WEBVTT - Is Bugs Bunny a Rabbit or a Hare?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, let's talk today about Bugs Bunny.

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<v Speaker 1>Although a Bugs esque character appeared in the cartoon in

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<v Speaker 1>Night Bugs as would recognize him today, first appeared on

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<v Speaker 1>July nine and a cartoon titled a Wild Hair. His

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<v Speaker 1>character was well received by children and adults alike. This

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<v Speaker 1>and the fact that his debut coincided with America's Golden

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<v Speaker 1>Age of animation helped secure his spot as one of

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<v Speaker 1>Warner Brothers main cartoon characters. During World War Two, Bugs

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<v Speaker 1>got another boost the several Air Force troops, including the

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<v Speaker 1>three eightieth Bombardment Group, shows Bugs as their mascot, and

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<v Speaker 1>the Marine Corps designated him an honorary Master Sergeant. He

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<v Speaker 1>starred in propaganda cartoons made specifically for American soldiers stationed

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<v Speaker 1>in Europe, as well as government and advertisements for wartime bonds.

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<v Speaker 1>Bugs Bunny went on to star in a hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty films, appear as the first animated character on a

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<v Speaker 1>postage stamp, receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,

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<v Speaker 1>and be ranked number one on a list of the

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<v Speaker 1>fifty Greatest cartoon characters. Compiled by TV Guide. Although many

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<v Speaker 1>have attempted to identify what sets Bugs Bunny apart from

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<v Speaker 1>the cartoon crowd, perhaps the late Chuck Jones, the longtime

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<v Speaker 1>writer and producer of Bugs Bunny, described it best. His

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<v Speaker 1>daughter Linda Jones Cloud told Smithsonian Magazine, and my father's

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<v Speaker 1>attitude was that bugs already existed and they were just

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<v Speaker 1>writing about him. He would come home in the evening

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<v Speaker 1>and say to my mother, you won't believe what Bugs

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<v Speaker 1>Bunny said today. What do you mean? She would say,

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<v Speaker 1>you wrote it. No. I discovered under the circumstances that

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<v Speaker 1>this is what he would say. Whether Bugs Bunny was

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<v Speaker 1>conceived as a rabbit or a hare isn't clear. Although

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<v Speaker 1>the word bunny is part of his name, many of

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<v Speaker 1>his cart UNEs had hair in the title, including a

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<v Speaker 1>bill of hair and fallen hair. Of course, that could

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<v Speaker 1>be wordplay rather than scientific nomenclature. Before we hop to

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<v Speaker 1>the wrong conclusion, let's take a look at some of

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<v Speaker 1>the characteristic differences between rabbits and hairs. Although rabbits and

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<v Speaker 1>hairs are all from the lapoor dae family, they're classified

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<v Speaker 1>under nine different genera, eight for rabbits and one for hairs.

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<v Speaker 1>And fifty three species, twenty one for rabbits and thirty

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<v Speaker 1>two for hairs, and they start life in markedly different ways.

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<v Speaker 1>Hairs are pregnant for about forty two days and deliver

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<v Speaker 1>fully developed newborns called leverettes, while bunnies have a thirty

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<v Speaker 1>day gestational period and give birth to kits that don't

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<v Speaker 1>yet have for or the ability to regulate their body temperature.

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<v Speaker 1>Hairs also have jointed skulls, unlike those of any other mammal.

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<v Speaker 1>This gives them cranial kinesis, which means that their skull

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<v Speaker 1>bones can move relative to each other in ways that humans,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, can't. Our jaw is our only movable skull joint.

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<v Speaker 1>Hairs have an intracranial one that researchers think helps them

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<v Speaker 1>distribute the impact of long running leaps. Hairs have longer

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<v Speaker 1>ears and longer legs than rabbits, which seems to tip

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<v Speaker 1>the scale in favor of bugs. Bunny being a hair,

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<v Speaker 1>hairs look lanky in ways that rabbits, with their shorter

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<v Speaker 1>ears and shorter legs, just don't. Also, hairs are more

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<v Speaker 1>likely to be gray in color, though hairs and rabbits

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<v Speaker 1>both come in a range of colors and patterns from

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<v Speaker 1>white to brown to black, with lots of gradients in between.

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<v Speaker 1>Hairs are also less social than bunnies. Hairs don't hang

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<v Speaker 1>out with their families, and by all accounts, neither does bugs.

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<v Speaker 1>But hairs live completely above ground, whereas bugs, bunny lives

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<v Speaker 1>in a burrow like a rabbit that most bunnies create

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<v Speaker 1>burrows or warrens in which they live and hide their young.

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<v Speaker 1>There is one thing that could clear all this up,

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<v Speaker 1>DNA analysis. Rabbits have forty four chromosomes, while members of

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<v Speaker 1>the hair genus have so analyss of bugs Bunny, a

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<v Speaker 1>genetic material would wrap this up once and for all,

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<v Speaker 1>except that he's not real. So maybe instead of splitting

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<v Speaker 1>hairs over taxonomy, we should all just relax with a

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<v Speaker 1>character free and enjoy some classic cartoons. Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on the article is bugs, Bunny, a rabbit or

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<v Speaker 1>a hair? On how stuff Works dot Com? Written by

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<v Speaker 1>lore L Dove. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and

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<v Speaker 1>it is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my

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