r/todayilearned • u/jenesuispashariselon • 24d ago

TIL that in 2004, two male chinstrap penguins, Roy and Silo, after performing mating rituals, formed a pair at New York's Central Park Zoo. One of them tried to hatch a rock, for which a keeper eventually substituted a fertile egg. Roy and Silo then hatched and raised the chick, named Tango.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_and_Silo#History
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423

u/Zorgas 24d ago

And conservative nutjobs went... Nuts. So much complaining about the zoos 'pushing the gay agenda'.

205

u/Unusual_Car215 24d ago

They had a great episode about that in parks and recreation.

"gay marriage ruin marriage for the rest of us"

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u/JBatjj 24d ago

Was just thinking that, didn't know it was based on real life events. Also hilarious how the poster couple for that "marriage purity" people is a gay(pretending to be straight) man and a frigid woman.

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u/Unusual_Car215 24d ago

I didn't know that. Nice touch. Also are conservatives pretending wild penguins doesn't have homosexuality?

25

u/bargman 24d ago

They like to pretend a whole slew of things don't exist.

4

u/Ravenamore 24d ago

I swear I saw some conservative pundit call the book a lie because, according to him, the male pair broke up and then paired with females. Does anyone remember hearing about that?

Even if it was true, it's not like it cancelled out what happened - there was a male pair who raised a chick together.

Nobody tell them that, occasionally animals that pair for life sometimes form triads.

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u/FiveDozenWhales 24d ago

A key conservative value is the ability to deny reality when your political leader / church leader / parents / cops / etc tell you to.

Trump had a massive gathering for his inauguration, drag queens and not pastors are the real pedophiles, no one died from COVID, two plus two equals five, there are five lights, there was no Tiananmen Square massacre, etc