Zap!

Its or It’s?

Its shows that something belongs to something or someone: “The cat licked its paws.” It’s is a contraction of it is or it has: “It’s going to rain” or “It’s been such a busy day!” 

The human tongue is amazing. Its/It’s essential for tasting, chewing, swallowing, speaking, and singing. But compared with some tongues in the animal kingdom, our tongues can seem downright boring.

Take the blue whale. Its/It’s nearly three-ton tongue is heavier than an SUV. Then there is the blue-tongued skink. Its/It’s tongue is, you guessed it, bright blue. And let’s not forget the woodpecker. These birds have superlong tongues that are often covered with barbs or glue-like saliva—which means certain doom for the bugs that woodpeckers love to feast on.

Warning: This creepy critter is the stuff of nightmares. Known as the “tongue-eating louse,” this ocean-dweller certainly lives up to its/it’s name. Picture a fish swimming in the sea. Its/It’s minding its/it’s own business, when the louse comes along. The louse swims into the fish through its/it’s gills and skitters up to the fish’s mouth. Next, the louse bites off the blood supply to the fish’s tongue. Then the louse waits for the tongue to die and fall out. 

But the horror doesn’t end there. After that, the louse becomes a sort of stand-in tongue, riding around in the fish’s mouth, helping the fish eat, and helping itself to the fish’s blood and mucus. Gaaahhhh!

If there were an award for deadliest tongue, the prize would probably go to the chameleon. These colorful lizards move slowly—but their tongues are lightning fast. If a chameleon spots an insect, it flicks out its/it’s long, stretchy tongue, which is coated in sticky spit. Then ZAP! The tongue snaps back into the chameleon’s mouth like a rubber band and dinner is served. All this happens in the time it takes to blink your eyes. 

When the chameleon isn’t hunting its/it’s next meal, it keeps its/it’s tongue coiled up in its/it’s mouth.