Every single time I see a Boop meme I love, I boop the creator, as well as liking it. NOW THAT'S FEEDBACK!
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So was anyone gonna tell me the Greek navy still has a fully functional trireme?
Her name is Olympias! She was built in 1987 and can sail up to 9 knots (17 km) per hour!
Olympias weighs 47 tonnes, but is remarkably agile, able to make a 180 degree turn within one minute. Everything but the bracing ropes was constructed of the same materials as in ancient Greece. (They used steel instead of hemp rope for cost reasons.)
Experiments with Olympias have helped us understand the capabilities of warships from ancient Greek and Roman times. Triremes like her were built for speed, maneuverability, and aggressive ramming. (Her beak alone weighs 200 kg.) It appears that many of the seamanship feats described by Thucydides were indeed possible!
Olympias is now an exhibit at Naval Tradition Park in Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece. She's usually dry docked these days, but I've found a couple videos of her at sea!
Edit: Initially got her top speed wrong, sorry. It is now corrected!
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It’s Caturday and Bridget says she believes in you. And feel free to boop the snoot for good luck!
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Boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot boop snoot
thank you friend 💙💙
please know we are booping everyone who sends us boops right back with much love! (only the boops are coming from the team’s main blog since tumblr won’t let us boop from bearotonin 😔)
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The woodland amphithere (Amphitheris silva), also known as the fairy dragon or the beech wyrm, is a small draconoid endemic to the temperate broadleaf forests of the Sunken Continent. Vestigial wings aid in thermoregulation and can be freely contracted and expanded. The shapes of these wings have evolved to resemble the leaves of beech, hornbeam, and other marcescent trees that are the favored hunting territories of woodland amphitheres. Fur-like moss growth on its head and tail enable it to supplement its primarily insectivorous diet with photosynthetic energy.
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(Extended species description under readmore.)
The woodland amphithere (Amphitheris silva), also known as the fairy dragon or the beech wyrm, is a small draconoid endemic to the broadleaf forests of the Sunken Continent.
Vestigial wings aid in both gliding and thermoregulation. Each wing can move independently of one another, and their membranes can be freely contracted and expanded (see last image/GIF in gallery). The shapes of these wings have evolved to resemble the leaves of beech, hornbeam, and other marcescent trees that are the favored hunting territories of woodland amphitheres. Whole covens have been observed sunning themselves on tree branches in autumn and winter.
Fur-like moss growth on its head and tail enable it to supplement its primarily insectivorous diet with photosynthetic energy. This adaptation along with their unique wing structure allows them to forego hibernation altogether in more temperate regions.
Two pairs of eyes make these creatures adept hunters. The rostral pair are used to observe shape and color while the caudal pair specialize in tracking the movement of their prey.
Like many extant members of the amphitherid and other draconoid families, the woodland amphithere possesses relays, growths on the head which house complex electroreceptors. Relays in this species have evolved as rigid, antler-like structures. The exact purpose of these relays is unknown, but it is hypothesized that they may be involved in communication between members of a given coven.
Woodland amphitheres are semisocial and congregate in single-generation groups known as a coven or a flight. Covens are typically made up of six to ten individuals, although covens as large as two dozen have been observed. While they do not exhibit the same coordinated hunting prowess of other amphithere species, they are still remarkably sociable and have been observed to groom and to sing to one another.
Eggs are laid in communal nests in small ponds in early spring, and the brood is left to fend for itself by the parent coven shortly after hatching. The fry begin life as tadpole-like creatures with their wings and relays becoming fully developed by midsummer. The brood may linger for up to a year near its birth pond before leaving in search of new hunting territory.
Birds of prey, including eagles, owls, and lesser rocs, are typical predators of woodland amphitheres. Its primary defense is its own coven, which will swarm upon and harass the predator to drive it away. Larger covens have even been known to kill and subsequently feed on their would-be attackers, especially during the nesting season.
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First entry in what will be a small series of original dragon amigurumi patterns following a general amphithere body plan (basically all wing and no leggies lol).
My personal challenge for each of these is that I cannot directly reference patterns from other creators. This is to (1) force me to figure out how to work up complex shapes and (2) so that I can avoid copyright infringement if I ever decide to sell these patterns a later date. Which was why a good portion of the time for this entry was working out the shapes of the leaves for the wings, haha.
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