Coffee and Provocation

Beware of Rabid Bats
3 fatal rabies cases contracted from bats during a six-week period last fall.

Beavers Head North

Global warming is allowing beavers to move farther north, into the arctic. "Scientists who sought to map the spread of beavers in Alaska were astounded to find that the creatures have pushed far north into previously inhospitable territory and are now set to sweep into the furthest northern extremities as the Arctic tundra continues to heat up due to the climate crisis."

Clone, Clone on the Range

Researchers have discovered a gene that makes it possible to produce seeds from crops that are genetically identical to the mother plant and that do not need pollination, ie parthogenisis. "Apomixis is seen as the holy grail of agriculture. Because apomictic plants produce 'clonal' seeds from the mother plant, the process allows uniquely superior combinations of a plant's traits to be captured in one fell swoop. Apomixis can therefore accelerate the breeding of innovative crops, make seed production less costly and bring the advantages of hybrid breeding to a lot more of the world's crop species."

Racism in the Grade School Dance Class
Henry Ford pushed square dancing into American grade schools as a bulwark against Jazz, which he saw as a "Jewish creation."

Not So Special
Only 1.5 to 7% of the modern human genome is uniquely human.

Now in the Public Domain

Winnie the Pooh, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, TE Lawrence's The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (the source for Lawrence of Arabia), Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and an estimated 400,000 sound recordings from before 1923.

The Best Deal on Amazon Bulk Items
Unit Price tracks various product categories (pencils, lego, golf balls, etc.) and highlights the best bulk pricing on them. K-cups are so popular they get a site of their own, Okay Cup.

Criminals Must Pay Taxes

If you robbed a bank, sold illegal drugs, or accepted a bribe in 2021, the IRS wants you to know that you still must report those earnings. From IRS Publication 17 (2021): "Illegal activities. Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity[…] Stolen property. If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless you return it to its rightful owner in the same year."