the.com/playful
The serious work of every smart animal, disguised as wasting time.
means Full of fun and high spirits; inclined to joke, frolic, or treat things lightly rather than in earnest.
from Built from "play" plus the suffix "-ful," meaning "full of play." "Play" descends from Old English "plega" (game, sport, frolic) and the verb "plegan," with cousins in Old Saxon and Dutch; its deeper roots are murky, possibly tied to a sense of brisk movement or exercise. The "-ful" ending is the same one in "joyful" and "hopeful" — once literally "full," now just a tidy way of saying "having plenty of."
- brain builder
- Play wires young brains for problem-solving
- not just mammals
- Octopuses, crocodiles, and even wasps play
- stress kill switch
- Lowers cortisol faster than rest
- rat laughter
- Tickled rats chirp ultrasonic giggles
- survival edge
- Playful species adapt to chaos better
otters playing with rocks — sea otters in california kelp forests use rocks as tools and toys, tossing them repeatedly for entertainment
bonaire diving goats — goats on the caribbean island of bonaire intentionally jump into water and play with divers for fun
crows sliding on snow — crows in japan repeatedly slide down snowy roofs on pieces of bark, returning to repeat the action