Not Julia Child’s Best Work
You may be familiar with Julia Child’s recipe for boeuf bourguignon, or perhaps, her wonderful puff pastry. But before she became the nation’s favorite chef,...
Glimmers
OK, so I was a bit of a Debbie Downer in my last missive. (And I appreciate all of you who responded with encouraging words.) You’ll be glad to hear that I...
On a serious note . . .
I often write about the lighter side of science, or cover weird aspects of it. Today, I’d like to address something serious. As you may have heard, science...
We Got Cows
When I was a kid, my grandmother used to tell a story about a tornado that roared through her family’s farm when she was young. The twister, she said, took...
Earth is getting warmer. Better grab your coat.
Want to hear something weird? A couple of weeks ago New Orleans got eight inches of snow. Want to hear something weirder? It might have been caused by global...
Words Enough and Time
Regular readers of this newsletter may remember when I expressed some dismay upon learning that one of my favorite weird facts was not in fact a fact.* Well,...
Time Travel
When you read this, the 2024 holiday season will be over and the new year duly rung in. But at the time I should be writing a new newsletter for you to read...
Santa's Evil Sidekick
Like most of us, Santa Claus has a mixed lineage. He’s the result of a jumble of ancient traditions, a lot of modern poems and stories, and at least one...
Read any good minds lately?
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for more than a few months, you may have worried that I’m obsessed with the idea that AI can read minds. That was the...
Bunkum, Bots, and Belief
You’ve no doubt heard some of the outrageous things chatbots say when kept on a long leash. Just this week I saw an article about a chatbot responding to an...
The Truth Is Out There
With the rise of social media, conspiracy theories have become so common that the classics — the Moon landing was faked; LBJ killed JFK; Paul McCartney died...
I vant to suck your blood
It makes sense that vampire legends were inspired by vampire bats. But that’s not what happened. Vampire bats were named after the legend, not the other way...
Super Chips
I always knew there was something deeply weird about those bright orange Doritos. But I had no idea they gave you superhero powers. They can’t make you...
Rats as Role Models?
If you’re a longtime subscriber to this newsletter, you may remember that I’ve mentioned some charming attributes of rats a time or two. For example, they...
Chatbot Appreciation Day
Do you say “please” and “thank you” to chatbots? Lots of people do. Okay, I do. But it always embarrasses me a little when I say “thanks” to the automated...
The Beauty of Science
The actress Hedy Lamarr was once called the most beautiful woman in the world. In 1933, she made a movie in what is now the Czech Republic. It was a pretty...
Grandeur on the Flip Side
There were a few silver linings to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those, for me, was that when I interviewed people for stories I was writing, they were...
Just What We Need: Coked-Up Sharks
Brazilian scientists reported last week that they found traces of cocaine in the muscles and livers of 13 sharks taken from coastal waters near Rio de...
Hot Summer, Sweet Wine
It has always amazed me how scientists who study climate change figure out clever ways to learn about past climates: drilling out ice cores; studying tree...
Happiness really may be a warm puppy
If you follow the news, you could probably tick off a dozen reasons people aren’t very happy these days: war, child poverty, impending environmental...