Filed under: Inside The BPP
But why?
Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images1) Is April 3rd "Tweed Day" in honor of the distinguished woolen fabric, or in observance of the birthday of infamous New York politician William "Boss" Tweed?
2) Why do deer freeze in the headlights?
A shiny dime to anyone in BPP Nation that can give me a definitive answer, or at least a convincing theory.
8:23 AM ET | 04- 3-2008 | permalink
Tweed does make an awfully smart suit set but it seems too coincidental that tweed fabric is celebrated on Tweed's birthday. It could be a secret dual holiday celebrating both the fabric and the dark side of American ingenuity. Unfortunately I couldn't find any support for the latter theory.
I think the first reaction of deer when they are startled is to freeze because it is much easier to see something that is moving than something that is still. They are hoping whatever startled them (i.e. a predator) may not see them then. I think this is true for most prey animals.
Will you send me my dime in the mail?
At first I thought you wrote April 3 was Tweet Day, but then I realized every day is Tweet Day. Also, Jesse James got himself assassinated by that coward Robert Ford on April 3, 1882. At least that's what I learned from watching the movie last night.
Convincing theory re #2: Nighttime predators depend on motion in order to see their prey, so deer have evolved the instinct to freeze when they are threatened. Unfortunately for them, headlights are usually attached to cars, not predators.
As someone who has actually ran over a deer at night, I have to say they don't always freeze. The one we hit jumped out panicked and came right at us. Though I would have to gather it's pure fear of something so foreign and so far above the intelligence and understanding of the deer that they lock up. I'm sure Gary Larson has an explanation somewhere.
Deer have sensitive eyes, their retinas have about 20 times more rods than humans, enabling them to see much more at night than humans. Due to this sensitivity, they are positively blinded by headlights at night, their pupils being fully dilated. Much like humans, when blinded, the natural instinct is to stop until you're able to see again.
When I moved to rural Maine, I learned that some people use bright lights to hunt deer illegally at night. They call it "jacking deer." The technical name for the crime is "illuminating wildlife." Anyone in other parts of the country heard of other slang for this practice?
In Wisconsin/Minnesota they call it "shining" to go out with a bright light and look for deer (you can see the ???shine??? of their eyes), but I don???t think that term usually implies killing them. I know it happens though.
I asked Mary Glendinning at the NPR library the Tweed Day question, and she sent me the following response:
When faced with questions like the one you posed, I turn to Chase???s Calendar of Events. It???s a book that provides an exhaustive list of holidays, anniversaries, theme days, etc. The only reference to Tweed Day was as follows. I???m not seeing anything that alludes to the wearing of tweed today. (However, if you???re looking for fashion guidance, National Tartan Day is April 6.)
Tweed Day
April 3, 1823
Day to consider the cost of political corruption. Birthday of William March Tweed, New York City political boss, whose 'Tweed Ring' is said to have stolen $30 million to $200 million from the city...(Chase's Calendar of Events, p. 203)
Yes!!! Ian, I expect that dime in a timely fashion. I will accept Paypal.
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