Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Add Another Talent For Dogs
We know that dogs have a refined sense of smell. They’ve been used to sniff out illegal drugs, contraband at border crossings, roadside bombs, and reportedly even cancer. Recently, I ran across another use for the canine nose. When families lose a loved one, the most recent trend is to have the remains cremated. Frequently
When Your Home is a Rattlesnake Rookery
Recently a California homeowner was surprised when reptile rescue pulled more than 90 rattlesnakes from the house’s foundation. The haul included 22 adults and 59 juveniles, plus eleven more on a second trip. The foundation apparently had become a rookery: a place where rattlesnakes gather to give birth. Rattlesnakes actually birth their young alive. Sometimes
A Vanishing Twin?
It’s estimated that 12% of human pregnancies begin as multiple pregnancies, but less than 2% end that way. What happens to the other embryo? Recall that identical twins occur when one egg splits into two and results in two embryos. But sometimes one of the embryos simply vanishes, leaving only one to develop to term.
How Radioactive Are We?
In 1984, radiation worker Stanley Watras set off an alarm that detected radiation exposure. A quick examination revealed Watras was not physically carrying any radiation source; the explanation was much more insidious: His body had absorbed large amounts of radon gas from his house’s basement. We tend to believe radiation is relatively rare and dangerous, but
Announcing “With a Little Help From My Friend”
Awhile back, I had a great idea for a short story. I put my best work on paper, then sent it to the Bewildering Stories website. They rejected it. But after two rewrites, it was eventually accepted and published in Issue 864 (http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue864/help_friend1.html). The short story turned out so well, I just kept writing. Forty-two
Some Thoughts on International Travel
Travel is good, although with the COVID virus rampant, travel is also a pain. That goes double for international travel. Having been on the road for the past two weeks for the first time in over two years, I got a firsthand look at what travel during a pandemic entails. I visited the United Kingdom,
The Latest Weapon Against COVID — Community Refrigerators
Of all the COVID adaptations, one of the more imaginative is the community refrigerator. The idea is quite simple — put a fridge on a street corner, stock it with surplus food, and let people help themselves under the motto “take what you need, leave what you can.” Since the start of the pandemic, these
An Untold 9/11 Story: The Boatlift
Catching up on my reading, I ran across an amazing story from the 9/11 tragedy. When the Twin Towers fell, people began running for their lives. Since this was the tip of lower Manhattan, people on the south side were quickly trapped at the waterfront. Their salvation came from the flotilla of more than 150
Book Review: “The Ride of a Lifetime”
Robert Iger is executive chairman, chairman of the board, and former CEO (2005–2020) of The Walt Disney Company. He has also served as president of ABC Television (1994–1995) and as president/COO of Capital Cities/ABC (1995) until it was acquired by Disney (1996). Iger was then named president/COO of Disney in 2000 and succeeded Michael Eisner as CEO in 2005. During his 15 years as CEO, Iger
A Virgin Birth…in Another Species
The Cala Gonone Aquarium in Sardinia, Italy is reporting a female smoothhound shark has given birth despite having been in a tank with only another female for the past decade. As reported by Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/baby-shark-born-all-female-tank-could-scientific-first-1622272), this may be a scientific first for this species. Not that this phenomenon is completely unknown. It even has a