This Friday’s facts are brought to you by guest facter Alyce. But before we get to the facts, here’s your riddle for next week:

What do peacocks and spiders have in common?

And now, just the facts ma’am:

It’s no picnic

Ever wonder how to get rid of dinner guests who overstay their welcome? Simple. The New Zealand Wasp. Scientists in New Zealand recently witnessed that the wasp has developed a new strategy for eating its dinner without annoying competition. Its target? Ants. When the wasp’s food becomes covered in pesky ants, it simply picks them up, carries them away from the food and drops them off somewhere else releasing them from its jaws. The good news is the wasps should leave most other dinner guests alone; however, one wasp was quoted as saying they will drop off your mother in law a fair distance if you throw in dessert.

Here are some other interesting animal facts that your family may share. And by share, we mean, “have in common with”….

Fishy business: Did you know that most lipsticks contain fish scales? This may explain why kissing aunt Velma always seems like kissing a fish.

A face only mom could love: Gorillas sleep over 14 hours per day. If your loved ones sleep more than 14 hours a day claiming they need their “beauty sleep”, but still wake up looking like a gorilla, ask them if the are one.

Zactly Disease: They also might want to visit the doctor; they may have Zactly disease; this a condition in which your face looks Zactly like your derriere. Butt be warned, Anti Monkey Butt Powder may not work in this case.

Bite your tongue: The tongue of a blue whale weighs more than a full grown man. Unless by “full grown” they mean your beer-for breakfast-uncle Bob at Christmas time. In which case they may have to pick a different relative to represent this fact.

A birds eye view: Over 10,000 birds die every year from smashing into windows. Scientists have been studying the effectiveness of using pictures of your uncle Bob in the window to reduce these mini-tragedies. We’ll report next week on their findings.

So remember, even though having relatives is not always a picnic, at least you won’t have ants. As long as you invite the wasps in the video below.