Stories Short and Strange
17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.
Why We Procrastinate
Do you ever have a list of jobs to do and find yourself doing the less-important ones first? I know I do. So I was relieved to read there is a scientific explanation — the urgency effect. According to the article “Why Your Brain Tricks You Into Doing Less Important Tasks” by Tim Herrera, “Our
Endangered Species — The Middle Child
If my occasionally reliable memory is correct, there was a “Simpsons” episode in which a family crisis caused Lisa’s birthday to be forgotten. She ended up celebrating by herself: “Happy birthday, overlooked middle child….” I was reminded of that by an article, “The Extinction of the Middle Child: They’re becoming an American rarity, just when
Trying Not To Be A Surplus Human
Automated check-outs. Self-driving vehicles. And those are only the obvious jobs being automated. Lots of people’s livelihoods are in jeopardy, so many that I’ve discovered a new term — surplus human. “Are You a ‘Surplus Human’? These Are the Jobs Robots Are Coming After Next” by Alissa Quart is an article that explores this in
Presidents and the Supreme Court
Today we tiptoe into the minefield of politics. Recently much has been made about presidential appointments to the Supreme Court, and with good reason. Our highest court has the final say on what the law of the land actually means. Within a year and a half of taking office, President Trump gets to appoint two
Be Like Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower was a five-star general and 34th President of the United States. He helped win, then stop, hot wars (World War II and Korea), and navigated the country through eight years of the Cold War. He is also know for his domestic accomplishments, like the Interstate Highway System. One poll I found rates him
But What Did Einstein Actually Say?
From the “I’m Sorry I Asked” Department — All of my life I’m been hearing about Albert Einstein and his Theory of Relativity. He has had such a huge impact on our lives in general and science in particular. In high school, when I was asked to report on the most consequential figure of the
How Spiders Fly
If you’re afraid of spiders, you should stop reading now. Scientists have long known that spiders can travel by air. In a technique called ballooning, they simply raise their abdomens, extrude some silk, and float away. They have been found a thousand miles out at sea. Neat! But the mystery is spiders only seem to
Lynching — More Insidious Than You Realized
As a history nerd, I’ve always claimed that so much never makes it into the school history books. I have another example. Recently, I ran across a book entitled Black Newspapers & America’s War For Democracy 1914-1920 by William G. Jordan (University of North Carolina Press, 2001). On page 42, I ran across a paragraph
Original Poem — On Squash
The nice people on The Pangolin Review website have published one of my poems — Issue 4, 8 July (https://thepangolinreview.wixsite.com/mypoetrysite/current-issue )! Unfortunately, you have to scroll down and hunt for it, so I’ll copy it here to save you the trouble. On Squash How did the vegetable squash get its name? For something you
In Praise of National Parks
It’s been awhile since I’ve been in a national park. But on a recent trip with family, I visited three — Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, and Badlands. Over the years, I’ve visited every major park except one — Yellowstone. I’d heard so much about this park, and I was eager to see for myself. I wasn’t