my 9-year-old cousin came to me for help with her science homework, and i was flabbergasted when i got all the answers wrong.
she asked me what kept penguins warm. so i confidently said, “their fats! it keeps you warm, that’s why they are fat.”
and she said, “no, it’s their feathers”, and i said, “NO, it’s their fats!” wtf? and then she showed me her bloody workbook which says EXACTLY what she said.
ok to be fair they do have feathers on them, but it doesn’t contribute as much right! in fact, according to wiki (I USE ONLY THE CITED SOURCE), one intepretation of “penguin” is that it could be translated from the latin word ‘pinguis‘, which literally means FAT. although, there is the complication that most species of penguins don’t even live in the artic anyways (this is true, i swear), but then the question of warmth perhaps becomes irrelevant.

TELL ME THIS IS NOT A FUCKING FAT PENGUIN LIVING IN THE ARTIC.
point two: then she asked me, and do penguins have wings? and i very confidently said, “no, they have flippers”, and she said, “NO, they have wings!”, and she showed me her guanyin-forsaken workbook again, which said that penguins have WINGS. wtf. wtf?? although after some research i have found that penguins are in fact classified as birds, they don’t fucking fly. DOH. wtf do you need wings for if you hunt in the water??
O.M.G.!!
i think that these days, it’s not that kids are degenerating, it’s that these schoolbook writers are too busy collating their trivial knowledge to even educate themselves. my goodness.

4 comments
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July 11, 2009 at 2:59 am
graciec
omg babe thats realli weird!!! i totally thought the answers were similar to the ones u gave! sheesh. nowadays its just plain ridiculous..
anyway cant wait to see u back in melbourne! u’ve been missed!
July 12, 2009 at 12:39 am
chasegravity
i miss you guys too! so much. can’t wait to get back!
July 18, 2009 at 10:48 am
lynn
hahahaa! oh gosh! Is that shermaine’s? I never knew penguins had wings. =/
August 22, 2009 at 12:21 am
miatot
hahaha…much like my HISTORY teacher EDUCATING us that YOGA IS TELEPATHY.