Mr. Write's Page

The Question

For a time, a question bobbed around in my head, but went unaddressed because loftier thoughts prevailed. When it finally rose in the hierarchy, I gave the matter some attention.

The question is this: why have humans subjected dogs to selective breeding so vigorously, to the point that over 300 breeds exist in a wide range of sizes and shapes, many of which are, I submit, senseless and cruel, YET the 40-odd recognized breeds of housecat have been subjected to very little selective breeding, and cats vary in appearance only in minor ways?

The answer, which I probably should have known, is simple and logical.

Dogs, in addition to being companions, are capable of performing many useful services for us. Hence, we have bred them accordingly — to herd, to guard, to hunt. The many and varied goals of selective breeding gave us today’s many and varied dog breeds. Poor choices and all.

Cats, on the other hand, perform only two tasks: they serve as companion animals, and they control pests (and, of course, murder an appalling number of harmless and useful living things). For those two tasks, cats perform perfectly well as they are; we had no need to modify them.

Simple and logical.

Origin Story 1

Is the world’s longest river the Nile or the Amazon? Well, it depends on how, and by whom, the measuring is done. And the answer is debatable.

For a long time, the Nile was considered the longest at about 4,200 miles from headwaters to mouth, compared to the Amazon at 4,100 miles. But even the experts can’t agree on a precise methodology for identifying a river’s source. For example, does a source count if the flow halts in dry seasons?

In addition, previously unknown sources keep popping up. In 2014, a team identified a spring in Peru as an overlooked headwater of the Amazon. Its discovery, they say, makes the Amazon longer than the Nile by about 80 miles.

It’s probably just a coincidence that the 2014 study was partially funded by the Brazilian government.

Origin Story 2

Wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea) is a hardy plant native to the rugged coasts of Europe. In most habitats, other plants easily muscle it out, but it thrives unchallenged along sea cliffs due to its high tolerance for salt and lime.

Wild cabbage is notable for producing a flower spike that is up to seven feet tall and topped with bright yellow flowers. It is even more notable for being the origin plant of a boatload of nutritious vegetables that are super rich in such good things as vitamins and fiber.

The ancient Greeks and Romans probably were the first to develop new varieties of B. oleracea. Today, its cultivars fall into eight groups: (1) cabbage, (2) collards and kale, (3) broccoli and cauliflower, (4) Chinese broccoli, (5) Brussels sprouts, (6) kohlrabi (turnip cabbage), (7) sprouting broccoli, and (8) Portuguese cabbage.

So, chow down on your choice of the many healthy cultivars of wild cabbage. I recommend kielbasa and cabbage, or roasted Brussels sprouts, or baked cauliflower. With cheese sauce.