Good morning,
Whitewater’s forecast calls for a chance of flurries, with a high temperature of twenty-one.
The Wisconsin Historical Society reports that on this day in 1921
Janesville Women Abhor Salacious Entertainment
On this date the Janesville Federation of Women decided to “censor” movies and vaudeville in the city. Members of this organization praised and promoted what they considered “better offerings.” They were zealously critical towards those of a “salacious” nature. No follow-up ever determined whether the women were successful in their quest or if the increased publicity for “salacious” shows backfired. [Source: Janesville Gazette]
When I was growing up, one often heard that only humans used tools (and some of us, not very well). The tool-using group expanded to chimpanzees, and then other animals.
Crows are, it seems, now considered tool-users, too.
With the simple act of using twigs to poke a rubber spider, New Caledonian crows may have become the first birds to join an exclusive cognitive class.
Using tools in multiple ways, and not just to get food, was once considered a singularly human ability. Then chimpanzees, other primates and elephants proved able. But if flexible tool use wasn’t uniquely human, it did seem limited to mammals.
“There is no species of bird that has been recorded using tools for more than one function,” said zoologist Joanna Wimpenny of the University of Sheffield.