This person should have had a snappy thinker like yourself there. eom
Yes, well... I've had plenty of practice in that department....
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This morning, I was consulting my "Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada" field guide and was reminded of one of my favourite forms of humor... what I loosely refer to as "scholarly humor".
As you probably won't know... because I doubt I've mentioned it before... I have, on several occasions, written publications which required much consultation with various scientific authorities such as toxicologists, botanists, entomologists, etc...
In the process or working with this "group", I have encountered some of the oddest and most off-beat humor imaginable. Unfortunately, much of it is so "inside" that it's difficult to follow... until you catch onto that characteristic wobble of the head and the barely discernible "ho-ho-ho" that invariably follows certain "questionable remarks"....
After awhile, I became fascinated with this form of humor and began compiling it... just casually, of course... solely for my own amusement. What I find interesting is that, for the most part, it falls into one of the following categories:
1.) morbid - as in waxing poetically about the viciousness and severity of insect bites, the toxic nature and effects of poisonous mushrooms, and the terrible rashes which are brought on through contact with certain plants.
2.) curmudgeonly - in which the writer rants about amateurish identifications by other writers, or reveals a "pet peeve" with a group of persons, animals, insects or plants.
3.) over-enthusiast - in which the writer reveals an uncalled for level of passion about a plant or animal that only a mother could love.
Let me tell you... I just *thrive* on this stuff when I come across it... so I suppose I might belong to the "over-enthusiast" category as well... but let me just share a few pieces from my collection... and then tell me that I'm wrong and that this stuff isn't funny.
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From Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada by George Barron:
When collecting boletes you'll quickly notice that, more often than not, insects find the fruitbodies before you do and the mushrooms are often riddled with larvae and their tracks (Fig. 9). Within moderation, however, this is not a problem for many collectors who happily consume larvae and consider them as an animal protein bonus.
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Here's a favourite of mine... very interesting theme to his little "tree notes".
From Native Trees of Canada by R.C. Hosie:
Regarding the PawPaw tree:
The raccoons usually succeed in eating the fruit of the few natural-growing trees long before they become ripe enough for human consumption. Small boys are prone to play a similar role in relations to ornamentals.
Regarding the Manitoba Maple:
To gardeners, this is a "dirty" tree because it sheds. Small boys, however, seem to thrive among its hospitable branches and they, rather than nature, may be partly to blame for the gardeners' prejudiced attitude.
Regarding the Water Birch:
The punishment known to schoolboys of another era as "The Birch" originated in Rome where a bundle of birch twigs was the symbol of authority. History does not record the name of the first teacher who turned the symbol into a more striking reminder of his authority, nor the name of the first victim.
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And a brief introduction to the "morbid" descriptive form, from National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders:
On the Violin Spider:
This spider sometimes takes shelter in clothing or a folded towel and bites when disturbed. The wound commonly develops a crust and a surrounding red zone. The crust falls off, leaving a deep crater, which often does not heal for several months.
BTW, that particular field guide contains a lot of information on how vicious various insects are, along with descriptions of the type of sting, bite, burning sensation, etc... which the insects inflict.... which begs the question, "Are these notes based on first-hand observation?" |
