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March 28, 2024

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Friday, January 28, 2022

The Science of Cute

“A team of researchers at Hiroshima University recently conducted a study where they showed university students pictures of baby animals before completing various tasks. What they found, in research published today, was that those who saw the baby animal pictures did more productive work after seeing those photographs—even more than those who saw a picture of an adult animal or a pleasant food.” [Emphasis mine.]

Thus reports Sarah Kliff in the Washington Post. If showing America’s workforce pictures of adorable baby animals will drive up productivity, then The Mudflats is prepared to salute the flag and jump-start the next economic boom.

Morning Baby! will feature a different baby animal each weekday (this is all about your efficiency at work, after all), going live in time for even East Coast commuters to benefit from what apparently amounts to a quad-shot latté to the retinas before heading out the door.

Whether you fish for halibut off the Alaskan coast, or bang out software code in Palo Alto, or teach high school kids in Chicago, or tend to the herd at a Vermont dairy farm—what you do matters, and we will apply the abovementioned scientifically proven methods to help you be all you can be.

Now ogle these otters and go get ’em, rockstar. See you back here tomorrow.

babyotter

 

Comments

comments

Comments
15 Responses to “The Science of Cute”
  1. GoI3ig says:

    Don’t get too attached to those cute little rascals. The Alaska legislature has proposed a bounty on them. I guess the bounty on wolves is so yesterday.

  2. juneaudream says:

    Yes ..n no. My version..is that..with so many human types..sequestored..from the Real World..yes..it would take a baby animal..to break down their crustal-indifference..built up by being the..modern-urbans..they are. For those few of us..who are in my way of thinking..the New Neanderthals,,who touch nothing much from plastic versitwit n twat..we are still in touch with the scent of burning fir wood, boiling lentils and home made coffee..in the predawn hours. Everyone knows..to not bring us an iphone or a laptop, nor a new camera. WE..actually deal with, watch/savor..reality. Our eyes..trace the happenings around us. We..have not allowed ourselves..to be hookwinked by ‘novel’..nor toyishness. I applaud the choice to add-in..the pictures for there are..so many who..need this. Thank you.

  3. thatcrowwoman says:

    You “otter” be in pictures. Mel Torme said so:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWJn4ELqIMk

    hahahahacawCawCAW
    thatcrowwoman

    • COalmostNative says:

      Bwa ha ha! Good thing I stopped drinking coffee, avoided spewing all over the screen 🙂

      TGIF to all- I’m off to walk Miss Mo before the cold snap sets in. I’d love some snow on my yard, but copious inches in our mountains is the next best thing. Tomorrow I’ll be a couch potato, ensconsed in my fleece throw, cheering on the Broncos…

  4. UgaVic says:

    I think I wil stick with viewing these little guys when out and about in our area, kitties that crawl up for cuddles and the puppers coming to put their heads on the keyboard when I am most stressed:-)

  5. Zyxomma says:

    Awwwwww.

  6. LA Brian says:

    Otters might be the rare exception to that rule about the adult versions being generally less effective; I know too many people who squee at the otter pools in aquariums around the country.

  7. mike from iowa says:

    Naive me here in iowa wants to know when these little critters sprout wings and pontoons for puddle jumping?

  8. Mag the Mick says:

    Are baby otters possibly the cutest things in the world? I vote yes!

  9. InJuneau says:

    Awwwwww!

  10. I love it! My sister-in-law sends me forwards all the time and the ones that I actually take the time to scroll all the way through are the ones with baby animals. Now I know why. 😀

  11. Beaglemom says:

    Oh my, I saw the photo AFTER my big project of the day. But I ‘m sure I’ll find other stuff to do before we go to the movies late this afternoon to see “Lincoln.”

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