Here here we are with the first 2018 collection of links to articles you may have missed the first time.
Science & Natural World
Long, long ago one of Britain’s most eminent natural scientists (as they then were), Robert Boyle (1627-1691), wrote a wish list of scientific breakthroughs. The original document still survives in the Royal Society and Jason Kottke has recently taken a look at what happened to some of those aspirations.
So just why is it so hard to swat a fly? Spoiler: Time!
It’s known that around 10% of humans are naturally left-handed, but cats have paw preferences too though they appear to be gender dependent.
From cats to rats. Unlike the former, the latter do not have a good reputation. But is this really deserved? Should we look more kindly on the rat? I think we probably should.
I wasn’t sure whether to put this here, or at the end … Zoologists have decided that the Moustached Monkey is separate species. And yes, it really does have a handlebar moustache!

In another curious discovery, divers have found a previously unknown population of Red Handfish which walk on their fins rather than swimming!

For some years there has been debate over whether some curious and tiny structures in very very old rocks are signs of primordial life. Now the scientists involved are presenting new evidence which could challenge our current ideas about Earth’s early millennia. [LONG READ]
Health & Medicine
What is the next big global health threat? Zoologist Mackenzie Kwak in the Guardian makes the case that it isn’t an infectious disease but a disease vector: ticks.
And now for a strange piece of medicine: it seems that some people are able to smell illnesses. [LONG READ]
We, all of us, men included, need to find the courage to talk about cervical smears. Not being female I don’t know how uncomfortable and undignified they really are (and I doubt my imagination does it justice) but this is one screening test which really does save lives.
Now this really is weird! Medics have discovered that when you move your eyes from side-to-side your eardrums move as well. And no-one has a clue why that is! You may be able to demonstrate this for yourself (I think I can): sit quietly and move your eyes up and down and notice what it feels/sounds like in your ears; now try moving your eyes side to side and I think it feels ever so slightly different in the ears.
Environment
Respected scientist Prof. Sir John Beddington FRS is a former UK government chief scientific adviser. He puts forward the case that the EU’s renewable energy targets (specifically as related to bioenergy) could raise emissions rather than lower them.
Apparently no-one wants used clothes any more. Why? China!
Living without plastic. Is it even possible? Well here are a few hints & tips on how you might be able to.
Language
Harry Mount considers why, even in this digital age, Latin is an essential skill.
“As Black as Newgate’s Knocker” is a phrase I’d never encountered before. London Guide Peter Berthoud looks for its origins.
How did War Artists depict WWII London? [LONG READ]
Art & Literature

Swedish artist Carolina Falkholt is known for her giant, multi-coloured murals of vulvas. Now she has painted a giant penis on a New York apartment block – only to have it painted over within days. Really!, some people have no sense of fun!
History, Archaeology & Anthropology
Egyptian mummies were often placed in cases made from scraps of used papyrus. Now scientists have worked out a way to read these scraps without destroying the case – and it looks as if they’re going to throw some interesting light on everyday Ancient Egyptian life.
Like many cathedrals Westminster Abbey has attics and hidden corners, especially up in the triforium and above the vaulting. Archaeologists have discovered that they contains a treasure trove amongst the discarded waste including thousands of fragments of early stained glass. How much else have our great churches cleared away?
Early map-making was often somewhat fictitious, if not deliberately so, and many early maps contain islands which have never existed!
London
IanVisits looks back at historic London and some of the Crossrail-style projects which were never built.
Parliament is falling down, not just metaphorically but in reality – the Palace of Westminster is in really dire need of a major refurbishment but everyone is sitting on their hands. [LONG READ]

Lifestyle & Personal Development
Girl on the Net writes a considered piece about the difficult conversations we must all have in response to the the President’s Club revelations and #MeToo. [LONG READ]
In the same vein here’s another piece which looks at the way everything is skewed in favour of male pleasure while ignoring and denying the concomitant female pain. [LONG READ]
Shock, Horror, Humour
Well, this one had to be our finale … In Saudi Arabia a dozen camels were disqualified from a camel beauty contest for using Botox! You just couldn’t make it up!
Toodle Pip!