Why haven't any creatures like these existed? Could they evolve reasonably? I imagine a "woolly" ostrich or terror bird. Would they need a layer of fat for more insulation? I know that laying eggs in a cold climate is a good way to get your eggs frozen solid, so would they be migratory as an adaptation to harsh winters?

Images: https://imgur.com/a/h5FvDM5

CONUS ONLY! TRADES ONLY!

Hey everybody! After the great response from the last one, I would like to announce the second installment of the Rags to Riches trades!

This time I have a QSP Penguin that was generously donated by u/MikeOxmaul12. Red micarta, D2 blade. Here's what I did to it. The donator said that the edge needed touched up, so I put a basic mirror at 17dps (fine stone to stropping). I polished the pivot and the pivot screw to a mirror for the hell of it, and polished the washers. I also disinfected it completely, and have no history of COVID-19. Honestly, when I finished with it, I wanted to pocket it and just forget about this whole challenge. It is so smooth. I always thought they were on bearings so I wasn't that interested. TV: $35-$40.

Next is the Kershaw Skyline. I was conflicted on if I should add this to the challenge, since I bought it with my own money. However, I figured some American made blade would help you all loosen up on the trades a bit. I just got it today, flicked it a couple times, and honestly it just didn't fit my hand in an enjoyable way. This blade would be killer in an edc, but the handle wasn't my cup of tea. The steel is 14c28n, as is normal on these. Made in America, unassisted flipper. Disclaimer: This thing is a bit fidgety to get the action right. I removed the pivot screw and had to spend about 5 minutes dialing it in to a detent strength and everything I liked. TV: $20 (What I paid for it).

I'd prefer a bundle of the two to happen, but if you really only want one, you could persuade me.

In the spirit of moving up, my wants are a bit "reachy."

Wants: Civivi Elementum S35VN, Delica, Z-Wear Delica, K390 Dragonfly, Mini Grip or Bugout (that's a really far reach, I know. I'm sorry), Gerber Fastballs, Hogue Deka's 3D Atom Scales, SH Talos and of course, whatever you happen to have kicking around that you don't want!

Also, the reason why the Newtron isn't in the wants anymore is because a buddy of mine bought a CF Newtron specifically to trade me for whatever I end up with at that caliber. His wants are 4V class steels on knives, especially versions of Spyderco's, like the Manix 2 or Para 3. He also said he'd line up a trade before the final trade with me if I got a Cruwear Delica.

Thank you guys so much for having fun with this! I would love to keep this going and your guys' support means the world to me! Have a great day!

Imagine a kiwi sized Kevin, ankles be bleeding.

For those who don’t know, a new series that the band started on their YouTube channel is to show previously unreleased concerts from different eras or other things we haven’t seen before. So far from this series, two concerts have been released: a show from the Sailing Around The World tour (specifically the April 2006 show from San Diego) and a show from the US leg of the Racing to the Rainbow show (the Everett, WA show from March 2007 to be exact).

My thoughts on both shows: while I liked them, because the shows are fun and spontaneous, I kinda felt like it’s stuff we’ve kind of already seen before. The SATW tour had already been showcased in Wiggledancing! Live in the USA (with the only difference between the two shows being a variation in the setlist), while the RTTR show was shown in the second Wiggledancing video (the only difference being the inclusion of Incy Wincy Spider, the shows are basically the same).

I felt like if they really wanted to make the series “unreleased” specials, they should show off concerts that we’ve actually never seen before. There are plenty of OG and Sam era concerts that fans would like to see that have little documentation (the biggest examples I can think of being the Yule Be Wiggling show from 2000, the Wiggly Party concert from 2001, the 2004 Santa’s Rockin’ tour and the UNICEF show from 2008). I know more specials are on the way (cough cough ‘97 Big Show cough), and I’m grateful that the series exists but I think from what we’ve seen so far, there’s a lot of room for improvement for this series that could be made with the simple choice of what to showcase.

What’re your thoughts on the series so far? Has it surpassed your expectations or were you let down? Also, what concerts/rare footage would you like to see featured in the future installments?

How far can we stretch the bird body plan, starting with any flighted or flightless bird and ending with a flightless bird with unique posture and proportions?

(Without a super derived scenario like Serina -- these birds should coexist with mammals and others on a future Earth.)

These are some variants of u/CuttlefishWarrior's Ratite Aarakocra, because I liked his idea.

Emu Aarakocra

The following feature replaces your Ability Score Increase

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Wisdom, and Constitution scores all increase by 1.

Cassowary Aarakocra

The following feature replaces

Slashing Claw. Your foot-claw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed attacks. Upon a hit, an attack with the claw deals 1d6 slashing damage plus your strength modifier.

PS. Be sure to still apply the Ratite changes before applying these

With it being easier due to steaming services these days I wish Blink would add some of their older songs like b-sides, possibly demos and covers to Spotify. Stuff like:

Don’t Tell Me It’s Over

What Went Wrong

Time To Break Up

Some old demos from like Enema and TOYPAJ

Some stuff from that Urans EP (could even re-record stuff if they wanted)

Their cover over Hope by The Descendants

Anything else?

The people want to know.

North America is one of the few continents to not have large flightless birds. Which bird species could fill such a niche though? I’d imagine galliformes like turkeys, pheasants, and grouse could do that as they’re not the greatest at flying and forage a lot on the ground. What about cranes though like the sand hill or whooping cranes additionally?

I'm wondering if ratites could manage to become predatory and new terror birds or if the two last species of the cariamidae family(which is the terror birds family ) could evolve to become apex predators like it's ancestors .

Dougal Dixon would be proud lol.

Anyway, would a bat look more superficially similar to a ratite? Dixon came up with the nightstalker which walks on its front feet and uses its back legs like arms (inventive but not sure how likely it is) because the front arms are where the biggest muscles are. Would a bat that becomes large and flightless look like this? What if they lost the back legs completely and developed a longer neck to feed and drink?

As noted in the title often when talking about bringing back an extinct species it’s usually in regards to a mammal that went extinct fairly recently due to (from my understanding) the fact species exist today that are closely related enough that it may be possible to produce a hybrid offspring.

However I never see any talks about being back extinct birds or reptiles or other egg-laying creatures. Is there some biological reason why it would be harder to produce hybrids using egg-laying creatures. Is artificially inseminating egg-layers not a thing?

Or is it simply a case of mammoths and Tasmanian tigers etc are easier “first steps” on the path to bringing back extinct animals?

Vikare - Valkyrie, is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the Valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. They are often depicted flying or riding flying steeds.

Edit: Vikare: Etruscan translation of 'Icarus'. suggested to be a reference to viking & pronounced as vik-AIR

Ratite - A Ratite of a bird is a flat breastbone without a keel,removing the ability to fly.

While watching PBS Eons new video on Ratites (which include birds like ostriches, etc.) it came up that these big flightless birds apparently lost their ability to fly independently of each other 5 times. Why the hell would you give up such an amazing ability and waste so many evolution points? (I kinda want a Ratite tierlist video now)

You know: a long-legged, long-necked running animal that's mostly a herbivore but sometimes eats insects.

EDIT: It doesn't have to be bipedal. I think a four-legged ratite analogue would be very interesting.