My favorite Rafinesque story is the one where he visited Audubon. A bat
flew in the open window one night, and Rafinesque, jumping to the
conclusion that it was new to science, caused a commotion by reaching for
the nearest object and using it as a stick to knock down the bat. The whole
household rushed to the room to see what was the matter. As the object was
Audubon's violin, Rafinesque's host was less than pleased; however, he bode
his time before exacting revenge. Later, with Rafinesque at a safe
distance, Audubon wrote him a letter describing a remarkable new find: a
freshwater trivalve in the Ohio River, the first mollusk ever found with
three shelly parts. As Audubon expected, Rafinesque leapt into print and
gave the new find a formal Linnaean name, sight unseen, in the American
Journal of Science and Arts. Of course, the scientific community was not
impressed with Rafinesque when the truth came out. Well, that's science:
Sometimes you name the bear, and sometimes it names you.
 
Have a great weekend, everybody, and stay away from those young oysters! A
special "tug o' the ear" to Beatrice Burch.
 
Andrew
 
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama
P.O. Box O
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-0004