Penguins are cool
Dwight Otwell

From the Porch

It seems that everyone loves penguins.

The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is advertising its penguin exhibit. A popular movie and DVD is "Happy Feet", an animated movie about penguins. And a documentary about the march of the penguins was a big hit last year. A new animated movie about penguins surfing is scheduled to come out soon if it isn't already in the theaters.

I think its just that penguins are so cute. They remind us of chubby little men who waddle around wearing tuxedos. One of the early books that I read on my own was about a family that somehow came into possession of penguins in New York City. It was a hilarious book to my little boy mind.

In fact, I have never heard anyone talk disparagingly about a penguin. Of course, penguins don't crop up in conversation very often.

I don't remember anyone saying, "The weather sure is hot and dry this week. By the way, what is your opinion on penguins?"

Here are a few interesting facts about penguins. They spend nearly 75 percent of their lives in the water hunting for food. And we think we work long hours in America. The penguin work-day would be 18 hours and that would be seven days a week or a 126-hour work week.

Penguins can distinguish minute differences in sounds as they can zero in on their chicks within a colony of 80,000 or more birds. I would be pulling my feathers out if I had to try to find my baby through the sound of 80,000 crying babies.

Penguins are very good parents as both the male and female care for eggs and chicks. I bet women would like their husbands to be more penguin-like in that regard.

Male rockhopper penguins reverse the gender role and stay at home on land with the chicks, while the female rockhopper spends almost all day gathering food, making an average of 44 dives an hour.

Several species of penguins routinely dive to depths between 300 to 500 feet. Scientists attached recording instruments on an Emperor penguin that once dove to an incredible depth of 1800 feet.

Penguins maintain that chubby look for good reason. Their fat layer insulates them from the cold and provides an energy reserve when food is scarce.

A penguin can beat a Ferrari off the starting line. Penguins may look slow on land but they are built for speed under water. When Adelie penguins hop off the ice and into the ocean, they accelerate from zero to 16 mph in less than one second.

Penguins could make us turn red and faint in a breath holding contest. They can stay under water for up to 15 minutes.

I've never met a penguin personally. They may be cranky and inhospitable. But until it is proved differently, I will go on thinking that penguins are lovely creatures and it would be wonderful to have one for a friend.