Posts

The Wild Ride Ends: The Closure of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World

Image
Today a look back more than twenty-five years ago to the 90s, when the prospect of an amphibian being kicked out of a theme park set the ancient internet by storm. Note that this text is adapted from an earlier writing of mine, published elsewhere on the internet a few years prior. When Disneyworld opened in Florida in October 1971, it was full of classic attractions that took guests on wonderous adventures. One could ride the iconic Jungle Cruise down the rivers of Africa, soar to Neverland on Peter Pan’s Flight, or get spooked exploring the depths of The Haunted Mansion. Alongside these rides, on the edge of Fantasyland, was a quaint but beloved attraction. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, based on the 1949 Disney animated film The Wind in The Willows, took riders on a madcap journey as they help J. Thaddaeus Toad steal a motorcar and go on a crazed joyride before crashing into a train, dying, and ending up with Toad in a cartoon version of Hell. It was strange, but the ride’s oddness a...
Post a Comment
Read more

A partial list of post-1500 CE mammalian extinctions

Image
Most people are somewhat familiar with the fact that several mammalian species have gone extinct due to human activity over the past few centuries. However, it may be surprising to comprehend that the number of mammals lost recently goes well into the dozens. As a partial list of post-1500 CE mammalian extinctions , this page is a primer to the gap humanity has left in nature. There are few megafaunas here, with most species being on the smaller side. Rodents in particular are well represented. Still, the loss of a species of rat or mouse is just as much of a tragedy as that of more charismatic icons of extinction, such as sea cows or thylacines. Environmental conservation is about preserving all lifeforms, and the plight of small organisms is too often overlooked. Often, species here are extinct as the result of invasive predators or competitors, such as red foxes. Note too that many species originate on islands such as Madagascar or Samoa. Islands are fragile laboratories for cre...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zafara: the African Beauty

Image
In the electronic age, it’s easier than at any time in history to find photographs, films, illustrations, and paintings of exotic animals. This is a relatively recent change that we are privileged to experience and it can be starkly strange to realize that the vast majority of people throughout history never knew about or saw, for example, a kangaroo. The global diaspora of large charismatic wildlife in menageries, zoos, and circuses is another fairly modern development. There are currently hundreds of giraffes in European zoos, a few centuries ago that number was zero. This is the story of Zarafa, a giraffe that proved to be a great curiosity to 19th-century Europeans and who is still the focus of fascination and remembrance to this day. Governments gifting exotic animals to other states must be one of the oldest forms of international diplomacy. Rhinoceroses and elephants were common creatures to receive such treatment, though the species that stands out in recent decades has been th...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Ornithological Enigma: The Arthur's Pass Moa Photograph

Image
 The archipelagos of Oceania have been an epicenter of the sixth mass extinction, with many unique species unequipped to handle the arrival of mankind. Flightless birds in particular were vulnerable to invasive species, deforestation, and human overhunting. Few of these ecological losses have been more tragic than that of the many moas that once thrived on Aotearoa. There were at least nine species of these large ratites, the largest of which stood at over eleven feet high at its tallest. The moas were long gone by the time of European contact, having been slaughtered by the Māori. Because of their recent demise, along with the unique climate of New Zealand, Moa fossils are rather abundant helping ornithologists best understand these forest behemoths. Some remains have been naturally mummified by dry cold conditions, allowing great detail including skin and flesh to be excellently preserved, such as this eerie head. As with many other recently extinct species, sightings did n...
Post a Comment
Read more

Baby Mine: The Story of Helen Aberson-Mayer, Dumbo’s Literary Mother

Image
Walt Disney Studios was never shy about adapting familiar works of literature to the screen in the creation of their animated features, in truth many of their most acclaimed titles have bookly origins. From Hans Christen Anderson to Victor Hugo to A. A. Milne, many a famous writer would posthumously see their iconic prose adapted to cartoon form. Those only vaguely familiar with the history of Disney’s influences might be surprised to find that some films they assumed to be original ideas were in fact adaptations. One, unfortunately, doesn’t hear much said about Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians or Felix Salten’s Bambi, a Life in the Woods , despite the familiarity most have with these narratives in the cinematic form. But likely the most obscure book to germinate into a Disney classic would be Dumbo. As one can see while watching its bombastic circus sideshow of title cards, the 1941 film states that it is “based on the book by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl”. Dumbo was an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Safe: The Strange Affliction of Cindy Duehring

Image
Note that this text is adapted from an earlier writing of mine, published recently elsewhere on the internet. In 1984, Cindy Duehring was a medical student in Washington State, working at a bank. An infestation of fleas affected her workplace and soon spread to her Seattle apartment. When it was fumigated, the exterminator illegally combined two insecticides together one of which was unsafe for indoor use. The result was her developing an extreme reaction as the toxic chemicals built up inside of her body. Her doctors said it was extraordinary that she wasn’t killed. The high number of industrial solvents and propellants that her body retained had done permanent damage. Even being exposed to common household detergents and cleaners would cause vomiting and respiratory failure. Sounds triggered grand mal seizures, and soaps and shampoos gave her temporary kidney failure. She had to frequently wrap her body in aluminum foil. Eventually, a specialized house had to be constructed for her i...
Post a Comment
Read more

The First Murder at Disneyland

Image
Despite all the ingenious entertainment and heartwarming memories, there has been a great deal of tragedy at the Disney theme parks. One doesn’t have to do much online investigating to discover decades of deaths that have occurred on Disney property. While a fair number of these are merely the result of natural causes such as heart attacks, there have been a number of deaths or severe injuries caused by the rides themselves. Considering that the people who do get harmed in this way are but an extremely small percentage of the total number of people who visit Disney, the parks are actually remarkably safe. You’re doubtlessly at greater risk on a highway rather than a roller coaster. Nevertheless, there have been cases, few and far between, in which a person has been murdered on Disney property. Such is the forgotten fate of Melanchthon “Mel” Christian Yorba (September 6, 1962-March 7, 1981). Yorba was attending a private party at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, a celebration thrown...
Post a Comment
Read more