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...
The Origin of Quarantine
In the course of being quarantined and following everything that was happening around the world, I ran across some interesting explanations for the origin of the term itself. The actual word “quarantine” is derived from the Italian quaranta, meaning “forty.” It is traced back to the language of Venice, Italy in the 14th and 15th centuries. During
Happy Birthday — Joseph Lister
Perhaps it’s appropriate at this time to note that April 5 was the birthday of Joseph Lister, considered the father of antiseptic medicine. Lister was born in 1827 in Upton, England. He graduated with honors from University College in London in 1852 and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and house surgeon
Is This Pandemic a Black Swan Event?
We use a lot of expressions in everyday speech, and their origins are frequently lost to history. But I’ve found an interesting exception. A friend recently asked me if I thought the coronavirus pandemic is a black swan event. This was a new one; I’d never heard that phrase before. I went scrambling to the
Happy April Fool’s Day
It’s April Fool’s Day as I write this, and for the first time in memory I didn’t find any celebrations of this day of pranks until 10 pm tonight (although the main reason is quarantine). This is more proof that the coronavirus is having a profound impact on our society. We shouldn’t let an opportunity
The World’s First Author
Since reading is such a safe quarantine pastime, who would you think was the world’s first known author? So far as we know now, our first credited author was Enheduanna, a woman who lived in the 23rd century BCE in Mesopotamia. According to the archaeological evidence, she was remarkable figure: a princess, a priestess and
An Example of International Cooperation
In an era when Nationalism appears to be the ascending political philosophy, I ran across what I think is a good example of how international cooperation can make a small but meaningful difference in our lives. This is an entry in the March 27 issue of The Writer’s Almanac — On this day in 1912, President
Rethinking Space Exploration During a Pandemic
The Coronavirus pandemic is turning society upside down. Should the grandparents (the most vulnerable population) watch the kids with the daycare centers closed? How can migrant workers come to harvest our food if the borders are sealed? Should the National Guard be mobilized to help other states when their own state might be next? Of
Coping With Corona
Into Week Two of involuntary quarantine. I say “involuntary” because it’s not against my will (certainly not!), it’s just that I have no other choice — everything around me is being cancelled. My state is now under a stay-at-home rule. Being a dedicated runner and overall exercise fanatic, this news made me very concerned. How
So What If It Isn’t Real?
“Only God Can Make a Diamond” makes a good advertising slogan, but it’s no longer true. Now diamonds can be made in a laboratory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_diamond). But should synthetic diamonds be considered real? How many romances have broken up because the diamond wasn’t natural? Or if you see an animal skeleton in a natural history museum,
A Poem For Spring
To celebrate the first day of Spring, I’m republishing my poem My Rite of Spring, from my book Some Poems About Life, available through this website and Amazon.com. My Rite of Spring I consider myself a peaceable soul.I value all manner of livable things.Insects and mice, spiders and voles.Just about anything Mom Nature brings. But I do have