According to the New York Sun (link), the Coast Guard has finally decided to allow service members to wear yarmulkes. I didn’t know that they weren’t allowed to before, but they’ve caught up with the other Armed Forces in allowing it now. Mind you, the rules don’t simply say that yarmulkes are allowed. And […]
Whose “Bodies†are They?
Maybe you’ve heard of the amazing Bodies exhibition, where you can see actual human bodies displayed in ways unimaginable a few years ago. Using a process called “plastination,†the anatomists can preserve bodies in perfect condition, allowing the paying visitor to see humanity in all its pristine complexity. It’s a fascinating exhibit, and well worth […]
Words.
Dr. Johnson began his definition of “sugar†with: “The native salt of the sugar-cane.†I love that. [End of Post]
Worst Excuse in Days
I almost titled this post, “Worst Excuse Ever,†but the fact is that we’ve heard worse, or none, for possibly illegal behavior from the White House lots of times. The discussion about torture, or torture-lite, often includes something like this: “There’s a bomb under L.A., and we know, or strongly suspect, that this guy has […]
Ants.
NPR has an interview with a “roving field scientist†who takes amazing pictures of ants. The one above never uses those jaws for food. Those bad boys are reserved for attacking threats to the community, like humans. In other words, they’re for inflicting pain, not for putting dinner on the table. Best line of the […]
Oops.
The woman in the picture ordered a beer, then got carded. She handed over her fake ID. Actually, it was a valid ID, but it wasn’t hers. It was stolen. The punchline? “When the waitress looked at the ID, she realized the customer’s ID was actually her own license, police said.” Busted. [The link came […]
Why is The Week Lying to Me?
The Week magazine has a section for giving little distilled versions of editorials from all over the world. Last week’s issue mentioned a Nigerian newspaper’s editorial on female circumcision. Here’s how The Week opens the article (I’m typing it from the printed version, because the search engine on The Week’s site is wonky): It’s no […]
Finding Fault with Darwin
It has been pointed out that I read Seed magazine a lot. Here’s some more. Homosexuality seems to be a bit of an evolutionary mystery. How could wanting to have sex with with your own sex possibly help to pass on genes? Joan Roughgarden has some ideas. She notes that literally hundreds of animals exhibit […]
Common Sense
It happens sometimes that I hear and then repeat some tidbit of unanalyzed nonsense. Then, after thinking about it for a while, I suddenly realize that what I’ve been repeating is indefensible. It’s either wrong, or meaningless. This happens a lot, and I’m a fool to waste energy on it. But that just happens to […]
Beef Panties
“Regret the Error†has a list of the most egregious (read: hilarious) errors and corrections in the press for 2005. [End of Post]