9/10/10

Gordo, the Bagpipe Camel


If you want to get along in this world, you have to learn how to classify things. A bagpipe, for instance, can be distinguished from a camel by its lack of a hump. A shortage in the legs and tail department also helps us to distinguish a bagpipe from a camel.

You could avoid all the hard work of classifying things if you made friends with a taxonomist, who would undoubtedly be happy to accompany you on your daily travels and point out the differences between, for instance, a chocolate bar and an elephant.

Taxonomists are often so busy making up lists of features that distinguish one thing from another thing, that they neglect their social lives, and can become quite lonely.

This may explain why there is a growing shortage of taxonomists, an event you can read about in this article from the Toronto Globe & Mail.

It seems to me we are increasingly running short of things, including taxonomists. Soon, we'll have to reboot and start over again.

All the more reason to eat as much chocolate as we can before it vanishes into the Great Big Dark Void. Here is a picture of some interesting chocolate to inspire you.

No worries.

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