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If you think you have a beautiful body, just wait till you see the
unique physiques found in the natural world.
We╒re counting down the top 10 most extreme body parts in the animal
kingdom, and seeing how they measure up to our own appendages.
Find out that size really does matter when body parts are taken to The Most
Extreme.
Earth is a planet of extremes, extreme places╔ and extreme animals.
But some animals are more extreme than others.
Join us as we countdown to find the most unusual, the most extraordinary,
the most extreme.
Our countdown of extreme body parts starts cooking in the scorching heat
of the Sahara Desert.
We╒re on the trail of an animal that really keeps its ear close to the
ground, it╒s the fennec fox.
Smaller than a house cat, this is the smallest fox in the world, but it has
a serious set of ears.
The fennec fox is number 10 in the countdown because those enormous ears
really are all the better to hear you with.
They act like three satellite dishes, funneling the smallest sounds into the
eardrum so that even on the darkest nights, the fox can target the tiniest
creatures creeping over the sand.
Imagine if you had ears like a fennec fox.
We╒d have to have ears that measured one-third the length of our body.
That╒s an awful lot of ears.
If we were like the fennec fox, we╒d have ears nearly twice the size of our
feet.
Actually, we╒re all getting a little foxier because ears keep growing with
age.
Our ears increase about one-thirtieth of a millimeter every year.
So at that rate, we╒d have ears like a fennec fox if we live for about 16,000
years.
But not all ears are equal.
Everybody╒s ears are different, even on your own head, and some researchers
believe this can be a sign of how our brain works.
A group of Russian scientists measured the differences in length of people╒s
left and right ears.
They concluded that if your left ear is slightly longer than your right, it
indicates you might have analytical abilities associated with the
sciences.
If your right ear is longer, you might have a tendency towards the creative
aspects of the arts.
The theory is the difference in ear length is thought to reflect which
side of the brain is dominant.
You can tell something else from the ears of the fennec fox.
For big ears have another function in the desert.
As biological educator, Paul Hahn explains.
These guys, despite their small size, have the largest ear to body ratio of
any canine.
Canines are animals like dogs and wolves and foxes.
Well, they have adaptations in their ears that allow them to dissipate
heat, and we like to joke around and say that they have ear conditioning.
These big ears work just like the radiator in your car.
They╒re packed full of blood vessels lying close to the surface.
The blood carries heat away from the engine and radiates it out through the
massive ears.
While ear conditioning may explain the fennec fox╒s oversized ears, our next
contender has enough strange body parts to baffle even Dr. Frankenstein.
While number nine in the countdown is no monster, it is such an extreme
collection of body parts that it could╒ve come straight from Dr.
Frankenstein╒s laboratory.
All you need are the four webbed feet of an otter, one paddle-like tail of a
beaver, and the beak of a duck.
Put them together and what have you got?
It really is alive and it lives in Australia.
Paddling in to number nine in the countdown is the platypus.
Frankenstein would be proud of this collection of spare parts.
It╒s easy to see how it uses the webbed feet as propellers and the tail
as a rudder, but that╒s no ordinary duck╒s bill.
It╒s actually packed with hundreds of receptors that detect the tiny
electric currents produced by bugs moving in the water.
No wonder early naturalists couldn╒t believe their eyes.
In 1799, explorers returned to England with the first platypus specimen.
It was greeted with such skepticism that naturalists dissected the pelt
expecting to find stitches attaching the bill to the skin.
They thought the platypus was a hoax.
But then it╒s not the only time scientists have been fooled by a
collection of body parts.
In 1912, an amateur archeologist working in the Piltdown quarry in
Sussex, England discovered what seemed like ancient human remains.
For over 40 years, the Piltdown man was celebrated as the much searched
for missing link, a hominid combining the features of both human and ape,
and best of all, it was British.
It wasn╒t until the 1950╒s that more sophisticated archeological dating
techniques exposed the Piltdown man as an impostor.
It was revealed that the skull was human, but only 500 years old.
The jaw belonged to an orangutan and the teeth came from monkeys and
hippos.
Even today, no one really knows who planted the Piltdown plot.
Nobody doubts the platypus though.
This extreme collection of body parts has a fossil record going back more
than 100 million years.
Our first two contenders may have strange bodies, but have you any idea
of the twisted things animals can do with their appendages?
Find out why these animals are no dummies, next, on The Most Extreme.
In the tropical forest of Indonesia, our next contender in the countdown of
extreme body parts loves a little rain.
Lots of rain means lots of mud, and that╒s great for the secretive animal
that╒s rolling in to number eight in the countdown, the babirusa.
This extraordinary pig is a dentist╒s worst nightmare.
It has two teeth growing straight through the roof of its mouth.
These extreme tusks are actually crazy canine teeth.
The babirusa is number eight in the countdown because unlike our teeth,
babirusa tusks keep on growing.
Sometimes, they curl around so far that they can grow right into their
own skull.
But the upper canines are mostly for show.
It╒s the lower tusks that are used as weapons and are sharpened regularly by
rubbing against trees.
Luckily, for babies and females, being armed with the teeth is a guy thing.
It must be really uncomfortable having a mouth full of such extreme
dentition.
How would you like to have canine teeth 30 centimeters long growing out
of the roof of your mouth?
An orthodontist could make a lot of money correcting that overbite.
While our canines may not be as impressive as a babirusa, they╒re
still the biggest teeth in our mouth.
But compared to the rest of our primate cousins, our canine teeth are
very small indeed.
That╒s because male apes use big, sharp canines for aggressive displays
and as weapons to defend themselves.
When humans expose their teeth, sometimes it can be a sign of
happiness.
But the human smile is also closely related to the primate fear face.
A public baring of teeth is the chimps way of declaring he╒s scared.
So, next time you╒re on a roller coaster, take a look to see if the
humans are happy or if they╒re wearing their primate fear face.
For the babirusa, exposing your canines makes the ultimate fear face.
One look at that extreme dentition is usually enough to scare away any rival
males.
Our first three contenders have big teeth, big bills, and really big ears.
But coming up, could this be a real-life big foot?
Find out next on The Most Extreme.
In Madagascar, the next contender in the countdown of extreme body parts
really has its finger on the pulse of the forest.
Meet the aye-aye.
It may look like a cross between a possum and a rat, but it╒s actually a
very peculiar primate.
It╒s number seven in the countdown because it╒s got a frighteningly long
finger.
The aye-aye╒s bony middle finger can be three times longer than the other
digits, and it╒s used to drum up finger food.
Scientists have discovered that the aye-aye finds food simply by tapping
its finger.
Those big, floppy ears are listening for the difference in resonance
between the solid wood and the hollow tunnels filled with juicy grubs.
Having accurately located the grub with its fingertip Morse code, it╒s a
simple matter to rip apart the wood and use the versatile drumstick to
extract a meal.
The aye-aye may be blessed with an extremely useful digit, but in
Britain, there╒s one woman whose dramatic digits are a bit of a curse.
Meet Ruth Ward.
Her fingernails are 22 centimeters long.
But living with these extreme appendages isn╒t easy.
I have to park my car in gear.
I can╒t use a hand brake.
I can╒t do jewelry up.
I can╒t do a necklace up.
I can╒t do a button up.
It took Ruth three long years to grow her fingernails.
So why would anyone want nails so long that to paint them requires three
bottles of nail polish?
I just got carried away with the idea that they╒re growing, see how long
they╒d grow, and they grew.
Even Ruth Ward would be impressed with the aye-aye╒s incredible finger.
Although it╒s lucky she hasn╒t seen the next contender because then, she
might╒ve been tempted to grow her toenails too.
In parts of South America, there can be a distinct shortage of dry land.
So it╒s handy if you have an extreme body part that lets you walk on water,
and that╒s why the jacana tiptoes into number six in the countdown.
Its feet are so big that it can run over floating vegetation.
No wonder it╒s also called the lily trotter.
Imagine if we had feet like a jacana.
Unlike the jacana, we╒ll never be able to trot across lilies because our feet
are just too small.
Your average foot is only 15% of the total length of your body.
If we had feet like the jacana, they╒d be well over one meter long.
That╒s an incredible 60% of your body length.
Things with feet that size can be really scary.
Big foot is one of the great American legends.
Hundreds have searched the forest of North America for evidence of this
giant ape man.
But apart from sightings of very large foot prints, undeniable proof of its
existence has yet to be found.
Your best chance of finding a big foot is to visit the New Balance shoe shop
in New Jersey.
Owner, Larry Gershberg can help those with bigger than average feet.
I╒m trying to find, but I can╒t find them. It╒s 19-4E.
Sure. We╒ll have some things in your size.
We quickly learned that the people that were our most loyal customers
were people with hard to fit sizes, and we learned that the people who
have those sizes are very frustrated when they go shopping.
Larry stock shoes of all sizes, but over the years, he╒s noticed a growing
trend in the national foot size.
Okay. I brought up a few things for you to try, and if these aren╒t
perfect, we╒ll go down and try some more.
We are seeing people╒s feet getting larger and the manufacturers are
accommodating that by making more and more styles in size 17 and 18 and a
few up to 20, and maybe even cutting back on some of the smaller sizes and
the more narrow sizes.
And this isn╒t just a recent phenomenon.
Our feet have been steadily growing for the last century.
The average American women╒s foot was a dainty size 3 back in 1900.
But over the years, thanks to an improved diet, American women grew
bigger and taller, and their feet kept pace.
Now, the average woman╒s foot is a stylish size 8.
Of course, we╒ve got a long way to grow if we want to catch up to the
jacana.
This is one bird that really does have big shoes to fill.
Even though the jacana has put its best foot forward, it╒s still only
number six in the countdown because coming up, are arms so big that
they╒ll tear up all the record books.
That╒s next on The Most Extreme.
Crawling in to number five in the countdown is the fiddler crab.
This male has an arm that would make Schwarzenegger jealous.
He has one claw that╒s massively enlarged.
While the female fiddler is much less lopsided, down on the mud flat, size
really does matter because a big claw is a big help when it comes to finding
a mate.
Different species of fiddler crabs have different colored claws, and they
spend a lot of time waving them around.
This is both an invitation for the females to mate, and a challenge to
rival males.
Fiddler crab fighting is an extreme arm wrestle.
But in the human world, owners of the biggest biceps fight it out on stage.
But no matter how much iron you pumped, you╒d still never bulk up
enough to match the fiddler crab.
That╒s because our arms usually make up about 6% of our body weight.
If we were fiddler crabs, we╒d look very different.
Our arm would be 10 times bigger.
No wonder the fiddler crab has trouble carrying around that huge appendage
that weighs 65% of its body weight.
When the tide goes out on the mud flat, the race to feed is on, and
that╒s when the male╒s big claw can be a burden.
It╒s so big that he can╒t use it to feed.
He has to pick tasty treats off the mud flat using only one arm, so spends
twice as long feeding as the female.
That leaves her more time for the housework.
Sometimes it╒s not easy being a guy.
While the male fiddler crab is the countdown╒s most extreme arm wrestler,
even he would get a real good licking from our next contender.
In the grasslands of Brazil, wherever there are termite mounds, you can be
sure to find our next contender, for termites are one of the favorite foods
of the giant anteater.
This bizarre collection of seemingly mismatched body parts is built for one
thing, to seek and destroy ants and termites.
That long nose comes with an extreme sense of smell, and its forearms and
claws are so powerful that the giant anteater can rip open a termite mound
or ant hill with a single blow of its paw.
But the anteater is number four in the countdown because of what happens once
it╒s found a nest.
The tongue of the anteater can be more than 60 centimeters long.
It╒s covered in sticky mucus and can be poked down at termite tunnel 150
times a minute.
This extreme body part puts our tiny tongue to shame.
The average human tongue measures about 25 millimeters from lip to tip,
but this tongue belongs to the human equivalent of the giant anteater.
Umar Alvi from London is the proud holder of one of the longest tongues
in the world, stretching about 65 millimeters from tip to lip.
Umar╒s long tongue provides endless entertainment for his friends.
But no matter how you measure it, his tongue is still no match for the giant
anteater.
Licking up to 30,000 termites each day gives the giant anteater an unexpected
advantage in the struggle for survival.
It╒s developed a tolerance to the normally toxic formic acid found in
its diet of ants and termites.
This poison accumulates in its body, which means that few predators could
stomach an adult anteater.
But baby anteaters are still tasty because they haven╒t eaten enough
toxic termites.
That╒s why they hide on top of mom╒s back until their amazing tongue has
helped them to lick all opposition.
So far, we╒ve seen anteaters getting tongue-tied, crabs lending a helping
hand, and jacanas putting their foot in it.
But what is the next contender?
Is it really a giant sucker?
Find out next on The Most Extreme.
To find the next contender in our countdown of extreme body parts, we╒re
having to sink to new depths.
Scientists have long been searching for this mysterious denizen of the
deep, although they╒ve had no trouble studying its common cousin, the squid.
There are more than 300 species of squid in the world, they╒re all
ferocious hunters and extremely intelligent.
Luckily, most of the species we encounter are relatively small and
easy to handle.
But things are very different if you keep voyaging deeper.
In this high pressure world of near freezing darkness, there are huge
creatures that have terrified us for centuries.
Meet the giant squid.
Its monstrous body parts have baffled scientists for centuries.
Most of what we know of these enormous animals comes from specimens like this
that were found dead on the shore.
That╒s because a living giant squid has never been filmed, and so we have
to imagine what they╒re like in the wild.
We know that like all squid, they can move either slowly by gently
undulating their fins or rapidly by jet propulsion.
We also know that they hunt using their tentacles and a parrot-like beak
that crushes their food into tiny pieces.
But what makes this squid number three in the countdown is the sheer size of
its body parts.
Imagine seeing eye-to-eye with a giant squid.
It╒s not hard to see why these animals were once thought to be monsters.
Imagine swimming next to an animal that╒s the same size as a truck and
semi-trailer.
That╒s over 17 meters of squid.
So it╒s no surprise that this giant has the largest eye on the planet.
The squid╒s eye has a 38 centimeter diameter, making it about the size of
a large beach ball.
Our puny eye is less than 2.5 centimeters across, which is smaller
than a golf ball.
Despite their relatively small size, human eyes are packed with some
sophisticated technology.
Lining the back of the eye is the retina, which lets us see the world as
a pattern of tiny dots just like a newspaper photograph.
That╒s because the retina is made up of specialized detector cells, all 125
million of them.
But that╒s nothing compared to the giant squid.
There are more than a billion detector cells lining the back of this giant
eyeball and it needs every last one of them when it goes hunting in the
darkness of the deep ocean.
By watching this arrowhead squid in action, we can get an idea of how the
giant squid hunts.
Once its massive eyes have locked on to the target, it fires two clasper
tentacles to pull in its prey.
Scientists believe that giant squid live on a diet of fish, but perhaps
it╒s lucky that we╒ve never delved too far into the deep.
After all, would you like to catch the eye of this gigantic predator?
Langenbruck in Bavaria was the maker of all Germans noted for outsized
noses.
The locals issued a challenge to the rest of the country laying down that
nobody could enter the competition whose nose was not at least 2.25
inches long and 1.5 wide, especially commended with a lifelong curtsy with
nostrils looking like a map of the moon or an outsized strawberry.
There was a price for the wide men, but nothing at all for the wide boys.
In any schnozzle competition, there╒s no doubt that the elephant would win
by a nose, and it╒s this extremely versatile extremity that leads the
elephant into number two in the body part countdown.
This is no ordinary nose.
It╒s actually a complex array of over 100,000 muscle units that have the
combined strength to lift enormous loads.
And yet, the trunk is capable of movement so delicate that it can be
used to paint masterpieces.
Perhaps that╒s why some humans feel their noses are a little inadequate.
Every year, over 150,000 Americans have their noses surgically enhanced.
Turn slowly to the right.
Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Stop.
But surgery isn╒t always the answer.
As top Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr. Paul Nassif explains.
Some patients will come and ask of me, ╥Well, you know, can you give me a
nose like Meg Ryan? Or can you give me a chin like Ben Affleck?╙
Or they╒ll bring in photos of their favorite actress, actor, model, and
say, ╥I want this nose.╙
It happens all the time, but in most of these scenarios, we can╒t do that.
If we do, do something like that and take a nose completely on somebody
else and put it on another person, make the same features, it might not
work with the face.
What has bothered you the most?
I don╒t like the bump here.
I don╒t like the way it curves and kind of seems to hook down, and as I╒m
getting older now, I know that to look young, I need my nose to be a little,
how do you say this, a little perked up?
Let╒s take a peek at the computer before and after here.
See, before, after. Before, after.
I didn╒t know my nose could look that good.
So I╒m really, really excited.
Fantastic.
Because you look great anyway.
Thank you.
Everything is facial symmetry.
So we have to really do what fits the face.
So if we want to change something, improve it, we have to make it go
along with your face.
The nose of the elephant fits its face so well that it would never opt for
surgical modification.
How could you hope to improve on a body part that╒s as useful as the
human hand?
The two finger-like projections on the tip of the trunk are so nimble, they
can pick leaves from tall trees and pluck grass from the ground.
But this is also a hand that smells.
Some scientists claim that the elephant╒s sense of smell is one of
the most acute of any mammal.
It╒s said to be able to smell water nearly 20 kilometers away.
And when an elephant gets to the water hole, there are plenty of other uses
for that incredible trunk.
It can suck up about 4 liters of water at a time, and then become either a
shower nozzle or a drinking fountain.
It╒s not easy learning to drive such an extreme nose.
Jumbo Jr. will need several years to completely master its trunk and all
its uses.
But not even the elephant╒s extraordinary appendage is the most
extreme body part in the countdown.
We╒ve seen the nine contenders.
They╒re the best of the best.
Only one animal is a more extreme collection of body parts.
It╒s number one and it╒s coming up next on The Most Extreme.
The most extreme body parts on the planet can be found on the plains of
Africa.
Striding in to number one in the countdown is the skyscraper of the
animal kingdom, the giraffe.
The word giraffe comes from an Arabic word meaning the tallest of all, and
it╒s easy to see why.
The world╒s tallest animal has some seriously stretched body parts.
Its legs alone are taller than the average man.
Its neck is even longer, giving it a great view of any potential predators
in the grassland.
Having a head for heights also means that the giraffe can feed in places no
other grazers can reach.
Even its tongue is enormous for plucking branches like a miniature
elephant╒s trunk covered in sticky saliva.
The giraffe has such a bizarre collection of body parts that it╒s
difficult to get an idea of just how tall it really is.
Imagine meeting a human as tall as a giraffe.
He╒d be three times taller than the average man.
That╒s a towering 6 meters high.
Every basketball coach in the world would love a player tall enough to
lean on the backboard.
If we were built like giraffes, we╒d have another neat trick.
With 50 centimeters of tongue, we╒d have no trouble cleaning our ears.
But the giraffe╒s most extreme body part is its neck.
Incredibly, they have only seven bones in their neck just like humans, but
their bones are much, much bigger.
Imagine if your neck bones were 25 centimeters long, then you╒d really be
able to stick your neck out.
But living with a 1.8-meter long neck isn╒t easy.
If you think negotiating the muddy fringes of a water hole on stilts is
tricky, just think of the difficulties involved in getting a drink of water.
Because it has to pump blood all the way up that extreme neck, the
giraffe╒s heart weighs over 10 kilograms.
That╒s 35 times heavier than a human heart, and it pumps six times the
amount of blood each minute.
If it weren╒t for the special valves in the neck controlling the flow of
blood, the giraffe would pass out from the rush of blood hitting the brain
every time it bends over for a drink.
But there are some humans that find long neck so attractive that they╒ve
become known as the giraffe people.
In Southeast Asia, women from the Karenni ethnic minority elongate their
necks by fitting them with brass rings.
The rings increase the distance from earlobe to collarbone up to 25
centimeters.
That╒s more than double the average length of the human neck.
The rings work by pushing down on the ribcage.
This makes the body shorter so it looks like the women have longer
necks.
The rings are said to be not as uncomfortable as they look.
The only danger is if they╒re removed because the neck muscles are so weak,
they can no longer support the head.
For the giraffe, a strong, long neck is also the key to winning a mate.
That╒s because romantic giraffes give a whole new meaning to necking.
Bull giraffes use their extreme necks as weapons.
Each sledgehammer blow drives the head╒s two boney horns into the side
of an opponent.
It╒s no surprise that such an extreme collection of body parts should find
such an unusual way to settle disputes.
That╒s why there can be no arguing that when it comes to body parts, the
giraffe really is The Most Extreme.