Redux: I Saw Them Standing There

It was 60 years ago today that the Beatles first appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” This post originally ran in 2012. I was watching the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan” the other night when I got to thinking about Galileo. “Ladies and gentlemen, here are The Beatles!” cried Ed, in his imitable style, and the camera […]

Sick, Tired and Tyrannical

In 2016 America, fitness status was strongly correlated with presidential voting preferences.  Citizens of counties with high rates of Type 2 diabetes and obesity tended to vote for Donald Trump, regardless of their race or education level.  Citizens of counties with low rates of Type 2 diabetes and obesity tended not to vote for Donald […]

Science Poem: Watasenia Scintillans Addresses the New Graduates

Watasenia scintillans, also known as the sparkling enope or firefly squid, grows to about 3 inches long and lives only one or two years. The firefly squid’s body is covered with bioluminescent cells that serve many different functions. The glowing cells on a squid’s arms help it signal and communicate with its peers. The cells […]

The Last Word

September 10-14, 2018 Sarah starts off the week with a Tinder stand-in: a 1972 guide to the outdoors at night.  The challenge is identifying just which kind of nocturnal creature you are encountering’ This may not be the same kind of creature you thought you had swiped right on. . . If he’s wearing a […]

The Last Word

August 20-24, 2018 Remember last year when, for a moment, we took a break from earthly concerns and looked up at the sky? Helen returns to her eclipse post from last year, written from the backseat of a car during the I-95 traffic jam. The sun’s last rays shone bright, then winked out, and there […]

The Last Word

This week Cameron ponders the color, shape and purpose of eggs. It sounds like an odd thing to think about until you realize it’s a pretty big deal for the one who laid it. Helen shares a cartoon to commemorate her 20-year anniversary with a very special partner – her sunglasses. Rebecca says that an […]

The Last Word

June 4 – 8, 2018 What with skepticism, inability to write, being wrong about stuff, and beautiful digressions into tying shoes and power outages, this week seems quintessentially LWONian.  LOSE WEIGHT FAST! BY FASTING! Restrict your calorie intake to 500 per day! You’ll be slender and willowy and extraordinarily attractive!  But, says Cassie, probably not! […]