwall, England. Ducks are extremely adaptable creatures, and it's believed the city ducks made adjustments to compete with urban noise.

 

Hunters and call makers (people who craft animal calls for hunting) have also picked up on these regional differences, honing in on distinct styles to match local duck flocks. From the loud, high-pitched calls made by the ducks of Tennessee's beloved Reelfoot Lake to the subtle, more infrequent quacks of Louisiana waterfowl, each style reflects years of close listening to ducks whose sounds have been shaped by their habitats.

 

 

The 1980s movie Howard the Duck led to the creation of Pixar.
In 1986, an early Marvel movie called Howard the Duck was released in theaters. The film was a notorious flop, widely panned for its overall off-key strangeness — but it helped lay the groundwork for a major Hollywood success story.

 

The movie’s executive producer, Star Wars creator George Lucas, tapped his company’s computer graphics team to help with the film’s post-production. Soon afterward, partially due to Howard the Duck’s failure, Lucas attempted to recoup some financial losses by selling that graphics division to Steve Jobs, who had recently left Apple computers (though he returned in 1997).

 

That division became Pixar, and in 1995, the company succeeded in making Toy Story, the first fully computer-animated feature film. Pixar would go on to redefine computer animation in the film industry.

 

 

Source: Ducks quack in regional accents.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - D'OH

Did you know.... Homer Simpson’s famed grunt has been ubiquitous both on the long-running animated series The Simpsons (which debuted in 1989) and in the collective imagination for decades now, with “D’oh!” getting its own Wikipedia article, YouTube compilations, and even a book. Yet not many people know the sound is actually a protected trademark owned by 20th Century Studios. Technically, it’s a sound mark, which the United States Patent and Trademark Office explains “identifies and distinguishes a product or service through audio rather than visual means” and " create in the hearer’s mind an association” between a sound and a good or service. 20th Century Studios filed papers to trademark the sound (registration number: 3411881) in July 2001, and it was officially registered in 2008. Other examples of sound marks include the noise Darth Vader makes while breathing and that instantly recognizable Law and Order “chung chung” sound effect.

 

Homer's utterance is hardly the only iconic Simpsons catchphrase — “¡Ay, caramba!” and “Okily dokily!” come to mind as well — but “D’oh!” may be the most enduring. TV Land placed it sixth on a list of the 100 greatest quotes and catchphrases in television history, ahead of such heavyweights as Fred Flintstone’s “Yabba dabba do!” and Seinfeld’s “No soup for you!”

 

The true location of Springfield has never been revealed.

What state do the Simpsons live in? According to one chalkboard gag, “The true location of Springfield is in any state but yours.” Despite creator Matt Groening once saying that the town was partially based on Springfield, Oregon, the show itself has made a joke of never revealing its actual location. There have been clues along the way, most of which contradict each other, but it’s likely that there will never be a definite answer. “I don’t want to ruin it for people, you know?” Groening has said of the phenomenon. “Whenever people say it’s Springfield, Ohio, or Springfield, Massachusetts, or Springfield, wherever, I always go, ‘Yup, that’s right.’”

 

 

Source: Homer Simpson’s ‘D’oh’ is trademarked by 20th Century Studios.

Edited January 11 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS

Did you know.... With their gravity-defying basketball trick shots, the Harlem Globetrotters can make a school assembly feel like the final matchup in 1996’s Space Jam. Promoter Abe Saperstein founded the legendary exhibition team in 1926 as a way to showcase the talents of Black athletes, who were not yet allowed to play on professional basketball teams. For 12 years, the Globetrotters played standard basketball, but then began adding the comedic routines that would earn them the title of the “Clown Princes of Basketball.” Today, the team doubles as goodwill ambassadors, constantly speaking out on the importance of bullying prevention and mental health, among other topics. In their 100-year history, the Globetrotters have drafted 10 honorary members, including Henry Kissinger, Bob Hope, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Whoopi Goldberg, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Jesse Jackson, and Robin Roberts. Two others — Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis — added the title to what may already be the most famous job in the world.

 

In fact, both popes were literal globetrotters well before receiving the honor. During his 27-year papacy (1978-2005), polyglot Pope John Paul II visited 129 countries, more than all his predecessors combined. And Pope Francis, the first Latin American to lead the Catholic Church, accrued frequent flyer miles at a similarly fast pace — during his 12-year tenure, he visited more than 65 countries. The Globetrotters, meanwhile, remain the best-traveled basketball squad in history. Pope John Paul II welcomed the team to the Vatican in 1986 and 2000. The latter meeting fell on the eve of the Globetrotters’ 75th anniversary, so they presented His Holiness — then aged 80 — with an autographed “75” jersey and basketball. Pope Francis was slightly younger when he became an honorary member, in 2015. Player Flight Time Lang even helped Pope Francis briefly spin a basketball on one finger, to the delight of revelers in St. Peter’s Square.

 

NBC aired a TV movie called “The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island.”
Gilligan’s Island has spent so many decades in syndication that it’s easy to forget CBS canceled the show in 1967, after just three seasons. Yet creator Sherwood Schwartz believed more hijinks awaited the S.S. Minnow’s stranded passengers, so he co-wrote a trio of TV movies that aired on rival NBC between 1978 and 1981. For the final installment, NBC executives successfully pitched Schwartz a plot where the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders find themselves stuck on the island with Bob Denver (Gilligan), Alan Hale Jr. (Skipper), and the rest of the returning ensemble. However, the Harlem Globetrotters were chosen to replace the cheerleaders because the latter had already committed to a competing special. In the end product, Gilligan and the rest of his former shipmates run an island resort called The Castaways, where the Globetrotters find shelter after their plane crashes in the Pacific Ocean. Somehow, the plot also involves the discovery of a new element called Supremium, robots, and (of course) a winner-takes-all basketball game, in which — spoiler alert — Gilligan scores the winning shot.

 

 

Source: Two popes have been named honorary members of the Harlem Globetrotters.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - IT GLOWS!

Did you know.... Tonic water is best known for adding a little bite to cocktails, though it has a hidden talent: It glows when exposed to ultraviolet light. While modern tonic waters often include citrus flavors or sweeteners to ease their bitter taste, the mix is traditionally crafted from just two ingredients — carbonated water and quinine, the second of which is capable of illumination. Quinine’s ability to glow, technically called fluorescence, occurs only when the substance is exposed to the right conditions, particularly when its molecules absorb invisible ultraviolet light (such as that projected by a black light). The excited molecules then quickly release that energy, which appears as a blue hue to the human eye in a darkened room. 

 

Though tonic water is now a bar cart staple, its initial purpose wasn’t enjoyment — it was to prevent and treat malaria. Quinine, which comes from the bark of the South American cinchona tree, was first used by the Indigenous Quechua people as a cure-all for stomach ailments; by the 1600s, Europeans had documented its fever-reducing properties. In the 1700s, Scottish doctor George Cleghorn discovered it could also effectively treat malaria. As the only known treatment for nearly 300 years, quinine was paired with water to create a “tonic” and distributed to British soldiers stationed in India and other malaria-prone regions. Some historians believe soldiers began adding the medication to gin and other alcohols to make the bitter flavor more palatable, eventually creating the “gin and tonic” drink we know today. However, other researchers suggest it wasn’t until the 1860s that the classic drink emerged, served to victorious patrons at horse racing tracks in India.

 

The search for a quinine alternative created the first synthetic dye.

Quinine’s legacy isn’t just in the beverages we drink, but also in the clothes we wear. The medicine led one scientist to discover mauveine, a synthetic dye that lends its name to the shade of purple we call mauve. In the 19th century, getting ahold of quinine was costly, since the compound was created from cinchona tree bark imported from South America. Some researchers, like chemist William Perkin, attempted to create bark-free synthetic versions. One of Perkin’s attempts, using a chemical called aniline, resulted in a goopy dark substance that didn’t easily wash away. Realizing its staining abilities, Perkin patented the substance as the world’s first synthetic dye — easier to use than natural dyes, and with the benefit of being more colorfast. Shortly after his discovery, Perkin opened his own textile dyeing factory, helping to launch a fashion craze that featured his newly created hue. Even Queen Victoria got in on the act, wearing a mauve-colored dress at the International Exhibition of 1862.

 

 

Source: Tonic water can glow in the dark.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the day - FOMO

Did you know.... You've felt it. You've probably said it. Here's what "fomo" really means and where it came from.

 

It's Friday night, pillows fluffed, pajamas on, and pizza on the way. Then your phone flashes—and so do images of your friends having the best night of their lives, the new bar you haven't tried, or even a potential love interest waiting in plain sight. That anxious feeling that everyone else is having fun without you is called "fomo," short for "fear of missing out." Side effects can include compulsively scrolling through social media, second-guessing your relationships, heightened stress, and lower self-esteem. Give in to the doomscroll devil on your shoulder, and you'll likely find exactly what you feared: a nonstop highlight reel of everyone you know, every night, like clockwork. Spot a pattern? If you guessed social media, you'd be right.

 

The Origins of "Fomo"
"Fomo" was coined in 2004 by Harvard Business School student Patrick J. McGinnis, around the time social networking was taking off. It starts with the awareness that you might be missing out, followed by a compulsive urge to stay socially connected. As platforms like Facebook and Twitter became part of everyday life, the term quickly spread beyond academic circles.

 

In 2013, "fomo" was officially added to the Oxford English Dictionary, defined as the "fear of missing out: anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on a social media website." Factor in the rise of Instagram, livestreams, and group chat culture, and the definition has expanded beyond missed parties: it now captures the anxiety of being left out, out of touch, or out of the online conversation. Today, "fomo" perfectly describes the modern unease of watching others' lives unfold online—and feeling like you're always a step behind.

 

The Psychology Behind Fomo

Social media keeps us connected 24/7, but instead of strengthening relationships, it often does the opposite. Constantly scrolling through friends' highlight reels can make gaps in your social life feel bigger, emphasizing missed events, unshared experiences, and even perceived social shortcomings. Psychologists say this cycle of comparison fuels "fomo," driving compulsive behaviors like obsessively checking notifications or overcommitting to social events out of fear of being left out.

 

"Fomo" thrives in the digital age, but it’s rooted in a timeless human need: connection. And while everyone craves connection, some are more vulnerable to "fomo" than others. Those with low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, or concerns about body image may feel it more often and more intensely. The trick is satisfying that need offline instead of letting every notification dictate your sense of worth.

 

So go ahead—put down the phone, enjoy your Friday night, and maybe let "jomo" (the "joy of missing out") take over instead.

 

 

Source: What "Fomo" Means—And Where the Term Came From

Edited January 13 by DarkRavie

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - FLOWS BACKWARD

Did you know.... In the second half of the 19th century, Chicago was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. In 1870, it was home to 299,000 people, and by the century’s end, 1.7 million. But along with that population boom came unfortunate side effects, including waterborne diseases such as cholera and typhoid. The problem was in large part that the city’s sewage flowed into the Chicago River, which in turn emptied into Lake Michigan — the source of the city’s drinking water. So Chicago turned to engineer Ellis S. Chesbrough, designer of the city’s sewer system, to solve the problem once and for all. 

 

Initially, Chesbrough designed a 2-mile-long tunnel 60 feet below the bottom of Lake Michigan to draw less-polluted water from farther offshore. Unfortunately, all it took was a heavy rain for this far-flung water source to also become polluted, so Chesbrough eyed another solution. If the city’s eponymous river could just flow away from Lake Michigan and empty into the waterways leading to the Mississippi, Chicago’s water problem would be solved. The subcontinental divide just west of Chicago is what caused the river to flow toward the lake, so if the city dug a ditch lower than both the lake and the river through the divide, gravity would take it from there. 

 

Workers began the laborious process of reversing the Chicago River in 1892. After eight years of digging (and under cover of night due to mounting lawsuits from cities downstream), Chicago blew up the last dam on January 2, 1900. Chesbrough never saw the incredible feat of human engineering — he died in 1886 — but his ambitious plan saved the city, securing its prosperous future into the 20th century and beyond.

 

Chicago is named after garlic (and a striped skunk).

Although things like “thunder” have been suggested as the origin of the name “Chicago,” the roots of the word are much different. According to Illinois historians, “Chicago” derives from the French transliteration of the Miami-Illinois word “šikaakwa,” used to describe a foul-smelling striped skunk as well as the similarly smelly garlic or leek (Allium tricoccum) found throughout the region. In 1687, when French fur trader and explorer Robert de La Salle passed through the area, he wrote in his journal, “We arrived at the said place called ‘Chicagou’ which, according to what we were able to learn of it, has taken this name because of the quantity of garlic which grows in the forests in this region.”

 

 

Source: The Chicago River flows backward.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - PINE CONES

Did you know.... There’s more than one way to predict the weather. Anyone wary of their local news forecast can try something much simpler if they’d like to know whether or not it’s about to rain: Simply take a peek at some pine cones, which close in response to moisture in the air. 

 

They do this for the same reason they do everything else: to disperse their seeds as widely and effectively as possible, as pine cones are a means of reproduction for some trees. There are both male and female cones, and most of the ones we see are the latter — they produce seeds, whereas males produce the pollen that fertilizes female cones. Dry conditions are more conducive to speed dispersal, while dampness, well, dampens.

 

Pine cone scales have several layers. If water drops make contact with the upper layer when the cone is open, the water then slides into the inner layer and causes it to expand. Once the scales begin to bend upward, they eventually curl shut. Then when the air becomes drier and the water inside the cone evaporates, the scales open up again. Pine cone seeds are designed to travel on the wind and can reach a distance of several hundred feet from their parent tree when conditions are ideal — which is to say, dry.

 

The location of the oldest tree in the world is kept secret.

There’s a good reason the oldest tree in the world is named Methuselah. The 4,857-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine was named after a biblical figure who was said to have reached the age of 969, which would make him the oldest human who ever lived.

 

There’s also a good reason the tree’s exact location isn’t public information: The U.S. Forest Service wants to protect it from vandalism or worse. Located nearly 9,800 feet above sea level in the White Mountains of Inyo County, California, Methusaleh is believed to be the oldest living non-clonal organism on the planet. Inyo County doesn’t receive much precipitation, but when it does, you can be sure that Methusaleh’s pine cones close to keep dry.

 

 

Source: Pine cones close when it rains.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - FRIDAY THE 13TH

Did you know.... If you feel uneasy every time there’s a Friday the 13th on the horizon, we have some bad news: The 13th day of the month lands slightly more frequently on a Friday than any other day of the week, making the supposedly unlucky date fairly common. 

 

The reason for this comparatively high frequency has to do with the Gregorian calendar, which is based on a repeating 400-year cycle and leap years that add to the total number of days in that cycle. Including leap days, each four-century cycle consists of 146,097 days, which is divisible by seven with no remainder, equaling 20,871. For example, January 1, 2000, fell on a Saturday, meaning January 1, 2400, will too. Knowing this allows us to determine in advance which day(s) of the week the 13th will fall on in any given month or year.

 

The difference in frequency is minimal, however: The 13th will fall on a Friday 688 times during the cycle that began on January 1, 2000, compared to 687 Wednesdays and Sundays, 685 Mondays and Tuesdays, and 684 Thursdays and Saturdays. The years 2012 and 2015 both had three Friday the 13ths, as will 2026 — February, March, and November will all feature horror fans’ favorite (un)lucky day. By the end of the decade, the 2020s as a whole will have had a total of 16 Friday the 13ths.

 

Spoiler alert: Jason isn’t the antagonist of the first “Friday the 13th” movie.

As Drew Barrymore found out the hard way in Scream’s legendary opening sequence, the villain of the original Friday the 13th isn’t Jason Voorhees — it’s his mother Pamela, who spends the movie picking off teens at Camp Crystal Lake to avenge her son, who drowned there as a child when the counselors were, shall we say, otherwise occupied when they should have been on lifeguard duty. 

 

Jason doesn’t emerge as the primary antagonist until 1981’s Friday the 13th Part II, and he doesn’t don his iconic hockey mask until 1982’s Part III. He’s been getting killed by final girls at the end of one movie and coming back to life at the beginning of the next ever since.

 

 

Source: The 13th day of the month is more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - NO "E" ON REPORT CARDS

Did you know.... In the U.S. and many other parts of the world, students are graded on an “A” to “F” scale, seldom questioning why one letter is missing. “E” isn’t found on most modern report cards — but why? 

 

This isn’t a simple oversight, but rather the result of centuries of evolving grading practices. By tracing the history of student evaluations, we can uncover why the letter “E” quietly disappeared from report cards across the United States.

 

Early Modern Grading Didn’t Use Letters
In 1785, Yale University President Ezra Stiles introduced what is believed to be the first proper grading system in the American colonies. That four-point scale, written in Latin, comprised the following categories: optimi (best), secondi optimi (second best), inferiores boni (less good), and pejores (worse). 

 

By 1837, mathematics and philosophy professors at Harvard had adopted a 100-point grading system, though it looked different than the one we use today. The modern 100-point scale features corresponding letter values and typically looks like this: “A” is 90-100, “B” is 80-89, “C” is 70-79, and “D” is 60-69.

 

But Harvard used a strictly numerical scale without any corresponding letters, and the ranges were as follows: 100 (perfect), 75-99, 51-74, 26-50, and 25 or below. The average grades followed a bell curve, with most students hovering around 50. Scores on both extremes (above 75 and below 25) were rare. 

 

Numerical grades gained traction across the country, and by the early 20th century, it became the most common grading system.Teachers at schools of all levels began assigning and recording grades using this 100-point scale, and, for the first time, modern grades inched toward a universal system.

 

 

The Rise and Fall of “E”
Although numerical grading was the most popular method of assessing students from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, another system emerged and evolved alongside it: letter grades. Teachers at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts began using letter grades as early as 1884. By the 1896-1897 school year, Mount Holyoke had become the first U.S. school to have documented use of a uniform letter grading system.

 

Letters were assigned to numerical ranges, but those ranges differed from Harvard’s. Instead, the system looked similar to what’s used in schools today: An “A” grade (excellent) was 95-100, “B” (good) was 85-94, “C” (fair) was 76-84, “D” (barely passed) was 75, and “E” was a failing grade, though it didn’t have a corresponding number. 

 

The following year, Mount Holyoke altered its grading system, adding an “F” for the first time. The numerical ranges were adjusted to include the new letter, and the grading scale spanned “A” through “F.” Interestingly, though, the college also retained the “E,” thus increasing its grading scale from five categories to six. But this move proved unpopular, and other schools began removing the “E” grade.

 

Experts have several theories about why “E” began to fade, including a push for a more efficient system. By the early 20th century, educators believed that fewer grading categories would help teachers streamline the process, simplifying the system. 

 

Isidor Edward Finkelstein, author of The Marking System in Theory and Practice (1913), was influential in this line of thought. Specifically, he and his colleagues believed that five divisions was the optimal number on a marking scale. That meant the modern grading system needed to drop one letter. As researchers Kimberly Tanner and Dr. Jeffrey Schinske wrote in their article “Teaching More by Grading Less (or Differently),” the “E” grade was an easy target because “F” so clearly stood for “fail.”

 

The article cites another issue with “E”: Some students assumed it stood for “excellent” despite it marking unsatisfactory grades, making it the most misunderstood letter out of the bunch. It was a perfect storm — “F” was a clearer stand-in for “fail” while “E” confused and crowded the grading scale. By the 1930s, “E” grades had disappeared from American schools. 

 

“E” Remains in Some Grading Scales
During the latter half of the 20th century, the letter grading system “A” to “F” (excluding “E”) became standard across the country. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions. In elementary schools, a different letter scale is often seen on report cards, especially for younger students in kindergarten through third grade. 

 

For instance, grades may include “D” (“developing”), “E” (“expanding”), “S” (“satisfactory”), and “N” (“needs improvement”). As these grading systems vary by school district, the “E” may also mean “excellent” or “exceeding expectations.” So no, “E” hasn’t been entirely banished from the modern education system, but it has undoubtedly lost its place in the standard lineup of U.S. letter grading, remaining a curious omission from student report cards across America.

 

Source: Why There’s No ‘E’ on Report Cards

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - BLUE SUNSETS

Did you know.... No two planets are the same — even when it comes to their sunsets. As the sun dips below the horizon on Earth, the sky blossoms into warm hues of oranges, pinks, and reds. But that’s not the case everywhere in the galaxy. Sunsets, of course, have to do with the properties of the visible light spectrum, in which light takes on a variety of colors. Our sky appears blue, for example, because when light reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, gases (oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen) and molecules scatter the shortest wavelengths of light (violet and blue) the most. When the sun sets, it’s lower in the sky, and light travels farther through a denser atmosphere. As more of the light is scattered, the short blue wavelengths disperse, and more of the longer red and yellow wavelengths actually reach our eyes. 

 

Although Mars is our planetary neighbor, its skies are almost completely the opposite. During the day, the skies above the red planet are, well, red, but at the end of a Martian day, a blue haze forms. Although the same physics are at work, the planets’ different atmospheres produce contrasting results. Mars’ atmosphere (or lack thereof) is mostly carbon dioxide and iron-rich dust. It’s this dust, made of larger particles than in Earth’s atmosphere, that scatters the light in different ways than on Earth, creating red skies during the day. When the sun sets, the Martian dust preserves more of the short blue wavelengths. In 2020, NASA applied this gaseous light physics to create a “sunset simulator” that shows off the end-of-day light displays on other planets, moons, and exoplanets — proving that the galaxy is indeed a kaleidoscope of color.

 

One day a ring may encircle Mars.

According to modeling produced by scientists at Purdue University in 2017, in 70 million years the Martian moon Phobos will reach the planet’s Roche limit, the point where objects are torn apart by tidal forces. Once this happens, a ring of debris will surround Mars, somewhat similar to the ring around Saturn (though to a less extraordinary degree). This theory also suggests that this won’t be the first time Mars has had rings. Over the past 4.3 billion years, Mars has likely gone through cycles of rings and moons. In the far future, Mars’ rings will once again coalesce and become a new moon, some five times smaller than Phobos.

 

 

Source: Sunsets on Mars are blue.

[DarkRavie]

Fact of the Day - MIGRATION

Did you know.... No animal on Earth travels quite like the eastern monarch butterfly. Its journey begins in the early days of spring on a few mountains in central Mexico. Millions of the monarchs (Danaus plexippus plexippus) fill the branches of oyamel firs, and as the temperature warms up, they soak in the sun and begin their epic journey northward — a 3,000-mile trip that looks more like a bird’s migration than an insect’s. 

 

But it’s not only the miles that make the butterfly’s journey so remarkable — it’s also the means. A typical monarch butterfly lives for only about four weeks, not nearly long enough to complete the journey to the northern U.S. and Canada. So the migration becomes a multigenerational one. In a typical year, it will take four generations for monarch butterflies to finish the seasonal quest their great-grandparents started. To return south in the fall, a “super generation” — also known as the Methuselah generation (after the long-lived biblical patriarch) because it can live eight times longer than its ancestors — will travel 50 miles a day by riding thermal currents southward before finally resting in the same oyamel firs in central Mexico. All hail the monarch!

 

Mexican scientists are trying to move a forest to save the monarch butterfly.

Despite the monarch butterfly’s amazing resiliency, life isn’t easy for the 4-inch fluttering creature. Over the past 20 years, the number of eastern monarchs spending the winter in central Mexico has declined 80%, due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. To combat this decline, researchers are planting saplings of the oyamel fir — the tree preferred by the butterflies while overwintering — some 1,300 feet higher than the current range in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, Mexico. The process is known as “assisted migration” or “assisted colonization,” and the hope is that cooler temperatures at higher elevations will help the trees survive a warming climate and secure a safe place for monarchs to hibernate and prosper.

 

 

Source: Some monarch butterflies migrate 3,000 miles.