So here for the last time in 2021 is my compilation of links you may have missed the first time.
Science, Technology, Natural World
The simplicity of Occam’s Razor was seen by a medieval monk. [£££]
Chemists are finally beginning to get to the bottom of marijuana’s skunky scent.
It has become recognised that plants are interconnected via a network of underground fungi, and now there’s a project trying to map that network.
Scientists investigating a restored coral reef in Indonesia have recorded many sounds (not yet tagged to specific species) to a backing of snapping shrimp.
Still with fish, the tiny Batman River Loach* (Paraschistura chrysicristinae, above), long thought extinct, has been rediscovered in SE Turkey. [* It’s named after the Batman River!]
Meanwhile back on dry land, scientists working on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have identified 14 previously unknown species of shrew.
Between 2014 and 2018 there were many cats found dead especially around south London, and the perpetrator was long thought to be some warp-headed human. However research by the Royal Veterinary College has shown the cats died due to a variety of causes and were subsequently scavenged by foxes. This had long been suspected by some of us, despite being vilified by vigilante groups.
Art, Literature, Language
Artists have long been doing battle with the censor (in many forms) over the depiction of pubic hair and nudity, and photography is no different. [LONG READ]
Those much-loved kids TV characters The Clangers were not a anodyne as we all thought.
Here’s a video about an incredibly fragile instrument: the Glass Armonica, invented by Benjamin Franklin. [VIDEO]
Writer Alan Garner talks about books that have been important to him.
This lady makes a living folding paper: it is sculptural, absolutely incredible and way beyond origami. [VIDEO]
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
Palaeontologists have found some ancient footprints which suggest that there were at least two hominid species living alongside each other in East Africa around 3.6m years ago.
Really quite modern by comparison, a 5700-year-old tomb in the Cotswolds has revealed a surprising family history of the occupants.
Around 700 years later a start was made building Stonehenge, the subject of a 2022 exhibition at the British Museum.
There is now evidence that some while after the building of Stonehenge there was a mass migration into Britain which accounts for around half of British peoples’ genetic make-up.
Still in Britain, and gradually coming closer to our time, archaeologists believe they have now found physical evidence of Roman crucifixion in Cambridgeshire.
Lastly in this section, Historic England present highlights of captivating historic site listed in 2021. [LONG READ]
London
London blogger Diamond Geezer reminds us quite how big London actually is. Well it needs to be to accommodate almost 10m people!
Food, Drink
Clare Finney in the Guardian explodes some of the biggest myths about cheese.
And in a similar vein (ouch!) Alison George in New Scientist looks at how microbes create the flavours of cheese. [£££]
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
It seems that in these plague-ridden times there’s a thriving cottage industry in dream analysis.
And finally, I leave you with the magical and restful miniature world of the terrarium.
