Melanie Mallon

Melanie is a freelance editor and writer living in a small town outside Minneapolis with her husband, two kids, dog, and two cats. When not making fun of bad charts or running the Uncensorship Project, she spends her time wrangling commas, making colon jokes, and putting out random dumpster fires. You can find her on Twitter as @MelMall, on Facebook, and on Instagram.
  • Random Asides

    Bad Chart Thursday: Higher CEO Pay Decreases Smoking Rates

    I was reading Heina’s recent article on #CVSQuits, the announcement by CVS Caremark that its drugstores would no longer be selling tobacco products, and something very interesting caught my eye. Heina points out that the decision is a publicity stunt, not one that will have a meaningful impact on public health, but buried in her arguments is the REAL REASON…

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  • Events

    Auction: T-Rex in Birdcage Pendant; Custom Culinary Science Post

    Cross-posted with Skepchick Events. This week we have two very different but equally awesome items up for auction to raise money for science education and outreach at SkepchickCon. Daniela, the managing editor of EscĂ©ptica, has donated an adorable, beautifully handmade pendant, a tiny little T-Rex in a sterling silver cage. Anne Sauer, who writes about the science of food and…

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  • Random Asides

    Bad Chart Thursday: Hair Length

    This week’s bad chart pretty much made itself. It begins with this article about women with short hair being damaged, which is clearly a parody of the racist male supremacists who bravely pontificate on the Internet anonymously about truly important subjects like hair length. The entire piece is a brilliant satire of the type of man who would actually think…

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  • Events

    Auction: Original Chalk & Ink Poster of Rebecca as Misandry Dragon

    Cross-posted with Skepchick Events. One of our newest Teen Skepchicks, Kit “Grimalkin” Partin, is apparently a brilliant artist. He donated a hilarious original chalk and ink poster of Rebecca Watson as “a ferocious misandry dragon, burning down the city of Manville with her misandrist misandryfires” to help us raise money for science education and outreach at SkepchickCon. The auction starts…

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  • Random AsidesWalmart receipt Jesus

    Bad Chart Thursday: The Pareidolia Plot

    As skeptics, we’re probably all familiar with the concept of pareidolia, perceiving a distinct pattern, often an image, in randomness, such as the many sightings of Jesus and the Virgin Mary in food items (grilled cheese, tortillas, pizza, Cheetos), stains on walls, wood grain, gnarled trees, and even in a dirty sock. The same process is at work with sound,…

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  • Events

    Skepchick Auctions: Choose-Your-Own Surly

    Cross-posted with Skepchick Events. This week, as a part of our SkepchickCon fundraising, we are auctioning a Surlyramics necklace or earrings set, donated by the one and only Surly Amy. All proceeds go toward supplies and informational materials for science and art education and outreach as well as travel expenses for the experts we’re bringing to SkepchickCon. The winning bidder…

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  • Meta Stuff

    Bad Chart Thursday’s Mysterious Disappearance

    Bad Chart Thursday is back! But I’m sure I’m not alone in wondering where it disappeared to over the past few months. I asked it, but of course, its responses were inconsistent and unverifiable. Did Bad Chart Thursday get lost when we moved servers and travel thousands of cyberspace miles to find us? Or did it disappear when charting the…

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  • Skepticism

    SkepchickCon Auctions: Misandry Hat and Custom Deb Goddard Voicemail

    We are back with more donated items to auction for SkepchickCon fundraising. All proceeds go toward supplies and informational materials for science and art education and outreach as well as travel expenses for the experts we’re bringing to the con. SkepchickCon is the science and skepticism track at CONvergence, a sci-fi/fantasy conference held in the Minneapolis area every July 4th…

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