The Shetland Islands are famous for sheep and wool. 聽But did you know that they are also home to the stormy petrel? 聽This unusual bird, so-named because it was thought to appear before a storm, has a very high fat content. 聽Fat of course is an excellent fuel and burns readily to produce carbon dioxide, water, heat and light. 聽Islanders used to catch the creatures, dry them, fix their feet in clay and thread a wick through their beak. 聽Then they would light the wick and burn the dried bird for illumination. 聽The Danes did the same with the 鈥淕reat Auk,鈥� a bird that has since become extinct. 聽They inserted a wick into the dead bird鈥檚 belly and burned it. 聽The less macabre were satisfied with burning whale oil. 聽Aren鈥檛 you glad electricity came along.
