Flipper Quotes

“A pair of dolphins swept by us in the water, flicking their heads out to get a look at us as they went. One of them made a chittering sound that wasn't very melodic. The other twitched its tail and splashed a little water our way, all in good fun. They weren't the attractive Flipper kind of dolphins. They were regular dolphins that aren't as pretty and don't get cast on television. Maybe they just refused to sell out and see a plastic surgeon. I held up a fist to them. Represent.”
― Jim Butcher, Small Favor

“Live fast, eat junk, leave a bloated corpse.”
― Graham McNamee

“Il existe certaines similitudes entre le développement des flippers et l'ascension de Hitler. Dans les deux cas, leur apparition avait quelque chose de louche. On crut d'abord qu leur naissance ne produirait que de simples bulles sur l'écume du temps. Et c'est en raison de la vitesse de leur évolution plus que pour leur existence elle-même qu'ils acquirent leur aura mythique. Cette évolution s'appuyait sur trois facteurs : la technologie, les capitaux, et, enfin, les instincts primitifs des hommes.”
― Haruki Murakami, Wind/Pinball: Two Novels

“There are descriptions of self-mutilations in animals who are locked up in zoos, as well as in laboratory rodents who have been administered stimulating drugs. Cases have also been reported in domestic animals. Some horses, for instance, have shown a tendency to bite themselves, as well as kick and lunge at objects. Among cats and dogs it’s also relatively common to see compulsive self-licking, nibbling, or scratching, which in extreme cases can result in serious injuries…

Somewhat more suggestive cases are of dolphins who have supposedly ended their own lives. At least two cases have been reported, both occurring in dolphins who were captured from the wild and held captive in inadequate conditions. One is dolphin Kathy, the “actor” who portrayed Flipper for the longest period of time on the TV series of the same name. The other is Peter, a dolphin from the 1960s led by John Lilly, which involved the psychedelic drug LSD, zoophilia, and attempts on behalf of the experimenters to communicate verbally and telepathically with the dolphins. Both Kathy and Peter ended their own lives by voluntarily stopping breathing, according to the witnesses.”
― Susana Monsó, Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death