[news.yahoo.com]


"A new study suggests the [Narwhals] use their tusks to determine the salinity of water and search for food. And males may rub them together for as-yet unknown sensations. "


Sounds to ME like it's not a "horn" per say.. but another "organ"....

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2005 02:39PM by Paul F..

Just more proof of Intelligent Design.

The more we learn the less we understand...

<Just more proof of Intelligent Design.


We have a disagrement then...

You REALLY think putting a critters dingus on his HEAD is "Intelligent" design?

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA

Paul - here's a good interview with the scientist that made the discovery

audio here [www.npr.org]

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It's more of a giant tooth. actually.

BTW humans are clear evidence of unintelligent design, IMHO.

No matter how much science figures out, science still has trouble figuring out why some things are a certain way. Scientists have done a lot, but we're a long way from understanding quite a lot of what exists...

Short of asking the Narwhal what it's for...

MikeF;

Exactly true...
But one of the founding concepts of science is that we NEVER know it ALL.
We keep using available facts, observations, and experimentation, to come up with the best reasonable explanations.
Sometimes science has to say "this theory is a bit half-assed, but it's what we have for now... as we observe, document, and experiment more, we'll come up with a better theory.".

It beats throwing up your hands and assigning anything we don't understand to mythology.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA

hey Hey HEY!

One more crack out of either of you - - and I'm reporting it, and this thread goes to the RANTING side!

btw.... I thought only I called it "my dingus."

Wow. Me and whales have a dingus! I can say I'm hung like a whale now! call me a dork all you want, baby!

I have no problem not knowing all the answers. I'm just fine with that.

I like how science just keeps moving forward sometimes making big gains, usually making incremental ones. I don't need to assign the unanswered questions to a deity.

I just think about all the questions that used to be unanswered that we now take for granted and it makes me laugh a little at the eagerness to claim the involvement of a "higher power."

It's all good, as they say.
Evolution, doubtless.
Other...is interesting.

I'm a fan of the Big Bang myself.

"That's a funny place for a horn.
Oh... That's not a horn."

Good to know I'm not the only Buffy fan that remembers lines like that....
Cleverly and cutely delivered by Michelle Tractenberg....

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Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--
Eureka, CA

Narwhal pickup line:

Are you glad to see me, or are you just testing salinity?

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My life goes smoothly and in regular intervals

Paul F. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>> "A new study suggests the use their tusks to
>>determine the salinity of water and search for
>>food. And males may rub them together for as-yet
>> unknown sensations. "
>

Mystery of the origin of the word "horny" solved.

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RIP, Greg the DogSitter. You are missed.

Do Narwhals get brain freeze?

Don't play leapfrog with a unicorn whale