In the first half, author and expert in animal behavior Jennifer Verdolin discussed her work comparing the courtship rituals of animals to their human equivalents, revealing the many and often surprising ways we are both similar to and different from other species. "The behavior that we see in humans has its roots many times in biology," she explained. According to Verdolin, we can have a better understanding of our own behaviors and relationship issues by exploring some of the things we have in common with other animals.
Verdolin talked about the role of physical appearance in both human and animal courtship, noting that the most symmetrical male peacocks (ones with over 150 spots) are also the most successful in mating with female peacocks. "Symmetry in our physical appearance is usually an indicator of good genetic quality," she said. Personality is also important to animals, especially to those that form long-term partnerships. Verdolin pointed to some passerine birds as well as cockatiels as examples which pair up based on compatible behavior. As with humans, rejection is a part of animal courtship, she continued, noting that male Mediterranean fruit flies get rejected 90 percent of the time. Verdolin also touched on a study which found dogs experience jealousy and another that showed capuchin monkeys understand the concept of fairness.
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The remainder of the program featured Open Lines. Carrianne from Prescott, Arizona, shared an angelic experience she had while driving through a bad hail storm one evening. Carrianne said she tried to move to the side of the road but quickly came up on the back of an already stopped car, swerved to avoid it and went into a spin. "I took my hands off the wheel and thought, 'that's it, I'm gone, it's been a nice life,'" she recalled. According to Carrianne, the vehicle miraculously straightened up from the spin and started driving by itself until it brought her to the safety of a parking lot.
Chris, a self-proclaimed empathic medium in Santa Monica, California, told George about his psychic gifts and how he was once under a curse placed on his mother's offspring by her own mother, a black witch from the Old Country. Fortunately, bloodlines to psychically gifted gypsy royalty on his father's side gave Chris the power to break the curse. Chris said he uses his abilities to help combat evil in people's homes, especially those the Church may have turned away.
Dan from the United Kingdom recounted a time from his childhood when he walked through a strange portal in his bedroom and into a town with a department store. While there he found what appeared to be a Nintendo Game Boy, which Dan expressed was strange to him since it had not yet been invented. Stranger still, fifteen years later Dan was in another country, found the town, department store and the Game Boy just as he had seen as a child through his bedroom portal.