In animals, yawning can serve as a warning signal. For example, Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, mentioned that baboons yawn to threaten their enemies, possibly by displaying large canine teeth. Similarly, Siamese fighting fish yawn only when they see a conspecific (same species) or their own mirror-image, and their yawn often accompanies aggressive attack. Guinea pigs also yawn in a display of dominance or anger, displaying their impressive incisor teeth. This is often accompanied by teeth chattering, purring and scent marking.
Trained by Dutch photographer Ellen van Deelen to hold different musical instruments and pose for the camera, the Roosendaal Rats are considered very talented by their owner. She confesses rats weren’t exactly her favorite creatures, but, after buying these two, she realized they are highly intelligent creatures.
The minds of children are a wondrous thing… I think. I don’t quite remember how it was my mind worked as a child, but it’d better have been wondrous because otherwise I have no explanation for how absolutely insane children act. Either way, Pierrette Diaz did a fantastic job of bringing the world of little kids to adults in an interesting series of paintings that depict the world through a child’s eyes.
