Our thanks to the web comic XKCD for the following graphic about the total weight of various land mammals on the earth.
The black boxes in the middle represent all the human
beings in the world by weight - each block represents 1 million tons.
The grey blocks represent our pets and livestock. On the left are
cattle, upper right are pigs, then goats, sheep, and horses as you
continue around the corner to the bottom. The green blocks are wild
animals. One green block is labeled elephants. The other few green
blocks around the outside are, I suppose, rhinoceroses, hippos, tapirs, squirrels,
and the like. Maybe the grey blocks at the top are our dogs. Whimzy has
put on about 10 pounds this winter; I don't know if that will screw up
the graphic. She hopes not.
It would seem from the graphic that we are a world of ranchers, caring for our domesticated animals for the most part.
And very surprising the few wild animals on the earth. I'll ask Whimzy
not to chase the squirrels so much. We can't do anything about the
elephants. Whimzy almost never chases them.
PBS TV / NPR Radio station WHYY in Philadelphia is starting March Madness a little early this year with an NPR - PBS tournament. The voting is here. Today is the last day to vote in the first round of the playoffs. The match-up are sometimes a little stretched, but it is fun to make your picks. Here is the bracket (you can get a bigger size by clicking on the bracket).
Some tough matchups: LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow against Fred Rogers, Terry Gross vs. Frank DeFord, and Bert and Ernie take on MacNeil and Lehrer in a grudge match (well, Ernie wouldn't have a grudge match, but Bert might).
Vote, then follow along for the next three weeks, all you Ira Glass fans. I see an Ira Glass - Garrison Keillor showdown coming up in the semifinals.
Final Update: Mr. Rogers took down Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Peter Sagal beat Terry Gross in the semis. In the championship final, it was all Mr. Rogers.
