Just got back from spending almost 50 minutes outside, which was more than plenty: it's blistering cold ... 27.2 degrees with a 10 knot wind and 58% humidity. It's the kind of damp, gusty chill that bites through wind-stopping fleece and stings exposed skin like swarms of Arctic ant bites.
I mean, if Arctic ants had evolved yet.
Couldn't help noticing that the frigid conditions didn't seem to be bothering the ducks very much. I don't think they were affected at all, and kept merrily swimming on their feathery way ... in water that would knock thee or me into hypothermic shock in minutes.
See, ducks have waterproof feathers. A gland near the tail spreads an oil that covers the outer feathers, and beneath that waterproof layer are soft fluffy feathers to keep ducks warm.
Not only that, but ducks got no nerves or blood vessels in their feets, which means their paddlers never get cold no how.
Evolution sure is grand to predict all of a duck's problems in advance, develop creative solutions, and then apply all those nifty features in time to save the species, isn't it?
Oh, so Not.
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Can you imagine if EVOLUTION was a corporation? I wonder what Evolution LLC's slogan might sound like:
Evolution: Somehow Always One Step Ahead
Evolution: Predicting Tomorrow's Advantage Today!
Evolution: Science's Best Guess
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