Why I Love The PlatypusTo start with, the base reason I love the platypus is its sheer bizarreness. Everything else stems from that base principle around which its existence hinges. And, as is often the case, bizarre transforms into silly, and I'm a big fan of silly. It's one of only two egg laying mammals, it has a bill, it has venom, and as a kicker it lives in Australia.So, on the issue of silliness. Everytime I think life is too serious, I have merely to think of the noble platypus to realize that everything has a lighter side. Not that life being too serious is something that's a problem for me, but it's nice to know that I have a safety net in the form of a duck-billed platypus. And then there's the poison. It does nothing but inflame the nerves, causing unbearable pain throughout the body. It can kill a small dog. But what use does this venom have? Defense? Offense? No. They use it during mating rituals for when the males are fighting over a female. One of the most painful poisons known to man, and it never attacks anyone with it. This leads me to label the platypus a pacifist. That and it eats larva off the bottom of lakes. On a side note, any animal that has a double plural has to be cool. And people can never decide which one to use, platypuses or platypi, even though both are correct. A baby platypus is called a puggle. Sometimes I wonder if the platypi are trying to be silly. That would make a lot of sense. One of the key personality traits of the platypus is its anti-conventionalism. It actively tries to not fit in. Laying eggs is a good example of this. Technically that means it shouldn't even be a mammal. No one ever said the Linnean classification system was perfect. Or if they did I wasn't around to hear it. So, what have we learned from this in depth analysis? The platypus acts noble, but only in an attempt to be sillier. They are non-conforming non-conformists. They are very silly with a healthy sense of humor. Next week, an indepth look at the penguin. |