Eructations and brand new mammals

“In the 1800’s Frenchman Joseph Pujol apparently became so adept at controlling his flatulence flow he could sound musical notes. Called ‘le Petomane” – the fartiste – he was reputedly the highest paid performer in France at his prime” – The Canadian Press

This little gem was in the paper this morning, and I’m torn. Should I be concerned that there was apparently so little to report on that they dedicated a third of a page to flatulence, or amused that someone’s actually put some thought into writing a third of a page on something that we, really, don’t think about at all.

I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times my bottom burps during a 24 hour period, all I know is my wife runs for cover while my kids giggle like lunatics when I let one rip.

Truly, my posterior emits some prodigious fumes. This particular entry is, admittedly, not as vanilla scented as the rest of the blog. For that I apologize.

In other, non-toot-related news, welcome to the world, Rhynochocyon udzungwensis !

After all of our efforts to reduce the number of mammals on the planet through means ranging from eating and wearing them to simply introducing new predators they’re not prepared for, some scientific boffins have gone and found themselves a whole new mammal species in the dark continent.

True to the traditions of being as odd as possible, while it looks like an elephant shrew it’s actually more closely related to a manatee. As I come from the land that gave the world the platypus, I can truly appreciate bizarre animals that do their best to defy classification.

Here’s hoping this cat-sized little sod sticks around long enough to be given a more pronouncable name.