From a recent Emory press release…

“While swimming with dolphins may be a fun, novel experience, no scientific evidence exists for any long-term benefit from DAT, Marino says. She adds that people who spend thousands of dollars for DAT don’t just lose out financially — they put themselves, and the dolphin, at risk of injury or infection. And they are supporting an industry that — outside of the United States — takes dolphins from the wild in a brutal process that often leaves several dolphins dead for every surviving captive.

A little farther down the release…

“During the dolphin drives hundreds of animals are killed, or panicked and die of heart attacks, in water that’s red with their blood, while trainers from facilities around the world pick out young animals for their marine parks. They hoist them out of the water, sometimes by their tail flukes, and take them away.”

Each live dolphin can bring a fisherman $50,000 or more, she says. “The marine parks make millions off of dolphins, so that’s a drop in the bucket. It’s an irony that dolphins are among the most beloved, and the most exploited, animals in the world,” Marino says.

So instead of throwing money at your problems and stress, why not find more time to spend with your loving, spazzy dog/family. Or if you need a more “novel experience” try jumping out of an airplane. Risking your own life is so more fun than risking the life of a dolphin.

The AJC has a very intriguing interview with Pambili’s shopkeeper, Sipo Mzimela, about his upbringing and eventual return to South Africa as Nelson Mandela’s minister of corrections.  Recapping a 5 hour interview, the AJC article tells of Mzimela’s experience before and during Apartheid, his escape to depressed, communist Czechoslovakia, then to Germany and finally the US.  

A great read! I am continually amazed by the hidden stories/histories that exist in our small 3 square-mile city.

Check out Sipo’s shop, Pambili (in Decatur’s Artisan building), for an array of South African imports.