Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Some folks can’t take criticism
In the new California Academy of Sciences Tropical Rain Forest Exhibit, Karen overheard a mom telling her kid that chameleons change color to blend with their surroundings.
We were all milling around the Chamaeleo pardalis display. Don’t know who this guy is trying to blend with, but his shirt must be fabulous.
Karen said, “No, they don’t,” and the woman looked as if she wanted to slap Karen silly. (I’m betting the wheelchair saved my wife’s skinny ass.) “I’m sorry?” she said.
I think Karen understood right away that she had somehow stepped in it. Apparently this is a woman you don’t correct. But Karen pressed on.
“It’s a common misconception. They’re not trying to blend, they’re communicating with one another — for mating purposes, or to say, ‘Get away.'”
IIRC the woman countered with, “Okay, whatever,” in her best fuck-you tone of voice, which led to Karen asserting dominance by saying, “No, no, I used to breed them!”
I got Karen out of there before they came to blows.
D.
I have the same impulse as Karen, which is to Correct the Incorrect. This rarely works out, as 80% of the population wallow happily in the certainty of their incorrectness.
The correct figure, of course, is 78.5%
Yay, Karen!!! Hmmmm. I just love people who speak up. Of course, I happen to be one of them.
I must confess that my initial reaction to someone correcting me in public is to wish they’d shut the hell up, but if they can show me they know what they’re talking about in 10 seconds or less, I’m always happy to soak up new knowledge.