On May 15, 1836, Francis Baily observed (what would later be called) “Baily’s beads” around the moon during a solar eclipse. Call for Papers: Women of Color Beyond Faith Anthology – The abstract submission date is September 30, but don’t wait until the last minute! From Heina. Taliban renounces war on anti-polio workers – Wow, the Taliban is more reasonable than... »
On May 13, 1861, John Tebbutt discovered the Great Comet of 1861, which was visible to the naked eye for three months. Scientology Is as Bad at Photoshop as It Is at Not Brainwashing People – From Amy. Churnalism: US Tool for Journalistic Accountability – From Jamie: “You can paste in text from a news article and it searches through press releases for a match (using an algorithm ... »
On May 8, 1980, the World Health Organization officially recognized the eradication of smallpox. Psychic Who Said Amanda Berry Was Dead Silent After Berry Is Found Alive – Hey, guess what. Sylvia Browne is a total fucking asshole. From Paul. Solving Equation of a Hit Film Script, With Data – The algorithms behind movie-making (and the death of creativity?). Gullible Men’s Rights Reddit... »
On May 6, 1844, the world’s first mechanically-frozen ice rink (the Glaciarium) opened. I like the thought of ladies and gentlemen in full dress on the ice for some reason. “The Book of Woe”: Psychiatry’s last stand - “An account of the making of the new DSM questions whether psychiatry is–or should be–a science.” From Will. The Great Gatsby and 7 other hideous movie... »
Today’s guest post is from Chris Hofstader (featured in a previous guest post) and concerns Blog Against Disablism Day. I am not eloquent enough to describe how compelling, thought-provoking, and eye-opening this post is for people who are not aware of the issues behind disablism, you just have to read it yourself. ———————————... »
On April 24, 1885, Annie Oakley was hired to be part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. In addition to being an amazing sharpshooter, she had an interesting upbringing, so take a minute today and read about her. The Real Problem With That Controversial, Sexy Video Game Sorceress – It is amazing the amount of dudes who will go to great lengths to explain that grotesquely over-sized (and ... »
On this day, the US Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, which is the first act to authorize the phrase “In God We Trust” on the two-cent coin. Unfortunantely, this phrase ended up replacing the superior “E Pluribus Unum.” The sexist fans of ‘I f-cking love science’ – This line really got me: ‘‘I mean you are an attractive woman. Doesn’t make it ... »
On this day in 1897, the Aurora UFO Incident (in Texas) occurred. Surprise ending: the story is most likely a hoax. In a related story, “UFO enthusiasts admit the truth may not be out there after all.” My lucky day: the view from mile 22 – One woman’s account of the kindness of people after the Boston Marathon explosions. From The Edge. 5 Basic Facts of Life (Were Made Up b... »
