SEX CHANGING FISH...

Iceland, Wanderlust, & Place Names

Jan 27, 2025

BOC#004

3 MINUTE MUNCH

MALE CLOWNFISH CHANGE SEX…

Yes, you read that right! When the dominant female of a breeding pair dies, the non-dominant male changes sex to become the dominant female. This change first takes place in the brain, with later changes affecting the gonads. When the non-dominant male becomes the dominant female, one of the smaller fish in the community takes on the role of non-dominant male.

WHO DOESN'T LIKE A GOOD ENDING?

Did you know that the ends of english place names are of historical significance?

For example…

The use of ‘-ing’ refers to ‘the people of’ i.e. Reading, Woking, Worthing. (The people who lived in Reading, for example, would have been the subjects of the chieftain Redda). The use of ‘-ton’ refers to a village or enclosure. i.e. Ashton, Burton, Luton. And the use of ‘-ham’ refers to a farmstead. i.e. Birmingham, Fulham, Tottenham.

In medieval England, shires were land divisions originally used for the purposes of assembling and mobilising local military units or war bands. In the 10th century, the army was organised shire by shire.

Shires were usually named after the most important town in the area i.e. Cambridge-shire, Lincoln-shire, Warwick-shire etc, and were administered by the Shire Reeve on behalf of the Ealdorman (the precursor to an earl). The word Sheriff is a linguistic evolution of Shire-Reeve.

IT IS OFTEN THOUGHT THAT ITALIAN EXPLORER CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS…

…was the first European to discover North America. This is in fact a myth. 500 years earlier, a Greenlander by the name of Leif Erikson had already set foot on the shores of Newfoundland (present day Canada) following a voyage from Greenland.

His father Erik the Red is noted for having previously discovered Greenland while fleeing the repercussions of a violent dispute he'd had with a neighbour in Iceland. Although Greenland was in fact whiter and more barren than Iceland, he called it Greenland in order to entice farming settlers from neighbouring Iceland.

THERE IS A GENE THOUGHT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WANDERLUST…

…Known as the DRD4 gene, there are at least twenty-five variants in humans. The 7R variant is associated with lower dopamine sensitivity, and a higher likelihood of risk taking and adventure. What's intriguing, however, is that the populations that migrated furthest away from Africa following the great exodus out of the motherland subsequently have a higher incidence of this gene. This may explain their tendency to ‘just keep going’ during the mass ‘peopling of the world’. There is a 10-25% incidence in African, European and middle-eastern populations, while Central Americans, and the people of northern parts of South America are up at 40%. Even more fascinating still, is that the people who made it all the way to the Amazon Basin show an incidence of 70%. The further our ancestors travelled, the more genetically predisposed they were to risk and adventure. Learn More

BOOK PASSAGE: THE THREE MUSKETEERS BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS

"People, in general," he said, "only ask advice not to follow it; or if they do follow it, it is for the sake of having someone to blame for having given it."