It’s easy to get published these days. More books are published each year than the average bookstore can hold. Websites like Lulu.com make self-publishing easy. And there is always Amazon Kindle. Yet a recent article in The Guardian caught my eye. It suggests the key to understanding our literature may not be how many books
Harvester ants are very industrious. They build mounds that last for decades, protecting them with a half-inch-thick layer of small rocks about the size of beads, then clear the surrounding area of vegetation by as much as 30 feet. But in gathering up all those rocks, they also collect tiny fossils and archaeological artifacts. Don’t
On the night of Aug. 15, 1977, during a SETI search, the Ohio State University’s Big Ear telescope picked up an unknown signal that was incredibly strong but very brief, lasting a mere 1 minute and 12 seconds. It was so unexpected that its discoverer, astronomer Jerry Ehman, wrote “Wow” on the printout, thus giving this
I’m sure most people have their summer vacations planned. If not, might you consider a place to stay that’s a little… creepy? If so, I’d like to suggest a Nevada road trip. There are a couple of places in this state than can really get your attention. For example — The Little A’Le’Inn — “Earthlings
Stolen from a birthday greeting card — Things you might hear at a food court that sound dirty, but really aren’t (just use your imagination for the pictures): 10. Toast my buns, please. 9. I didn’t think it would be so big. 8. Ewww, it’s all limp and soggy! 7. Don’t you use condiments? 6.
Homo Sapiens have always had the ability to walk upright. The key to this biological ability is our foot’s remarkable design. For example, short toes give us the ability to run long distances. Surprisingly, another critical design feature appears to be the transverse tarsal arch — the horizontal curve that runs across the top of
The calendar says this is June 8, 2022, but did you know it is Best Friends Day? It’s also Name Your Poison Day and Upsy Daisy Day. The truth is every day on the calendar has a designation for something to celebrate. June 9 will be Donald Duck Day, Earl Day, and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Three years ago, Jillian Peterson, an associate professor of criminology at Hamline University, and James Densley, a professor of criminal justice at Metro State University, constructed a database of every mass shooter since 1966 who killed four or more people in a public place, and every shooting incident at schools, workplaces and places of worship
I have read that the world’s largest animal is a blue whale, and the largest living organism is a fungus (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/). But what is the largest plant? Whatever it was before, we have a new winner. Scientists have determined a 110-mile-long meadow of seagrass in Shark Bay, Western Australia is actually a single plant. It has
One of my short stories published on the Bewildering Stories website, in Issue 864, turned out so well I just kept writing. Forty-two thousand words later, I have With a Little Help From My Friend: A Mystery Story from Solstice Publishing. You may order from Solstice Publishing at https://solsticeempire.com/products.aspx?categoryid=538 The book is also available from Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Little-Help-My-Friend-Mystery/dp/B09FS2VXWQ/ref=sr_1_1?)