Scientists say there’s a reason we think even the ugliest creatures, like blobfish and naked molerats, are kind of cute. According to University of Cincinnati psychologist Oriana Aragón, seeing an animal that looks ridiculous and finding it endearing—aka “ugly-cute”—is “a playful way” of appreciating something unconventional.
I wish that applied to trees.
Along my Adirondack hamlet’s sidewalk, past where the phone booth once stood and beyond the tangle of roses marking the site of the old general
