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Today I visited some lovely acquaintances of mine who are smooth-sided toads (Bufo guttatus) like the one in this rather dreamy portrait by Brian Gratwicke, conservation biologist at the National Zoo.

I was reminded of this blog post, in which I learned that if I were Japanese, I wouldn't have had to make up a word for "ugdorable." Here's what author Matt Alt says in the post about what he calls the age-old "love-hate relationship" between the Japanese and toads:

Sure, they're warty and bumpy and hang out in slimy dark places, but there's something about those beady little eyes that demands a certain amount of affection.

The Japanese actually have a word for this type of cognitive dissonance: it's called kimo-kawaii: cute and gross, all at the same time.
Not surprising I guess that this country which is a world leader in cute had a handle on this concept before the rest of us.

-Wombat (No Relation)