What is up With Platypuses?

Let’s talk about ADHD hyperfocus. Or platypuses.

One of the main traits of my ADHD is my ability to hyperfocus and fixate on one subject for a very long time. Sometimes it’s just one sentence in a novel or a throwaway comment in a film. It doesn’t take much for the claws of curiosity to embed themselves in my brain. Then off I go to research and more often than not I end up in a deep rabbit hole of fascination that can last hours or even weeks—and sometimes months if it leads to a secondary project!

I have deep-dived into the topics of aliens, ghosts, ancient civilizations, female serial killers and bizarre illnesses. But this week I am thoroughly obsessed with… Platypuses!

Yes, platypuses! 

In my defence, I feel like we should all be thoroughly obsessed, and even a little concerned about, platypuses -and yes, the plural of platypus is platypuses and not, as I previously thought, platypi.

The platypus is a duck-billed creature. However, unlike a duck, it has fur instead of feathers. It also has a beaver’s tail and the legs of an otter, and retractable webbing on its hands and feet. Basically, when God was finished making animals he had a bunch of leftover pieces (kind of like when you’re finished putting together those IKEA shelves and have a bunch of leftover screws and whatsits). So he decided to throw ‘em all together and ouila! We have the wondrous platypus!

Did you know that the platypus is a mammal? However, it is a mammal that lays eggs, (known as a monotreme) which is crazy enough in itself, but it also nurses its young WITHOUT NIPPLES. Yes! Platypuses excrete milk from mammary glands on their lower abdomen. Their young suck on furry flaps of skin on their mother’s stomach to release the milk. What. The. Actual. Fuck?? 

And if you thought that was weird, did you know that platypuses are venomous? Male Platypuses have venomous spurs on their back legs. It is said a sting from a Platypus can be very painful, but thankfully not fatal. 

But the most bizarre and fascinating thing about the platypus is how it hunts its prey. Platypuses don’t rely on their eyes or ears when they dive down to catch their snacks—both of which actually close up underwater. Instead, they use electrolocation. Due to the electroreceptors on their bills, they can sense the electric fields generated by the muscular contractions of their prey. WHAT IS GOING ON?!

And just when you thought the platypus couldn’t get much weirder, apparently they also glow a greeny-blue hue under black light due to biofluorescence. Unlike pretty much all other mammals. 

So what is up with platypuses? Are they alien creatures that were kicked off a spaceship many years ago? Or perhaps they are the punk rockers of the animal world who simply refuse to fit into any of the boxes scientists have created. In that sense I truly respect them. In fact, we could all learn a lot from platypuses—especially those of us who are neurodivergent. 

So we don’t fit the status quo. So our brains work differently from neurotypical brains. So those of us with ADHD can find it hard to organize things, be on time, or stay focused. So what? When the platypus needed to feed its young it lactated from its freaking stomach. When its ears and eyes closed up underwater it found another way to hunt for food. It became a freaking electro receptor! 

It can be easy to fall into the trap of “why can’t I do things like everyone else!” but what if you’re not meant to? What if there is a different way for you? Maybe you will learn to do things differently to other people, in a completely unorthodox way that no one would ever think of! Maybe it will take a little longer but does that really matter when you are a freaking magical creature who glows in the dark?

From now on I am a platypus. I accept my weirdness and I will find my own way to do things. It’s highly likely that it will not be the way most people do things. But maybe it’s not meant to be. Maybe some of us are meant to find different ways. Better ways. Because if you look around you may see that there’s definitely room for improvement!