This is kind of cool news from my current neck of the woods. A black Florida panther. Except it’s not–it’s a bobcat. Is it a species, or a mutation? One suspects the latter or there’d be a lot more of them.

A potential problem with special relativity? I do think that people are too quick to say “never” to things like FTL travel. There’s still a lot we don’t understand about the universe. Probably much more than we do, in fact.

The first Europeans came from Asia (actually Russia), not directly from Africa.

The first Europeans came from Asia (actually Russia), not directly from Africa.

The first Europeans came from Asia (actually Russia), not directly from Africa.

A man with no brain is a successful French civil servant. Color me shocked. The jokes pretty much write themselves. I expect George Bush to appoint him to something or other any moment.

Seriously, I do think this reveals how much about the human mind that we still don’t understand (and once again gives pause about subjects like Terri Schiavo).

[Afternoon update]

And of course, what would a topic like this be without a Free Republic thread, complete with several examples of the concept.

I had no idea there were so many weird and/or ugly and/or scary things living under the ocean surface.

I’d previously heard of very few of these.

I had no idea there were so many weird and/or ugly and/or scary things living under the ocean surface.

I’d previously heard of very few of these.

I had no idea there were so many weird and/or ugly and/or scary things living under the ocean surface.

I’d previously heard of very few of these.

An interesting way of looking at it. But if so, they’re pikers compared to grass. Grass has bred us over thousands of years to help it spread in all sorts of places where it never would be able to grow otherwise. We grow it for our bread, for our beer and whiskey and sake, for our cereal, and purely for aesthetics. It has us trained well to do its bidding.