Education of an Earthworm
Fun Facts, Stories
& Science
Fact: Otters hold hands while sleeping so they do not drift apart. Otters store their tools, i.e., rocks in other words, in pouches in their armpits so if they find an oyster, they can whip out their rock from their tool belt (armpit, in other words) and crack it open. Gentoo penguins propose to their mates by giving them a round rock. Sloths come down from their trees once a week to poop, at which time they are most vulnerable to predators (given their speed, you surprised?) Who would have known there was anything admirable about jellyfish? Turns out these creatures have outlived man. Not only that, some of these are immortal and a specific type has contributed to a Nobel Prize. Go on. Eat your heart out.
Our goal is to give every interesting plant or animal on earth a story worthy of it, even if it's a slime mold, fungus, or an angler fish. We want to illustrate the creature’s quirks & eccentricities with a tale even if it does nothing but stick to the side of a rock for five hundred years (those are lichens - you've got to give them points for perseverance). How else do you celebrate the weird and the wonderful?
Email us with comments: jrnsenn@gmail.com The Juruno Team, California, United States.
Julie Sen Gupta (Left)
Writer, Director of Very Short Videos, Website Creator, Researcher, and Dreamer:
One night, many years ago, I was pacing the corridors of our home (I've terrible insomnia) when I remembered I had a book I wanted to read that I had ordered earlier that week. I went to my study at two in the morning, in my dressing gown and began to read. I had finished three chapters before I realized I was still standing and needed to sit down.
'The View From Lazy Point' by Carl Safina changed my life forever. Reading the book made me realize (a) books on animals and nature can be an amazing read (b) I was a conservationist - I had been all along, but hadn't known it (c) love and joy like hate and sorrow are infectious.
We lived in New Hampshire for ten years. I have yet to see a part of the country that is more beautiful. I fell in love with nature there though I didn't know it: the brilliance of the red maples in fall, the bright yellow-leaved birches, the evergreens, the snow covered landscape, and the beauty of every branch and twig lined with snow on a still winter day.
It rained in New Hampshire, the soil was black and rich. My garden grew without me having to do much of anything. As I walked in my large backyard with my two dogs, I thought it was heaven. Lush green grass, brilliant blue sky, the warmth of the golden sun. Plus, fat peonies in bloom in spring, hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. Throw in a couple of bears and foxes and millions of black flies. Yes, it was perfect.
Then we came to Austin, Texas, and headed into years of drought. I worried about the magnificent oaks dying (they did) and rivers drying up (they did). If I fell in love with nature in New Hampshire, I learned to worry and take care of it in Texas.
Which brings me to who I am.
I'm a biostatistician by training, a conservationist at heart. I love science and research as much as the arts and story-telling. There is enough wonder in nature for an amazing number of stories.
This is just the beginning.
Runa Gupta (Right/Below in Mobile)
Illustrator, Picture Book Layout & Story-Board Maker, and All-Round Good Perspective Giver:
My sister, a designer by profession, one of my dearest friends. We are polar opposites. She buzzes like a bee, from morning until night, while I like nothing better than to slouch on the couch. She loves to clean and hates to cook, I love to cook and hate to clean. She's up at dawn while I sleep at that time. She's practical and no-nonsense, I'm idealistic and romantic. But we get along perfectly, and share the same wacky sense of humor. She lives with her husband and daughter in New Delhi, India.