February 12 is Darwin Day.

[Lionel Mandrake]

That's today for some DUers; tomorrow for the rest of us.

The great naturalist and evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin was born 199 years ago, on February 12, 1809.

Darwin's life is a triumph of rational thought over ignorance and superstition. That is worth celebrating!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_Day

[SallyMander]

1. Three cheers for the big D!

:toast:

[Lionel Mandrake]

2. Wow. That was quick.

You posted 2 minutes after I did.

Thank you for the support.

[Neoma]

3. Awesome.

I'll be sure to spread the word, hopefully I won't be argued against or anything. :(

[Lionel Mandrake]

5. Good Luck!

Some folks don't like Darwin. I hope you don't have any trouble with such people.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. My dear Lionel Mandrake!

Indeed, it is a day worth celebrating...

He was a highly intelligent man, and his ideas are most worthy of being taught to our young...

Let's hear it for the light!

Down with all those who try to obscure his incredible contributions...

:toast:

[Lionel Mandrake]

6. Thank you.

I agree with everything you say.

[pokerfan]

7. In honor

we should post our favorite Darwin Award winner.

http://www.darwinawards.com

[Lionel Mandrake]

11. Very amusing.

I wasn't aware of the Darwin Awards.

The IgNobel Prizes are similarly amusing:

http://improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html

[pokerfan]

13. As an engineer, I'm a huge fan of the IgNobels

I remember George Goble winning the award for Chemistry in 1996 by using liguid Oxygen to win a bbq lighting contest.

I think I saw it in EE Times.

[Lionel Mandrake]

14. I remember a comedian named George Gobel, but he wasn't a chemist.

He had a TV show in the 1950s.

He spelled his name differently. Also, he died in 1991.

[Robeson]

8. One of the most important persons in history...

...I'll gladly pick up glass to celebrate his birthday! :toast:

[Lionel Mandrake]

9. I'll drink to that!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

10. There is some irony

in that the inventor of Dynamite has a prize named after him for Peace.

And the great naturalist Darwin has a prize named after him for idiocy.

Go figure.

:rofl:

[Lionel Mandrake]

12. Let's hear it for irony.

irony keeps us sane. Some of us, anyway.

[elshiva]

15. God bless Charles Darwin.

He was and still is a great man. Such a scientist. God love him.

(I am a religious person, not a scientific person, so I don't understand a lot of it, but evolution is the Truth. Creationism is not science, it is mendacity.)

[Lionel Mandrake]

18. You have a different perspective from mine.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[elshiva]

19. Have you seen the documentary "A Flock of Dodos?"

It's by an evolutionist about the creationism debacle.

[Lionel Mandrake]

22. Yes, I watched that program recently.

I thought it was pretty good.

[Heidi]

16. Dupe. Self-delete. (nt)

[Heidi]

17. I had to fly Darwin Airline last week.

As much as I admire Charles Darwin, the prospect of putting my life into the hands of an aircraft marked "Darwin Airline" was a bit disturbing. :P

[Lionel Mandrake]

20. Darwin Airline is based in Switzerland.

It's a very small airline. I think they have a total of four planes.

[Heidi]

21. You are correct, sir.

I live in Switzerland. :hi:

[Lionel Mandrake]

23. I hope Darwin Airlines survives

in the struggle for existence that is the airline industry.

Many airlines have gone extinct.;-)

[Heidi]

24. Mr. Mandrake, that's a stellar pun. May I be the first to give you a well-deserved

:spank: ?

:rofl:

:spray:

[Lionel Mandrake]

28. Why, thank you Ma'am

By the way, I'm glad that YOU survived your perilous flight.

[Tindalos]

25. Happy Darwin Day!

Here's wishing everyone a happy Darwin Day

:toast:

[Lionel Mandrake]

29. On behalf of everyone,

I thank you for the kind wish.

My wife and I will celebrate by going out to lunch in her car, which sports a Darwin fish.

[krispos42]

26. And it's on a primary election day...

survival of the fittest, indeed...

[Lionel Mandrake]

31. That's a nice metaphor,

but judging from the last two presidential elections, I would say that the winner is not necessarily the fittest to rule.

[LynzM]

27. Happy Darwin Day!!

Here's to a great thinker and student of the world! :bounce:

[Lionel Mandrake]

32. Happy Darwin Day to you too.

Darwin was indeed a great thinker and student of the world. He was also the author of The Voyage of the Beagle, The Origin of the Species, The Descent of Man, and many other books, all of them very influential.

[progressoid]

30. coolio!

[Lionel Mandrake]

33. Coolio? Is that like cool?

Have a cool Darwin Day!

[progressoid]

41. It's cooler than cool! Question...

What do you serve at a Darwin's Day Dinner?

Primordial Soup


Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all night. Don't forget to tip your server.

[YankeyMCC]

34. A day to acknowledge and remember

the importance of science and human inquiry and one man in particular who exemplified that so well.

When we die we are gone forever except those parts of us that we leave in the memories of others and the memory of the world by our deeds and actions...much of Mr Darwin remains with us and will for a long time.


http://www.darwinday.org/

[Lionel Mandrake]

36. Yes indeed.

Darwin Day, 2008, is almost over for those of us in the Continental USA.

We can look forward to a really big event next year:

The bicentennial Darwin Day, February 12, 2009

[nytemare]

35. How appropriate is that? I am watching BBC's "Galapagos" right now.

Wonderful program, if you have never seen it.

[Lionel Mandrake]

37. very appropriate

Darwin certainly put those islands on the map.

I hope there is still room for the iguanas, turtles, finches, etc. among all the tourists.

[nytemare]

42. The special went into that.

Had most of an episode about Darwin, and a lot about feral species. Goats were eating a lot of the vegetation, so they had to start killing the goats so the turtles would have food.

I got the DVD today, and it is gorgeously filmed.

[Pacifist Patriot]

38. Now I know it's me. I posted this almost two hours ago to the sound of crickets!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=7463592&mesg_id=7463592

:)

Cheers! Happy Darwin Day!

[Lionel Mandrake]

39. Darwin's crickets

And a happy birthday to Honest Abe, too.

[PassingFair]

40. "Where does your Daddy do HIS barnacles?"

I always think of his little daughter asking
a friend this when she visited the friend's house.
Darwin spent so much time studying barnacles, she
thought everyone's Daddy did the same...

For some reason, this makes me smile....

:)

[Lionel Mandrake]

43. My dad never messed with barnacles.

But he did grow earthworms. Darwin would have approved.

[Quantess]

44. Are You Fucking Kidding Me, "Lionel Mandrake"?

[Lionel Mandrake]

45. Are you a troll?

How can I possibly answer such a content-free question?