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Wild animals don’t brush, Race cars can fly, Rabbits sniffle

Q: Why is it that animals don't have more dental problems even though they NEVER brush their teeth? My eight year old asked me this question and I'm stumped. (Jerry, Cologne, Germany)

A thoughtful croc shows her teeth — one of the 40 sets she gets in a lifetime. [Adam Britton, http://crocodilian.com, © 2000, used with permission]

A: The crocodile — basking in the Sun — lazily lets birds pick leeches and food fragments from her huge pointed teeth. It looks like that’s how crocs clean their teeth but not so!

"Crocs have their teeth washed in the water (the advantage of having all your teeth exposed), sterilized by the sunlight, and replaced at regular intervals," says Adam Britton, senior researcher at Wildlife Management International in Australia.

That’s how crocs get by.

Most wild animals avoid major dental problems simply by dying before their teeth go completely bad. They live only a few years — (unlike our pets and us, who often outlive our teeth). Even so, teeth can cause trouble. In fact, studies on African Wild Dog skulls show about the same problems as pet dogs have.

Some wild animals do outlive their teeth. We have observed killer whales with terrible teeth — broken, diseased, abscessed, worn to the gum and exposing pulp. Old lions can suffer enough they kill humans — easy prey. In 1898, two with broken teeth and abscesses dragged off, killed, and ate 135 railway workers in Kenya. Museum researchers recently discovered the lions’ woes by examining their skulls.

Wild and pet animals rarely get cavities, though. Their major problem is tartar that sticks to teeth and irritates gums. Eventually, (by age 6 for dogs and cats) gum disease dissolves bone around their teeth, teeth drop out, and abscesses form.

Diet and eating habits help save wild animals’ teeth during younger years. A wolf chews his kill’s hide and bones and thereby cleans his teeth. Rabbits, horses, and elephants chew tough grasses, leaves, and plants.

The abrasion not only cleans their teeth but also, unfortunately, wears them down. Rabbit incisor teeth grow as long as they live. In fact, abrasion must wear down the teeth or they will grow extraordinarily long and be in the way so much that the rabbit cannot eat and literally starves to death.

Elephants only get six sets of teeth. After that — they get no more and usually starve when their last wear to the gums.

On the other hand, crocodiles get over 40 sets. A crocodile replaces her old dull teeth with new ones all her life. So, "Crocs don’t need to brush their teeth," says Britton."Besides, zebras don’t come sugar-coated."

Further Reading:

PetEducation.com: A complete dental care program by Holly Frisby, DVM, MS

ABC News: Man-eating lions needed dentists

Q: Can an F1 produce a downforce equal to its weight? If so, can it drive upside down? (Tim, Bonny Doon, Australia)

The SR8 generates more downforce than weight. [Radical Extreme Sportscars]

A: Yes and yes. On Dec. 17, 2004, Radical Extreme Sportscars Company tested its latest Formula One (F1) race car, the SR8, and found that the SR8 generates more downforce than its weight. Therefore, turning it over and driving upside down will generate more lift that its weight and it will fly.

The darn thing flies around the track as it is — except using inverted wings so "lift" is negative and holds the car to the track instead of lifting it airborne.

The company plans next to test the SR8 upside down in a windtunnel. They expect it to fly — literally — upside down and stick to the ceiling.

Formula One cars move. Driving a McLaren-Mercedes F1 racecar, David Coulthard set the highest straight-line speed record during the 2000 Grand Prix at 221 mph (362 kph). That’s just under half the cruise speed (560 mph or 900 km/h) of military jets — and burning rubber not ozone.

Of course, at Black Rock Desert, Nevada (in a non- Formula One race) Andy Greene soared his British Thrust SSC to 763 mph (1228 km/h) on Oct. 15, 1997 and set the supersonic land speed record. The first to go supersonic on land.

Further Reading:

Radical Extreme Sportscar

Pistonheads.com: Radical SR8 can now fly on the ceiling

AeroSpaceWeb.org: Jet performance by Jeff Scott

Q: Why do rabbits twitch their noses? (Amy, Loftus, England)

Eastern cottontail rabbit looks and sniffs for danger [William R. James, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]

A: A rabbit twitches his nose to detect the faintest odor that might mean danger. He twitches it constantly — 20 to 120 times a minute — to expose more sensing pads in his nose. With his 100 million receptors (compared with a mere 5 or 6 million that we humans have), he’s well equipped.

Rabbit noses twitch rhythmically and only quit when they are totally relaxed, probably asleep.

Further Reading:

Hopper Home: Nosey rabbits

Lindsay Wildlife Museum: Rabbit care

(Answered March 04, 2005)