Eagle Rebirth

[Ding Carpio]

My youngest daughter (forever the avid talker she is) excitedly told us over dinner a lesson she learned from her teacher yesterday: The Rebirth of an Eagle.

According to the teacher, when an eagle's beak and/or talons (she calls them claws) get dull, the eagle will retreat to her nest and tear out these dull implements and proceed to grow a new set. This exercise purportedly gives the eagle several more years of life.

I told her that it's all hogwash (I may have used a stronger expression) and that her teacher was probably misinformed.

Just this morning, I googled and found this:
www.snopes.com/critters/wild/eaglerebirth.asp

Good ol' snopes.

Just wish teachers would check out facts before reciting googled or wikipedia-ed information. I will probably send the teacher a note.

Now, the interesting fact I do know is that eagles (Bald Eagles, I think) mate in the air as they fall freely. I guess, if they enjoy it too much, it would be a most pleasureable death. But that is probably not a fact I'm prepared to share with my youngest daughter for, at least, a few more years.

[tina mallari]

Thanks Ding. I learned something new today

I like that site - my first time there and looks like I'm stuck ;D

Wish I could do this ...

www.snopes.com/photos/animals/hummingbirds.asp

[Bobby Kintanar]

Thanks for the link Ding. It's a new site for me - I find it quite interesting. :-)

[Neon Rosell II]

This is a cool site Ding!! Thanks for the link

[Ding Carpio]

Been using snopes for some time now. In the office, I get lots of forwarded email from over-enthusiastic users who mean well but are misinformed. Always check out these "discoveries" and trivia (from stolen kidneys to exploding gas stations with cellphones) and reply to the sender that the information is false. Amusingly, some people challenge my debunking and still choose to believe absurd falsity. Ahh, sometimes pride is stronger than truth.

So, does The Lion King really have a "SEX" scene?
Does Hotel California pertain to Satanism?
Was Walt Disney an illegitimate child?
Was the New Coke fiasco actually a clever marketing ploy?
Does Ixi really have a tatooed back?

[Eric Patdu]

Yup! Snopes has always been my refuge whenever I want to verify the veracity of forwarded emails I receive.