Oh no, not Flipper!

Nothing is sacred anymore. A South African-based scientist has reported that the darling of the marine world, that cuddly chatterbox the dolphin, is in reality rather stupid. According to neuroethologist Paul Manger of the University of Witwatersrand, the dolphin's big brain isn't a mark of intelligence after all but simply a design to keep a warm-blooded animal's brain warm in a cold environment. It isn't so much a brain as a radiator!

Manger says dolphins' ability to do tricks is just a stimulus response to a food reward, the result of predatory instincts and good trainers. Furthermore, he claims they haven't the wits of a lab rat or a gold fish. A rat OK, they're clever little buggers, but a gold fish?

Middle Eastern wars I can deal with -- what else is new? But dumb dolphins, it's just too much.