Did you know that at the beginning of 1500s the first European researchers such as Fernan Magelan, who reached cold seas and rocky shores of the Southern hemisphere, met the penguins there and were actually puzzled. Those strange creatures swam underwater like fish, had fins like seals, and strange feathers – not like the feathers of other birds. But by their color and way of life they reminded them of razorbills – birds from the Northern Hemisphere, already known by Europeans who’ve already swam to catch fish to the shores of Greenland. The razorbill (now an extinct species) was about the same size as those creatures, couldn’t fly, too, even though it had wings instead of fins, like the rest of the razorbills. In the end researchers concluded that those creatures are birds, too. They called them penguins, probably because they were similar to the razorbills and Spanish fishermen called them penguigo (from Latin “pinguis”, which means fat). Other scientists think that the penguins got their name from Welsh seamen who called them “pen gwyn”, which in Welsh means white-headed. But be as it may, those beautiful “birds” are always associated with something nice and positive. And I hope it stays this way forever.
