Verbal High Fives

On Saturday South Africans witnessed the defiant rise of the animal kingdom during the semi-final of the Absa Currie Cup in Durban between the Sharks and Vodacom Blue Bulls. A large swarm of bees delayed the start of the semi final rugby match by 45 minutes when they arrived just before kick-off and laid claim to the rugby pitch. The bees mingled on the lawn and made rugby-relatedsmall talk such as “Where is the pollen?” while the match organizers diplomatically tried to encourage them to move on. Commentators and fans alike were utterly astonished by this rare interference from the animal kingdom and scientists immediately began researching whether bees prefer watching rugby directly from the pitch or on tv. The sobering truth, however, is that the animal kingdom is revolting. And by “revolting” I obviously mean “uprising.” For centuries the animal kingdom has been the unfortunate source of scientists’ incredibly overdeveloped (and misplaced) inquisitive minds. Scientists the world ov...