There’s a Chihuahua in my neighbourhood that absolutely guns for me every time our paths cross. To the mortification of his owner, he barks blue murder, strains on his lead to bite me and generally makes it clear that he’s looking for a ruck. I’m no fighter, but I still think he’d stand little chance against me or any other local human or canine if it really came to blows.
My miniature nemesis is no exception either; the Chihuahua, as a breed, has a reputation for delusion. It is often to be seen at the park, trying its luck against far bigger dogs. Now new findings explain this Napoleon complex. A study on ancient genetic signatures found that Chihuahuas are actually part coyote. So while they may be the quintessential domesticated pet, they really have a streak of wild animal in them.
Ahead of elections tomorrow, the Conversation’s partner institutions in Scandinavia have been helping us understand “the real Sweden” in a series of articles about wealth, demographics and politics. A key issue in the campaign has been immigration, so we looked at how the country stopped being one of Europe’s most welcoming and started taking an exceptionally hard line on border control.
If indulgence lies ahead for you this weekend in the form of a few drinks, consider a fine meal of goat’s lung before you head out. This, we learned from our brief history of hangovers, is how many of our ancestors lined their stomachs before a sesh in the hope of avoiding a headache the next day. Will it work? Unlikely. But anything’s worth a try, especially if you want to avoid the fate of the unfortunate medieval peasant depicted here.
Also this week, let’s get beavers involved in our drought preparation, let’s try slow jogging and let’s give our hardworking brains a break – because that’s when they do their best work.
