Wednesday, November 16, 2005

The Domino Effect

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
2 comments
A house sparrow in The Netherlands was shot and killed with an air rifle after accidentally knocking over more than 20,000 dominoes that were being set up in an attempt to break a world record.

The complete story is on CNN's site today.

Two things make this an interesting story.

1. The house sparrow (or English sparrow) is a declining "species of concern" in the UK and Europe. So it's highly illegal to shoot one, even if it did just ruin your attempt at a world record.

2. What kind of humans have the time to set up that many dominoes? And what kind of glory accrues to the owner of such an accomplishment?

"Hey, remember that dominoes world record that was set a few years ago? That was ME!"

I think any bird that can knock over 23,000 dominoes without any help should itself be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

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