Speculative Fiction

A genre of fiction that encompasses works with supernatural or futuristic elements.

The most notable genres of speculative fiction include fantasy, science fiction, horror, utopian, dystopian, alternate history, apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, superhero and supernatural
The word "speculative fiction" was coined by American sci-fi author Robert A. Heinlein
by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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Platypus

A monotreme found that's found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. When the skin of a young platypus was sent to Britain for examination in 1798, scientists thought it was a fake. The zoologist George Shaw (1751-1813), who worked at the British museum, even checked it for stitches, believing that it had been sewn together from parts of other animals (you can still see the scissor marks that he made on the pelt today). However, these creatures have been proven to be real. With a beaver-like tail, duckbill, flippers, and spiky fur, these must surely win the award for being one of Australia's strangest creatures.
The platypus is one of the world's few poisonous mammals. When trouble strikes, it squirts venom out through a hollow spur on its ankle (only males carry poison and they're more likely to use it on other males during the breeding season than on people).
by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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Quadrio

by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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Kinder Egg Man

An extremely creepy version of Humpty Dumpty that was once a mascot for the toy Kinder Surprise (which is banned in America). His first and only appearance was in a Kinder advert where he sits on top of a wall and speaks in a high pitched gibberish before falling off.

The commercial is so unsettling that it's actually kind of hard to watch, but it somehow became a meme online with several remixes and re-edits of it.

One of the oldest known videos of the advert was uploaded onto YouTube back in 2006, with the uploader calling it somewhat disturbing for some strange reason.
It's absolutely baffling how Kinder eggs have managed to stay so strong for the past 44 years even though the Kinder Egg Man is enough to completely scare any child away from ever wanting one.

And it doesn't help that one of the oldest known YouTube videos of it was labeled as somewhat disturbing. I guess the uploader just hates kids.
by Nordicdragon July 03, 2018
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Gojira

The Japanese name for Godzilla. Gojira combines the Japanese names for gorilla and whale.
Since Gojira is made up of the Japanese words for gorilla and whale, do people in Japan just call Godzilla "Gorilla Whale"?
by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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Irish Elk

An extinct species of deer that lived during the Ice Age and was one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its body was only slightly bigger than that of the largest deer today, the moose. But its antlers were far bigger. They measured more than 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) across and were very heavy (they weighed more than a person).

As wth most deer, only the males grew antlers. They probably used their antlers to fight each other at breeding time, to take control of the herd of females.

It was also known as the Giant Deer.
Some Ice Age animals roamed the snowy grasslands, while others wandered in the woods and forests. The Irish Elk probably did both.
by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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Emu

A giant, flightless bird native to Austrailia. European explorers first spotted the emu in 1696. Since then, they have become one of Australia's most famous species-and the continent's unofficial emblem. But don't underestimate the emu just because it looks like a comically overgrown turkey. It is a big bird and can grow as tall as 6.2 ft (1.9 m) and weigh around 110 ib. (50 kg). It is also powerful, exceptionally fast, and amazingly adaptable. While many of Australia's other flightless birds are struggling to cope with the modern world, the emu has survived and thrived.
1932 was the year of the Great Emu War. The Australian government sent troops into the outback to cull the rising numbers of emus because they were destroying farmers' crops.
by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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