Dr. Becky

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, May 30-June 5, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

And now, it’s time to get your mental corn popping!

Zoe Watkins: George Floyd protests prompted a reckoning over colorism and Afro-Latinx identity. Teen Vogue

Solana Rice has a conversation with Tracey Corder about police abolition. The Forge

Jessica Wong explains how these three teachers bring anti-racist education into the elementary classroom. CBC

Debbie Elliott and Marisa Peñalosa: a century after the race massacre, Tulsa confronts its bloody past. NPR

Karlos K. Hill: photographing the Tulsa massacre of 1921. The Public Domain Review

Gary Younge explains why every single statue should come down. The Guardian

Leslie Nguyen-Okwu: to protect me from America, my parents changed my name without telling me. Harper’s Bazaar

How your gut bacteria control your mood. Dr. Tracey Marks

The Kamloops residential school’s mass gravesite: What we know about the 215 children’s remains, and Canada’s reaction so far. An explainer from The Globe and Mail.

The shocking way your body makes electricity. It’s okay to be smart

It’s like Christmas came early for cosmologists! Dr. Becky

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope that you took away something to inspire or inform a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 14-20, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Happy Friday eve! It’s time to get your mental corn popping for the weekend.

Chloee Weiner: hundreds gather to demand justice for Breonna Taylor 1 year after her death. NPR

Tanisha C. Ford reveals how socialite Mollie Moon used fashion shows to fund the civil rights movement. Harper’s Bazaar

Meghan and Harry. Kadija Mbowe (your fun, millennial auntie)

Rhiannon Johnson announces that the Poundmaker Cree Nation welcomes bison back to traditional territory. CBC

“Unspeakable tragedy”: local leaders, Asian-American groups react to deadly shooting. WSB-TV 2 Atlanta

UK police under fire after crackdown on vigil for Sarah Everard. Bangkok Post

My amazing friend, Kim Fahner offers a message for those of us who are women who walk: in memory of Sarah Everard. The Republic of Poetry

Jaclyn Diaz reports that thousands march in Australia as another #metoo wave hits the country. NPR

Lakin Brooks: women dominated beer brewing until they were accused of being witches. The Smithsonian Magazine

Stephen Humphries: what does resilience sound like? Ian Brennan and Marilena Umuhoza Delli travel the world to find out. Christian Science Monitor

The National World War II Museum reveals Bea Arthur, US marine.

Shaina Ahluwalia and Roshan Abraham report that Europe becomes the first region to exceed 1 million deaths from covid-19. Global News

Katy Steinmetz: Elliot Page is ready for this moment. Time

Japan court finds same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. BBC

Amy McKeever explains what the faces on its currency tell us about a country. National Geographic

Jillian Ambrose: bladeless turbines could bring wind power to your home. The Guardian

SNOLAB launches art and dark matter online platform, Drift. The Sudbury Star

The first science result from Perseverance on Mars! Night Sky News March 2021 | Dr. Becky

Robin George Andrews reveals the fresh clues of a new theory about where Mars’ liquid water went. National Geographic

What’s impossible in evolution? It’s okay to be smart

Philip Hoare: sperm whales in the 19th century shared ship attack information. The Guardian

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you took away something to inspire you next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!  

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 24-30, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means. Tomorrow is Friday! Prepare yourself for the weekend by getting your mental corn popping.

Dalton Walker reports how the “parade across America” has an Indigenous touch. Indian Country Today

Mali Obomsawin: this land is whose land? Indian country and the shortcomings of settler protest. Smithsonian Folklife

Mildred Europa Taylor wants you to meet the eight-year-old neuroscientist who teaches online from a lab in her bedroom. Face2Face Africa

Russell Contreras: Biden picks up his pen to change the tone on racial equity. His first set of executive orders puts a “down payment” on the promise of racial justice in America. Axios

John Haltiwanger notes that Biden administration speeding up process to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill. Business Insider

Maudlyne Ihejirika announces that the Emmett Till childhood home is now an official city landmark. Chicago Sun Times

Stephen Humphries reveals the new museum celebrating African American music from Ella to Beyoncé. Christian Science Monitor

Amir Vera and Raja Razek: two Kenosha police officers, on administrative leave since the Jacob Blake shooting, are back on duty. No justice. CNN

Doha Madani reports that the Black woman whose children were handcuffed and held at gunpoint by police sues Aurora, Colorado. NBC News

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demands US military sexual assault reports. The Guardian

Lauren Frayer: protesting farmers flood India’s capital, storm historic fort. NPR

The pandemic that lasted 15 million years [Say what, now?] | PBS Eons

L.D. Burnett posits that there is no such thing as cancel culture. Only culture, shapeshifter that it is. Arc Digital

Kim Fahner responds to Bell’s let’s talk day: of whales, icebergs, and mental health … The Republic of Poetry

Sara Jaffe: notes on queer conception and the redefinition of family. JSTOR Daily

Dr. Becky shares the new evidence against dark matter.

Robert Z. Pearlman shares that Axiom Space names the first private crew to visit the ISS. Scientific American

Earth has a second magnetic field. SciShow

Fiona Harvey: global ice loss accelerated at record rate. The Guardian

These pools support half the people on Earth. Veritasium

Cal Flyn reports that as birth rates decline, animals prowl out abandoned “ghost villages.” The Observer

Nina Munteanu: when nature destroys … and creates.  

Thank you for spending some time with me. I hope you took away something to inspire your next creative project.

This weekend, I should be posing my January 2021 next chapter update.

Until then, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 4-10, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, the curation that pops your mental corn 🙂

BLM-related posts and pandemic-related posts separated out for your convenience. Educating yourself is the least you can do.

Mako Fitts Ward examines the power of the intersectional protest image. JSTOR Daily

Jennifer Schuessler: Mellon Foundation to spend $250 million to reimagine monuments. The New York Times

Maya King hopes the Democrats don’t lose the battle over voter suppression. Politico

Kim Gallon: the Black press and disinformation on Facebook. JSTOR Daily

What is the QAnon conspiracy theory? CBS News

Janice Gassam Asare cites five reasons the “pipeline problem” is a myth. 2018. Again, these aren’t new issues. Forbes

John Paul Tasker reports on Annamie Paul’s historic election as the first Black [+Jewish+woman] leader of the Green Party [or any Canadian political party, for that matter]. CBC

Maan Alhmidi: teachers are concerned for their health and the quality of education as they deal with the challenges of the pandemic. The Globe and Mail

Kalyn Belsha says that teaching in-person and virtually at the same time is an instructional nightmare. ChalkBeat

How do pandemics end? BBC

Becky Little explains “mask slackers” and “deadly” spit: the 1918 flu campaigns to shame people into following the new rules. History

Sara Chodosh: it’s never been more important to get your flu shot. Popular Science

Lydia Wheeler: covid “long-haulers” ask who pays when sickness just won’t end. Bloomberg Law

Simi lists 30 signs of soul exhaustion. Medical News

What causes panic attacks and how can you prevent them? Cindy J. Aaronson TED-Ed

Nell GreenfieldBoyce and Madeline K. Sofia: the Nobels overwhelmingly go to white men—this year’s prize for medicine was no exception. NPR

Joel Achenbach reports that Andrea Ghez is among the winners of the Nobel Prize in physics for her work on black holes. The Washington Post

Dr. Becky delves into the work done to earn that Nobel.

Nell GreenfieldBoyce and Mark Katkov cover the Nobel Prize for Chemistry win for Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for their genome editing research. NPR

And … the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize goes to the World Food Program. Adela Suliman for NBC News.

Olivia Rosane shares a video of a meteoroid bouncing off Earth’s atmosphere. EcoWatch

Rory Sullivan and Sharon Braithwaite report that scientists have found intact brain cells in a man killed in Vesuvius eruption nearly 2,000 years ago. CNN

These 100-million-year-old microbes are still alive. (I think I shared an article on this a few weeks ago …) SciShow

Hedy Phillips: yep, just like humans, dogs can give blood. More than half my life ago, I worked in an emergency veterinarian clinic. They kept two blood donor cats on site and assessed surrendered or stray dogs (animal control was the next building over) for blood donor suitability. SugarPop

Thank you for visiting. I hope you found something to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 23-29, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

It was a news-heavy week. Take some time to get your mental corn popping.

Catharine Tunney: OPP arrest ten protestors at the Tyendinaga blockade site. CBC

Maria Cervantes reports on how Peruvian indigenous group wins suit to block oil exploration in Amazonian region. Reuters

SciShow Psych considers why we can’t remember our dreams.

Josh K. Elliott: Dagmar Turner plays the violin during brain surgery to retain her musical skills. Global

Lauren Smith: Leah Reddell creates “henna crowns” for women with cancer. HealthiNation

Elisha Fieldstadt reports that Katherine Johnson, the “computer” depicted in Hidden Figures has died at 101. NBC

Roy Allela invents gloves that turn sign language into audible speech. Black Business

Francky Knapp: the first man to reach the North Pole was an African American desk clerk the world forgot. Messy Nessy Chic

Ed Pilkington covers Harvey Weinstein’s conviction on two of five rape charges. The Guardian

Dr. Becky looks into the mystery of where all the antimatter has gone.

This solar-powered barge collects up to 50 tonnes of plastic waste a day. Return to Now

Greg Rosalsky explains why America is losing the toilet race. (I didn’t even know there was one …) NPR

Physics girl looks at the science of rainbows, fogbows, sun dogs, and glories …

James Burch: if dragons don’t exist, why are they everywhere? All Things Interesting

Max Knoblauch shares a video of a humpback whale breaching like some kind of hotshot dolphin. Mashable

Lisa Cinelli explains that your cat has a legitimate reason for getting hyper at bedtime. PopSugar

This is an old one, but funny. Bored Panda shares 30 pictures of animals that look like they’re about to drop the hottest albums of the year.

And that was a fairly full thoughty Thursday. Thank you for visiting and I hope you take away some ideas to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 8-14, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

As we slide into the home stretch of the week, please take some time to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Because we’re getting around to that time of year … Sweden’s St. Lucia tradition.

Sesame Street puppeteer Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch) dies at age 85. A sad day for all Muppet maniacs. MPR News

ESA shares incredible images of Mars’ Korolev crater. RT

Jenn Granneman declares, I’m an introvert, and this is just my face. Introvert, Dear

Julia Naftulin shares a study on narcissism showing that baby boomers are more sensitive than millennials. Insider

Dr. Becky explains why the speed of light is a constant and the upper limit of the speed we could possibly achieve.

Merrit Kennedy reports on a 44,000-year-old Indonesian cave painting that’s rewriting the history of art. NPR

Emma Taggart shares Anna Speshilova’s charming watercolour illustrations of women and their animal companions. My Modern Met

Old Dog Haven discusses dementia in senior dogs. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a companion, but there’s more than just physical health to consider.

Molly Frommer reports on the sad news that the Wild at Heart wildlife rescue and refuge facility is forced to close its doors. CTV News

Thanks for the visit and I hope you found some inspiration for your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 1-7, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s the first post-NaNo thoughty Thursday and the videos have taken over! Time to get your mental corn popping, people 🙂

Annalee Newitz explores the possible future of public spaces on the internet: nothing lasts forever—not even on the internet. The New York Times

Dr. Becky covers the history of how we discovered what the speed of light was.

Quantum physics simplified. Arvin Ash

Michael Greshko lists the top 20 scientific discoveries of the 2010s. National Geographic

Insulin should be cheap. Here’s why it’s not. Verge Science

SciShow Psych delved into Alice in Wonderland Syndrome.

Global News’ full coverage of the 30th anniversary commemorative ceremony at École Polytecnique.

Christian Yates explains why your dog may be older than you think. Quartz

Nick Dunlop shares the spectacle of the starling and falcon dance. Murmurations aren’t just mesmerizing, they’re defensive strategies, too!

Pets talk about the holidays. Ze Frank

Thank you for visiting. I hope you found something to inspire your next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 29-Oct 5, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

A substantial curation of stuff to get your mental corn popping.

Claire Landsbaum interviews Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey on how far #metoo has yet to go. Vanity Fair

Teresa Write and Bob Weber: names of children who died in residential schools released in sombre ceremony. CTV News

Jason Lyons says that to pay attention, the brain uses filters, not a spotlight. Quanta Magazine

Chelsea Wald: why red means red in almost every language. Nautilus

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian says, the dream of open borders is real—in Svalbard. The Nation

Dan Charles: how Penn State is cutting greenhouse gas emissions and saving money. NPR

Brian Fagan recounts the bizarre 77,000-year history of the bed. Quartz

Ian Campbell reports on the continuing outrage that “hallway healthcare” continues at Health Sciences North. CTV News

Ashley Strickland has hope for the first all-female space walk scheduled for later this month. CNN

It’s black hole week on SciShow Space news: is the hypothetical “Planet 9” actually a primordial black hole? And … the assassin black hole (that’s not sinister at all, is it?).

Dr. Becky shares all of the latest discoveries about Jupiter’s aurora that Juno has facilitated. And the outtakes at the end are hilarious 🙂

And Physics Girl gets to see the world’s largest optical lens (going in the LSST).

Brendan I Koerner: how cities reshape the evolutionary path of urban wildlife. Wired

Kelly Richmond-Abdou tells the tale of a couple who spent 20 years replanting a forest for animals to return to. My Modern Met

Mario L. Major reports on the Australian stingless bees building stunning spiral hives (and no one’s quite sure why). Interesting Engineering

Jason Bittel lists five animals with amazing senses. Popular Science

Cats in therapy from the ever entertaining Ze Frank.

Thank you for the visit and I hope you found something to entertain or inspire your next creative project.

Be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 15-21, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s the usual mixed bag, this Thursday. I hope you find something here to inspire your next creative project.

Nina Munteanu shares five perspectives on humanity’s relationship to our forests.

Maya Wei-Haas: mysterious waves have been pulsing across Oklahoma. National Geographic

Matthew Green introduces us to three young women racing to defuse a carbon bomb in the arctic: the climate hunters. Reuters

Stephen Kinzer recounts the secret history of Fort Dietrick, the CIA’s base for mind control experiments. Politico

Sarah Harvey suggests trying Japan’s Kaizen method to cure insomnia and sleep anxiety. Stylist

Dr. Becky considers the engraved hourglass nebula.

Veritasium looks at the Planet 9 hypothesis.

And PBS Space Time weighs the possibilities for terraforming Mars.

Dave Linkletter reveals the ten toughest math problems ever solved. Popular Mechanics

Finally, SciShow introduces us to a snail that makes its own armour (!)

Sara Barnes shows how a natural phenomenon transforms Christian Spenser’s hummingbird photographs into rainbows. My Modern Met

Thanks for stopping by and popping your mental corn with me.

Until next tipsday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

ThoughtyThursday2019

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Sept 8-14, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

And now … it’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Erika W. Smith reveals the spiritual reason Friday the thirteenth is considered unlucky. Refinery29

Cassie Shortsleeves explains why being near water really does make us happier. Conde Nast Traveler Magazine

Rod McCullom reveals how bullying may shape adolescent brains. UnDark

SciShow Psych looks at the varieties of bipolar disorder.

Sophia Chen: Sean Carroll thinks we all exist on multiple worlds. Nabbed his book, Something Deeply Hidden, on the strength of this article. A little mind-blowing 🙂 Wired

Gabriel Popkin explores soil’s microbial market and the ruthless side of forests. Ties the “wood wide web” to the Gaia hypothesis—awesome stuff. Quanta Magazine

David Gelles: Jane Goodall keeps going, with a lot of hope (and a bit of whiskey). The New York Times

Physics girl looks at the surprising ways Mars is hostile to life.

Dr. Becky answers the question, if the universe is expanding, why do galaxies collide?

Andrew Lasane introduces us to the “Universe of Words” installation by Emmanuelle Moureaux. This is Colossal

Jessica Stewart shares 15 powerful finalists for the 2019 wildlife photograph of the year contest. Warning: though compelling, several of these photos are uncomfortable, if not outright disturbing. My Modern Met

Thanks for visiting. I hope you found something to inspire your current or next creative project.

Until next tipsday, be will, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

ThoughtyThursday2019