[High Praise! to Neatorama]
The National Museum of Natural History, a part of the Smithsonian Institution, has a huge exhibit space in Washington, DC. However, what’s on display is only about 1% of what they have. The rest is in storage, carefully curated, and sometimes rotated into display. Over a period of twenty years, Smithsonian photographer Chip Clark documented this backstage collection in photographs.
OK, now DON’T make a Monty Python reference…
I’m just stunned.
ok…I’m going to be the jerk and say it.
What possible justification could there be for spending tax money to acquire that many stuffed parrots and then pay MORE tax money to hose and maintain them?? Yeah, its cool to have a room full of stuffed parrots…wgo WOULDN’T want a giant room full of stuffed parrots but how did it become a national priority to take money from American citizens and gunpoint (a.k.a. taxes) for this?
*put on liberal hat*
how many children in the world will have to go to bed hungry tonight so America can have this?
think of the children.
America has less than 1/10th of the world’s population yet it consumes more than 90% if thr world’s supply of stuffed parrots. END STUFFED PARROT INEQUALITY NOW!!
Therebare enough stuffed parrots in American museums to give one to every child on Earth dying of cancer.
It’ll be a great day when schools and welfare recipients have all the money they need and parrit stuffers have to himd bake sales to raise money for….uh….parrot stuffing supplies I guess?
#stuffthevote #parrottheagenda
Don’t make a Monty Python reference? What kind of sick B*st*rd throws a set up pitch like that and then refuses to let the batter swing? I am deeeepressed.
This is turning into a PollySci course.
Crackers want a Polly!
It’s just sleeping. Oops.
Mafia parrots never talk.
Parrots are the longest-lived order of birds: cockatoos and Amazonian parrots can reach the age of 75 or older…..unless someone kills them so they can stuff them and put them in a drawer.
The collections are stored TAXonomically…according to the tree of life.
Wow, 2 things I never heard of in one sentence.
This is what happens when yer Hakuna gets matatared.
I don’t think they have enough birds.
Wow, I’d hate to see the fiords…
@ Blarg: In all honesty, the birds are probably confiscated from folks smuggling them to the US. Thousands of exotic birds are smuggled to the US every year and a great deal of them don’t survive the trip. However, there is still the cost of preserving/stuffing them, which I’m sure they are paying Pentagon toilet seat rates…
Those birds wouldn’t voom if you put 4 million volts through them.
As for the funding, depends if it’s considered operating expense which comes out of the Smithsonian’s own trust fund. Facilities are funded through federal appropriations. In others words, we paid for the building and they pay the guy’s salary and the cost of the taxidermy.
So who would pay for running a million volts through them?