All The News
That's Fit For Chimps

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news

By Aimee Ouellette, Opinions Editor

I was one of those animal-crazy kids. Instead
of posters of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, my
childhood bedroom was decorated with
illustrations pulled from from Ranger Rick
and OWL magazines: leopard geckos, wolves,
weird deep-sea fish, whales, and otters. As
an adult, 1 make www.cuteoverload.com a
part of my daily adorable-animal regimen,
but sometimes, Cute Overload just leaves
me wanting more. I don’t just want pictures
of adorable animals, I want interesting facts
about those animals, and information on
where the animals live, and quirky details
about their lives. For me, it isn’t just about
how an animal looks—adorableness is in the
details!

Luckily for me, National Geographic
News came to the rescue. What, you think
boring, stuffy old National Geographic has
nothing to do with wacky internet sites?

 

Well you’re dead wrong, my friend. A quick
trip through NG’s news archive brings up a
gem of a story—a story so heart-meltingly,
unbelievably cute, I wouldn’t believe it if it
weren’t for the pictures.

The tiny town of Heimaey, Iceland, is
home to one of the largest puffin breeding
grounds in the world. Every year around
August, thousands of baby puffins make the
trip out of their nests and into the sea, where
they will learn how to make their own way in
life. The problem is that the puffins are used to
leaving at night and using the moon to guide
them to sea, and the bright lights of Heimaey
confuse them into wandering into the city
instead of out into the ocean. Because of these
poor confused puffins, a tradition was born
in Heimaey—a tradition that is clearly the
cutest tradition ever. When the puffins leave
their nests, the little children of Heimaey are
allowed to stay out late at night. The little
children then wander the streets of their city
with cardboard boxes, looking for lost and
confused little puffins. When the children
of the town have found all the puffins, they
take them home for the night and take care of
the birds until morning. When dawn arrives,
all the children go with their parents to the
seashore, and put the baby puffins back in the
water, where they swim safely away.

I feel confident in saying that surely there
is no other tradition in the world cuter than
this one. If you don’t see an article from me
in the next issue, it’s because I’ve moved to
Iceland. In the meantime, check out National
Geographic News—it’s all the news that’s fit
for chimps (or higher primates, as the case
may be)!

 

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and more.

   

EO Sta e ee]

Lions, Hippos Poisoned in
Famous Kenya Park

WEEK IN PHOTOS: Pagan Fire Fest, Fukang Meteorite, More

See half-naked—but all red—revelers get medieval, a Hollywood
landmark go up in smoke, skulls stare into the Paris underworld,

Site Index Subscriptior

GET THE WID

Boras

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

     
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
   
 
 

REPORTING YOUR WORLD DAILY

Pass a recs CULTURES NEWS Sa ticd

 
   
 
 
       

  

 

 

May 5, 2008

| featuring
Dr. Stephen Sex
& Dr. Marilyn Fairchild

Lo snorting birthday cake. People. illingly had their balls pinched in
barbeque tongs. We were partying like rock stars, George Michael
style. The girl who was tonging the poor sap’s balls was really cool
and scary at the same time. I didn’t know whether to ask her to hang
out or just run like hell! How should a nice young man like myself
deal with such conflicted impressions? We seemed to have a lot in
common, but at the same time, I’m just not into the whole barbeque
tong thing. I’m not one to judge, but what if she keeps the tongs in
her purse or something and just waits for opportune moments to grab
hold of my nut sack just to satisfy her perverted desire to feel like a
lobster?
—Tong-Tied

| Dr. Fairchild: Hmm, that doesn’t sound all that i hype Tongs are
_ supposed to = on meat, not nuts.

De Sex: I dose keon what eck tant ee Ald metal pinch
cae ook, vere ey Bele Ve peotetiy say no to bots. thanks