by Jon Farrow, Canadian science communicator
What was 5'5", buried its dead, and went extinct 30 000 years ago? I'll give you a hint: they belong to the same genus as you and me. Haven't got it yet? Here is another hint: their name almost rhymes with "Damn, you're tall!". That's right, today's awesome extinct animal is our (very) distant cousin: …
Continue reading "Neanderthals: Awesome Extinct Animals, Pt 3"
What kind of bed do you sleep in? Personally, my bed is a double. It is about 1.4m (4.5ft) wide and 1.90m (6.25ft) long . Two people can sleep comfortably on it, hence the name "double". With the matress, boxspring and frame, it probably weighs about 20 kg (~40lbs). Now, imagine fastening two of these …
The word "Pleistocene" always reminds me of that malleable sculpture substance that is really good at getting stuck under fingernails. That stuff, however, is plasticine and is not the topic of the 5-part series of posts that is coming your way. Pleistocene refers to the geological epoch from about 2.5 million years ago (mya) to …
Continue reading "Giant American Ground Sloth: Awesome Extinct Animals, Pt 1"
This week's topic had me wondering: what's going on in our brains when we're happy? A little bit of quick research revealed what I believe to be some interesting findings that I will share with you [...]
When we last spoke, I promised a short history of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It seems I have only delivered an introduction to the latter two, without really talking about how Life itself came about on this majestic blue marble. The origin of life [...]
Life on Earth wouldn't be possible without Earth and the Sun. The Sun only exists as a product of galaxy formation. You probably guessed what's next: the galaxy [...]
After a semester-long absence, the Thoughtful Pharaoh returns. I will be participating in the Essay-A-Week Challenge, issued long ago by the great Alec Thomson, renewed last year by the renowned Kacper Niburski, and put forward this year by the talented and gracious David Laing. There are 16 topics and I will try to get to …
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s footprints on the moon will never fade. Until they get struck by a meteor or the sun expands. Well, we know the sun will expand to engulf the Earth’s current orbit in approximately 5 billion years, but how likely is it that a meteor will wipe one of these footprints …
Continue reading "About As Likely As A Lunar Footprint Getting Hit By Space Debris"
Human eyes can see wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation between 390 and 750nm. Light at the long end of this range (~750nm) appears red while light at the short end (~390nm) appears blue or violet. We call this range the visible spectrum for pretty obvious reasons; it’s the wavelengths of light that are visible to our …
The planet doesn’t care about us. We live on a chunk of rock that follows the bend of space-time around a massive ball of Hydrogen. This rock is home to more species than we can count, and yet it seems the only species that counts is Homo Sapiens. We beat out all the other members …
