Cool so it’s not just my area. Others here gave good reasons for them to be popular, unless you have any other thoughts?

Same here. Neat, eh?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demodex

My fave parts (edited for brevity):

The adult mites are 0.3–0.4 mm (3⁄256–1⁄64 in) long. Each has a semitransparent, elongated body that consists of two fused parts. Eight short, segmented legs are attached to the first body segment. The body is covered with scales for anchoring itself in the hair follicle, and the mite has pin-like mouthparts for eating skin cells and oils that accumulate in the hair follicles.

… and …

The mites are transferred between hosts through contact with hair, eyebrows, and the sebaceous glands of the face.

Ohhh good.

I love this image of the artist’s studio.

So messy

And I will never forgive for them for that.

Yes, still art. I still love looking at it.

How about this?

The Cathedral and the Bazaar : Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary by Eric Raymond,

https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/the-cathedral-and-the-bazaar-musings-on-linux-and-open-source-by-an-accidental-revolutionary-9780596001087

It’s from 1997 but addresses some of what you mentioned. Things have changed a lot since it was written though, so just keep that in mind.

At first I thought the OP was asking how they could fertilize the eggs, lol

Oh rly? I’m on KDE!

Lol, I think that’s only in the cartoon, eh.

https://platypus.asn.au/platypus-myths/

The fact is that the platypus’s digestive tract does include a small expanded pouch-like section where one would normally expect a stomach to be located. The platypus’s stomach doesn’t secrete digestive acids or enzymes (Harrop and Hume 1980; Ordoñez et al. 2008), but does produce a mucus-rich fluid to assist nutrient absorption in the intestines (Krause 1971). Following on from the discussion of grinding pads above, it would seem that a platypus masticates food so thoroughly in its mouth that little additional processing is required before food reaches the intestines. Also, because a platypus consumes numerous small prey items over a period of many hours, its stomach doesn’t need to have a large holding capacity to accommodate infrequent large meals.

Sooo, “gullet”?

I went down this rathole.

They first grind up the bugs they eat in their mouths, then they have a chamber with bacteria which further reduce their food, then their intestines finish the job.

ETA, since you all are such curious cats:

https://wildlifefaq.com/platypus-stomach/

and

https://platypus.asn.au/platypus-myths/

Ze Frank is still making videos?

Mind blown, in a good way.

Excellent!!!

<guitar solo sounds>

Oh good, it’s not just me that sees the resemblance. 👍

Portrait of the artist by Ottavio Leoni

Wiki says he worked in pastels and oils, so yah, good call.

Ohhh, I will just place this little smiley face here. It will not hurt anything…

:)