14: Domesticating Foxes, The Oldest Potted Plant, and Crosswords
Episode description
Could you domesticate a fox, and what even IS domestication? What is the oldest potted plant, and, wait, what does Caroline mean by that question? And how did Tom go from hating crosswords to loving them?
The photo we mention of Mecta the Fox Pup
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We also learn about: the first domesticated animals, one of Darwin’s sequels, floppy ears, domestication syndrome, the fox bachelor, the neural crest cell hypothesis, our version of Behind the Bastards, cited comment critiques, we all just want to learn, I’ve never seen a plant in the middle ages, we completely misinterpret the question, ella’s old man wisdom, a plant older than america, the anxious keepers of the oldest potted plant, crosswords were a fad, we were always insufferable, relearnig ocular immunity, crossword fuckery, “thirsty” well shortz, what is and isn’t general knowledge? and bad jokes with friends.
Sources:
Dog Domestication and the Dual Dispersal of People and Dogs into the Americas
Genomic and archaeological evidence suggest a dual origin of domestic dogs
The Silver Fox Domestication Experiment
Early Canid Domestication: interplay between behavioral genetics and development
Red Fox Genomic Regions Associated with Tame Behaviours
The “Domestication Syndrome” in Mammals: Neural Crest Cell Behavior and Genetics
The History of Farm Foxes Undermines the Animal Domestication Syndrome
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South African Encephalartos Species
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New York Times History of the Crossword
Yes, You Can Write More Than One Letter in a Square
The Hidden Bigotry of Crosswords
How Will Shortz Edits a New York Times Crossword Puzzle (Lorelai)