Denis is dead, but his spirit will live as long as the last McDonalds exists in a barren world. --- On Tue, 1/11/11, David Savory <dsavory@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: From: David Savory <dsavory@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: [lit-ideas] Maybe Denis was right after all... To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 9:39 PM Swinging bachelors often try to impress potential mates with their fancy cars, houses and jewelry, and it appears that male bowerbirds of Papua New Guinea employ a similar mating strategy by building elaborate tree homes. National Geographic magazine noted in July that the birds can "build a hut that looks like a doll's house" or "arrange flowers, leaves and mushrooms in such an artistic manner" that researchers liken them to the craftsmanship of humans. Biologists observed females gravitating to males who had such structures as a three-foot tower of twigs, nuts and beetles, decorated with "garlands of caterpillar feces glistening with dew." [National Geographic, July 2010] David Savory ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html