If I could reincarnate as anything, I'd obviously want to be a bird, because ... flying.  But not just any bird.  I'd want to be a water bird.  Not a water bird like a stupid penguin, which can't fly.  But an actual flying, swimming bird.  Birds like ducks, geese, and seagulls can walk, they can fly, and they can swim.  Fucking badass. 

Ducks are cute, but lack a certain fearsomeness.  Geese have those long necks and they just look at you like they want to cause you physical harm.  But only a seagull can survive just as well near the ocean as in a random suburban parking lot.  I think it's due to their ability to eat anything and everything, including garbage.  As hated as they are, they have possibly the best chance of surviving the near-certain apocalypse that awaits our dumb bipedal species. 

Seagulls:  Land, sea, and air.  And garbage dumps. #nature

I'm a bit ignorant on the topic of economic policies, but it seems from the outside that capitalism is pretty good at making people rich by sort of exploiting other people and things.  That's fine and all, because it enables class mobility.  But I think an even bigger issue is the exploitation of things that don't have a voice, namely the environment.  Capitalism has a tendency to bleed things dry, like oil wells and forests.  As long as people make money, it's deemed a success.  I think -- and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this -- there's a limit to how much capitalism can exploit the environment.  It's fine for now because there's a lot of nature and a lot of money being made.  But at some point, the wells will dry up and the forests will disappear, and no amount of money will be able to undo it.  I like capitalism, but I think it should be regulated to an extent. #nature

It's astounding to me that you can bring an animal -- pretty much any animal -- to a vet and expect a reasonable degree of veterinary knowledge.  Human doctors specialize in one species.  Vets specialize in entire classes of organisms.  If a vet can deal with a parrot, a rabbit, and a turtle on the same day, that covers pretty much half the animal kingdom. #nature

Snowflakes form around particles called nucleators, which can be anything from dust and soot to bacteria.  Some research showed that as much as 85% of nucleators in some regions are bacteria.  Maybe that's another reason why people say you shouldn't eat snow.  (via Radiolab) #nature

I'm kind of in awe of compost.  Somehow, as if by magic, I'm able to pile a bunch of leaves, grass clippings, vegetable parts, rotten fruit, rabbit droppings, coffee grounds, and newspaper, and after a certain amount of time, I'm left with simple, healthy dirt.  I understand the idea of decomposition, and I realize it's mostly just worm poop, but I still find this process immensely fascinating. #nature

The cave crickets that live in my crawl space and jump onto my head each time I enter or exit have this giant pointy thing on their tail end that looks like a stinger.  It frightens me, to say the least.  After some research, it turns out it's called an ovipositor, which is a body part certain insects use to place their eggs in the ground.  On crickets, it's a non-violent appendage.  On other insects, like bees and wasps, it's a stinger. #nature

The Broad Breasted White breed of turkeys is the most common commercially-raised turkey in the US.  But there's a problem: 

These birds have shorter breast bones, exceedingly large breasts, are often very fat, and have shorter legs than "standard" turkeys, rendering them unable to breed without human assistance (typically via in vitro fertilisation).

Unless you intentionally buy a heritage breed for three times the price, this is the turkey you eat at Thanksgiving.  (via Freakonomics)

Slightly related:  Corn sex, grape sex #nature

It has been suggested (via Neatorama) that the most environmentally-friendly thing to do with your body after you die is to liquefy it by means of an alkali salt bath, which is called resomation.  Casket burials use embalming fluids that leach into the ground, and cremations utilize fossil fuels for combustion.  Or as one commenter added:  "I remember reading [about] a method where the corpse is put in a tub full of crabs, who eat it."  Response:  "Then do all your friends & family gather a week later for a crab boil?" #nature

Uranusquake:  An earthquake on the planet Uranus.  Actually, that's not true.  It's still called an earthquake. #nature

This is Paria Canyon in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona: This picture was found online somewhere.  Someday I'll go here. #nature