h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Heh heh Dmitri now why did you have to go and put in that link? Anyways thanks for clarifying the kundalini-spontaneous combustion connection. I am sorry to admit I was clueless about that before today.

Heh-heh. I was trolling for people who would be interested in that. Fortean phenomena have been collected since way before the internet. We just to love reading about such back in college.

Thanks to this, people now know why it sometimes rains frogs. (Echo Lavoisier: 'There are no frogs in the sky. Therefore, frogs do not rain from the sky. All you people are having a mass hallucination.' )

Yeah. You gotta be careful with that kundalini. Of course, I'm very careful with my chakric flow...

I've a book here called 'Living Wonders' that I got in 1985 detailing many Fortean phenomena, and I'm re-reading it (for like the fifteenth time) right now. I find it great that the rains of fish or frogs are now accepted as actually occuring. I wonder what other phenomena may also soon receive recognition:

- Toads embedded in stones?
- The Man-eating Tree of Madagascar (I'd personally be very interested if that one was real!)
- Horses and dogs that can perform complex calculations?


I found this interesting vid which is somewhat relevant ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He7Ge7Sogrk&feature=related

I'm sorry, it's rather long and slow ... but worth it in the end. This to me encapsulates the thing that there's still so much we don't know about the living things that share the world with us. Is this 'mere training' ... or an indication of true aesthetic feelings in a non-human being?

Okay, now I'll have to check out this man-eating tree. I'm sure the AWW will be thrilled.

I just found a way to keep Elektra rapt and glued to the screen - show her an elephant painting. We didn't think it was long at all.

What a beautiful experience. Thank you. The discovery of the aesthetic perception as the elephant first represented herself, then added a flower...amazing. Listening to the onlookers ooh and awe...priceless.

And, of course, that elephant draws MUCH better than I do. I am jealous. (And I know what to get my brother-in-law the Earth Scienc teacher for Christmas...)

What amazes me is the elegance of that painting - the graceful curves of the lines, the overal balance, and the simplicity - it's done with minimal detail and yet conveys its subject perfectly. It's a beautiful thing. And some people say they 'trained' the elephant to do that! Sure, the elephant probably was put through a lot of practice before it could do that - but heck, there has to be *something* inside it enabling it to actually do that! And with its trunk ... a nose fused to an upper lip!

And as you say, this elephant does better than most people would do. Even people with a bit of art training!

Yes, the understanding, the insight, and the ability are there. You can't 'teach' that.

I don't know why people are surprised (I've heard there are chimps that do it, too).

Oh, yes, I do - people think they're unique. Like with language. Puh-leeze.