At first, I thought this might
be a day to recognise that beautiful,
laid-back city at the top
of the Northern Territory...
But, no.
Darwin day celebrates the
birthday of Charles Darwin.
Back in 1809, a baby boy was born.
This baby grew up to become a man
who changed the way people think.
Darwin was the first person
to describe biological evolution
via natural selection.
Debates have been held over this idea.
Some people were afraid –
seeing it as a threat to Creationism...
others hated the idea that people
were really animals.
(I was surprised to find that Darwin
was religious and is buried
in Westminster Abbey)
His Theory of Evolution
has now become so accepted
that it is referred to as
the Law of Evolution.
The Darwin Day webpage states that
on “Darwin Day, we are able to recognise the diversity among us, while celebrating our common humanity and the universal understanding we share.”
With so many crazy days celebrated,
it was decided there should be
a day for science...
especially when science is regarded
as a universal language
and is our most reliable knowledge system.
I agree –
Science deserves to be celebrated...
But, how?
How do you celebrate Darwin Day?
It seems that science-minded people
gather for presentations and debates,
discussions and museum shows...
Others eat...
People host Phylum Feasts.
At these feasts, the aim is to eat dishes as diverse as possible... (For those who have been out of the science classroom for a while, this means eating a meal using as many different organisms as possible. Sounds difficult... and yet, here’s an example:
Mammalia: Minke Whale meat
Aves: Smoked Turkey slices
Teleostoma: Pickled Herring
Bivalvia: Mya from mouth of the Honna River
Gastropoda: commercial escargot
Malacostraca: commercial shrimp
Pteridophyta: commercial fern fiddleheads
Monocots: Onions, rice
Dicots: Pecans, spinach
Fungi: commercial Agaricus
bacteria: villi (Finnish Longmilk)
Aves: Smoked Turkey slices
Teleostoma: Pickled Herring
Bivalvia: Mya from mouth of the Honna River
Gastropoda: commercial escargot
Malacostraca: commercial shrimp
Pteridophyta: commercial fern fiddleheads
Monocots: Onions, rice
Dicots: Pecans, spinach
Fungi: commercial Agaricus
bacteria: villi (Finnish Longmilk)
Let the feast begin...
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