We're an "Interesting Case" Alright...

Scrolling around on Facebook, it sometimes seems like almost all of my social media contacts are zookeepers, aquarists, or people who used to be or want to be zookeepers or aquarists... that and a few people from high school and college who I probably couldn't even pick out of a police line-up after all these years.  It's sometimes hard for me to remember that, in the grand scheme of things, there really aren't that many zoo and aquarium workers in this country of 300 million plus people.  A lot of people don't know a single one.

When people do meet a zookeeper, it usually leads to a lot of questions, which can get a little exhausting after a while.  I discovered early on that, whether interacting with members of the public at work or other guests at a party in a completely non-zoo environment, 99% of conversations tend to consist of the same three to five questions.  It turns out, however, that random party goers aren't the only ones who want to learn a little more about you we are and what we do.  We've managed to pique the curiosity of business school professors as well.

The following is an excerpt from Aaron Hurst's book The Purpose Economy which, to my surprise, is in part about... us.

Mr. Hurst then goes on to comment on how some zookeepers will hide the pleasure that they take in their work from their bosses for fear that it will be used against them.  "Wait, why am I paying these idiots 12 bucks an hour when they'd do it just as readily for 10?  Come to think of it, why pay them at all?  They should be paying me!"

Thanks for letting the cat out of the bag, Aaron...