Category Archives: links

environment, history, links, science

Your Interesting Links

So soon already here’s another round of links to items you may have missed the first time — with rather less difficult science in this issue!
NASA have recently had a spacecraft whizzing past Pluto and they have some stunning pictures as a result, like this jaw-dropping colour image.

pluto

Do skin moisturisers do any good? Well maybe. Here is something on how they work.
On a slightly different chemical tack, why is it that many people think blackcurrants smell like cat wee? For me it isn’t the fruit itself that has this effect but the leaves of blackcurrants and flowering currants.
Girls, now do just be careful because it seems that semen has controlling power over your genes and behaviour (at least when it’s applied in the place Nature intended for it).
While on things sexual … just why do we kiss, when most other animals don’t?
Moving slightly away, here are some good scientific reasons why you should go naked. It’s basically what I’ve been saying for many years.
Now what about our pussies? Just why do cats purr? And for me even more interesting is how do cats purr?

Which leads us back to the age-old question: are cats domesticated or still really wild animals?
George Monbiot has been talking about rewilding for a long time, and it is something which does seem to make a lot of sense. In welcoming the new environmental organisation Rewilding Britain, Monbiot spotlights 15 species which could be brought back to rewild these islands.
The hope is that rewilding is not just good for the environment (for instance lynx would easily control our exploring deer population) but that it will enhance and enrich our lives too.
But hopefully one thing rewilding wouldn’t do is to increase is Mother Nature’s ability to rain frogs and other creatures.
From ecology to, well I suppose ethnology … What is the smallest language which would be useful? Well the constructed language Toki Pona contains just 123 words and really does allow you to say (almost) anything.
And now to a few things historical … A rare medieval gold ring depicting St George has been found in Norfolk. I’m glad the archaeologists know it shows St George, ‘cos it sure as hell beats me.
There has been much in the media recently about British slave ownership in 17th to early 19th centuries. Here the Guardian looks at the history and also the Legacies of British Slave-ownership database which is going to be very interesting for genealogists.
And coming slightly more up to date, I bet you didn’t know much of the history of that British institution the red post box. And yes, they were introduced by author Anthony Trollope, who also lived for some years in my home town.
Now we’re reaching the end of our quest and the penultimate curiosity is that a musician has recreated Leonardo da Vinci’s piano, and it is heard for the first time 500 years after Leonardo sketched it. And no, it isn’t All Fools Day — just have a listen to the video; it could easily be a string quartet.

And finally, just because they are stunningly beautiful, here’s a collection of animated GIFs of some gorgeous cactus flowers. Real natural fireworks!

history, links, medical, science

Your Interesting Links

Another of our irregular round-ups of links to items you might have missed the first time.
We all drop our dinner down our shirt — some of us more than others — but how often do we stop to think about the chemistry behind stain removal?
I’m almost always warm and yet I know plenty of people who, unless sitting on a tropical beach, are always cold. So why do some of us feel the cold more than others?
While talking about people it seems that some people can’t picture things; they can’t conjure up mental images, almost as if their “mind’s eye” is blind.
Which leads me on to an interesting three-part article from Maria Konnikova on sleep: falling asleep; why we sleep; and on waking up (or not). [Long read]
More human wonders … Why do some people collect lint in their navels but others don’t? Spoiler: hair and clothes.
Apparently broccoli is bad for you, like, really toxic bad. Or then again, maybe it isn’t?
A list of links wouldn’t be complete without some reference to our feline friends, now would it! This attempts to explain what your cat is trying to say to you.
And while on language, here’s an interesting infographic on the world’s 23 most spoken languages — they’re spoken by over half the world’s population.
If you’re like us you love the iconic Le Creuset cast iron cookware. David Lebovitz does and he managed to get a tour of the Le Creuset factory.


If you had to think up a new use for recycled plastic, I bet you wouldn’t dream of a plastic road. Well the Dutch just did!
Shuffling quickly now from the modern into the historical … Here are five interesting facts about Lewis Carroll.
And from Carroll’s love of logic and puzzles to the secret codes on British banknotes.
Going backwards, someone has found, dumped in a skip, a wonderful collection of photographs of the construction of Tower Bridge dating from around 1890.

Next our friendly blogging London cabbie takes a look at the curious history of Craig’s Court, off Whitehall.
And even further back here’s an alternative view of the Middle Ages.
And finally back down to earth. Critics claim that pornography degrades women, dulls sexual pleasure, and ruins authentic relationships. But does it? Seems the evidence suggests the critics are wrong.

links

Your Interesting Links

Belatedly another round of links to articles you missed the first time. There’s a lot in this issue, so let’s get cracking; science first as usual.
There is growing interest in what’s being called “Ecological Medicine”, by which they mean something even more holistic that holistic. One proposition is that intestinal worms could cure many modern ailments.
Adding to this voyage of discovery medical researchers are in sight of a new land as they are beginning to understand how and why chromosome errors are the cause of many otherwise unexplained miscarriages.
Now here’s one for your Christmas stocking list … Randall Munroe, of XKCD comic strip fame, has a new book appearing in November called Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words. It appears to do what it says on the tin.


And now three items on our favourite pets: cats. First scientists at the Smithsonian look at just how much cats are domesticated.
As we all know, cats are picky eaters. Again scientists are trying to understand why.
Something else being investigated is how much our pet cats are actually trying to talk to us. So far the reserchers seem to be only underlining what most cat owners already know.
Now an article which is applicable to more than just pet cats. So how does your pet’s brain compare with yours?
Talking of which how on earth do some people manage to be fluent in 30 languages?
So now let’s divert into food for a minute. Yet again researchers are telling us what most of us have known for years: eating more plants improves health and combats climate change. So why aren’t we doing it?
But then, at least in the Americas, we’ve reached the peak availability of avocados.
And now to mind-bendy things … Here are 14 psychological facts you should know. Number 12 is mind-boggling all on its own!
And here’s another 12 things that you know only if you don’t want kids. Wonder why we didn’t indulge in urchins?
Turning back towards the medical now … Have you ever wondered why some people have extra nipples? And yes, I’m one of the afflicted with a vestigial third nipple.
And here’s something else we’ve always known … Masturbation has health benefits. You do have to wonder how researchers get paid for this stuff!
But on the other side of the sexual divide, here’s our favourite sex educator, Emily Nagoski, with how to support a survivor in four sentences.
And now to the historical. The Denisovans seem to have been contemporaries of the Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. But who were they really?
You would think, wouldn’t you, that there weren’t any obvious stone circles left to find in the UK. But no, archaeologists have found the highest stone circle in southern England on Dartmoor. And it wasn’t known before!
When we think of medieval maps, we think of a very rough and ready approximation to what we now know to be true. But some of them were extraordinarily accurate and we’re beginning to understand how and why.

Fairy Trees, or Wishing Trees, are a pagan tradition in the British Isles, elsewhere in Northern Europe and amongst Native Americans. They go back into the mists of pre-Christianity and were supposed to bring good fortune.
It isn’t such a stretch from trees to books — after all wood is used to make paper! Now we may have a large book collection, but it is nothing compared the hoard of bibliomaniac Richard Heber.
“Omnishambles” is an exception which works, whereas most blended words, or portmanteau words as Lewis Carroll called them, are irritating and ugly. So what is it that makes a good portmanteau word?
And finally, as usual I’ll leave you with a couple of looks at the absurd taboo of nudity. First, “Naturist Philosopher” asks how do women really feel about nudity? — dunno, try asking them! And then here are 10 easy steps to becoming comfortable with nudity.
More anon. Toodle-pip!

history, links, medical, nudism, science

Your Interesting Links

OK, so here’s another round of links to interesting items you may have missed the first time. As always we start with the nasty, hard, scientific stuff and then it’s all downhill.
First here’s a long-ish piece on the fascinating world of chimeras. Although the article concentrates on humans, much the same applies to all animals and there is an interesting paragraph which explains how tortoiseshell cats are always female.


Why are some people are left-handed? Apparently some left-handed people have same genetic code abnormality as those with situs inversus, the condition where the major organs are on the “wrong” side of the body.
I’m one of those annoying people who crack their knuckles. Surprisingly scientists have only now shown why knuckles pop when pulled — and it’s all down to physics.
And here’s some more strange finger science. Professor William B Bean measured the rate at which his fingernails grew over a period of 35 years to discover that growth slows as one ages.
Still on new scientific discoveries, researchers have just worked out what sustains the human foetus during its first weeks, and it isn’t the placenta but womb milk.
Staying with food … Why do we crave specific foods? And no, it seems it isn’t because of some deficiency which the craved for food will satisfy.
Have you ever wondered how the medical profession came up with the stethoscope? Wonder no longer: it all started with Laennec’s Baton.
How do you teach trainee doctors (and other healthcare professionals) to do breast and internal examinations? Yep, there are people who use their bodies to make a living as Gynaecological Teaching Associates, guiding the trainees what to do with their hands.
Well after that I think we need a strong gin and tonic!
Italian man starts turning his property into a trattoria; goes to fix the toilet; and ends up years later with a major archaeological site.
Maps are so much more interesting than GPS! Here are 12 amazing maps which show the history, and fascination, of cartography.
Over 250 years ago British clockmaker John Harrison was ridiculed for saying he could make a pendulum clock accurate to a second over 100 days. He has finally been proven right.
The Paston Letters are one of the most valuable, and well known, sources of information on late medieval life in England. Now the British Library have digitised them and put the images online.
Coming a bit more up to date, the Victorians had plans to build a skyscraper taller than the Shard. Thankfully reality prevailed and they didn’t because the science of building materials was not nearly advanced enough.

Let’s end in the realm of human rights. First there is a new, and very powerful, resource which aims to bring human rights to life using beautiful infographics, stories and social media. It’s the brainchild of a top human rights barrister, so it should be reliable.
If, as many would claim, nudity is the ultimate test of self-acceptance. Why are we so afraid of it?
More next time!

links, science

Your Interesting Links

There is a huge selection of links in this issue, because basically this is month’s worth rather than the usual 2-or-so weeks. So let’s get going with the tough stuff first, as usual …
For those who aren’t scientists, here’s a rough guide on how scientists grade evidence to decide the robustness of their discoveries. [PDF]
This animated GIF shows, diagrammatically, the gestation of a human baby from conception to birth.


Allegedly old people smell different — not necessarily bad, just different. And yes, this does seem to be a thing because scientists have worked out the probably chemical cause.
Janet Vaughan, who changed our relationship with blood was “a very naughty little girl” at least according to the misogynist opinion of the day. [Long read]
From humans, now, to animals … Tardigrades are so tough it defies belief. [Long read]
Here’s a menagerie of medically useful, but venomous creatures. I can count use of one of these drugs. Can anyone beat that?
Mice. They’re much more common than we think, but here are seven things you didn’t know about Britain’s most common native rodent, the wood mouse.
And while on things we didn’t know, let’s bust a few of the myths about one of our most common crows, the magpie.

Meanwhile other avian predators are interrupting our mobile phone signals. Peregrine falcons are nesting on mobile phone masts, thus preventing maintenance etc. as it is illegal to disturb them. Peregrines 1, Vodafone 0.
Bridging towards history now … a major new study has found that people from specific regions of Britain have tell-tale genetic signatures which show the history of the country. And it isn’t everything you might think!
Here’s the story of London’s dreaded Millbank Penitentiary, which once stood on the site of Tate Britain. [Long read]
And another piece of lost London, the Pneumatic Railway: the world’s second oldest underground. [Long read]
Apparently the name of London, our capital, changed a few weeks ago — and no-one knew.
So to history of our lost colony of America, whose revolution was allegedly fuelled by rum.
Of course talk of the Americas reminds us of the Puritans who founded many of the colonies there. Puritans with bizarre names like What-God-Will Berry and Praise-God Barebone (who gave his name to the Cromwellian “Barebones Parliament”).
Do you ever feel that everything is awful, you’re not OK and you want to give up? If you’re depressive the answer is probably “Yes”. Well here are some questions you should ask before giving up.
Which leads naturally to comfort food … Veronique Greenwood looks at the science behind the perfect chip.
Remaining with food for a moment, here are six things you likely didn’t know about chopsticks.
Our penultimate item is, as seems traditional, on sex. Here are seven reasons why scientists suggest you should have sex daily.

And finally one for the engineers amongst you … this humongous 28.5-litre Fiat S76 has been rebuilt and the engine starts for the first time in 100 years. And here it is actually running. Just see the smoke and the flames!

history, links, science

More Interesting Links

OK, guys and gals, here’s another round of links to articles you may have missed — and it contains all sorts of weird and interesting stuff. As usual we’ll start with the more scientific and end up with, I hope, something a bit easier.
All vertebrates have single eyes as we do. But most insects have compound eyes and they work in a rather different way to our vertebrate eyes.
We probably all know by now that our guts are host to many different microbes. But so are most other parts of our bodies. So girls, here’s a look at what lives in your vagina. And no, I don’t imagine that male parts are too much different!
And while we’re on the subject, here are 10 things you maybe didn’t know about vaginas.
So just how does one link from there to Neanderthals? Oh, right this is how! It is being suggested that hunting with wolves helped humans outsmart the Neanderthals. Which would mean we were beginning to domesticate canines a lot earlier than previously thought.
But by then the Neanderthals were turning eagle talons into jewellery (right) — that’s only some 130,000 years ago.
It seems my scepticism in the last set of links was well founded because apparently the research was NOT showing that gerbils were to blame for the plague; it was badly interpreted by journalists.
Good news for the gerbils, but it seems there’s bad news for the Celts. Apparently research on Britons’ DNA is demonstrating that the Celts are not a single genetic group.

Click on the image to see a larger view

From Celts to computer programmers … here are nine truths computer programmers know that most people don’t have a clue about.
And here are five languages which could change the way you view the world.
And continuing our recurrent theme on nudism, here’s a piece on the benefits of social nudity, especially stress reduction. (Long read)
On the other hand what could be better at reducing stress than the perfect gin & tonic?
Which actually brings us on to things historical … First off here’s a piece on the rivers of London from artist and cartographer Stephen Walter’s forthcoming book The Island: London Mapped.
Second up the history of something familiar to all Londoners, and much overlooked: the London Plane Tree.
And yet still on the history of London, here is a piece on the Elizabethan Theatre in London.
Finally something we hope doesn’t happen for many years … a look at what might happen when the Queen dies. It could be the most disruptive event in the last 70 years, but I suspect it is all a bit more planned than this article implies.
That’s all, Folks!

links, science, words

Your Interesting Links

Another round of pointers to articles you probably missed the first time …
According to Dan Vergano at BuzzFeed Mars Missions Are A Scam, as I have always suspected. He lays out the opinions of many scientists that, despite claims by NASA and various private outfits, we have neither the know-how nor the funding to send people to the Red Planet.
Also on things celestial, did you know that Earth has a second moon, with a crazy orbit, and that we didn’t know about it until recently.


There’s a new theory that it was cute little gerbils and not nasty rats which were to blame for spreading bubonic plague. Yeah right. Maybe in Asia, but we don’t have indigenous gerbils in Europe. [Why is it that rats are nasty and dirty unless they’re gerbils or squirrels?]
How self-aware are animals? Well certainly Asian elephants, magpies and great apes are among the species that can self-recognize. But what do animals see in the mirror?
And then we have to ask whether what they see is blue, because there is another theory that no-one could see the colour blue until modern times. It is a theory which I don’t entirely buy … we must have been able to see blue but we may not have decided what to call it.
And here’s another curiosity about sight … It appears that we have fibre optic cables in our eyes which act to separate different colours of light and direct the colours to the correct cones. But it implies that, contrary to what I had been led to believe, we have only red and green sensitive cones and it is the rods which are blue sensitive.
DON’T PANIC but right now you are breathing a potentially dangerous substance: AIR. Maybe you don’t want to know what floats around in this essential ingredient of life but there are guys who make it their job to find out. [Long read]
Still on human biology, here’s a troubled history of the foreskin — albeit a US-centric history. Curious irony: Americans will campaign vigorously against FGM and yet they routinely circumcise their own male children; somehow this does not compute! [Another long read]
So girls, your turn: there is nothing wrong with your sex drive. Sex educator Emily Nagoski writes an op-ed in the New York Times. Oh and I’m reading her new book Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life on which her op-ed is based; it’s well written and very interesting.
So why is it that the menstruation taboo just will not go away?
It isn’t as great a step to this next item as one might think … What’s it like to have a form of synaesthesia in which you taste words. Pretty horrible when they taste of ordure.
And here’s another curiosity … it seems that after we shake hands with someone of the same sex we surreptitiously smell the palm of our right hand, presumably for scent markers. But we don’t do it if we shake hands with someone of the opposite sex. Guess it has to be more dignified than dogs smelling each other’s bums.
It seems that Lewis Carroll’s two Alice in Wonderland books reveal some interesting facets of the brain.
Gerardus Mercator was the 16th century cartographer who came up with the projection we mostly still use for mapping the globe onto a sheet of paper. Where it falls down is that it distorts the relative sizes of countries, making those nearer the poles appear larger than they should. There are other projections, of course, but because they are all a 2D mapping of a 3D object all will have distortions somewhere.
From maps to languages … the latest research suggests that Indo-European languages originated about 6000 years ago in the Russian grasslands.
And still on words, here’s a fascinating Guardian piece by Robert Macfarlane on rewilding our language of landscape. [Long read]

And finally here’s a review of Ruth Scurr’s new biography of John Aubrey. Her approach of writing the biography as a sort of diary in Aubrey’s own words is a very interesting approach — I’m reading the book and so far it is a method which works.

links

Your Interesting Links

Further instalment of links to articles you really shouldn’t have missed!
As usual we’ll start with the techie stuff, after which it is all down hill into the circles of … oh, probably somewhere.
Wired reckons there are five things everyone should know about light. Does everyone really need all five of these!
I suggest you don’t read this while eating lunch … Public transport, and especially subway trains, always seems fairly grimy. And now scientists have mapped the microbes on the New York subway. And there’s nothing to make us think the London Underground is any better!
Miracle foods or marketing scam? The Guardian lifts the lid.


Something fishy on a little dishy? The fish you eat may not be what it seems. Caveat emptor.
So we’d all better go back to eating those formerly fashionable elegantly dressed salads.
After which, of course, we’ll need a nap. But do you know how much sleep you should be getting? New recommendations have been released, and it is probably more than you thought.
On to less savoury habits … Why do we pick our noses?
Now this one is definitely NSFW. Doctors in Florida have performed the world’s first penis reduction operation. Yes, you did read that right!
As we’ve said many times before, there are benefits in social nudity and you’re likely missing out on them. The thing is you don’t know you’re missing the benefits until you’ve tried social nudity.
Descending further into interpersonal relationships [can there actually be an intrapersonal relationship?] why do we use terms of endearment and pet names in relationships?
And so to London … First of all the London Borough of Camden have ideas of redesigning the whole of Tottenham Court Road and making it essentially pedestrians and buses only — no cars, not even taxis. London Reconnections have the low down.
Meanwhile our friend Diamond Geezer lays down a challenge … The All Lines Challenge: travel on each of the London Underground’s eleven lines in the shortest time. The current record stands at just over 33 minutes.
And now descending right to the depths for our last couple of items …

Parrots are well know for talking, and there is a long history of them having particularly shocking vocabularies.
Finally, Abracadabra!

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away —
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.

links

Your Interesting Links

More links to items you probably missed and maybe didn’t want to. As so often lots of geeky stuff in here, but there isn’t too much really hard science to hurt the brain.
First off … dogs. Why is it dogs smell so terrible especially when wet? Spoiler: It ain’t the dog!
And so to cats … Cat owners need to be more aware of their moods and how they affect their pets.


And while we’re talking felines … just why do cats love boxes so much? It may be stress-related, but then again …
Meanwhile, and with no Pavlovian connexion, deep in the Clarendon Laboratory at Oxford University there’s a bell. It’s been ringing for at least 175 years. Using the same battery! And no-one knows how or why!
Scientists think they have found the underlying cause of addiction. The result is very surprising and not at all expected.
Now listen up all you extroverts, here are 15 reasons why us introverts are different, and it isn’t just that we’re being miserable! So give us a break, do!
So many of us are short-sighted, which would seem to be a massive evolutionary disadvantage that should have been bred out by now. So why are we short-sighted?
Yay! Wellness! What we all strive for. But André Spicer and Carl Cederström in New Scientist suggest that wellness programmes are actually counter-productive.
Since my post-grad days I’ve had a great admiration for the skills of glass-blowers — they can make things you can’t even draw! Here are four cameos of far from average technicians.
So how long dies it take to actually train a doctor? The Guardian‘s Vanessa Heggie looks at the history of medical training.
And so to more modest things …
From the realms of “no, don’t even go there”, a French court has decided that Nutella is not a girl’s name. Duh!
Stuff! We all got stuff. Indeed we all got too much stuff. And too much stuff is a hazard.
And so we meander into the byways of London with a look at some of the capital’s secret shafts and their disguises.

But wait! Why is there an elephant in Waterloo Station?
While you’re working that out, Diamond Geezer has looked at London’s five hedge mazes — that’s proper mazes in which you can get hopelessly lost.

Just to prove the effectiveness of a freezer, researchers discovered a 100-year-old box of photographic negatives frozen in a block of Antarctic ice. And they managed to recover the images!
And finally I leave you with a brilliant Cornish solution to the global warming generated rise in sea levels.
Toodle-pip!

links

Your Interesting Links

There’s a definite post-Christmas feel to this latest selection of links to articles you probably missed.
Astronomers take yet another look at interpreting the Star of Bethlehem and relating it to the actual biblical accounts.
Virgin births are not quite as rare as we might think — except for humans.
Five things you didn’t know about Christmas Trees, including their ability to turn to glass at very low temperatures.


While on plants, there’s a new herbicide craze sweeping America … goats. Turns out they eat almost anything (well who knew?) and so are quite good at clearing overgrown land.
But how do we clear all our drugs out of the water supply? It seems that a lot of the drugs we take come out the other end and survive the sewage system and water purification. So not only are we getting minute doses of all sorts of chemicals, but fish are getting blissed out on Prozac! OK the article is US-centric, but there is no reason to presume the UK is any different. [Long read]
Where do you go to see wildlife? You would think you’d go to the depths of the country. But there is far more wildlife in our towns and cities than we realise — and some ecologists are now realising it is worth studying. Again the article is US-centric but urban areas in the UK are just as full of wildlife if you know where (and how) to look.
For some reason we seem to find blue eyes attractive. But how do they get their colour? Well actually they don’t, they are just not brown. Here’s a brief explanation.
[NSFW] Scientists have been looking at female ejaculation and come to the conclusion it comes in two varieties. Much to the disbelief of many girlies, apparently.
While on the subject of “lady bits” … Girls do you fancy turning your vagina into a video game controller? Turns out there is a product imminent to do just that, and let you do your Kegel exercises at the same time. Brings a whole new meaning to Wii.
Spoon Theory. Christine Miserandino developed her spoon theory as an analogy of what it is like to live with sickness or disability. An enlightening read and also a great analogy.
OK, so lets get onto something much more fun … Champagne.
First off here’s something which (starts to) explain some of Champagne’s chemistry which makes it so alluring.
Although it seems that Champagne hasn’t always been bubbly, and we probably have the 17th-century Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon to thank for the fizz. Rebecca Rupp has the history.
Meanwhile Stephen Clarke in the Guardian goes on a short Champagne tour and is enchanted by some of the small houses like Roger Brun, in the village of Aÿ near Epernay.
And then of course there is that other winter-time favourite: mulled wine. Everyone seems to have their own favourite recipe, but Andy Connelly, again in the Guardian, has a method.
Maybe after all that alcohol we’d better have some food, although nothing too heavy. Avocados need big herbivores to spread their giant seeds. But there aren’t too many elephants left now in the avocado’s native Mexico, so we humans have taken over the job.
And then there is the other food of the Gods, the olive. And yes, according to Greek legend it was indeed a gift from the Gods.
Which brings us nicely to history and the cult of Edward the Confessor, our last truly Anglo-Saxon king.

Still on history, I bring you chirographs … the way Medieval lawyers ensured their documents were verifiable.
And finally I’ll leave you with some strange predictions from 1930.