Science writer, editor, and presenter
Deep in Antarctica, right on top of the geographic south pole, there is a research station that peers back in time to the very beginning of our universe.  Named the Amundsen-Scott Station, it is home to instruments like the creatively named South Pole Telescope (SPT), the Keck Array, and the BICEP experiments. The temperature is currently sitting …
The year is 1791.  On a crisp autumn morning in south London, Margaret Hastwell, a blackmith's apprentice, gives birth to her third son.  With her husband, son, and daughter crowded around, she decides to name the newborn Michael.  Michael Faraday. Margaret had a lot on her plate, what with two young children, a husband who was …
Galileo Galilei is quite a famous astronomer but many of the discoveries he's known for are just extensions of the work of others.  For instance, he didn't come up with the idea that the Sun is the centre of the Solar System, he just got in big trouble for it.  He also didn't invent the telescope …
When was the last time you ate dinosaur? Â I had some just the other day next to my peas and carrots. Shocking as it may seem, dinosaurs are all around us and we interact with them on a fairly regular basis. Â If you're sitting there saying to yourself, "No, dinosaurs went extinct millions of years …
I've never been a cat person, myself.  They just seem a bit too contemptuous as a species. Cats, aside from being aloof, clawed, and kind of mean, also form a necessary part in the life cycle of a single-celled protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii.  This sneaky parasite can only reproduce in feline intestines but also finds its way into …
Ever wish you could see in the dark?  It would make life a bit easier.  No more tripping over clutter on the ground or feeling walls for a switch.  Humans rely quite heavily on their sight, but some animals can make do by illuminating their surroundings with sound. Bats are just such an animal.  They belong …
Imagine a creature that never grows up, can regenerate limbs without scars, and has a sort of slimy, alien-like cuteness. Â Sounds like a critter you'd like to meet, right? Â Ambystoma mexicanum, the axolotl, lives all over the world in aquaria but their only wild habitat is under severe threat. Â Chances are that neither of us …
And now for something completely different! We're going to start a journey tomorrow and it's going to be a lot of fun.  I will creating a lot more content, advertising more widely, and (hopefully) totally revamping the character of this blog.  The blog won't be completely different though. As you have come to expect from ThoughtfulPharaoh, …
Continue reading "Introducing: the ABCs of Interesting Things"
Jon Farrow 