Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson for May 26, 2023

Well, their memory is more reliable than mine.

Why does my own comment give me deja vu?

There’s been a lot of reruns this week. Has Dana been busy with something?

Next I suppose you’re going to tell us that fish aren’t really brain food!

This implies that scientists are not “they”.

“We’re ‘Them.’ We’re ‘They.’ We are – the Men in Black.” And that’s why fish have no memory; they looked into the flashy-thing.

That’s an “Old Wives’ Tale” Marigold, do not worry!

Mari will think twice when she next fishes for compliments.

“Oh the goldfish, he’s a nice fish, and he swims round and round. And round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and… – Billy Connolly, Cuckoo

But fish can’t appreciate beauty. But the beauty of a unicorn is inescapable. But fishes are slippery and good at escaping. But… okay, okay, sorry Marigold, I got carried away.

Disintegration of the Persistence of Marigold

Once we had a “work pet”. It was a goldfish, who lived to be 15 years old, believe it or not. For several years, I took care of him. This fish knew exactly who fed him, and he knew what his food can looked like. So fish indeed do have memory.

The Far Side taught me that Bernie Horowitz is the “they” in “that’s what they say”.

Goldfish can also be trained to do tricks. They can also get bored. So keeping them in a tiny bowl with nothing else is torture to them.

Look on the bright side, Marigold. If the fish don’t remember having seen you before, then every time they see you, they get to be awed by your beauty all over again.

But . . . but . . . the Shield of Boringness? Why would Marigold expect them to even notice her?

An artifact of the time not too long ago when many believed that most animal behavior was entirely governed by instinct and tropisms. It’s kind of a corollary to the idea that animals have no souls and don’t have divinely granted free will.

OTOH, she can come back tomorrow and they can be amazed at her beauty all over again…

does anything scare Marigold that can’t be un-scared?

Bur Marigold, think of this…they will have that “OMG, what a perfect creature” moment every single time they see you.

I wonder where that fish has gone? I did love him like a brother… and it went… wherever I… would go!