Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
A Solution For Mass Shootings?
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
What is the World’s Largest Plant?
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
Still Available — A Mystery Story
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?)
How Realistic is Star Wars?
Granted that the Star Wars universe is in a galaxy far, far away, just how realistic are the technological advances from that world? According to the article “May the 4th be with you: 7 Wild ‘Star Wars’ Technologies Scientists Are Building Right Now” by Brandon Specktor, they may be more realistic than you think. The
Were the Jetsons Right?
People of my generation probably remember the animated TV show “The Jetsons,” a whimsical look at the future that initially ran in prime time from September 23, 1962 to March 17, 1963 on ABC, then later aired in syndicated reruns, with new episodes produced from 1985 to 1987. Among the show’s many futuristic elements were flying
Fooling The Mapmakers
“Don’t trust the maps” was good advice for much of human history. The book The Un-Discovered Islands: An Archipelago of Myths and Mysteries, Phantoms and Fakes by Malachy Tallack, illustrated by Katie Scott, makes this point vividly by revealing the stories behind lands that weren’t really there. For example, the 1783 Treaty of Paris that
“Be The Brain Behind The Breakthrough”
Zombies aren’t the only ones looking for brains. Used brains of all kinds are needed for medical research to advance the discovery of better treatments and cures for brain diseases, disorders, and injuries. If this interests you, check out the Brain Donor Project at https://braindonorproject.org/. This topic is especially timely because there is a campaign
How To Grow 200 Million Trees
The African country of Niger had a serious environmental problem. Decades of drought, clearing of land, and the need for firewood had decimated the native trees. The farming needed to feed the world’s fastest-growing population in one of the world’s poorest countries was preventing new trees from growing. The government had recognized the problem, but
Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!
Today, May 3rd, is Teacher Appreciation Day in the U.S. This comes as I’m nearing the end of my 17th year as a substitute teacher after failing to get a permanent position in Social Studies. Well, I was 57 years old at the time and had a master’s degree, so I was too well qualified
Scaling King Kong
For people with too much time on their hands — you may recall the 2019 movie Godzilla vs. Kong. Enjoying such tales requires a certain suspension of disbelief from the get-go. But the skeptical part of us may stop to wonder, just how realistic is a scaled-up gorilla? Rhett Allain, an associate professor of physics