You Bet Giraffe This Fact is Fun
We're craning our necks to figure it out.
Howdy! It’s Joey, back with more Fun Fact Friyay. Today’s fact is a bit spotty, but it’s totally accurate.
Humans and giraffes have the same number of neck vertebrae.
If you know one thing about giraffes, it’s that they have incredibly long necks. And while the occasional human might stretch out a turtleneck, we’re not stacking up to that height.
And yet, when you count up the vertebrae of a human and the vertebrae of a giraffe, you get an equal number: seven.
The reason giraffes are such looky-loos with their necks is that each of those vertebrae can reach 10 inches long, pushing nearly six feet of vertebrae alone.
Meanwhile, the average length of the entire spine for a human male is 28 inches and 24 inches for a human female. Significantly shorter, and that’s the entire spine!
Giraffes use their big ol’ necks to pluck leaves off of trees, but they can also spot predators from long distances. In fact, other animals will keep an eye on giraffes—if their tall pals are fretting, there must be danger on the horizon.
One thing giraffes don’t have to worry about? Neckties. But that won’t stop me from asking a pressing question. Please indulge me by viewing this image:
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This newsletter likes to discover these types of scientific answers. Thank you for your participation and, as always, for reading.
Neck and neck - lol!