So you know some camels have one hump and some have two. Well, many moons ago a reader, John, shared with me a foolproof way to know which camel you’re looking at. The bactrian camel, found in Central Asia has 2 humps, just like a B on its side, while the dromedary camel, found generally in the Middle East, has one hump just like a D on its side. Never wonder again.

You may also like stalactites, stalagmites or other “What’s the difference between” sketchplanations: tortoise/turtle, crocodile/alligator, dolphin/porpoise, centipede/millipede.

Bactrian or dromedary camel? Never be confused again

Parachutes, paragliders, hangliders, kitesurfs, parasails or parakites, all fun ways to get around. Here I wanted to show the main differences between each.

I probably should have added wingsuiting.

Know your flying fabrics

What’s the difference? OK, this is not rocket science, but I remember growing up it took me a while to not be calling them interchangeably. There are so many neat hybrid ways to get on the water now that nothing is cut and dry, but if they look like what’s in the picture then you can be pretty confident you’ll be getting it right.

Kayak vs Canoe

The key to getting the whole thing the right way round in my mind is to remember that you need to cling tight (tite) to the ceiling. Once that’s established, you have a letter C in stactite that fits cling and ceiling. And stalagmites, with its cheeky G, naturally then is the other one which would grow on the ground. Sorted?

Stalactites, Stalagmites

Essentially it’s the order of adding your water to your espresso — an americano - or adding your espresso to your water — a long black. If you’re making your own at home, you may notice that a long black seems to make a more satisfyingly luxurious looking coffee.

Other coffee-related sketchplanations: Vietnamese coffee, Irish coffee, half-caff coffee, espresso, filter, americano and the redeye.

Perhaps I should speak to someone about this…

An americano and a long black: the difference

Venomous animals inject venom through bites, stings and the like. Think snakes, spiders, stingrays…

Poisonous animals poison you if you absorb - perhaps by touching the skin of a poisonous frog - consume - perhaps by eating a poisonous animal - or inhale the poison - perhaps by breathing in some poisonous spores. Think amphibians, plants, fungi…

Venomous, poisonous - what’s the difference

A centipede has 1 pair of legs on each body ring, and a millipede has two on most body segments. Hence millipedes will generally have plenty more legs to go round. As far as I know this is fairly foolproof. Though generally speaking there are more obvious ways to tell, such as millipedes looking more like long armoured nice round worms and usually moving slowly, and centipedes zipping around while generally seeming more long-legged and insecty, with longer antennae at the front and longer angled back legs, sometimes with hooks for defence.

If you were offered to pick one of them up, you’d probably pick the millipede.

Also, in case you were tempted to think they are insects, they’re not because insects have six legs. They are arthropods (loosely meaning jointed feet) along with insects, spiders, scorpions and crustaceans, but in their own subphylum of, aptly named, myriapoda (loosely meaning many legs).

Check out core insect anatomy for a sketchplanation insect refresher.

How to tell a centipede from a millipede

It’s not fullproof (there are a few exceptions) but pretty much these’ll do it for you.

What’s the difference between a dolphin and a porpoise

Pay attention to the jaw, teeth, habitat and location and you’ll be 99%.

What’s the difference between a crocodile and an alligator

If you remember nothing else, remember that tortoises are on land, and turtles are found swimming.

Sketchplanations tagged with whats-the-difference-between