How the Zombie Invasion Might End
If you’re panicking over the continuing zombie invasions that threaten to wipe out humankind, take heart. Nature may have a solution.
The Yeti Bear
Walt Disney imagined the Abominable Snowman as a red-eyed monster when he conceived the Matterhorn Ride in 1959. But for hundreds of years before that, imaginations…
Now You See It, Now You … Huh?
It’s an ocean bush. No, wait, it’s some kind of white projectile. Or … did it just turn into a pancake? This is the video that…
Are You a Martian?
Mars today, and how it may have looked in its early days with what astronomers believe was a large northern ocean. Ladies, you may not,…
Animal Sacrifice and the Day of Atonement
Next week, just before the Day of Atonement, many orthodox Jews will be trying to make their peace with the Almighty by swinging chickens around their…
Fish and Sparrows Prefer Bach
Can you tell your Bach from your Stravinsky? The French audience that first heard Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in Paris in 1913 hated it and almost…
My Three-Eyed Cat?
What is this? Take a guess and then read on:
The 4,000-Year-Old Bog Man
Somewhat off topic, but anyway. These are the mummified remains of a man who was uncovered from a peat bog in Ireland in 2011. It now…
The Pinwheel Galaxy
Great photo of one of our cosmic neighbors, the Pinwheel Galaxy – our nearest face-on spiral galaxy, just 27 million light years away. This photo was…
A Conservative Catholic Plea for the Elephants
It’s always special when Matthew Scully writes about animals. He’s done it again with a remarkable article in The Atlantic about the “global industry that’s slaughtering…
Is Michele Bachmann a Weredog?
Just wondering . . .
Dog Jewelry – 9,000 Years Ago
Most of us in the animal protection world don’t like the idea of people dressing up their dogs. Fashion critic Mr. Blackwell, who, for 47 years,…
Cockroaches Know Sweets Are Bad for Them
If you knew all those sweets and naked carbs you eat were killing you, would you stop eating them? But of course, we already know how…
Happy Birthday, Nessie
It sounded, at some points, more like a religious gathering. “I believe in a large, unidentified creature in the loch, possibly amphibious – that is, a…
The Word Made Flesh
If the new pope is looking for a chief theologian, I’d like to recommend Elizabeth Johnson. She’s not only one of those American Catholic women the…
Chimpanzee Conducts 3-Year Study on Primates
Reprinted with courtesy SEATTLE—In what the scientific community has hailed as a breakthrough achievement, zoologists have succeeded for the first time ever in training a chimpanzee…
Conversation with a Whale
“I’m a whale. Not to brag, but my brain is really, really big.” “I’m a human. My brain is really big, too. In fact, we humans…
Life on Europa?
The ice that covers Europa is 60 miles thick. But the ocean that it covers is a rich, salty mix that appears not to be very different in makeup from our own ocean. And, according to a new study, there are breaks in the ice that allow the water to come up to the surface, So there’s a constant exchange of ice and water. And that means if you want to know what’s going on in the ocean, 60 miles down, you only have to scrape a little ice off the surface.
Sounds like a mission for a Mars-type rover. And that’s exactly what NASA is thinking, too.
Benedict and Cats
Speaking of the Pope and nonhuman animals, we came across some cute photos of Pope Benedict and cats. Benedict is known as a serious cat person.
Pope Francis – Day 6
By last weekend, we hadn’t heard much, if anything about the new pope’s relationship to anything except humans. But today, at his official installation, Pope Francis spoke out for protection of the environment, urging his people to shun “the omens of destruction and death.” Perhaps that phrase was a little unclear, but he added this during his homily at the inaugural Mass: