Tag Archives: Science

1932: New Art Saves Strange Beasts

Posted on September 13, 2020 by corvusfugit

A headline from this article in Popular Science Monthly, January 1932:

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1750: Estimate

Posted on December 9, 2019 by corvusfugit

In 1750, astronomer Thomas Wright estimated the number of inhabited planets in the observable universe: Of…habitable Worlds, such as the Earth, all which we may suppose to be also of a terrestrial or terraqueous Nature, and filled with Beings of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2017: Be a Resilient Cooperator

Posted on February 1, 2018 by corvusfugit

Do human beings act purely out of self-interest? The Prisoners’ Dilemma is a classic puzzle designed to test and explore this question: Two members of a criminal gang are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2009: A Trade Union for Trees

Posted on January 25, 2018 by corvusfugit

Look at a single tall tree standing proud in the middle of an open area. Why is it so tall? Not to be closer to the sun! That long trunk could be shortened until the crown of the tree was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2016: His Strange and Awesome Fairy Tale Like House of Books

Posted on October 24, 2017 by corvusfugit

 A few miles northwest of Tunis, with its sidewalk cafés and streets lined by rows of manicured ficus trees and its avenues named after European cities, there is a poor suburb of eighty thousand people called Douar Hicher….In November, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2015: Mutually Noncoherent Pulses

Posted on October 15, 2017 by corvusfugit

In this study, we carried out a reliable measurement of the mutually noncoherent pulses and their subsequent analysis as the most probable acoustic signals of the hypothetic spoken language of dolphins. As this language exhibits all the design features present … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

2014: Interwoven with Others

Posted on October 10, 2017 by corvusfugit

In a 2014 study, Tanya Luhrmann found that when people hear voices in their heads, the personae and tone of those voices are shaped by culture; in the United States, the voices are threatening and severe, but in Africa and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

1753: The Wolf Peach

Posted on October 4, 2017 by corvusfugit

In 1753, Linnaeus gave the tomato its Latin species name lycopersicum, which means “wolf peach.” Image: Luis Meléndez: Still Life with Tomatoes, a Bowl of Aubergines and Onions (c. 1771-1774)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1481: Astrolabe

Posted on September 7, 2017 by corvusfugit

The only surviving spherical astrolabe was purchased at auction in 1962 by the Oxford Museum of the History of Science. It is signed by its maker, Mūsa (the Arabic equivalent of Moses), who is otherwise unknown—but the particular style of  … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

1912: Magnets for the Queen

Posted on September 6, 2017 by corvusfugit

Ernest Board: William Gilbert Demonstrating the Magnet before Queen Elizabeth, 1598 (1912)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment