Occasionally I read a biographical note about someone (usually a celebrity or writer) who is wedded to one specific place–a homestead, a landscape, a state or a country–has found complete happiness there and has vowed never to leave.
I envy them.
read more
Most superstitions–like not letting a black cat cross your path–don’t make sense, so why do so many of us repeat the same rituals over and over? It may have to do with evolution.
read more
Tree rings can tell you a lot: The Japanese have discovered that, in the late eighth century, the earth was hit by a mysterious blast of cosmic rays (NOTE: Subscribers can still listen to this show). They discovered this by looking at cedar trees.
An analysis of two ancient trees found a surge in carbon-14, an isotope that arrives from space, which was deposited in cedar tree rings only in 774 and 775 AD. What happened?
read more
Evil Corn? They don’t put it that way, but they HAVE called for an immediate suspension of government-mandated US ethanol production, saying that this is creating a worldwide food shortage. Corn (the main ingredient in ethanol) is not only a staple food in much of the world, it is also fed to livestock.read more