Domestic Foxes

Some time ago, pompe raised a question: what might have happened if foxes, instead of wolves, had been the first canid to be domesticated? In response, I mentioned an experiment in domesticating foxes I'd read about.

In an effort to maintain some of the housecleaning momentum from mbernardi's visit, I've been cleaning off the desk in my computer room. One of the unexpected items unearthed by this effort is the March-April 1999 issue of American Scientist, which contains an article on the experiment I mentioned. Without going into the details that I'd forgotten, I'd like to quote the following passage, which seems relevant to pompe's question.

Over the years, other investigators and I have raised several fox pups in domestic conditions, either in the laboratory or at home as pets. They have shown themselves to be good-tempered creatures, as devoted as dogs but as independent as cats, capable of forming deep-rooted pair bonds with human beings - mutual bonds, as those of us who work with them know. If our experiment should continue, and if fox pups could be raised and trained the way dog puppies are now, there is no telling what sort of animal they might one day become.

(It should be noted that the fox pups in question are the product of some thirty generations of selection for tameness; they are not wild foxes.)

Happy Holidays?

I just received a letter, from a magazine which shall remain nameless, inviting me to give gift subscriptions to friends and relatives. The letter begins thus:

It is hard to believe it is time once again to wish you holiday greetings!

Mm, yes, that is indeed hard to believe, here in mid-August. (Perhaps the holiday in question is Labor Day?)

Memery

Meme from selenite:
1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance, like a lyric to your current favorite song, your favorite kind of sandwich, or maybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.
2. I will respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and offer to ask someone else in your own post.
5. When others respond with a desultory comment, you will ask them five questions.

Would you accept a chair in Illuminati University's Department of Inapplicable Mathematics?
Only if the building is far enough away from the Department of Weird and Unusual Science and Engineering.

What's your favorite Heyer novel?
Mmm. That's hard to say. I thought The Talisman Ring was hilarious.

How often do million-to-one chances come off?
How often do they come up?

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?
How far do you want it to chuck it? They have those stubby little arms....

Most profs could keep their jobs without tenure. Of those who need tenure to stay employed, what fraction deserve to?
Touchy question. Incompetence or inadequate performance is sufficient grounds for revocation of tenure; I don't have broad enough knowledge to say how often that's actually invoked.