Pecking Order - Protective Coloration
Airdate:
Monday - February 8, 1965
WOR Show Original Airing
Show Description
Shep receives all sorts of prison newspaper from all around the country and reads a poem from one of these about a little bird - "I gently closed the window down and crushed his stupid skull."
The pecking order of animals. Put a group of chickens together and within 5 minutes there is a head hen and a number two hed and so on down the order.
Does Charlie the dog really know what a car is, does he know the scenery is moving past him. Is he aware the vehicle is moving?
Does a horse have a concept of winning? Does the cat show independence because it is so smart or because it is dumb?
We are the only animals that get hung up on other animals. Have you ever run across a chipmunk that has a turtle as a pet.
One thing that man shares with other animals is protectice coloration. He assumes the color of the atmosphere he lives in. Like a chameleon. Shep decribes having chameleons as pets when he was a kid, pinning them on the curtains and scaring girls. Man changes his 'color' to adapt the the surroundings.
Using pet names, smoothing your way with magic words, being utterly helpless, sloppy natural emotions, are all examples of protective coloration.
