Only the Japanese

Only the Japanese would even attempt to do such a thing as this: It's wintertime and the king penguins at a zoo in northern Japan are putting on weight. But the keepers there have a solution: exercise. Authorities at Asahiyama Zoo are taking the penguins on 500-yard walks on the snowy grounds twice a day, said zoo spokesman Tetsuo Yamazaki. [...] The zoo's 15 king penguins aren't exactly obese. Penguin winter weight varies from 33 pounds to 40 pounds, said zoo official Kazunobu Maru. So far, only one of the flock is 40 pounds, he said. The reason for weight gain is natural, zoo officials say. "In order to withstand the cold, the penguins have a habit of standing very still during winter months," Yamazaki said, while in the summer they can walk around and swim as much as they want. To fend off obesity, the zoo instituted the winter exercise program in 2003. You know, I would've just loved to be a fly on the wall of the room in which someone first made that suggestion.