below is a story that came out today (yesterday in france and antarctica) and i think it's very funny. i especially like the quote, which i've conveniently highlighted with my magical internet pen of boldness.
enjoy that boldness.

Pigs and Chickens Are Smarter Than You Think
Reuters
Sep 11 2002 10:45AM
LEICESTER, England (Reuters) - Pigs and chickens are more intelligent than most people believe, scientists said Wednesday.

Chickens can learn from each other and are encouraged by example, and pigs use subtle social behavior and signal their competitive strength to rivals, researchers from the University of Bristol said.

Despite their reputation as the bird-brains of the avian world, chickens can be taught what food to eat or avoid, are able to adapt their behavior and can learn to navigate.

"There are hidden depths to chickens,"
said Professor Christine Nichol who has studied their behavior.

Pigs have also demonstrated cunning behavior and shown they can exploit the knowledge of their colleagues to obtain food.

They may also be able to discriminate between different levels of aggressiveness to sort out their social order.

"Our results suggest that pigs can develop quite sophisticated social competitive behavior, similar to that seen in some primate species," Dr. Mike Mendl said.