Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Orange is the New Pink & Green
I spent a nice weekend visiting my niece who started her post-high school education this fall at Syracuse University. While visiting, I began to wonder why SU’s nickname is “The Orange”. Syracuse University was founded in 1870. The first official colors in 1872 were pea green and rose pink. In 1873 the student consensus was
A Dinosaur Walks Into a Veterinarian’s Office…
No, this is not a joke. It’s just a great “what if?” — if dinosaurs were alive today, how would veterinarians treat them? Like all wild animals, dinosaurs had difficult and violent lives. Scientists who study fossils can identify all kinds of wounds and injuries. For instance, a tyrannosaur skeleton has been found with a
Following Politics Through Words
One way to keep up with what’s happening is to follow word trends, According to Merriam-Webster, here are some of the words people have been looking up recently. Kangaroo Court — Inquiries jumped 11,000% on October 8 after President Trump described the congressional impeachment hearings as “a totally compromised kangaroo court.” Merriam-Webster’s definition is either “a
The First Man on Mars Will Probably be a Woman
There has been a lot of talk recently about how some think the next target for our manned space exploration should be Mars. But if you examine the details about time and distance, and consider the limitations of our rocket technology, there’s a compelling case for sending women. And maybe it should be only women.
How Can You Have a ‘Civil’ War?
As a history nerd, I’ve often wondered how any war could be considered civil. I’ve recently found a logical explanation, and it goes all the way back to the Roman Empire. Recall how most English words have more than one meaning. So it is with civil. The first definitions we usually think of are “quiet
One Whale Is Worth A Thousand Trees
In case you haven’t noticed, there has been a media blitz on climate change. I’ve found a little tidbit in this blizzard of information that shows the unusual connections among life on this planet. This involves the impact of whales on the climate. Or more specifically, whale poop. According to a study by International Monetary
Interaction Before Electronics
I remember the software package that came with my first computer had an interactive game on CD. How the game progressed depended upon which answers you gave at critical points. This was my first exposure to interactivity. So I was surprised to learn that interactivity predated computer technology. There was a series of books from
Who Votes?
Our Founding Fathers did not make it easy for us. They could’ve given us a king or other type of supreme leader and let it go at that. That would’ve been much simpler — just do what you’re told and don’t worry. But instead they gave us a system that requires a lot of work
Mapping the Imagination
When you were a kid, did you ever play pirates and draw a treasure map purely from your imagination? Adults do that, too. If you are a writer, fictional map-making can be the key to your story, as in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Or it can be an important embellishment, like Harry Potter’s Marauder’s
The History of Meme
The English language is fascinating, especially regarding the way new words are formed and how meanings evolve. Take “meme.” According to Merriam-Webster, the current meaning is “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) that is spread widely online especially through social media.” But the word itself isn’t new. It actually goes