Shark Saturday (Part 1)
My neighbor and I were on a failed mission to get my nephew a Christmas present (I went drunk shopping at Five Below and it all worked out!) and wandered into their favorite bookstore in the city, McNally Jackson. We looked at book jackets and I finally said, “I didn’t read anything this year.” Then I rattled off the articles I read in New York Magazine (to the detriment of those around me if I am not up to date on current events I will suffocate) and National Geographic, which I subscribed to this year because the paywall is embarrassingly high. Why are you gatekeeping scientific developments from me, National Geographic Society?
(Journalism is worth paying for, but you know who doesn’t have a paywall? Sensationalist drivel that's not news. ...You knew that.)
“See?! You did too read this year!” It's the most reassuring thing I heard in 2022, probably.
Well. The same friend told me I have nice legs over IPAs at Finback. Two of them ganged up in the defense of my own legs. I'll carry that in my heart forever.
My family is sending each other a list of the books they read this year, and my inbox is filled with titles I am unlikely to read. I can present the one article I talk about all the time, however.
Great white sharks may change their color to sneak up on prey
(Newsweek, if you're paywalled.)
In new experiments off South Africa, researchers dragged a seal decoy behind a boat to entice several sharks to leap out of the water near a specially designed color board with white, gray, and black panels. The team photographed the sharks each time they jumped, repeating the experiment throughout the day.
One shark, easily identifiable because of an abscess on its jaw, appeared as both dark gray and much lighter gray at different times of day. The scientists verified this using computer software to correct for variables such as weather, light levels, and camera settings.
If you click the link, and you should, you can see research equipment that looks like a series of Pantone swatches. I love thinking about boats trawling Pantone swatches in the ocean.
I love that we enter every new year, not knowing what wonderful things are in store for us. Someone is going to tell me a joke and I'll laugh so hard I cry. Someone is conducting an experiment that will lead to a mind-blowing breakthrough! (And someone will write about it.)
Happy Shark Saturday and Happy New Year!
Always your friend,
Katherine