So here we are with this month’s bumper bundle of links to items you didn’t know you shouldn’t have missed.
Science, Technology, Natural World
As usual let’s start at the bottom … Really, just how many elementary particles are there? Pick a number! [LONG READ]
At the other extremes … Space is unimaginably bigger than you think.
And if your brain wasn’t fried enough already, there’s a suggestion that light is the shadow of a dimension we can’t see.
Now to the relatively mundane … for a long time scientists have been trying to understand the mysterious creatures of the deep oceans. [LONG READ]
Which just shows we really do not understand biology … There are some mysterious blobs in cells – even after 100 years scientists are only now beginning to understand what they are and their importance for life. [££££]
How do societies survive power struggles? Ask the wasps.
So why do cats sit in that “loaf position“?
From cats to dogs … scientists have recently discovered the rare and elusive Amazonian Short-Eared Dog in the forests of Bolivia and Peru.
Good grief! Japan’s 2011 “Fukushima” earthquake was so powerful it moved the location of the whole of Japan! [££££}
Health, Medicine
Well, yes … we could indeed at this moment be living through a hantavirus pandemic, but thanks to a lot of quick action by many countries we have avoided it. Which is exactly how public health should work.
What does body odour tell us, and why do we care about it so much?
Here’s (yet another) look at the health and history of pubic hair. [LONG READ]
Meanwhile here’s a look at sunscreen, what it is and how it works. [LONG READ]
Sexuality & Relationships
A cultural look at various aspects of the vagina.
Followed by the new craze of the Vaginus Maximus.
Now here’s an interesting one … an only slightly surprising suggestion of Viagra for women. Read the follow-on articles too. [LONG READ]
And then there’s a look at sexual burnout and bridging the resulting intimacy gaps.
[Images very NSFW] It’s the rarity factor! A look at why we’re biologically wired to desire redheads.
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
A select group of researcher are allowed access to Spain’s amazing cave paintings and one lucky writer gets a personal tour. [LONG READ]
Archaeologists believe they have discovered a simpler, and older, version of Stonehenge.
Amongst other things it seems that Bronze Age people were also pigeon fanciers.
I just don’t know how they do this … the charred scrolls from Herculaneum are being deciphered.
A metal detectorist in Somerset has found a stunning gold Roman ring.
A medieval manuscript containing early versions of the Merlin and Grail legends, which has remained in private hands for 700 years, is being auctioned by Christie’s.
So to put the record straight, here’s everything you need to know about the Black Death.
London
Here are some 1920s London Tube Maps, from before its current Harry Beck iconic design.
Greater London has a surprising number of overlooked Art Deco railway stations. (No, not the tube stations!) [LONG READ]
What was the mysterious Whitechapel Mount?
Food, Drink
Why does beer taste different on draught, in a can, or from a bottle?
Scientists are at last starting to unravel the importance of cork to the chemistry of wine. [££££]
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
DDA banding. It’s an accessibility thing.
A naturist’s look at what people’s arguments against nudity are really saying. [LONG READ]
What if seeing naked women actually reduced objectification? (Men too?) [LONG READ]
Shock, Horror, Ha ha ha!
And finally in New Scientist “Feedback” discovers Halupedia, an online encyclopaedia that is 100% AI generated. [££££]
Enjoy!