WATCH: Penguins Carrying Valentines Will Melt Your Heart

[kiri]

10. Boy/Girl penguins and pebbles

How do you tell the girl penguins from the boy penguins? I asked this question in preparation for going to Antarctica in 1960--the very early days. A distinguished biologist looked down from his spectacles and inquired, "You're going to be down there a long time. Why do you want to know?" The room erupted in laughter, and my embarrassment was red all over.

Now, it turns out that if you are a boy penguin it is not always clear. You pick up the prettiest pebble you can find and deposit it at the foot of your 'prospective' beloved. If, at this time, you are beset by a flapping of flippers and cries of disgust, you learn that you have made a horrible mistake and social faux pas, and you retreat with as much aplomb as you can muster under the circumstances.

There are lots of nice girl penguins, but pretty pebbles are few. Tomorrow is another day? Sadly, the sun day scarcely sets this time of year. Procreation is mysterious.