The Cactus Who Wanted to Be a Christmas Tree
Katie loves Christmastime. Getting presents is nice, and playing in the snow with her friends is fun, but what she likes best are all the pretty decorations...
More Proof That Solutions Are Out There
Deep down inside, I’ve always believed we can solve all our problems if we’d just work together and innovate. This week’s Time magazine gives me more hope in that regard, with its section on “The 50 Best Inventions of 2018.” After a quick reading, here are some that particularly impressed me — Clothes for every
What Is A MOOC?
In another example of how the Internet is changing our lives, there are currently more than 10,000 college-level courses available online from over 800 universities that are partially or completely free. They are called MOOCs — Massive Open Online Courses, and the idea has exploded over the past six or so years. Subjects include Computer
Announcing “The Boy Who Could Wiggle His Ears”
When I was about ten years old, my grandfather showed me how to wiggle my ears. It took some time to figure out how to control that muscle (it actually goes from the eyebrows back), and they don’t wiggle very much, but they do move. This always seemed like a good life example — if
The Weirdness of the Sea
We all know there are many strange natural wonders. I’ve just run across an article, “5 Weird Ocean Phenomena” ( https://earthsky.org/earth/weird-ocean-phenomena-st-elmos-fire-fog-tsunami-waterspout), that lists some of the waterborne variety you may never have heard of. 1. St. Elmo’s Fire — When a sharp object, like a ship’s mast, contacts a very high electrical field, as in
What Is It Like To Be a Veteran?
If you’ve ever wondered how some veterans live, have I found a book for you. Matthew Casteel parked cars for a living at the Veterans Affairs hospital valet service in Asheville, North Carolina for seven years. He came into contact with veterans from the World War II era through Afghanistan. In doing so, he realized
Can a Font Improve Your Memory?
We’re all looking to improve our memories, especially as we age. What if I told you the letters you read could actually help? Researchers at Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology have developed a new font (an assortment or set of type) designed “using the principles of cognitive psychology” to help you better remember. This
How Long Will You Live?
Nobody knows how long they will live, right? And yet — the U.S. Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project thinks it can give you a pretty good idea. Go to the website https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/interactives/whereyouliveaffectshowlongyoulive.html?, type in your address, and you will receive a life expectancy, plus a comparison with your area, your state, and the entire nation. It’s
Why Anne Frank?
I think every schoolchild learns about Anne Frank — the little Jewish girl who died in the Holocaust, then became famous when her writing, The Diary of a Young Girl, was first published in 1947. But why her? Of all the millions of Holocaust victims, how did she become so famous? Other victims wrote, notably
Who Would’ve Won If This Had Been A Presidential Election?
I know this is a totally useless exercise, but since President Trump made this midterm election basically a referendum on him, who would’ve won if he had been running for reelection? Time magazine has tried to answer that question. They used the results for the House of Representatives races as votes for the president of
The Written Side of Running
One of the joys of being in a major road race is the atmosphere. It’s a real thrill to run down First Avenue Manhattan with spectators stacked three deep for over a mile. Or running past the Wellesley College girls on the way into Boston. Then there is the music — the “Rock ‘n’ Roll”