Before losing yourself into an infinite abyss of animal photos, how about a little history lesson? **Today, we’ll be learning a little more about sticking out your tongue.** In Tibet, the practice of sticking out one’s tongue has a rich cultural history. In the 9th centuray, a Tibetan king named Lang Darma ruled the country with a violent and cruel hand. Legend has it that Darma had a black tongue, an indicator of his malice-driven heart. Tibetan Buddhists believe in reincarnation, so after Lang Darma was gone, they began the practice of sticking out their tongues to greet one another: Proof that their tongues weren’t black, and therefore they weren’t incarnations of the terrible Lang Darma. Nowadays, Tibetans stick out their tongues at one another as a greeting, and sign of respect. Interesting, right? There’s no way to know why these animals feel so compelled to stick out their tongues We’re going to bet that they know nothing of Tibetan history and they aren’t doing in out of respect – but we can still pretend, right?
