Web Reads: Gone to the dogs

Best in show. In 1994 Charles Krauthammer penned a column opposing American Kennel Club (AKC) recognition of the border collie over fears that the famously-smart dogs would be dumbed down to achieve physical conformity to a standard. Border collies are not ordinary dogs as this funny video shows. The 20-years “border wars” have left a confusing situation. If you’re wondering how AKC recognition changes dog breeds over time, look at these photos of certain breeds after 100 years of improvement.

Seed trip. NPR’s Planet Money traces each step of the process of turning a cottonseed into a T-shirt in five video chapters.

Cuddle time. In an amazing clip from the wildlife documentary Eye of the Leopard, a young leopard kills a baboon and then discovers her days-old baboon baby. Instead of killing the orphaned animal, the leopard cuddles it.

Cookie-rama. It’s Christmas-baking time, and newspapers are running best-Christmas-cookie features, sometimes with regional variations. Here are lists from Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Burlington, Vt.