Earth's Largest Living Organism Is a Fungus Spanning Miles

Despite their name, honey badgers are not closely related to European or American badgers. They belong to the family Mustelidae — alongside weasels, otters, wolverines, and ferrets — and are the only living member of the genus Mellivora. Their closest relatives are actually martens and wolverines.

Honey badgers can survive bites from highly venomous snakes including cobras, puff adders, and black mambas. Their bodies carry a mutated form of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that prevents snake neurotoxins from binding effectively. After being bitten, a honey badger may collapse but typically recovers within hours.

A honey badger's skin is about 6mm thick and exceptionally tough — resistant to arrows, spears, and even machete cuts. Its skin is also remarkably loose, allowing the animal to twist almost 180 degrees inside it to bite an attacker that is gripping it. This adaptation makes them nearly impossible to hold or restrain.

Heartburn, a symptom of indigestion, can produce chest pain that radiates to the arm — identical to a cardiac event. This similarity causes thousands of unnecessary emergency room visits every year.