Towering Underneath Expectations

But consider:

Calendar of a Roman farmer. Each page has three month names.

Each month, starting from the top, has the number of days of the month, the day when there are Nonae, the length of day and night expressed in hours, the sign of the zodiac, protective deity, work to take place in the field and the most important festivals.

Let’s play the biggest game of kick the can on the internet.

Linguistics is the study of linguists, and why they chose to pursue careers in languages, translation, and/or linguini. Linguistics dates back to the Tower of Babel, when new languages sprang into being so that one day, Neal Stephenson could use them as a plot point in a sci-fi novel.

The modern world by contrast has well over six languages, including Quenya, Sindarin, Khuzdul, and West Frisian Dutch. People who can speak only one of these are called monoglots, people who speak a few are called polyglots, and people who know every language are called omniglots, or colloquially, “show-off jerks.”

Most people are of course, monoglots, and thus their seeds contain only a single embryonic leaf. Monoglots are also more prone to catching mononucleosis, which is a very catchy song by Schoolyard Heroes.

The Amur Leopard and Clouded Leopard (which recently celebrated its 50th cub born at the zoo!)

The Sumatran Tiger

The Red Ruffed Lemur and Ring-Tailed Lemur

The Cotton-Top Tamarin and White-Cheeked Gibbon

The Colobus Monkey and De Brazza’s Monkey

And the Mexican Spider Monkey!