Why do kittens, bunnies, puppies, and their ilk seem so much cuter than human babies? This is something I've always wondered, and I am surprised that it doesn't seem to have been asked here. I've seen some idle speculations about the reasons in various places around the Web, but nothing resembling evidence. Is there any actual research related to this topic? Or is the question based on flawed assumptions somehow? [more inside]
posted by fermion on Feb 7, 2013 - 46 answers

Why are there no lobsters the size of horses or horses the size of shrimp? [more inside]
posted by jeb on Apr 25, 2012 - 23 answers

Why are arthropods the only animals with more than four legs? [more inside]
posted by curious nu on Mar 1, 2011 - 41 answers

Given enough time and the right circumstances, would it be possible for non-land-based mammals to develop human levels of intelligence? What about non-mammals, land-based or otherwise? [more inside]
posted by Afroblanco on Feb 18, 2011 - 42 answers

What is the closest thing that other animals have to cooking? [more inside]
posted by white light on Mar 22, 2008 - 27 answers

What experiments have been carried out where animals perform better than us at particular cognitive tasks? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on May 9, 2006 - 13 answers

Are there any animals that have evolved a use for radioactivity? If so, what ways is it used? If not, why has this not happened? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Nov 23, 2005 - 32 answers