In the rare really free time that I have, I stumbled today upon two interesting tidbits of information today. One was a facebook group invitation sent to me by my brother about saving my favorite animal, the dolphins, which included a link to an article with some very interesting and impressive results of studies about them - like a young dolphin calf imitating a cloud of cigarette smoke by releasing milk from its mother into the water! An action like that requires so many layers of intelligence and understanding - observing the smoke cloud, understanding that it was produced by the smoker by blowing something out; understanding the idea that releasing one fluid into another fluid of different color could produce a similar visual effect; making the connection that milk from its mother fits the criteria; going against natural instinct and deliberately using the milk for the purpose of imitating the smoke effect rather than feeding. And, not to forget, the curiosity to be interested in trying to imitate the smoke cloud to begin with. I don't know - I'm just completely amazed by this. And now that I think about it, could you think of a human baby coming up with this kind of line of reasoning? I can't. (Though granted, I don't know what the timeline of development for dolphins is...I suppose it's possible that that calf was the equivalent of a human kid at age 10 and they still feed from their mom's milk at that age.)

The other interesting bit was a google video of a talk given by Hans Rosling, professor at Sweden's world-renowned Karolinska Institute, on the subject of global health and the world's misconception of it. It's a great talk overall, with very interesting facts, awesome presentation, and some incredibly funny bits ("I have proven that Swedish top students know statistically significantly less about the world than the Chimpanzee. [...] I did also a study of the professors of the Karolinksa Institute - which hands out the Nobel prize in medicine - and they are on par with the Chimpanzee."). The video can be found here. Highly recommended!

Now that the frosty weather is kicking in, here a little something to keep y'all in good spirits.

+20° - Greeks put on sweaters (if they can find them).

+15° - Hawaiians turn on the heaters (if they have them).

+10° - Americans shake, Russians are planting cucumbers.

+5° - You can see your own breathing. Italian cars don't start. Norwegians take a bath. Russians drive with lowered windows.

0° - Water freezes in America, in Russia it thickens.

-5° - French cars don't start.

-10° - You're planning a vacation to Australia.

-15° - Your cat insists to sleep in your bed. Norwegians put on sweaters.

-18° - New York landlords turn on the heaters. Russians make their last seasonal picnic.

-20° - American cars don't start. People in Alaska start wearing long-sleeves.

-25° - German cars don't start. Hawaiians are dead.

-30° - Politicians start talking about homeless people. Your cat prefers to sleep in your pajamas.

-35° - Too cold to think. Japanese cars don't start.

-40° - You're planning a 2-week hot tub bath. Swedish cars don't start.

-42° - Transportation stops in Europe. Russians eat ice cream on the street.

-45° - All Greeks are dead. Politicians really start doing something for the homeless.

-50° - Your eyelids start sticking when you blink. In Alaska, people close the window in the bathroom.

-60° - White bears start moving south.

-70° - Hell freezes.

-73° - Finnish special services evacuate Santa Claus from Lapland. Russians wear earmuff hats.

-80° - Lawyers put their hands in their own pockets.

-114° - Ethyl alcohol is freezing. Russians are unhappy.

-273° - Absolute zero, atomic movement stops. Russians wear boots.

-295° - 90% of the planet is dead. Russian soccer team becomes the world champion.

My cello teacher Paul Tobias forwarded me a link to these awesome videos the other day: