Genus and Species of a Failed Event

The Latin interpretation literally of failed event would be ‘Deficio vicis’. This seems odd to us, since deficio means indicates a type of deficiency, which is counter-productive to our central argument. There is nothing deficient in a failed event. Quite the opposite: the lack or void of a failed event will result in a deficient life experience for an individual. There are many Latin genus and species nomenclatures that are misleading or have little to do with the species they label. Consider, for instance Rhea darwinii. Charles Darwin would eat just about anything – hawk, bittern, owl, puma, and iguanas. He took 42 iguanas back with him aboard the Beagle to feast upon during the return journey. He also dined on giant tortoises, armadillos and agoutis (“the best meat he’d ever tasted.”). His diet included rhea, an ostrich-like bird, which when he realized what he was eating, he sent the unconsumed portion to the Zoological Society in London, who promptly gave the bird a Latin name in his honor, Rhea darwinii. Although he died at the age of 73, after returning from his voyage, Darwin never traveled far from home. Frequently ill with many symptoms, he was diagnosed with a parasite he encountered during his voyage. Maybe it was something he ate.