Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
In Defense of Wasps
What is the most feared insect? Mosquitoes deserve a vote, spiders are scary (although technically they aren’t insects), and I’m not a fan of horseflies. And then there’s the wasp. I have learned to stay well away from all the varieties of these narrow-waisted insects (suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera), which include yellowjackets and hornets. They don’t
Is There An Earthquake Season?
It’s an accepted fact that there is a tendency for certain natural disasters to occur at specific times of the year. We have a definite hurricane season, parts of the country have fire seasons, and tornados tend to pop up during predictable times. But could this be true for earthquakes? Possibly. A study conducted in
Asian-American Discrimination and History
For over a year now, violence against Asian Americans has been all over the news. I have a particular interest in this topic because members of my family are of Asian descent. Which is why an article entitled “11 Moments From Asian American History That You Should Know” caught my eye. This is another example
Teaching in the COVID Era
This pandemic has been difficult for everyone. We’ve all had to adapt in one way or another. This is especially true in education. Safety protocols have turned everything upside down. For example, students in middle school were forbidden to carry backpacks during the day, because a backpack’s weight could hurt their posture. Now they have
The Women Who Fought Back
Why is it the positive news never seems to get mentioned? For example, everyone learns about the Holocaust, and I know there were extraordinarily brave people who risked their lives and saved many from the Holocaust, but I can never remember being told about organized Jewish resistance. And yet there was. One such example is
Foods We Love to Death
What is your favorite food? (I have a pretty long list.) Now what would you think if it was no longer available? This has actually happened before. A piece on The Atlantic magazine’s website claims we have eaten thousands of species into extinction; passenger pigeon pie used to be a common comfort food (https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/11/foods-humans-ate-extinction/601573/). And
How Best to Prevent Climate Change?
What is the best way to keep the climate from changing? Transition from fossil fuels as quickly as possible? Go to more plant-based foods and eliminate cattle? Plant more trees? Limit population growth? Any action we take can have serious repercussions and must be carefully considered. And one of the best ways to evaluate an
Can Happiness Improve Health?
In a word, yes. Of course, science tends to complicate things. “Subjective well-being,” which measures how people evaluate their lives, has been examined in a comprehensive review for its impact on various aspects of physical health. The results were first published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being on July 14, 2017. Let me save you the
In Defense of Spiders
I’m going to say something that goes against every instinct you have — don’t kill that spider. I know how some people feel about bugs in general, and spiders in particular. They’re creepy (lots of legs and fangs) and can be pests. Many people are downright afraid of them; fear of spiders is arachnophobia (in
Why Do Humans Dominate?
Most people might think this is a dumb question. Our dominion over the Earth was the Divine plan. But scientists approach such questions from a different angle. Consequently, they get a different answer. From a purely scientific viewpoint, the key to humanity’s world domination is our use of energy. First came our mastery of fire.