Hoovering Moondust Out Of Animal’s Tails

[username65]

Hi There;

There are phrases that I cannot understand from the Economist, July 3rd 2021. In the paragraph below, they think of the scenario of conveying monkeys to the moon.

Mrs Chippy’s Benediction

February 2055

A primate colony set up to explore one aspect of the human condition has ended up illuminating another. An imagined scenario from 2055.



They can at times, look somewhat sinister, their faces oddly small for their heads, their white ear tufts jutting out almost aggressively. Their ability to throw themselves at people across seemingly unfeasible distances can be unsettling, and their buzzing and shrieking take a lot of getting used to, as does their smell. But the members of the Caird collective will not hear a word spoken against the marmosets with whom they share their spaces at the Moon’s South Pole. As they sit in their insulated caves hoovering moondust out of animal’s tails, few of the Cairders can imagine their life on the rim of Shackleton crater without them- and none wants to.

Words

Unsettling: Causing anxiety or uneasiness; disturbing.

Buzzing: Making a low, continuous humming or murmuring sound.

shrieking: Making a high-pitched piercing cry or sound.

Caird: I presume that editors refer to The Voyage of the James Caird on 24th April 1916:

Hoover: Clean (something) with a vacuum cleaner.

Take some getting used to : to require that one become familiar with something so that it seems normal or usual

Incomprehensible Sentences

"Their ability to throw themselves at people across seemingly unfeasible distances can be unsettling, and their buzzing and shrieking take a lot of getting used to, as does their smell."

I cannot understand the bold phrase here.

"But the members of the Caird collective will not hear a word spoken against the marmosets with whom they share their spaces at the Moon’s South Pole."

Are these predicates true?

-There are two groups of the Caird collective: One of them is in the South, and another is in the North of the Moon.

- The group in the South does not have any communication with the group in the North.

"As they sit in their insulated caves hoovering moondust out of animal’s tails, few of the Cairders can imagine their life on the rim of Shackleton crater without them- and none wants to."

Does phrase “hoovering moondust out of animal’s tails” have ironic meaning or unironic meaning? What do editors mean in this sentence?

Thanks in advance.

 

[5jj]

Caird: I presume that editors refer to The Voyage of the James Caird on 24th April 1916:

What makes you think that? I see no mention of it at all.

Are these predicates true?

-There are two groups of the Caird collective: One of them is in the South, and another is in the North of the Moon.

- The group in the South does not have any communication with the group in the North.

I see no mention at all of these facts.

Does phrase “hoovering moondust out of animal’s tails” have ironic meaning or unironic meaning?

I imagine they are literally vacuuming dust from animals' tails.

 

[username65]

What makes you think that? I see no mention of it at all.

I see no mention at all of these facts.

I imagine they are literally vacuuming dust from animals' tails.

Well, The economist's editor has a very different way of thinking. Since the paragraph is about a voyage of monkeys to the moon, and James Caird has also visited the island, this is how I connected the word.

Their ability to throw themselves at people across seemingly unfeasible distances can be unsettling, and their buzzing and shrieking take a lot of getting used to, as does their smell.

My deduction
- the ability of extraordinary acrobatic talent of monkeys can be annoying.
- The smell of monkeys are also can be annoying.

 

[5jj]

Well, The economist's editor has a very different way of thinking. Since the paragraph is about a voyage of monkeys to the moon, and James Caird has also visited the island, this is how I connected the word

The voyage of the James Caird took place over 100 years ago.

Your article is supposedly about the future - the year 2055.

 

[probus]

The Shackleton Crater lies at the south pole of the moon. What part of The Economist was it in? Book reviews? Science?

 

[username65]

The Shackleton Crater lies at the south pole of the moon. What part of The Economist was it in? Book reviews? Science?

Part name is "What if? Health and Politics". The paragraph is on page 11. Excerpt from the magazine:

What if? is our annual collection of scenarios. This year it considers the future of health. Each of these stories is fiction, but grounded in historical fact, current speculation, and real science. They do not present a unified narrative but are set in different futures.