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Pinto Bean (squirrel)
Pinto Bean was an eastern gray squirrel on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who was renowned and named for his rare piebald pattern. He died in Champaign on October 8, 2022, presumably due to a motor vehicle collision. Pinto Bean has been called a "minor celebrity" and a "grassroots, unofficial mascot" for the university. During a home football game against Minnesota, a tribute to Pinto Bean was shown on the jumbotron at Memorial Stadium. Pattern A male eastern gray squirrel, Pinto Bean was named for his distinctive mixture of gray fur with patches of unpigmented white fur, which resembled the appearance of pinto beans. According to Illinois Natural History Survey director Eric Shauber, this was the result of a rare genetic mutation that affected where melanin was distributed in the squirrel's body. Shauber said the mutation was rare enough to assume that there was only one such squirrel on campus. Death and taxidermy Pinto Bean was fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is included in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area. Champaign shares the main campus of the University of Illinois with its twin city of Urbana. Champaign is also home to Parkland College, which serves about 18,000 students during the academic year. Due to the university and a number of well-known technology startup companies, it is often referred to as the hub, or a significant landmark, of the Silicon Prairie. Champaign houses offices for the Fortune 500 companies Abbott, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Caterpillar, John Deere, Dow Chemical Company, IBM, and State Farm. Champaign also serves as the headquarters for several companies, the most notable being Jimmy John's. History Champaign was founded in 1855, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melanin
Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine is followed by polymerization. The melanin pigments are produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes. Functionally, eumelanin serves as protection against UV radiation. There are five basic types of melanin: eumelanin, pheomelanin, neuromelanin, allomelanin and pyomelanin. The most common type is eumelanin, of which there are two types— brown eumelanin and black eumelanin. Pheomelanin, which is produced when melanocytes are malfunctioning due to derivation of the gene to its recessive format is a cysteine-derivative that contains poly benzothiazine portions that are largely responsible for the of red yellow tint given to some skin or hair colors. Neuromelanin is found in the brain. Research has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individual Squirrels
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or goals, rights and responsibilities. The concept of an individual features in diverse fields, including biology, law, and philosophy. Etymology From the 15th century and earlier (and also today within the fields of statistics and metaphysics) ''individual'' meant " indivisible", typically describing any numerically singular thing, but sometimes meaning "a person". From the 17th century on, ''individual'' has indicated separateness, as in individualism. Law Although individuality and individualism are commonly considered to mature with age/time and experience/wealth, a sane adult human being is usually considered by the state as an "individual person" in law, even if the person denies individual culpability ("I followed instr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individual Animals In The United States
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or goals, rights and responsibilities. The concept of an individual features in diverse fields, including biology, law, and philosophy. Etymology From the 15th century and earlier (and also today within the fields of statistics and metaphysics) ''individual'' meant " indivisible", typically describing any numerically singular thing, but sometimes meaning "a person". From the 17th century on, ''individual'' has indicated separateness, as in individualism. Law Although individuality and individualism are commonly considered to mature with age/time and experience/wealth, a sane adult human being is usually considered by the state as an "individual person" in law, even if the person denies individual culpability ("I followed inst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squirrels On College Campuses
Tree squirrels are commonly found on the campuses of colleges and University, universities in North America, particularly in the United States. Though often cited as a U.S. phenomenon and researched in regard to North American contexts, European and Asian college campuses have been known to be inhabited by squirrels as well. Student response to such populations is mixed, with some amused by the squirrels and considering them a core and positive aspect of campus culture, and other students considering the squirrels to be aggressive and a nuisance. History and response from students Squirrels on college campuses have long been cited as a phenomenon; student newspaper articles often address campus squirrels with a sentiment of amusement, though some students view the squirrels as a nuisance, citing their aggressive or scary attitudes. One of the earliest records of the phenomenon is ''The Harvard Crimson'' documenting one student having been attacked by a squirrel in his dorm room in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy Tucker (squirrel)
Tommy Tucker (before/in 1942 – June 25, 1949) was a male Eastern gray squirrel who became a celebrity in the United States, touring the country wearing women's fashions while performing tricks, entertaining children, and selling war bonds. A '' Washington Post'' columnist called him "the most famous squirrel ever to come from Washington." World War II While origin stories vary, Tommy was adopted in 1942 by Zaidee Bullis and her husband Mark C. Bullis, who may have named him after the 18th-century nursery-rhyme character Little Tommy Tucker. Zaidee dressed Tommy in women's clothing to avoid the tailoring around his bushy tail that a male wardrobe would entail. Following World War II Tommy "married" a squirrel named Buzzy. In 1943 the Bullis family began taking Tommy on tour in their Packard automobile, accompanied by a bulldog said to have one or more gold teeth and often wearing a fez. Audiences were charmed by Tommy's lovingly craftedoften patrioticattire and unusually d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Rat Hole
The Chicago rat hole was a hole shaped like a rat in the sidewalk of West Roscoe Street in the Roscoe Village neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. After existing for decades, it became a viral phenomenon on social media (mainly Twitter) in January 2024, attracting tourists to the site. City officials removed the sidewalk slab containing the hole from the street on April 24, 2024, but the hole remains intact. An apparent example of accidental lifecasting, the hole was described by '' The New York Times'' as "Chicago's Stonehenge", as its origins are unknown. History The hole gained worldwide attention on January 6, 2024, via a tweet by Chicago-based comedian and writer Winslow Dumaine. The post quickly became viral, compelling many Chicago residents to visit the hole—in what has been described as a " pilgrimage"—and to make offerings to it, such as coins, flowers, candles, cheese, cigarettes, alcohol, children's toys, foodstuffs, and estradiol pills. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial Stadium (Champaign, Illinois)
Memorial Stadium is a stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States. The stadium, used primarily for football, is a memorial to the university's students who died in World War I; their names are engraved on the nearly 200 pillars surrounding the stadium's façade. With a capacity of 60,670, the stadium is primarily used as the home of the university's Fighting Illini football team. Construction In the early 1920s, the old football stadium, Illinois Field, was deemed inadequate. There was some sentiment for retaining the site, but it was too congested to expand the stadium adequately, so a new site was selected, in a largely undeveloped area at the south end of the campus. George Huff and Robert Zuppke were responsible for pushing most of the fundraising for this project. Memorial Stadium was completed in 1923 at a cost of US$1.7 million, which, adjusted for inflation, is equal to $25.8 million in 2020. Its original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illinois Fighting Illini Football
The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of the Big Ten Conference and compete in its West Division. Illinois claims five national championships and 15 Big Ten championships. History Early history (1890–1912) The University of Illinois fielded its first football team in 1890, under the direction of Scott Williams, the team's starting quarterback who also served as the team's head coach. The team finished with a record of 1–2. Robert Lackey took over the reins for the program's second season in 1891, and the team finished undefeated with a mark of 6–0. In July 1892, several days after graduating from Dartmouth, Edward K. Hall was hired by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to serve as head football coach and director of physical training at a salary of $1,000. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, Illinois, Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan area. Bloomington is southwest of Chicago, and northeast of St. Louis. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the 13th most populated city in Illinois, and the fifth-most populous city in the state outside the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Combined with Normal, the twin cities have a population of roughly 130,000. The Bloomington area is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University. It also serves as the headquarters for State Farm Insurance and Country Financial. Geography Bloomington is located at 40°29′03″N 88°59′37″W. The city is at an elevation of above sea level. According to the 2010 censu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process of preserving the animal, but the word is also used to describe the end product, which are called taxidermy mounts or referred to simply as "taxidermy". The word ''taxidermy'' is derived from the Greek words ''taxis'' and ''derma''. ''Taxis'' means "arrangement", and ''derma'' means "skin" (the dermis). The word ''taxidermy'' translates to "arrangement of skin". Taxidermy is practiced primarily on vertebrates (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and less commonly on amphibians) but can also be done to larger insects and arachnids under some circumstances. Taxidermy takes on a number of forms and purposes including hunting trophies and natural history museum displays. Museums use taxidermy as a method to record species, including those th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
