Happy Darwin Day
Today is the 200th birthday of English naturalist Charles Darwin, the first person to demonstrate that all varieties of life on this planet evolved from common anscestors via natural selection.
Such things may seem obvious to us now, but if Darwin hadn’t hitched a ride on the HMS Beagle and observed interesting patterns in the pigmentation of mice and the curvature of finches’ beaks, we might not know as much about the natural world as we do today.
His well-documented scientific theories form the basis for modern life sciences, though for reasons I can’t quite comprehend, remain controversial in some circles. Few take this controversy seriously, though it does occasionally make life more interesting, and has formed the basis for some interesting art.
Also, he first identified the Megatherium via fossils, one of the coolest ancient animals ever.
And, I ought to mention the entertaining series of awards named in his memory, which, while certainly tounge-in-cheek, do serve to demonstrate the idea of natural selection remarkably well.
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Happy 200th as well to Mr. Lincoln, who said this in his second inaugural address in 1865:
let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
Just one of the really great things he said worth remembering
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On a completely unrelated note, my hit logs indicate that someone in Iceland landed on this page with a google search for Tarquin Fintimlinbinwhinbim Bus Stop F’tang F’tang Ole Biscuit-Barrel.
I must be doing something right.
