Uncommon Knowledge

Not as much as you might think. While only 1 percent of DNA distinguishes the Canis lupus familiaris snoozing at your feet from the packs of Canis lupus roaming Yellowstone Park, that’s a pretty important 1 percent. All the domestic dogs in the world today—from the loveable mutt looking for a forever home to the Tibetan Mastiff that recently sold for $2 million in China—are more closely related to one another than they are to their wild, howling ancestors.

Dogs and wolves parted ways about 10,000 years ago, when their common ancestor died out. But what put the familiaris in the canis family? Recent research into dog / human coevolution suggests that it hinges on some of the traits we associate most closely with endearing dog-ness—short snouts, floppy ears, and a wet-tongued, loving disposition. Natural selection steered by ancient breeders favored such traits because humans associated them with the classic cuteness of puppies. The benefit to people was a “wolf” that was loyally protective, adorable, and wouldn’t bite the hand that feeds it; the benefit to proto-dogs was that people would adopt the litter, feed and care for it, and help to perpetuate the species.

Millennia later, we’re housing, grooming, and carrying our beloved canine companions around like four-legged royalty. And they’re still helping us hunt, stay secure, and stave off loneliness. So enjoy the unique co-dependence you have with the dogs in your life. Without them, your feet would be cold and, after all, winter is coming.

Dog Puppet Making Kit, $20

You’ve fed baby ducklings, ogled puppies at the dog run, now where are all the baby pigeons hiding? Considering the hordes of pigeons in city squares and public parks, you’d think you’d see a couple of little ones scampering about. Turns out baby pigeons, or squabs, are kept safely in their nests for quite some time. Known as Rock Doves, pigeons build their nests in crevices that are tough to spot. Once the squabs hatch, they stay in the nest for four to six weeks, until they’re roughly the same size as an adult. After this, they enter their rebellious teen phase where they’re too cool to be seen with their parents and join their own flock. You can spot these angsty teens by the few downy feathers poking out from the back of their necks and their subtle eye roll.

Elements of NYC Pillows, $35-$55

It was a hard trip for the Pilgrims. It wasn’t their plan to arrive in the New World in November, right as winter was coming in and before they could get crops planted. They had a leaky ship and other repairs to thank for that. It also was not their intention to settle in Massachusetts. In fact, they were trying to get to the Colony of Virginia, to the south. The reason they decided to land rather than just heading on south? Beer. On a long sea voyage, it wouldn’t take long for barrels of water to become undrinkable. Beer, however, remained potable for the long haul. And not only was it needed for the new colonists on the trip over, but a reserve of beer was necessary for the crew of the ship as they made their way back to England. So when the beer supply ran low, the captain hit the brake, pulled over at Plymouth Rock, and insisted that the time had come for his passengers to disembark. That is probably not what they were giving thanks for.

Wooden Beer Caddy with Bottle Opener, $45

Some might call the debate between creamy New England clam chowder and tomato-based Manhattan clam chowder a bit heated. The creamy (original) clam chowder has been around since at least the 1830s and the recipe has gone relatively unchanged. However, a few decades later, a burgeoning Italian population in New York City began using tomatoes in their chowders, thus thinning it out and giving it a red hue. Following this, chowder was added to the long list of things New Yorkers and Bostonians argued about for quite some time until a group of hardened New Englanders had had enough. In 1939, a bill was introduced in the Maine legislature that made it illegal to add tomatoes to the storied recipe. Whether a Maine restaurant could feasibly get fined today for serving up chowder Manhattan-style is debatable. However, you’d be hard-pressed to find a chowder lover from Portland to Providence who wouldn’t be at least a little irked.

Soup and Crackers Bowl, $25

You know all those times when seeing a newborn makes you say, “Oh, what a sweet baby! I could just eat you right up!” Or that inclination to pop those cute little toes into your mouth, or to blow a raspberry on that roly-poly tummy? Research suggests that you do those things because babies make you subconsciously think about food. It’s the smell that does it. The scent of a newborn baby activates the area of the brain that controls food cravings, and prompts a release of the feel-good chemical dopamine. Fortunately, this hunger doesn’t drive us to literally eat our young. Instead, it gives us a craving to nurture, feed and protect those precious little dumplings.

Baby Guppy Slippers, $34

You’d think that the option to effortlessly push your groceries in front of you rather than lugging them in a basket would be a no-brainer. However, when the first conventional shopping cart was invented in 1936, people were not very into it. Sylvan Goldman, a storeowner in Oklahoma realized that shoppers were heading for the check out line the second their baskets got too heavy—not a very good pattern when you want customers to buy more. To combat this, he fashioned a cart on wheels and began offering them to his customers. Much to his dismay, only the elderly customers were interested in such a convenience. The men were too proud to admit they needed help and the women associated the carts on wheels with baby buggies, which they were sick of pushing around. That’s when the oldest marketing trick in the book came in handy—Goldman hired attractive men and women to push around carts and pretend to shop. When real customers came through the door and refused a cart, the (also attractive) cart wrangler at the entrance answered, “Why not? Everyone else is using them!” Peer pressure wins again!

Foldable Market Basket, $34.99

Nope. So inconsiderate! While your freeloading finned friend might not have remembered to buy you a birthday cake, he does remember a little more than common knowledge gives him credit for. It’s been said that goldfish have a memory span of three seconds, meaning every swim by the decorative mermaid is a new and exciting adventure in underwater flirtation. However, according to numerous studies, this is a myth. Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters challenged his goldfish to recognize color patterns and run an underwater obstacle course. A month later, the fish remembered the prompts, completing it easily without any help from Hyneman. A 2003 study at the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth trained fish to push a lever for food. When the lever was fixed to only work for one hour a day, the fish learned to only push it at the correct time, not even bothering with it for the rest of the day. So with that in mind, are you going to be a little more careful about what you say in front of Goldie? Ix-nay on the Ushi-shay.

Aquafarm, $60

Not according to an eye witness account. Specifically, the account of Marco Polo, who discovered actual, living unicorns during his world travels. He was less than impressed. It turns out that unicorns did indeed have a single horn jutting from their foreheads, but in general were, “ugly brutes to look at.” He described them as, “scarcely smaller than elephants. They have the hair of a buffalo and feet like an elephant’s… They have a head like a wild boar’s.” Popular understanding at the time suggested that unicorns would be creatures of such purity that they could be tamed only by the fairest virgin damsels. Polo, however, found that, “they spend their time by preference wallowing in mud and slime.” Scarcely the stuff that dreams are made of. Perhaps that’s the reason why they were renamed. Today you can find unicorns in almost any zoo, but they have been re-branded as “rhinoceros.”

Elwood the Rainbow Unicorn Bank, $45