Meerschweinchen!

The first time I encountered the word "Meerschweinchen", I know that the English translation would have to do with "pigs". I was right but I was still surprised to find that it means "guinea pig", those cute and fluffy little critters that you would love to just hold them. Guinea pics make good pets because they are actually mellow creatures and are already domesticated. My little girl loves animals and really love to read, er... hear all about them. Maybe she would love a guinea pig gift? I can already imagine her saying, "Ooohhh, wie süß!!" in a sweet and adorable way you can't help but really give it to her.

But anyway, guinea pigs also make good laboratory experiment subjects too because they are easy to care for and maintain. That and because scientists discovered they had biological similarities to humans that would make them useful in many field. Did you know that vitamin C was discovered in 1907 because of guinea pigs? Or that the discovery of the hormone adrenaline was through them? Would you also believe that without guinea pigs, man would not be able to develop the vaccines for diptheria and TB, antibiotics and asthma medicines, nor be able to develop replacement heart valves and blood transfusions?* I guess thanks to guinea pigs and the many studies they were subjected to, humankind was able to prevent many diseases that may have otherwise plagued the world. 

And no, I am not pro animal testing. I am just stating some facts.

* Source: David Adam (2005). "Why use guinea pigs in animal testing?" The Guardian: The science behind the news series. UK

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