Just Plain WEIRD #2
How a killer flu spread from western Kansas to the world. By Beccy Tanner, The Wichita Eagle, February 19, 2018 – Ground Zero in one of the world’s deadliest influenza pandemics started quietly, inconspicuously. It was winter, 100 years ago. And it was …
By Loz Blain – A single 3D printed, personalized wheel nut per wheel could prevent wheel theft. Ford. – Ford seems to believe theft of fancy alloy wheels is on the rise thanks to improved security systems that make it harder to steal whole …
Knocking on wood may be a holdover from the pagan days of Europe, when tree spirits were believed to bring luck. Saiful bahri 46/Shutterstock.com. – By Rosemary V. Hathaway, Associate Professor of English, West Virginia University – Ever said something like, “I’ve never …
Many common terms in English have unexpected roots. Kelly Grovier explores the origins of seven words coined in art history, including the political meanings of ‘silhouette’ and ‘picturesque’, and how ‘mobile’ became ‘mob’. By Kelly Grovier – Which came first, the chicken or …
As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Sun appears to move through the ancient constellations of the zodiac. Tauʻolunga/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA. By James Kaler, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – I was born a Capricorn (please don’t judge …
By Ben Coxworth – The X tractor is being presented in commemoration of Kubota’s 130th year in business. Kubota. According to agricultural machinery manufacturer Kubota, there are now fewer farmers in Japan, trying to manage increasingly large amounts of land. With that problem …
By Mark Holmes – The most disgusting canned foods make Spam look like a well-aged filet mignon. These weird canned foods make fast food look like fine dining. These strange canned foods make Spaghetti-Os look like $100/plate Italian cuisine. From the weird …
Stunned by chilly weather, the invasive lizards were dropping out of trees in the Sunshine State. Despite how this iguana looks, it is actually not dead, just cold-stunned. It will likely thaw-out as the sun warms it back up. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel …
A wild new hypothesis links supernovae to a pivotal moment in human evolution. By Passant Rabie – Among the many things that gave ancient humans an evolutionary edge over other primate species is the ability to walk upright. But exactly why our ancestors …
Life may be easy to recognize, but it’s notoriously difficult to define. By Samantha Rolfe – Life is pretty easy to recognize. It moves, it grows, it eats, it excretes, it reproduces. Simple. In biology, researchers often use the acronym “MRSGREN” to describe …
