MEMEHUNTER

Systema Naturae

Blech.

I'm ill today. Was ill yesterday also.

Had a tour round the Darwin Centre in the Natural History Museum the other day. Lots of animals in glass jars. Kind of spooky. Kind of cool. Got me thinking about classification and taxonomics and things. Apparently, some guys are busily inventing a new classification system based on cladistics rather than phylogenetics. Not a bad idea, I suppose, seeing as the Linnaean system's been in place since 1758 or something. Not that I have anything against Linnaean classification in itself, but how do we know if something's working unless it's challenged? Moreovrer, the Darwin centre had a chimpanzee and an orangutan in the same freezer. The man wouldn't tell me if they were complete. If so, they must be folded up somewhat. It was quite a small cabinet.

Coelocanths are much bigger than I suspected.

Most mind-boggling; in order to reduce an animal to its skeleton and tendons, they pour flesh eating beetles over it and leave it. I mean... logical, but crazy. Reassuringly lo-tech.

I didn't ask him what sort of beetles they use...

Hey ho.

posted by Memehunter @ 4:21 PM