Coffee and Provocation

Many Bronze Age Dogs Ate Mostly Grains

The notion that dogs are exclusively or primarily meat eaters has been thoroughly debunked by both history and biology. Dogs are not wolves. 

The Coffee Experiments of James Smithson

James Smithson, who funded the Smithsonian Institution, sought to preserve coffee aromatics. His idea: put coffee grounds in a glass bottle, pour cold water over the grounds and put a cork loosely in the mouth of the bottle before placing the bottle in a pot of boiling water. When the coffee is done, the bottle is removed from the boiling water and allowed to cool without removing the cork. Then pour the coffee grounds and liquid through a filter before quickly reheating it before drinking it.  Was it better than modern pour-over coffee?  It depends on what you like.

How Norway Grew Back Its Forests

Norway was once deforested by an export timber business and widespread fireplace heating. In the last 100 years, however, Norway has tripled the amount of wood in its forests.  How did they do it?  They began 100 years ago with a national inventory of all forest lands and then began planting trees. Forest regrowth has occurred despite the fact that little land is actually protected as national or park or nature reserve.  

Creatures Named After David Attenborough

It's a nice long, and very diversified, list that includes plants, insects, dinosaurs, lizards, and frogs.

Finding the Trojan Horse?

Archaeologists in Turkey claim they have found the Trojan Horse in Turkey while excavating ancient Troy. Carbon dating tests and other analysis suggest the odd assembly of large wooden pieces date from the 12th or 11th centuries B.C., which is the right time period.  Back in 1995, I brought a 15-foot tall Trojan Horse to the US Capitol to protest the GOP's Trojan Horse tax cuts being done on the back of Medicare's long-term solvency.

The Tail End of Bird Extinction

In recorded history, relatively few species have actually gone fully extinct, and most of those are birds endemic to small islands.  New research suggests, however, that large-scale island bird extinction driven by the hand of man predates modern history and that recorded bird extinctions are but the tail end of a long curve.