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Quickies
Quickies: Untested Rape Kits, the Postdocalypse, and Flying Through Space
On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public. If you’re a knowledge junkie like me, read more about the origin story here. Man Who Raised Money For Organ And Tissue Donation Dies, Is Rejected As Donor Because He Was Gay – From CriticalDragon1177. What Makes This Substance Boil And Freeze At The Same Time? –…
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Featured
Guest Post: Stop Judging Me for Being on Welfare
Editor’s Note: In media and popular culture, the myth of the “welfare queen” is still present. Obviously, this stereotype does not reflect the reality of people who need government assistance. Today’s guest post is from a single mother on welfare and how she constantly feels judged by society for getting a “free ride” when it’s anything but. ————————————————————————————– When I…
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Quickies
Quickies: Poverty Myths Busted, The Failure of the 12 Steps, and Alien Commuters (not what you think)
On March 26, 1484, William Caxton printed his translation of Aesop’s Fables. I was obsessed with reading these as a kid, and one of my favorites was The Fox and the Stork. Did you have a favorite fable? VA Christian school bans 8-year-old girl because her tomboy looks aren’t ‘biblical’ – The real question here is: does the school tolerate students…
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Quickies
Quickies: Art on the Moon, a Look at Women’s History Month, and Caffeine
On March 24, 1993, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was discovered. Later in 1994 the comet crashed into Jupiter, providing astronomers with a glimpse of the materials that make up Jupiter’s atmosphere. ‘College of Curiosity’ shares rarities – Check out Jeff Wagg’s latest project! From Jamie. The Sculpture on the Moon – “Scandals and conflicts obscured one of the most extraordinary…
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Book Club
Skepchick Book Club: The Poisoner’s Handbook
Note: information for next month’s book is at the end of this post. Also, there’s a super tasty vegan recipe! Welcome back to the Skepchick Book Club! This month, we read The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. The book was pretty much exactly what the title says, a look back on how the…
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Quickies
Quickies: Fred Phelps Excommunication, Tractor Beams, and the Notorious RBG
On March 19, 1962, Bob Dylan released his first album, Bob Dylan. I haven’t listened to a lot of his music, but my favorite mainstream Dylan hit is definitely “Lay, Lady, Lay.” Post your favorite Dylan suggestions in the comments! Fred Phelps Excommunicated After Internal Power Struggle at Westboro – Apparently, his mistake was advocating that church members treat each other with…
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Quickies
Quickies: Haunted Houses, Pointlessly Gendered Products, and Women Shunned for Menstruating
I’m going to start today with a quote from Carl Sagan, who said, “I can remember one occasion, taking a shower with my wife while high, in which I had an idea on the origins and invalidities of racism in terms of Gaussian distribution curves. It was a point obvious in a way, but rarely talked about. I drew the…
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Quickies
Quickies: Feminist Fishmongers, the Gudjonsson Test of Suggestibility, and Petty Olson
The Girl Guides, now known as the Girl Scouts, were founded on March 12, 1912. I used to be a Girl Scout but I was never that into it, maybe because my troop never did anything cool (even though overall I think the Girl Scouts is a great organization). People—Including Cops—See Black Kids as Less Innocent and Less Young Than…
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