The Ripening of the Banana You’re in a supermarket. As you sashay through the produce department, you decide to procure some fresh fruit. Pondering which sweet foodstuff to take home, the yellow catches your eye. Ah, yes. Bananas. You love bananas. They’re just the right amount of ripe, too. Mostly yellow with a hint of […]
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Moose and Flying Squirrel From 1959 to 1964, Rocket J. Squirrel, affectionately known as Rocky, and Bullwinkle J. Moose taught television audiences to be wary of evil Russians and, anachronistically, Nazis, while instilling a love for Canadian Mounties, all with a dose of wry comedy. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends, which has
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Proboscis Monkeys Today we travel not to Oz but Borneo, the world’s third-largest island. It’s so big that it houses three nations: Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. On this island lives a bizarre animal that might have you believe Borneo actually is in Oz, not Southeast Asia. Borneo’s location in Southeast Asia The word proboscis more
Lagrange Points When I was in high school physics class learning about gravity, I recall wondering if we could determine the size, or at least the mass, of the universe by calculating how much gravitational pull the planet “feels.” If the planet is tugged more in one direction, could we determine where we are in
James Webb Space Telescope If you’ve followed the newsletter from the early days, you’re well familiar with the Hubble Telescope and its myriad astronomical contributions. Some of the most resplendent images of the universe have come from the famed telescope. One might argue all of the most gorgeous imagery of the cosmos to date has
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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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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
Mount Fuji One of the world’s most recognizable mountains, Mount Fuji is nearly synonymous with Japan. Rising 12,389 feet above sea level, Fuji is also the High Point of the nation. Situated on the island of Honshu, the peak is a mere 62 miles southwest of Tokyo. On clear days, the mountain starkly dominates the capital and largest
May the Forces Be With You Yeah, I’m a day late. When you write articles on specific days of the week you can’t fight the calendar. And this year 4 May landed on a Tuesday. Nobody likes to read about a holiday, no matter how fourced, after it happens. I could have posted this episode on
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WildEarth As much as I enjoy exploring the world with my own eyes and ears, I also love engulfing nature media. Great photography, such as Unnatural Lighting (Issue 94), kindles similar feelings to reading poetry. The same is true with moving pictures. I can watch David Attenborough-narrated films nearly endlessly. My internal globetrotter can devour hours