Ducks Behaving Badly
As the brother-in-law of a scientist, I'm predisposed to the whole concept of "pure research". All too often, the private sector exerts considerable pressure upon academic biologists, chemists, and physicists to produce commercially useful products. It's good to see that, at least in Britain, "pure research" is alive and well. Don MacLeod's column in today's Guardian reports:
The strange case of the homosexual necrophiliac duck pushed out the boundaries of knowledge in a rather improbable way when it was recorded by Dutch researcher Kees Moeliker.
It may have ruffled a few feathers, but it earned him the coveted Ig Nobel prize for biology awarded for improbable research, and next week he will be recounting his findings to UK audiences on the Ig Nobel tour.
I've chosen to cull only a small portion of the article in an effort to shield you from the graphic details. Suffice it to say that drakes are nasty.
Oftentimes, surly misanthropes such as myself seek comfort and refuge in the natural world; a world of balance and harmony devoid of human vices, petty disputes over tupperware, and random acts of cruelty. Who can be cynical while being greeted by a beautiful sunrise or an adorable puppy?
After reading Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash and reading about "rape flight ducks" in the Guardian, I'm convinced I've been deceived by Bambi, the Lion King, the Jungle Book, and the vast majority of children's literature.
Mother Nature is all too human.
Read it in the Guardian:
The strange case of the homosexual necrophiliac duck pushed out the boundaries of knowledge in a rather improbable way when it was recorded by Dutch researcher Kees Moeliker.
It may have ruffled a few feathers, but it earned him the coveted Ig Nobel prize for biology awarded for improbable research, and next week he will be recounting his findings to UK audiences on the Ig Nobel tour.
I've chosen to cull only a small portion of the article in an effort to shield you from the graphic details. Suffice it to say that drakes are nasty.
Oftentimes, surly misanthropes such as myself seek comfort and refuge in the natural world; a world of balance and harmony devoid of human vices, petty disputes over tupperware, and random acts of cruelty. Who can be cynical while being greeted by a beautiful sunrise or an adorable puppy?
After reading Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash and reading about "rape flight ducks" in the Guardian, I'm convinced I've been deceived by Bambi, the Lion King, the Jungle Book, and the vast majority of children's literature.
Mother Nature is all too human.
Read it in the Guardian:
