Quickies: Toxic hand sanitizer, side benefit of face masks, racism in NH policing, and more…

... plus, making up for missing Friday with LOTS of cute and cool animals

1,289 2 minutes read

Your Friday Quickies are late again… because virtual academic conferences are surprisingly just as tiring as in-person events.

First off, check your hand sanitizer bottles. The FDA has recalled 77 products to date that contain methanol, aka wood alcohol, the toxic kind that can make you blind. And yes, it’s even dangerous when applied to your skin. H/t to Bethany Brookshire!
As if there weren’t enough good reasons to weak a mask, the Dept. of Homeland Security is concerned that masks will make facial recognition software ineffective. Although the leaked memos indicate concerns over violent white supremacists specifically, facial recognition software is under fire for propagating racism.
This one is local to me, but it’s a great example of good independent journalism. 87 settlements are uncovered between local police departments in New Hampshire and citizens who were wrongly harmed, harassed, or racially profiled. This came as a result of 230 Right to Know Requests to every city and town in the state.
Go watch what must be the most satisfying 10 minutes of video from the US House of Representatives, as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez destroys Rep. Ted Yoho and just about any man who hides behind his wife, daughters, sisters, and mothers when called out for misogyny.
Okay, and for some fun science news, go check out this cool image of a multi-planet system around a Sun-like star.

Here are a whole bunch of cute and fascinating animals submitted by Musacadine!

Scientists accidentally create a new fish. Because there’s no way THAT can go wrong!
Meanwhile, other scientists figure out what makes the darkest fish in the sea absorb over 99% of the light that hits them.
I feel like I’ve seen this African rain frogs that look like adorably grumpy avocados, but I did not know that they make the most adorable squeaky toy noises.
Check out this slideshow of some of the rarest species on Earth.
A woman’s harp session turns into an actual Disney movie.
The story of Henry the Hedgehog Finder, a Very Good Boy showing that dogs can do conservation work. “Wildlife detection dogs need some natural impulse control—especially if they’ll be looking for live animals.” (laughs in dog-mom)