My obsessions come & go and they don't make sense

Salamandrina perspicillata, commonly known as the northern spectacled salamander or Savi's salamander, is a peculiar species that can be found only in Italy.

Above: the northern spectacled salamander in its defensive position

When the salamander feels threatened, it often displays a defense mechanism known as the unken reflex -- it curls its tail up over its body and arches its back, exposing the bright red markings that run along the underside of its tail, legs, and cloaca. These aposomatic markings serve as a warning to potential predators by signalling that the salamander is noxious or unpalatable.

Above: gaze upon the belly of the beast

When it curls itself into that defensive pose, the salamander's tail and body often form a complete loop, with the tail draping over its nose.

Above: this guy might be trying a little too hard

The males of this species have also been known to assume an upright position while searching for a mate, standing on their hind legs and using their tails to support themselves.

Above: the photo at the top shows a male northern spectacled salamander standing on his hind legs, while the photo at the bottom shows a female in a more typical pose

The northern spectacled salamander is a very small species, with a total length of just 80-90mm (about 3 to 3.5 inches) from the tip of its nose to the end of its tail. According to this article:

It prefers cool, shady habitats rich in natural refuges: broadleaf woodlands, moist valleys, and stream edges with little current. It can be found among leaf litter, under logs and stones, in rock crevices, old dry-stone walls, caves, and natural cavities.

It is especially connected to microhabitats with abundant vegetation cover and the presence of temporary water reservoirs—environments that ensure the survival of both terrestrial adults and aquatic larvae.

The adult males are completely terrestrial, dwelling only on land, but the females nest and lay their eggs underwater. The hatchlings then remain in the water for 2-4 months before emerging onto land.

Sources & More Info:

The Salamanders of Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa: The Northern Spectacled Salamander

Herpeto Savona: Salamandrina perspicillata

Newts and Salamanders of Europe: Unken Reflex

The Tailed Amphibians of Europe: Genus Salamandrina

Waffle House is one of the few chains in America that’s open 24/7/365, and where you can get both breakfast and lunch/dinner options at any time (I have had so many Breakfast Cheeseburgers at Waffle Houses). The food is really good, and people eat there at all times of the day or night, but it’s particularly popular as a late-night post-drinking spot because it’s all that’s open and it’s the kind of food that tastes especially good when you’re hammered.

Part of Waffle House Protocol is that all the servers and cooks greet every single customer as they come through the door. It sounds lame, but I’ve never been to a Waffle House where that greeting didn’t feel completely heartfelt. My mom is a health nut who could barely find anything on the menu she was willing to eat and yet she describes the Christmas Day lunch we had there one year as one of the nicest meals she’s ever had because everyone was so warm and welcoming. That sense of camaraderie gets turned up to 11, of course, at 2 a.m. when everyone’s shitfaced.

The jukeboxes have Waffle-House-themed songs on them (once you have heard “Raisins in my Toast” you will be earwormed forever) and there is an arcane system of hash brown ordering: scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, topped, diced, peppered, and/or capped. The hot sauce bottles say “Casa de Waffle.” 

Once, in Oxford (UK), my husband and I walked past a kebab van very late one night and he said “why do I smell Waffle House”

The location of most Waffle Houses means there’s some… classism that tends to get tied up with Anti-Waffle House Discourse, which is probably lending itself, in part, to this being such a fraught topic. (I’m looking at a map and apparently I was born and raised right in the middle of the Peak Waffle House Density Zone)

A guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and a pianist walk into a bar…

Ireland is coming to the end of a three year pilot of Basic Income for Artists.

2000 artists received €325 a week for three years, and every euro paid to participants resulted in society receiving €1.39 in return.