heronbrew asked: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE HEAD NUBS ON A GIRAFFE?
THE ANCESTORS OF GIRAFFES LIKELY HAD ANTLERS FOR COMBAT PURPOSES, LIKE DEERS AND MOOSES. AS THEY GOT COMICALLY TALL, THE WEIGHT OF ANTLERS GOT TOO HEAVY FOR THEIR HILARIOUS NECKS, AND ANTLER FIGHTING BECAME OBSOLETE AND RIDICULOUS, SO THEY EVOLVED PAST ANTLERS. THE NUBS, OR “OSSICONES,” ARE VESTIGIAL STRUCTURES IN THE GIRAFFE’S SKULL. THEY’RE LEFTOVER SUPPORT STRUCTURES FOR THE ANTLERS GIRAFFES USED TO HAVE BEFORE THEY BECAME THE BIOLOGICAL JOKE WE KNOW AND LOVE TODAY.
THE PLURAL OF MOOSE IS NOT MOOSES.
“MOOSES” IS ONE OF MULTIPLE ACCEPTED PLURALS OF THE ANGLICIZED VERSION OF THE ALGONQUIN WORD “MOOSE.” IF WE WERE SPEAKING ALGONQUIN, THE PLURAL WOULD BE “MOSINEE,” BUT WHEN SPEAKING ENGLISH, EITHER “MOOSE” OR “MOOSES” WILL BE ACCEPTABLE AS PLURALS.
“MEESE,” FOR EXAMPLE, IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE PLURAL FOR “MOOSE” BECAUSE IT’S NOT DERIVED FROM THE SAME LANGUAGE FAMILY AS THE WORD “GEESE.”
THIS IS THE SAME REASON WHY THE PLURAL OF “OCTOPUS” IS “OCTOPUSES” IN ENGLISH AND “OCTOPODES” IN THE ORIGINAL GREEK, AND “OCTOPI” NOWHERE BECAUSE OCTOPUS IS NOT A WORD IN LATIN.
ALSO, THE STICKING POINT FOR YOU WAS “MOOSES” BUT YOU HAD NOTHING TO SAY ABOUT “DEERS?”
