Whatever Happened to the Twiddlebugs?

If I were a behavioral scientist, I would be keenly puzzled on the twiddlebug life cycle.

The twiddlebugs are a rare species. As far as I know, there are only two distinct populations of twiddlebugs. One population is located at Ernie and Bert's flowerbox in Sesame Street. Recently, another population of twiddlebugs emerged right at my workplace. It's the latter which I was able to occasionally observe. From herein, I'll refer to them as THE TWIDDLEBUGS.

The most prominent observation I've made on THE TWIDDLEBUGS is their flocking behavior, particularly during lunch breaks and after-office hours. Their flocking behavior can be intimidating at times because of their sheer number. They make this call which sounds like "come-on-let's-join-us" along the corridors, and as soon as the other twiddlebugs get to hear it they come spilling out of their offices and aggregate like a good mix of sand, pebbles and cement.

In great similarity to the Sesame-Street-twiddlebugs, THE TWIDDLEBUGS are a chatty bunch. They can go on talking and shouting and singing non-stop assuming that no non-twiddlebug disrupts their discussions. Most of THE TWIDDLEBUGS have a high pitch, a few are even shrilly, but a number have baritone voices. With a mixture of voices like that, its either you experience a very musical moment if they harmonize OR one gets an ear-pounding if they are all off-sync.

Aside from chatting, singing and snacking, THE TWIDDLEBUGS indulge in DVDs and taking trips together to the nearby shopping mall to do more chatting, singing and snacking.

THE TWIDDLEBUGS also have a welcoming demeanor, and hence any new individual which sets foot on their territory automatically becomes a TWIDDLEBUG. Thus, THE TWIDDLEBUGS have undergone substantial upgrades (the last of which is TWIDDLEBUGS version 2.1). Aside from their increase in capacity, they became a louder and more diverse group.

Any behavioral scientist will surely be interested in inter-TWIDDLEBUG relationships, but this author has not had the opportunity to observe it from a close distance. There are other journals available on this topic.

What I would like to specifically highlight here though is the evolution of THE TWIDDLEBUG population. It seems that their flocking behavior has a limited lifespan with the emergence of individual preferences among themselves. I'd call this the ROCKBAND phenomenon --- rockbands in general, after some time of achieving success recognition, eventually disband.

Indeed, I think THE TWIDDLEBUGS have disbanded. Some would opt to have dinner with only a few, some would just watch DVDs, some would rather play badminton and some would prefer to continue working non-stop. One cannot hear their flocking call anymore ("come-on-let's-join-us"); it's highly probable that they have developed a new method of communication or even a new language.

But surely, should there be a need or a clamor in the future, THE TWIDDLEBUGS will surely have a reunion concert in the future just like any other rockband.

They're simply amusing, if you look at them from this perspective.