S01EP20 你想不到的龙虾沟通方式保准让你乍舌！

Lobster Uses Bladder to Communicate and Antenna to Smell

Intro:

Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation.  Happy learning everyone!

Dialogue:

Brie: Hey, Andrea!  Let’s go to Red Lobster for dinner tonight. The restaurant is finally open again after some of the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.  It’s been a while since the last time we went there, and I’ve been craving for their fresh and juicy lobster meat for a long while.  They always have the best fresh seafood in town. 

Andrea: What a coincidence! I’m very hungry, and so was thinking about seafood for dinner as well. But is the restaurant open for dine-in customers yet?  Either way, I think we’d better order to-go! I don’t want to risk contracting the coronavirus.

Brie:  They do take indoor diners, but we can certainly order online and do a curbside pick-up.  

Andrea:  Even if we do curbside, we’ll still have to wait in line.  I don’t want to spend all that money for a lobster just to wait around.  What if we went to the grocery store instead and just picked out a lobster from the lobster tank?

Brie:  You mean to take home and cook ourselves? You’ve got to be kidding!  That’s too much of a hassle!  Besides, how will we know which lobster is the best to select from the tank?   I’m certainly not a lobster chef, the store clerks are not lobster chefs, and it’s not like the lobsters are going to jump out and say to us, “pick me! pick me!”

Andrea:  Brie, your sarcasm cracks me up!   Though, in all reality, those lobsters are probably communicating their fear of us with each other!

Brie:  Yah, I bet that’s what they’re doing when I see them moving their little beard looking antennae.  They’re probably telling each other, “watch out!  Those humans are hungry for lobster!”

Andrea:  They might be communicating that, but I can tell you for certain it’s not by just moving their antennae!

Brie:  Then how?

Andrea: Well, it’s quite a fun fact!  Lobsters communicate by urinating on each other.  They have two bladders located on either side of their heads.  When they want to communicate their emotions to other lobsters, especially for mating or fighting, they squirt urine from a release nozzle located under their eyes that can travel up to 7 feet in front of them!  So, I guess you could say that they urinate from their faces.

Brie:  哇哦！龙虾是通过互相撒尿来进行交流的。 在它们的头两侧各有一个膀胱。 当它们想与其他龙虾交流感情时，尤其是在交配或争斗的时候, 它们会从位于眼睛下方的释放喷嘴中喷出远达7英寸，也就是1-2米距离的尿液！So you mean it’s very easy for them to see their own urine as they’re urinating?

Andrea:  Yes, and that urine contains pheromones, or chemical messages, that are used to communicate attraction, aggression, and recognition.  

Brie:  龙虾的尿液中含有费洛蒙信息素或化学传讯素，用于交流吸引力，攻击性和识别性等信息。So instead of communicating through making noise or by using gestures like other animals, they just squirt at each other?  Lobsters are so strange!  So, what is the function of their antennae then?

Andrea: Crustaceans, like lobsters and crabs, depend on their sense of smell to search out food, stay safe, and find a mate.  They use their four antennas, which are covered in tiny hairs, to smell. They also use their antennae to see.  A lobster's eyes can only detect light and shadows, but through using their antennae, they are able to see colors and images as well. 

Brie:  如同龙虾和螃蟹这样的甲壳类动物，它们通常依靠嗅觉来寻觅食物，发现危险和寻找伴侣的。 有趣的是它们的嗅觉器官是它们头部上由细小毛发覆盖的四条触须。另外，龙虾的触须还有视觉功能。龙虾的眼睛只能检测到一定的光线和阴影。因此龙虾能看到的大部分颜色和图像实际上是通过它们的触须来实现的！Thanks for this fun fact on Lobsters!  You know, the natural world continues to fascinate me every day!  But, can we please go to Red Lobster instead of the grocery?  Truth is, I’ve been preparing for a dinner with friends, and I accidentally burnt what I was planning to cook for the meal.  So, I wanted to get dinner at Red Lobster, instead!  I’m feeling absolutely devastated about the whole thing!

Andrea: Oh Brie, don’t die for want of lobster sauce!  You’re failed dinner plans are really not as big a deal as you’re making it out to be.  Now that I know the real reason you want to go to the restaurant, I will be more than happy to oblige.

Close:

So, everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day!  Let’s go over some of the vocabulary and phrases from this dialogue.

 Vocabulary:

Red Lobster  红龙虾，一家北美知名的休闲海鲜连锁餐厅

Restriction  / rɪˈstrɪk ʃən /  限制，约束

Coincidence  / koʊˈɪn sɪ dəns /  巧合

Curbside  / ˈkɜrbˌsaɪd /  路边

Hassle  / ˈhæs əl /  麻烦

Clerk  / klɜrk /  营业员

Sarcasm  / ˈsɑr kæz əm / 讽刺

Urinating  / ˈyʊər əˌneɪtɪŋ /  小便

Bladder  / ˈblæd ər /  膀胱

Squirt  / skwɜrt /  喷射

Nozzle  / ˈnɒz əl /  喷嘴

Pheromone  / ˈfɛr əˌmoʊn / 费洛蒙信息素

Crustacean  / krʌˈsteɪ ʃən /  甲壳动物

Antennae   /ænˈtɛn i/  触须（复数）

Devastated  / ˈdɛv əˌsteɪtid /  挫败的，被压垮的

Oblige  / əˈblaɪdʒ /  赞同，听从

Phrases:

To crack someone up  使某人突然哈哈大笑

Die for want of lobster sauce  因轻微的不便或不幸而死或被毁灭。这句俗语据说来自历史上的一名厨师，因为他发现自己没有制作法国王路易十四宴会上用到的龙虾酱的原料而自杀。

Alright, join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们，请别忘了点击订阅！拜拜，咱们下期再见！

Disclaimer: This podcast is not sponsored by nor has any affiliation with the Red Lobster company. 

Photo Credit: Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Background Music Credit: 

Lights by Sappheiros 

Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

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