Video du Jour

"Do Komodo Dragons spit poison?" my daughter once asked me at a zoo after hearing another parent explain that to their child. "No," I responded, annoyed. A lot of misinformation gets spread around in zoos, and I've heard worse theories voiced about animals we know a whole lot more about than Komodo Dragons. Of course, we don't know everything yet, so some questions don't have answers, but what that does is create a foundation for future inquiry.

I over hear a lot in zoos, and I wonder at times, why parent's don't just say "I don't know about that, let's look it up when we get home" instead of making up some of the stranger stuff I've heard. (If you've ever read my zoo and aquarium posts on Kats Road you'll know what I'm talking about). Not knowing something isn't a sin, it doesn't diminish you in any way, and getting a question you don't know the answer to is a great starting point to learning something new.

"I don't know, but let's find out" is a perfectly acceptable answer... both for scientists and for parents.