Human uniqueness takes another hit

Remember when humans were the only tool-using animal? I'm old enough that I do. Then we found out that chimps use tools. Oh, and seagulls. And crows.

Well, now we have amazing video of a mollusc using tools. What makes this even more impressive is that Amphioctopus individuals only live for up to 5 years. The individual seen is probably no more than two years old.

I think the only thing stopping the octopods from being the dominant animals on this planet is that parents never meet their offspring (dying after reproduction), which prevents the evolution of culture (in a non-social group like these).

Calf marked with the sign of the cross

A farmer in Connecticut sees the white cross-shaped marking on his young cow's head as "... maybe a message from up above. I'm not sure. We're still trying to figure that out." I wonder if he's maybe trying to avoid saying something really stupid like "God marked a cross on my cow's head," while still keeping options open to sell the cow for a lot of money to religious nutcases.

The WFSB coverage contains this mysterious paragraph:

Megan Johnson of Sterling said, "Well I wasn't surprised. I wasn't surprised at all because the dairy industry has needed a miracle for a long time and this is it. I think it's divine intervention, personally. I'm in the breeding business and I know about reproduction and genetics and I don't think this could happen again in a million cows."

It's mysterious to me because, who the heck is Megan Johnson and why are you quoting him? The article doesn't say.

Well, I did graduate work in zoology, and this is not all that complex to explain. A somatic mutation in one stem cell during embryonic growth could do it, Mr. Johnson. And surely God could draw a neater, less fingerpaint-looking cross if He wanted to?

Why can't the rest of the media be as smart as the film reviewer?

This one particular reviewer, anyway.

Roger Ebert, eloquently and with ineluctable logic and iridescent language, eviscerates the New Age and the Old Ways.