There is so much we don’t understand about our own brains. I was reminded of this again as I read about a teenager in Georgia who awoke from a coma speaking fluent Spanish. He is Rueben Nsemoh, 16, and was playing soccer when he was kicked in the head diving for a loose ball. He
Something to think about for Halloween — Why do some people find dolls creepy? For example, in San Clemente, California in 2014, dolls began mysteriously appearing on the steps of houses. Even more unusual, each bore a resemblance to a young girl living in that house. The police traced the dolls to a local woman
This was Spirit Week at the local high school. I had a substitute teaching job on Friday, and I got the full impact up close. Why this week? Friday night was a football game with a neighboring suburb, their arch rivals. Over the years, this rivalry has evolved into a higher purpose — it includes
I have always considered the duckbill platypus to be the most unusual mammal. It’s semi-aquatic, the only mammal to lay eggs, and resembles an animal designed by committee. With a duck’s bill, a beaver’s tail, and an otter’s foot, some thought the early specimens were a hoax. But now I have read of an even
The saddest outcome when we depart a country after a conflict is the people we leave behind. It happened in Vietnam. I know personally because I had a graduate-school classmate who was Vietnamese. Somehow in the chaos of those final days the nuclear family got out (thanks largely to individual initiatives by some of my
This is a poem I wrote based on many years as a trick-or-treat host. Halloween Fun by Bob Welbaum Halloween can be fun for adults, too. I like to hold out a bowl of candy — a nice assortment — and simply say “You may take one of your choice.” and watch the little
I come from a non-drinking family, so I don’t know what it’s like to be drunk. But apparently humans aren’t the only ones who come under the influence of behavior-altering drugs. There is a column in the October 24, 2016 issue of Time magazine (page 8) that gives four examples of under-the-influence animals. — Recently
There are some interesting ideas in this world (and a lot we still don’t know about ourselves), but this idea is so radical I’m almost afraid to write about it. There is a short video on YouTube entitled “You Have a Second Brain” that claims your digestive system acts as another brain and it has
Do you have a dog? Then you might be interested in a Yale University study that has shown that dogs are so smart, they will ignore your bad directions. In the study, a treat was placed inside a puzzle. Solving the puzzle involved one step — lifting the lid — but the researchers added one
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted an original short story. This was published on the Bewildering Stories website in issue #635 (http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue635/last_chance.html) It does contain a bit of adult language. One Last Chance Jake had been in nicer hospitals than this. His mother had passed away in a new facility, big and