Northern Arizona University’s Con Slobodchikoff, Ph.D., and his student-teams have been studying the alarm calls of Gunnison’s prairie dogs for over 30 years. The result: the prairie dog language has been somewhat decoded. Yes, we know what they’re saying when they yip and squeak!

From The Atlantic: 

The animals have word-like phonemes, combining those into sentence-like calls. They have social chatter. They can distinguish between types of predators that are nearby — dogs, coyotes, humans — and seem to have developed warnings that specify the predators’ species and size and color. 

This video is a win-win because you get to watch prairie dogs (and their predators), all while learning about how we observe, analyze, and test to find out more about their sophisticated animal language. Be sure to read the interview with Slobodchikoff for more information…

These wasps are trying to cool their overheated nest. One brings a droplet of water to assist. Alan Teitel captures it at 4,700 frames per second. A moment of appreciation for nature and a moment of appreciation of technology at the same time: this is 0.8 seconds of real time stretched out into 2m15 seconds of slow motion.

Slow motion insects in the archives: ladybugs unfolding their wings here and here, Dance of the Honey Bee, and The Hidden Beauty of Pollination.

via Laughing Squid.

DIY.org is a safe online community for kids who love to make and learn (and for parents or educators who want to stay in the loop). Young makers can do challenges, watch tutorials, share knowledge, and earn patches in all sorts of skills: beekeeper, baker, detective, fort builder, gardener, gamer, papercrafter, solar engineer, and so many more. 

For more information, read an interview, watch the DIY Anthem, and visit the site…

From the 2012 Concurs de Castells, a human tower-building competition in Tarragona, Spain, watch this video by photographer David Oliete. David also took photos.

A long tradition in the region, castells began at the end of the 18th century. The sport has rules, techniques, and team responsibilities to guard safety and success. The pinya or base is made of a few hundred people that can catch anyone who falls, and the tower itself has a variety of different formations. The top three levels are the pom de dalt, made up of children in helmets. 

While the video above doesn’t show some of the more harrowing challenges, this video by Mike Randolph in 2010 captures why safety and teamwork are so important:

via DesignBoom.

The Human Piano. (This also seems like a great DIY video project, yes?)

More than 300 random people on the streets of Israel, each repeating one single note, creating together one harmonious melody. No Auto-tune was used in the making of this video.

via @swissmiss.