My son asked the other day, "What's cuter, kittens or baby bunnies?"

I expand the question -- what's the cutest thing in the world?

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Answers

well, of course I go gaga over puppies, I'm dying for another golden retriever puppy, but Patrick sez we have too many dogs and we can only have one beautiful golden retriever at a time....but puppies are right up there with being the all around cutest for me.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Newborn baby bunnies are pretty ugly. Like hairless mouse babies. Kittens are way cuter. Despite my attachment to the dogs, I have to admit that kittens are even cuter than puppies.

The cutest thing in the world is a cute little kid giggling while playing with a puppy. If you get any cuter than that, it starts to get nauseating.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

I have to agree with Mary Ellen about the kittens v. puppies....and that's weird for me because I'm a big "Dog Person" as well. It's just too bad that the cute little kitties have to grow up to be..Cats. (sigh, I know, they're not that bad, but I'm allergic and don't like them so much). It's hard to say what's the cutest thing in the world..I did see this Animal Planet thing on the 3-toed Tree Sloth the other day and I have to say excepting the 6 inch claws, it was pretty damn cute.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Well, Gwen, that question from your son ranks pretty high up on the list.:)

A grown-up large dog curled up sleeping with a little kitten has got to be one of my favorite things to see.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

Kittens. Kittens are the cutest thing in the world,. And Tobey Maguire...Oops. Ignore that.

-- Anonymous, August 28, 2000

What Tracey said! Baby kittens are so cute I could just gush and gush. And my grown up cats are pretty cute when they snuggle up like kittens and groom each other. I think that Hello Kitty is the reigning Queen of Cute, though.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

Last week, we were all at my father-in-law's house after his funeral, and my niece Sofie, who is three, was looking at all of the framed photos that my husband had set up on easels in every room. ('We don't want this to be a shrine, Ian, so no rams' blood,' remarked my sister- in-law.) Sofie looks exactly how her mother, Susan, did when she was little, and many of the pictures showed Susan as a small child with her mother, who died three years ago. Sofie kept pointing at the pictures and saying, 'Is that me with your mummy, Mummy?' It was cute and a little bit sad, which makes cute things cuter sometimes.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

Personally, I think kittens are cuter than bunnies cause of that whole "rodant" thing, but here's what I think is the cutest thing in the world: this weekend I was at this great park, with these millions of trails, and there were these kids with these parents. The kids were about 3 and 4 maybe, give or take a year and they were on tricycles and *covered* in gear - elbow pads, knee pads, wrist guards, helmets - you could barely *see* the kids in there. So they were playing Duck, Duck, Goose and the little girl, who was about three was laughing - like bust-out laughing? Like from waaayyyyyyy down in her little body? I think that's really cute.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

I think all baby animals are cute. I don't think I could choose between kittens or bunnies or puppies.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

I have to agree it's a close call between kittens and puppies, although I think some puppies can pull off more expressions than kittens. There's a t.v commercial or two with a puppy version of the famous RCA dog (Nipper & Chipper...I think they're Jack Russell Terriers?) and everytime I see that puppy I get tears in my eyes. Now THAT's cute! That baby Panda at the San Diego Zoo is pretty cute, too. Do you think it's true that "nature" makes all babies cute, regardless of species, to help them survive? Do you think a mother dog or cat thinks a baby of its kind is cuter than an adult version?

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

I think they do think that.

I pick: 1) baby bunnies (after the hairless stage), 2) kittens, 3) those little turtles that hatch on the beach and have to swim out to the reef or wherever, 4) fawns, 5) puppies.

In that order.

-- Anonymous, August 29, 2000

Babies are cute for a reason, yes! They have big heads and big eyes so we will saw "aw!" and want to nuture them. Baby turtles are cute, aren't they, Gwen? It's so sweet to see them emerge from the sand and flipper their little bodies out to sea. An intersting thing about domesticated animals like cats and dogs is that they stay more childish than their wild counterparts. For example, only domestic cats purr past kittenhood. And wild dogs only bark when they are pups.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

That's right, our domestication process has stalled our pets at the juvenile phase. I also read that the reason we're attracted to kittens is that they have relatively flat, round faces, just like a human baby. That "aw" response is, to some degree, a genetic survival function. Babies are labor-intensive, and there's got to be something in us to make us want to raise the little tyrants, or we'd die out as a species. Ha! Now I want to quit my job and research the behavioral science and genetics of cuteness.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Bunnies are pretty darn cute. *coo* And I'm a cat person, so I'm all over little miniature cats, of course. Kittens rock.

Say, where's Miss Klee? I was sure she'd say "John Taylor is the cutest thing in the world...because he IS a bunny". I'm surprised. Something heavy has definitely fallen over onto her in her apartment and is preventing her from reaching her keyboard. (Well, actually, she IS busy right now.)

Kinkajous are cute. Pandas are cute. Actually, Red Pandas are a blend of all the cutest animals in the world into one: a raccoon/fox/cat/bear/puppy kind of animal. I assume they look like furry bunnies when they are little, just to fit with their overall Cute theme.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

Milla, what's a kinkajou?!

(I've been wondering where Klee's been, too! She's ok, right?)

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

She's busy but okay. :)

Kinkajou: (Kin"ka*jou`) n. [F. kinkajou, quincajou, from the native American name.] (Zovl.) A nocturnal carnivorous mammal (Cercoleptes caudivolvulus) of South America, about as large as a full-grown cat. It has a prehensile tail and lives in trees. It is the only representative of a distinct family (Cercoleptidf) allied to the raccoons. Called also potto, and honey bear.

http://www.bartleby.com/65/ki/kinkajou.html
http://lsb.syr. edu/projects/cyberzoo/animals/kinkajou.html
http://www.helenslittle critters.com/kinkajou.htm

I don't know why, but I find them cute. Lemurs are cute, too.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

I mean...just look at this widdle face!

"Mango, a Kinkajou, who educates children"
Potos flavus


-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

I want one! He's got that perfect teddy bear brown fur and those sweet little paws and such a clever face. Just imagine him swingin' around your house.

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

Awww! That Kinkaju is pretty dern cute. I have to be a mom and say the cutest thing in the world to *me* is my almost 2 year old son...I just love it when he giggles and plays and says a new word...*sigh*

-- Anonymous, August 31, 2000

Bunnies are cute no matter their age. Most baby animals are cute to me except puppies. I see a puppy and think "you probably stink." Animals that make me go "aw" include: kittens, mice, foxes, bears, lions, tigers (any wild baby animals that romp around on tv and bite each others' tails--I'm a sucker for that), guinea pigs, chinchillas, racoons, chipmunks, gophers, prairie dogs, meerkats...all those furry kind of critters. Birds kind of weird me out and hummingbirds are just feathered insects.

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2000

If you have $2000 laying about, Jill, then you CAN have one. :) They ar enot endangered and they call them carnivores because they eat insects and if domesticated need protein (like Kitty Chow). Mostly they eat fresh veggies and fruits, so they probably don't smell bad, even. Cool or what? And they domesticate easily, supposedly.

One of my earliest memories was of Mr. Green Jeans feeding a Kinkajou and talking to Dennis about it. If you know who those people are, then you're my age.

And you probably "got" the SNL joke about "well, you know my name is" Simon who liked to do drawr-rings.

And you might have experienced a cartoon Harold with purple crayon art. The book was cooler, but seeing it live was nice too.

You might also be slightly nervous around large quantities of ping pong balls.

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2000

How about the rumor that Mr. Green Jeans was Frank Zappa's father?

A gullible moose and a bespectacled mute rabbit who would always swipe any carrots from the countertop .... seeing those two were always my favorite part!

-- Anonymous, September 01, 2000

Captain Kangaroo, right? I remember it but didn't watch much. I preferred the Great Space Coaster and 321 Contact.

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2000