I was reading this story about a woman who has won a pize for what they are terming “an excellent example of … bold thinking and theorizing”. Judith Rich-Harris postulates that humans are hairless because, way back in the stone age, mothers showed a preference for less hairy babies, choosing to nurture them and abandoned their more hirsute offspring.

I thought about this for a while, but ultimately I have to reject it. First, mothers have an inability to see anything but beauty in a newborn. In fact, women other than the baby’s mother, even complete strangers, will think that a newborn is adorable. It’s something about women and babies.

And then there are all those puppies and kittens calendars, t-shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads and sequined sweatshirts. Women love cuddly baby animals. Usually animal rights activists do too, which is why I was shocked to read this story about a baby polar bear in the Berlin Zoo. Apparently this cub’s mother rejected him and his brother (probably not because they were furry, bear moms usually expect that). The other cub died but this one, named Knut, is doing well after being adopted by zooworkers who have bottle-fed him and given him warmth and snuggles when needed.

But animal rights activists are incensed. They say that the bear is better off dead than being raised by humans and insist that the zoo euthanize him. Bears are wild and ferocious creatures, they insist, and this bear will not be able to interact with other bears as a wild creature should. Ummm…. did they notice he’s in a zoo?

Raising the bear by hand is the most inhumane treatment that these activists can think of and are insisting that the zoo euthanize the 19 lb cub. Looking at this picture, can you possibly imagine advocating the killing of this little bundle of fur?

Makes you just go “awwwww…” doesn’t it?

Which takes me back to furry babies and mothers who dislike them. Frankly, I just don’t see it happening.

The dating scene can be rough at any age, but for those starting out for a second time after divorce the prospect of beginning to date can be both exciting and daunting. Set-ups through friends and casual acquaintances might provide a pool of potential dates to choose from. But if you’ve ever summed up a blind date by saying to a friend “He was a Neanderthal”, turns out you might be right. Scientists recently uncovered evidence that Neanderthal and modern humans interbred.

Busy work schedules and a reluctance to go the way of the “bar scene” have more and more people turning to dating services, especially Internet services. What better way to screen potential dates and get to test compatibility before meeting than corresponding online? But a story in the news this week, points out the ease with which someone can appear to be something he’s not. A Philadelphia man posed as a doctor, an astronaut and a spy when corresponding with women he met through a dating service. He is now charged with having used date-rape drugs to sexually assault 10 women he met online.

Wading in the dating pool before diving into the deep end is probably the best advice. If you consider online dating, make sure the company is reputable and find out as much about potential matches as possible. You might have to forego some of the flashier types - it’s always possible an international spy wouldn’t need to use an internet dating service to meet women.