Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
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
A Chopstick Breakthrough
High blood pressure is a real health concern, and one of the most effective countermeasures is lowering salt intake. Sometimes that’s not as easy as it sounds, so you have to get creative. Especially if you’re in Japan. Japanese researchers have announced the development of computerized chopsticks that increase the salty taste of foods by
Who Wants To Cuddle A Cow?
I grew up on a farm with sheep and chickens, adjacent to an uncle’s farm that had dairy cattle. So the headline “Is Cow Hugging the World’s New Wellness Trend?” on BBC Travel certainly caught my attention (https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20201008-is-cow-hugging-the-worlds-new-wellness-trend?). Most would agree that animals, usually in the form of personal pets, can provide calming benefits and
What is a Cloud Street?
Clouds can form some imaginative formations, but a new one on me is a cloud street. A cloud street, or more technically a horizontal convective roll, is actually a long row of cumulus clouds that is aligned parallel to the direction of the wind. They usually form straight rows, but when the wind hits an obstacle,
A Non-Plastic Way To Mark Fruit & Veggies
In the European Union, organic foods have to be specially marked so that customers can tell them from conventional products. Yet ironically, the best marking is wrapping them in environmentally unfriendly single-use plastic. But now the Dutch company Eosta has found a way to “engrave” its organic fruit and vegetable labels directly on the product. When Eosta