This is a bit late for Valentine’s Day, sorry, but it’s still news worth sharing. Have you ever wondered why we kiss? Logically, it doesn’t make sense; mouth-to-mouth contact is a great way to spread germs, which would seem more of a danger to the species than the pleasure of the contact. So there must
What object in our solar system is farthest away from the sun? At one time, this honor went to a trans-Neptunian object officially designated 2018 VG18 (but nicknamed Farout) that was estimated to be 124 AU from the sun. To explain, a trans-Neptunian object is any minor or dwarf planet that orbits the sun at a greater average distance than the planet Neptune. And AU stands for astronomical unit,
February 16 is a major cultural milestone in the Western world. On this day in 600 AD, Pope Gregory decreed “God bless you” to be the right response to a sneeze. At one time a sneeze was thought to be a sign of impending death, since many dying people had sneezing fits. Consequently, the usual
For about 1.5 billion people, the Chinese New Year came on February 12, 2021. Also known as the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival, this holiday really is a festival that celebrates the beginning of another year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. This celebration has a special significance for me because our family has a
George Pratt Shultz was a dedicated public servant. Trained as an economist, he was a Marine artillery officer in World War II and a businessman. But he is best known for serving three Republican presidents and is one of only two people in history to have held four cabinet positions. He was Secretary of Labor,
“Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others experience.” — Otto von Bismarck We study history to learn about the past, to learn about the mistakes others have made so we can avoid them. For example, our Congress today is about as dysfunctional as it has ever been. Relations have
Do you remember seeing the original Star Wars (now officially Episode IV: A New Hope), which was first released in 1977? Do you recall two suns in the sky over the planet Tatooine? How weird was that? Actually, not weird at all. Our mono-star solar system seems to be more the exception than the rule.
One of our more ubiquitous building materials is concrete. It is strong and durable, and has been used since ancient times. Yet it does have limits. Concrete is strong against pushing (compression) forces, but weaker against pulling (tension) forces. To increase strength, it can be reinforced, usually with steel bars or fibers. Now, researchers in
I’ll freely admit I’m not a good housekeeper, and I don’t think I’m alone in that regard. That’s why I was surprised to read a New York Times article entitled “The Joy of Watching Other People Clean” by Ronda Kaysen (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/realestate/cleaning-videos-youtube.html?). It seems there is a YouTube channel, “Jessica Tull: Cleaning Organization and Motherhood,” where
What are the limits of the human brain? Although at times, mine seems pretty limited, some amazing feats of memory and cognition have been recorded over the years. For example, Daniel Paul Tammet, who was born on this day in London in 1979, holds the European record for reciting pi from memory. Recall that pi