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...
Why Trust Science?
Why trust Science? This has become a pertinent question, especially in the current political climate. Science has a role in so many aspects of our lives, from our jobs to our health to our environment. Yet, despite being able to time solar eclipses down to the second, there seems to be more distrust of what
Runners’ Low
All of my friends know I run as a sport. It’s an integral part of my life, as it is for many other people. But the sport has an ugly side that is always present, but doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. I remember running with friends after work along the Santa Ana River
The Absolute, Very Best Veteran’s Letter
As a belated Veteran’s Day post, The Center For American War Letters at Chapman University in Orange, California is a manuscript collection of war letters from every American conflict. The Center’s Founding Director is Andrew Carroll, whose goal is preserve a million of these messages. If you have a letter pertaining to any armed conflict,
How To Be Popular
Everyone wants to be popular, right? So what can you do to increase your popularity quotient? Actually, I’ve just found an article that claims your key to popularity is what you don’t do. And as a bonus, not doing these can make you happier as well as more popular! Here is a list of nine
Why Do We Like To Be Scared
Did you have a scary Halloween? If so, how did that make you feel? A recent study published in the journal Emotion examined brain activity after a voluntary scary experience. The researchers found the experience put people better moods and with overall decreased brain activity. “We think it’s very similar… to the runner’s high experience,
Who Are the Master Builders?
If you think humans are the most efficient at building cities and other intricate structures, you may have overlooked another species — ants. An abandoned colony of grass-cutter ants was located, and scientists decided to study it in depth. First they filled the empty chambers and passageways with concrete. Then they excavated around the concrete
My Not-So-Original Halloween Story
This is a story we used to tell around the campfire when I was a Boy Scout. It’s been around so long many versions have been published. This is mine. The Hook “Hello, Heidi. My, don’t you look hot tonight!” Jason had been looking forward to this Saturday night for a long time. Yes, Heidi
Recording History With a Million Letters
So much of history is personal. One fascinating source is letters from soldiers to their families. I’m currently reading Diary of a Dead Man, compiled by J. P. Ray, that contains the letters from a Union soldier during the Civil War who ultimately died at Andersonville Prison in Georgia. But what really got my attention
Does English have Enough Words?
How many words are there in the English language? I’ve seen estimates ranging from 400,000 to as many as a million if you count all the scientific and technical terms, although a quick Google search says the Second Edition of the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use (https://wordcounter.io/blog/how-many-words-are-in-the-english-language/). No matter who is counting, a
Games To Play With Your Pet Rat
If you are looking for a new game to play with your pet rat, may I suggest hide-and-seek? Neuroscientist Juan Ignacio Sanguinetti of the Humboldt University of Berlin does just that. Drawing inspiration from YouTube animal videos (really!) he has taught rats to play hide-and-seek. His work was recently published in the journal Science. The