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Are Cat Breeders Sexist?

16 Jun 2022

Black, white, and orange – the signature colours of a calico cat. Subtract the white and you’ve got tortoise shell colouring. But there is gender colour discrimination at play: calico and tortoise...

Plastic, You Say?

15 Jun 2022

In 1862, over 6 million visitors flocked to the “Great London Exposition” where they were astounded by the electric telegraph, watched an early refrigerator make ice, gawked at Charles Babbage’s ...

How do erasers work?

10 Jun 2022

These days we are accustomed to pressing the delete key and a word on the screen disappears, ready to be replaced by a few keystrokes. But that doesn't mean pencils and erasers have disappeared. On...

The Deception of Temporary Tattoos

8 Jun 2022

Tattoos are a way to express creativity, individuality, even loyalty (though in the latter case designs often end up getting removed if loyalty fades). Sounds appealing but the idea of permanence...

The “Unintelligent Design” of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve

25 May 2022

The recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is a touchstone in anatomy education and evolutionary biology research, known for its unnecessary U-turn in the neck. But can we learn something intelligent from...

Babies, Botulism and Honey

25 May 2022

The young mother was surprised by the doctor’s question. “What does your little girl eat for breakfast?” “Only hot oatmeal with milk,” she answered. “Does she put any sugar on it?” the doctor...

Salon-Free Highlights are Just a Spray Away

19 May 2022

Summer is almost here! Tans will get darker and hair will get lighter. If you really want to get blonder this year, many brands sell hair lightening sprays – a way to heighten the sun’s natural...

What’s the Difference Between Baking Soda and Baking Powder?

19 May 2022

What if your significant other gifted you baking powder instead of chocolates? What if they invented baking powder? In 1843, British chemist Alfred Bird did just that for his lucky, yeast-allergic,...

“Forever Chemicals” Seem to be Forever in the Spotlight

17 May 2022

One of the questions I’ve been asked recently with increasing frequency is how to avoid exposure to those “forever chemicals” that we are being warned about in numerous newspaper articles, books,...

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