Animals (live)

You know, when I started working on this record Life on a String, it was going to be all about animals. Starting with germs. And I want to mention a really great book called The Gospel of Germs. And it's, um, the story of when germs were discovered in the early 20th century. And there was, uh, a big campaign to convince people that they actually existed! There were these tiny invisible animals that could kill you

And, uh, in most parts of the world, uh, France and Italy and China – the campaign was, uh, a complete failure. But, um, it really caught on in the United States. Where people said, y'know, tiny invisible things that could kill you? I don't see why not... And it's a place that already believes in a lot of invisible things. But anyway, now that people are becoming more and more like machines – I think it's a good time to remember how much we have in common with animals

Take our eyes, for example. Our eyes are in the front of our heads, because we are the predators. Uh, like eagles and lions – they're in the front for aim and precision and focus to find the target. And all the other animals have them way out on the sides – y'know, the fish, the deer, the rabbits, and they're always scanning around like this... Turning their heads, you know. On the lookout, more or less, for us...

Um, but it's amazing how quickly evolution works sometimes. And there's a certain male spider that is recently evolved from being a victim to being a survivor – in just under a year. And so, the way it happened was like this: the female spider, um, constructs a very complex web, made of many threads that go out. And one is the, kind of, food thread. And one is the weather thread. And another is the, kind of, mating thread. And it – she can tell when a male is approaching. And it's kind of like a doorbell

And, so anyway, the male comes along this line. And, uh, into the centre of the web. And they mate, and she eats him, and that's the way it's always been. But recently, these male spiders seem to have invented a new strategy. And that is that they bring along a package, which is a bug, wrapped in this really cruddy stuff. And, um, after they mate – he tosses her the package. And she just gets distracted for an instant. Just enough time for him to make his escape. And then even this strategy was improved upon – and the males began to do something really incredible. They arrived with a package like before. But now, there was nothing inside. It was completely empty. They figured out that they didn't have to bring anything at all... And it wasn't, like, a disappointment for the females. It was just like, one of those odd moments when suddenly everything changes. And it's not what you expected. And you don't know yet if it's for better or for worse