'I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats,' said Muskrat, 'That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?'
'No,' said the child. 'What is it?'
- The Mouse and his Child. Russell Hoban.

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Tuesday 15 March 2011

Beetles


Close-up of a drawer of Coleoptera in the Auckland Museum.

British scientist J. B. S Haldane, when asked what could be inferred about the work of the Creator from a study of His works, is reported to have replied;
"An inordinate fondness for beetles."

For, if a single example of every plant and animal species on this Earth were placed in a row, every 5th one would be a beetle. If success is measured by numbers, beetles rule!

2 comments:

  1. GB15.3.11

    J B S Haldane - a splendid fellow if ever there was one. A humorous scientist (words often, in that combination, regarded as an oxymoron) and man of principle as well as one of the founders of modern genetics. I always admired his poem on the cancer that eventually killed him (Cancer's a Funny Thing).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kate15.3.11

    I'll look him up. Science + funny = good.

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