by Greg Mayer Jerry and I have written about the plight of science at Chicago’s Field Museum, both here at WEIT, and with several colleagues in a letter to Science. In an editorial, Nature, the leading scientific journal of the English-speaking world, has also spoken out in support of science at the Field. In the […]
A piece in yesterday’s New York Times, the American House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill (see link below) to allow government money to be used for repairing houses of worship damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The bill, approved last week by a vote of 354 to 72, had support from Roman Catholic and Jewish […]
by Greg Mayer The intertoobz has spoken: kittehs rool! By an online poll, a cat has replaced the iron as a new Monopoly playing piece. The Scottie dog’s nemesis now joins him in battle on the board itself, and a cosmic imbalance has been rectified. (I never knew why an iron was a playing piece– […]
by Greg Mayer It is my sad duty to report to you that Stewie, the Guinness-certified world’s longest cat (1.23 m, nose to tail tip; also the longest tail, 41.5 cm) has died of cancer at the age of eight. He was a therapy cat, and I’m sure will be missed by his owners and […]
Thank goodness I have loyal readers who call my attention to heartwarming animal stories, like that of a curious English tabby named Alphie who swallowed a television antenna. And thank goodness as well that Alphie is fine. As the Guardian reports: A kitten has survived after swallowing a 15cm (6in) TV aerial. Alphie required emergency […]
by Greg Mayer The Geological Society (London) is having a special meeting today to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Piltdown hoax. There will also be a tour of a new special exhibit at the Natural History Museum (which also has a nice Piltdown website). It was exactly 100 years ago today that Charles Dawson, […]
Teachers in the U.S. don’t make much money: they’re woefully underpaid despite their onerous work and responsibility for educating the next generation. But there’s not enough money to pay teachers like Katilin Roig, who saved her classroom during the Newtown shootings. She describes what happened in this interview with Diane Sawyer. Listen to how well […]
I’m not an advocate of violence to settle disputes (I was a certified conscientious objector as a youth), but the behavior of Muslim extremists—nay, Islam in general—against women has been so vile that it’s hard not to suppress a frisson of pleasure when the tables are turned. Here’s a new report from CNN. The title is clever, […]
Here’s a video of Nik Wallenda’s 1800-foot tightrope walk across Niagara Falls Friday evening. Granted, he’s wearing a safety harness, by stipulation of the ABC television network, but it’s pretty amazing nonetheless. He’s walking at night, and through heavy mist. From the New York Times: Some numbers: Mr. Wallenda is 33 years old, a seventh-generation […]
Today’s the day that Nik Wallenda of the famous “Flying Wallenda” family will walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He needed a special exemption from the state legislature to do this, since it’s normally forbidden. As the New York Times reports: In some ways, Mr. Wallenda’s walk is more audacious than those of his […]
