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Quickies
Quickies: The geological challenges of a border wall, scolding Senators, and science outreach
What geology has to say about a 1000 mile border wall – “Smithsonian.com asked two scientists, a geophysicist and a hydrogeologist, which geologic factors the wall’s builders should take into account first if they are to execute this ambitious project.” GOP senator: Elizabeth Warren shouldn’t criticize Jeff Sessions because “think of his wife” – “Orrin Hatch suggested that a woman…
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Quickies
Quickies: Librarians teaching about fake news, gaslighting trolls, and how animals use poop
The nervous civil servants guide to defying an illegal order – “The American system provides you with a choice. You can insist that you were just following orders. Or you can follow the law.” Librarians take up arms against fake news – “Hagen said librarians have always helped people sort fact from fiction, reliable sources from deceptive ones. Usually that…
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Quickies
Quickies: Intersectionality, exotification, and scientists against fascism
“It will be called Americanism”: the US writers who imagined a fascist future – From Veronica. Not your exotic fantasy – A new Tropes vs. Women in Video Games on, “the ways in which sexist, racist stereotypes about Black women and tribal cultures that date back for centuries are often still perpetuated today in representations of women from indigenous and…
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Quickies
Quickies: National Park Service, books by and about refugees, and the global gag rule
Statement from Director Jon Jarvis of the National Park Service – “So at Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta should we not talk about his actions to secure the rights to vote for African Americans in the south, or is that too “national policy”? At Stonewall National Monument in New York City, shall we only talk about…
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Quickies
Quickies: Science of gender, the origin of “snowflake,” and staying safe online
The science of gender: No men aren’t from Mars and women aren’t from Venus – “”What on first inspection seemed like a sex difference,” Fine writes, “was actually a difference between white males and everyone else.”” On Cordelia Fine’s newest book! “Snowflake” as a slang term did not begin with Fight Club – “Palahniuk was hardly the first person to…
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Quickies
Quickies: Contemporary black women scientists at NASA, scientists running for office, and intersectional feminism
In honor of Hidden Figures, meet the contemporary black women contributing to NASA’s success – “In a series of videos, women like systems engineer Julie Williams-Byrd, project manager Antja Chambers, and astronaut Jeanette Epps discuss their work with NASA and how the women of Hidden Figures inspired them.” Thanks to Trump, scientists are going to run for office – “Since…
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Quickies
Quickies: Farting animals, skeptical health books, and sluttiness
11 books to read when your friend goes paleo (or adopts some other “natural” diet) – Definitely a reading list of interest to skeptics. Scientists on Twitter made a list of animals that fart and puke – “Science Twitter really is a world of its own. If they’re not trying to find the most impressive animal genitalia using the hashtag…
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Quickies
Quickies: Throwing shade, shadow maps, and child care scarcity
How to throw shade while still being intersectional – “Being a petty, shade-throwing intersectional feminist is about finding that sweet spot where humor and shade meet inclusivity.” Shadow maps show where sunlight does not fall – “The idea of mapping the landscape using only sunset shadows came to me as a way to focus purely on the natural shape, structure…
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