Worldly Pleasures

Dinosaurs had brains the size of walnuts. Horses have to be forced to leave a burning barn. Our cat is so dumb it'll climb up a tree and not know how to get back down.

But when it comes to all-out, world-class, drop-dead stupidity, nature may never have spawned a dumber creature than a human being in search of amusement.

Human beings are the only creatures who will voluntarily leave an air-conditioned home and drive 500 miles to spend a week with spiders in a musty cabin, wearing damp bathing suits and eating food that tastes like charcoal lighter. They are the only ones who will get out of a perfectly comfortable bed at four o'clock in the morning, load $600 worth of equipment into a $12,000 boat and tow it to a lake so they can spend an entire day trying to catch a fish they have no intention of eating.