Wally the Wandering Walrus The walrus is one of the most recognizable animals on the planet. The giant, tusked creature looks like no other, which makes sense when one realizes they are the only extant species in their family, Odobenidae. Adult males can weigh nearly two tons. They feature twisty tusks and winsome whiskers. When you […]
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Maine by Deborah Stout As Kyle has mentioned in a few of his articles, we are new parents! Since he has been working hard on keeping the newsletter going while also learning to be (a great) dad, I thought I would gift him a break by writing a guest article. I chose the topic to
Alien Aurorae In Episode 228 we learned the basics of an aurora, the gorgeous, ephemeral dance of the firmaments. Solar winds slam into Earth’s magnetosphere, a meeting that kicks off a process that excites atoms in our atmosphere, producing fluorescent displays in the sky. Those fortunate few who witness them are mesmerized and thrilled. But we earthlings
Aurora The Valkyrior [Valkyries] are warlike virgins, mounted upon horses and armed with helmets and spears. /…/ When they ride forth on their errand, their armour sheds a strange flickering light, which flashes up over the northern skies, making what Men call the “aurora borealis”, or “Northern Lights”. — Thomas Bulfinch, Mythology Sorry, Disney fans, we
The Noble Gas Voice Perhaps the most ubiquitous chemistry trick is helium in a party balloon. Suck in the gas, get a funny voice. Many people have tried it, most people have witnessed it. Here is unparalleled acting genius Vin Deisel demonstrating the effect of helium on a human voice: Why does helium have this
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Equine on I-Six-Nine What’s in a name? that which we call Bold and BossyBy any other name would bolt as sweetly. — Bill Shakespeare, Boldeo and Bossiet We attempt to imbue much with the names we give our offspring and our critter companions. Horse trainers have a long history of apt, clever,
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The Social Giraffe Network Apparently, for many moons, in the scientific realm, zoologists have considered giraffes to be solitary and aloof. A 1991 publication on the behavior of African mammals described giraffes as “forming no lasting bonds with its fellows and associating in the most casual way.” Unlike elephants and apes, which display broad social constructs,
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Sprites, Elves, Trolls, Pixies, Ghosts, Gnomes, and Blue Jets No, we’re not traveling today to Middle-earth or into the belly of a dungeon crawler. Instead, we’ll take to the skies. All the fantastical characters of today’s title are real phenomena in the upper atmosphere! Lightning strikes – photo by Mircea Madau Most of us
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The Yellowstone Supervolcano Some National Parks prominently feature or owe their existence to volcanoes. Mount Rainier is a stratovolcano. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park certainly contains fiery mountains. Crater Lake National Park is the remnant of an extinct volcano. Less prominent parks, including Lassen Volcanic in California and Katmai in Alaska, highlight combustible histories. But, the largest
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Yellowstone In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant, the great Civil War general from Ohio, signed The Act of Dedication. His penstroke created the country’s and world’s first National Park. The preserved land sat mostly in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with parts sneaking into Montana and Idaho. Today, the park we know as Yellowstone continues to