Stories Short and Strange

17 short stories for general audiences ranging from the unusual to the unbelievable to the just plain strange.

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With a Little Help From My Friend

Jim Jenkins is an ace detective who solves the most difficult crimes. Yet he always works alone. Or does he?

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Canine Champions

“He followed me home, Mom, can I keep him?” Why do we each seem to know what the other is thinking? ... Anyone wishing for an adult PAW Patrol will love this!

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How Do Blind People Dream?

From the “Something You Normally Don’t Think About” department — I was skimming through an informational email from the Smithsonian magazine and came across the following question — “Do people who were born without sight have visual elements in their dreams?” It’s an interesting question I’ve never thought about.  This is how the Smithsonian experts

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Can You Always Trust Your Eyes?

I am old enough to have been fooled many times by many things in my lifetime.  But it’s not always my fault.  Sometimes it’s the limits of our senses. This was demonstrated to me yet again by a clever video on the EarthSky website entitled “How Your Brain Plays Tricks On You”.  Rather than try

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Some Thoughts on a Free Press

What do you need for a successful democracy? One of the most important elements is a free and independent press.  I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying about power corrupting, so having a watchdog on the beat is essential. I’ve been thinking about this for two reasons.  The first is all the discussion about “fake

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How Common Are Wrongful Convictions?

There is a fine line that separates us from anarchy — our legal system.  Most of us think our system works pretty well, the occasional horror story on social media notwithstanding. And yet, I’m finding enough of those horror stories to give me pause.  For example, Jim Parsons was convicted of murdering his wife twelve

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Book Review — The Money Makers

They don’t call economics “the dismal science” for nothing.  Yet it’s such a critical part of our lives.  And it’s such an important part of history. As a history nerd, I’ve found books that provide a historical perspective in many different ways — wars, natural disasters, disease, pests, and even sex.  (How would English history

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Another Way to Look at College Football

When it comes to college athletics, I’ve always thought the tail tends to wag the dog.   Many schools have become known more for athletes than academics, at least to the general public.  So maybe a reality check is in order. On January 2nd, Time.com published a list of top football universities ranked by academic achievement

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