Originally Posted By: BranShea
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I think, Mr. Milo that you, who once upon a time called tsuwm mean for a single word correction, are cheating us here.
Bats have like us joints, but they have no jointed legs in the meaning of "segmented". And I'm almost sure that this is what's meant here.
Bats have forelimbs that are developped as wings.
No joints different from other mammals.
"as the structure of the open wing is very similar to an outspread human hand with a membrane between the fingers that also stretches between hand and body."

"Arthropods are characterised by having a segmented body with appendages on at least one segment.
All arthropods are covered by a hard exoskeleton made of chitin."





Well, tsuwm is mean sometimes, BranShea, but sometimes he ain't.
You know, like sometimes you are right, and sometimes you are wrong.
(What? You think I shouldn't correct you and tsuwm when you two step out of line?) Of course I should, and now I would like to correct the ancient Jews for designating our friends the bats as unclean and not fit for human consumption.

Question: Bats can hop; so how can they hop if they don't have "joints"?

From the net:

For birds, the criteria is less clear. The Torah provides a list of forbidden birds (Lev. 11:13-19; Deut. 14:11-18), but does not specify why these particular birds are forbidden. All of the birds on the list are birds of prey or scavengers, thus the rabbis inferred that this was the basis for the distinction. Other birds are permitted, such as chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys. However, some people avoid turkey, because it is not mentioned in the Torah, leaving room for doubt.


From the Bible:

"And these you shall have in abomination among the birds, they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the kite, the falcon according to its kind, every raven according to its kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk according to its kind, the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, the water hen, the pelican, the carrion vulture, The Stork, the heron according to its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat." (Leviticus 11:13-19 RSV)


It is good that the Jews don't eat bats but as a fellow mammal I think that the ancient Jews should apologize for classing our friends the bats as dim-witted reptilian birds and calling them "unclean abominations" that are not to be touched.

Personally I've never touched a "hoopoe" but I've touched bats. Lots of 'em. Am I then an abomination? Or do I get a pass because I'm a kind and gentle gentile of the finest sort?

Last edited by themilum; 01/19/08 06:16 PM.