Aristotle once questioned what separates humans from animals. He decided it’s not language or reason. It’s laughter. Aristotle wrote that the moment when a baby first laughs is when the child becomes fully human. According to historian Barry Sanders, Aristotle believed that “At that point, the creature moves from being a human into a human being.”
Unusual Friendships Between Humans And Animals
In 1989, Chito was walking along the shore of the Parismina River in Costa Rica. Suddenly, he saw something eye-catching. It was a larger than life crocodile. Usually, the fearsome reptile would be something to avoid at all costs. Yet Chito saw the creature was in distress. It had been shot in the left eye and was severely injured.
Dog Whisperer
In the 1920s, a circus clown and a scientist conducted a series of psychic experiments on telepathy. The results were intriguing. Vladimir Durov was Russia’s most famous animal trainer. He was also a popular circus clown who claimed he could communicate with dogs via “mental suggestion.”
Motivation Is Free
The gods of Greek mythology could be brutal when angered. Of all the punishments given by the gods, the one given to Sisyphus stands out above the rest. Sisyphus was a king and a trickster. He was so clever that he actually cheated death – twice! As punishment for his hubris, he was forced to push an enormous boulder up a mountain for eternity. Again and again, he would struggle under the weight of the rock only to watch it roll back down. The punishment was a recipe for meaningless frustration. According to behavioral economist Dan Ariely’s research, the Greek gods must have known something about the human psyche.
Vietnamese Girls Kidnapped And Sold As Brides
Ben Randall risked his life saving the lives of three friends who were kidnapped and sold as brides. As a young backpacker, Ben befriended and taught English to a group of teenage Hmong girls he met during his travels in Vietnam. After returning home to Australia, he received an email from one of the girls saying that some of their friends had suddenly disappeared.
Chimps Are People Too
If you were to enter the home of the Temerlin’s in the 1960s, you may have been greeted by their daughter Lucy, politely offering you a cup of tea she’d made herself. While that may sound ordinary, Lucy was a chimpanzee. Scientists wanted to know what would happen to a chimpanzee raised as a human. Lucy was taken from her biological mother right after her birth and given to psychologist Maurice Temerlin and his wife Jane.
Saving Human History From Space
Khalid al-Assad lost his life protecting the history and culture of his country. This 83-year-old scholar was retired, but still an active expert at the museum that he used to run in Palmyra, Syria. On July 13th, 2016, ISIS demanded he tell them where all the cultural treasures were hidden. Fearing that ISIS would destroy, steal or sell them, al-Assad refused to help them. A month later he was dead. An acquaintance, Abu Ahmad, said, “He knew they would kill him, but he said, ‘I’m not going to leave the city. I’m staying.’”
Rest In Peace Great Barrier Reef
The biggest living organism on Earth has passed away. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef lived for more than 25 billion years. At 1,400 miles long, the Great Barrier Reef was the only living organism visible from space. It was home to more biodiversity than all of Europe.