AUTHOR R. ANN SIRACUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It isn't the destination that matters -- It's the journey that counts!

Bears On The Moon

5/22/2020

I kid you not. Bears are on the moon, but not the kind of bears you're thinking about.

MEET MY LITTLE FRIEND
Let me introduce you to a tiny eight-legged microscopic animal which you probably don’t know, or care, anything about … the Tardigrade (also known as moss piglets or water bears because of their stocky bodies and gait).
Image caption: A colored scanning electron micrograph of a tardigrade in moss
Photo Credit: Science Photo Library - Photo source: psbbc.com/news/tardigrade

Water bears aren’t very cute (unless you like really weird things) and, at less than a millimeter, these animals do not make good pets, although they would be easy to care for. Studies show that these small invertebrates originally lived in freshwater environments before adapting to land where they seek out moist habitats such as soil, mosses, leaves and lichen. They are ubiquitous, and live almost everywhere in the world including Antarctica and the deepest oceans.
Water bears are small, cylindrical invertebrates, divided into five segments. The first segment contains the head and the next four each have one pair of unsegmented legs ending (most often) in claws.

The tardigrade body is covered with a flexible cuticle, which is smooth or covered with gibbosities, spines or plates. Despite being so small, they have a very complicated internal structure. Water bears have a complete digestive system, a well developed nervous system, and an abdominal chain with segmental ganglia. They also have various sensory organs like papilla, chemoreceptors and eyes. Water bears can be dioecious and bisexual.

◄ A water bear egg, imaged by colored scanning electron micrograph
Photo source: bbc.co.uk/nature/ (Looks too much like corona virus to me)
   Image caption: They shouldn't be cute, but we don't make the rules
   Photo Credit: Getty Images -
   Photo Source: psbbc.com/news/tardigrade.▼

In 2007, thanks to the Italian Space Agency Project Biokis, tardigrades became the first earth animal to survive the exposure to space in sub-zero temperatures, solar winds, and an oxygen-deprived space vacuum.

This is when scientists discovered that tardigrades, in their desiccated state, are exceptionally tolerant of extreme environments, including space. Obviously the toughest animals on earth, this discovery prompted a new level of research on their survival capabilities.

Drawing Credit: Dave Kellett/ Sheldoncomics.com / color; Beth Morrell
Patreon.com / Sheldoncomics.com
Source: pinterest.com/201395414567139103/

Again in 2011, my little friend traveled into space for a second time on the NASA shuttle Endeavour. Its mission: to help scientists understand more about how this so-called "hardiest animal on Earth" can survive for short periods off it. Tardigrades join other microscopic organisms selected to be part of a project into extreme survival.
I call the tardigrade my little friend because he is a secondary character in a murder mystery I’m writing which takes at the South Pole.

After the tardigrade’s second venture into space, researchers discovered that a tardigrade protein named Dsup binds to chromatin -- DNA inside cells -- and forms a protective cloud against extreme survival threats such as radiation damage. They have also proved vulnerable to excessive heat, which may turn out to be their Achilles’ Heel. They are not indestructible.

Another notable achievement of water bears was their successful revival and reproduction after being frozen for over 30 years. “A moss sample collected in Antarctica in Nov. 1983, stored at -20°C, was thawed in May 2014. Two individuals and a separate egg retrieved from the thawed sample were revived, thereby providing the longest record of survival for tardigrades as animals or eggs. Subsequently, one of the revived tardigrades and the hatchling repeatedly reproduced after recovering from their long-term cryptobiosis.” sciencedaily.com/releases/2016

BEARS ON THE MOON
Since out last visit with the water bear (which is not really related to any bear-type animal), they have immigrated to the Moon.

Quite true, although the word immigrate makes it sound like they had a choice. Their presence violates the Outer Space Treaty which provides for, among other things like not putting nuclear weapons in space, not contaminating any environment in space. One hundred and nine countries are party to the agreement and another twenty-three have signed but not yet ratified.

The Arch Mission Foundation
There is a non-profit organization called The Arch Mission Foundation which keeps a "backup" of planet Earth; the archives of human knowledge and species of the plant earths biology the planet's biology, stored and sent out to various solar locations in case of a life-ending event.

This was news to me, and I think it is very exciting.

◄THE SOLAR LIBRARY: TESLA ORBITER (SPACEX, 2018)
Their first mission was launched by SpaceX on the Falcon Heavy Test launch and is now entering an orbit around the Sun for millions of years. The first books in the Solar Library are Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy.

LEO LIBRARY: CONSTELLATION 1 (SPACECHAIN, 2018) ►
SpaceChain launched a cubesat containing a live blockchain node into low-Earth orbit. Onboard is a copy of the English Wikipedia in solid-state storage, provided by the Arch Mission Foundation.

◄THE LUNAR LIBRARY: GENESIS (SPACEIL 2019)
The first major installation of the Lunar Library is a 30 million page archive(viewable under a microscope) that flew on the SpaceIL Beresheet Moon lander, in 2019: It is now believed to be intact on the Moon.

THE LUNAR LIBRARY: PEREGRINE (ASTROBOTIC, 2021) ►
The Arch Mission Foundation is delivering the second installment in the Lunar Library,™ containing additional content, in an upcoming mission with Astrobotic to the lunar surface.

An Unfortunate Crash Landing
“On April 11, 2019, an Israeli lander named after the Hebrew word for “Genesis” attempted to mark a new beginning for space exploration by becoming the first privately funded spacecraft to touch down on the moon. Built by the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL, the Beresheet lander tried to softly land within Mare Serenitatis, a vast volcanic basin on the moon's northern near side - but as it made its descent, the spacecraft's main engine failed. Engineers reset the spacecraft but lost communications, and the 330-pound lander ultimately crashed.”
nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/

Along with the second installment of the library and some equipment, the Beresheet carried human DNA and dehydrated tardigrades - some in amber and some stuck on tape. It is believe that all the contents of the lander survived the crash, which means there are now dehydrated tardigrades on the moon which could probably be revived with the introduction of some water.

So the water bears are there, shriveled into tiny balls and in a state of deep suspended animation that resembles death, waiting. In the meantime, SpaceIL has violated the Outer Space Treaty.

I predict that the tardigrade has a bright future in research for years to come.
Just sayin’
□
Sources:
https://www.archmission.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160216104552.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200113104203.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191001102207.htm
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160328101622.htm
htt://www.psbbc.com/news/newsbeat-49265125
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/04/spaceil-beresheet-first-privately-funded-israeli-spacecraft-crash-lands-on-moon/
https://www.americanscientist.org/article/tardigrades
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/12855775
http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/tardigrades/1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/201395414567139103/
https://elifesciences.org/digests/47682/how-tardigrades-survive-the-extreme

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Emotional Support Animals

5/15/2020

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IN THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
I don’t believe that most reasonable people in this age of enlightenment would object to a physically handicapped person having a trained service animal. I don’t believe they would object to that person traveling on public transportation, airplanes, or taking them into public places and stores. People understand, pretty much, that disabled people have the same rights as anyone else, and that socially we all have an obligation to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

So why has this become an issue worthy of many articles and opinions on the internet?
[That’s a naïve question, and I apologize. I can’t get used to the idea that many people want to not only share but force others to listen to their opinions and personal information with everyone in the world … and they do it over the internet. My bad. I suppose in that respect I’m a dinosaur.]

Regardless, for a segment of the population this scenario has become an issue that I was unaware of until I ran onto it researching something else and found it intriguing.

FIGURATIVELY AND LITERALLY, THEY’RE DIFFERENT ANIMALS
To discuss this issue, we have to understand that there are two distinct, but related, legal definitions involved.

Service Animals
Under Titles II and III of the American Disabilities Act (ADC) service animals are defined as dogs, and now miniature horses under certain circumstances, “that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.”

Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. There is no legal requirement that they be registered, but registration can save a lot of misery and discontent.
Photo Source: pawswithacause.org

The person with the disability should be trained to work with and control the dog and, as I understand it, is legally responsible for the dog’s / horse’s behavior. The animal must be leashed but can go anywhere the general public can go, and legally cannot be asked to leave. The operator of a public facility can ask only two questions about the animal:
1. Is the dog/miniature horse required because of a disability? and
2. What is the work the animal is trained to perform?
Proof cannot be required by the operator, but in California if you falsely claim service animal status, it’s a misdemeanor subject to a fine up to $1,000 or six months in prison.

Emotional Support Animals
An emotional support animal (ESA) is one that provides comfort or a sense of relief to a person with an emotional or psychological condition. They are not trained to perform specific tasks or provide their owners with any service other than soothing their symptoms. As such, they’re not considered service animals. Dogs and miniature horses whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.

An Emotional Support Animal is usually a dog or cat but can be any species, whether it’s a dog, a peacock, or a pig. Health professionals claim animal therapy provides great benefits to people suffering from emotional or psychological disorders, and there is a body of scientific proof to support that. Qualifying ailments include but are not limited to anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, panic attacks and fear or phobias.

I absolutely support that. My cat Roxy helped me through a rough patch and was a great Roxy comfort when I was feeling pretty low.

Those who wish to have emotional support animals and want to take those animals with them to public places must have a prescription by a licensed mental health professional. After receiving this, any animal that meets the guidelines for legal emotional support animals can be registered as such.

However, your legal right to take emotional support animals in public places is dependent on state laws. California law allows persons with disabilities to bring trained service dogs or psychiatric service dog, but not emotional support animals, to all public places.

SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM, BIG GUY?
Assuming that most people are rational and are not out to cause disabled people grief for no reason, what’s got your panties in a twist?

Allergies
The first is the issue of allergies. Allergies to cats and/or dogs do not distinguish between service animals or emotional support animals, and some allergies are severe enough to be life threatening. Photo source: youtube.com/anaphylaxis

In many places, such as a restaurant, mall, or library, it is possible to make accommodations to keep the animal apart from the person with allergies, but it usually requires the understanding and cooperation of the employees making the accommodation. On a public bus at rush hour, a crowded airplane, or at the Department of Motor Vehicles where one is required to wait with a zillion other strangers for four hours, not so much. Not only is making an accommodation less possible, the employees involved often demonstrate little sympathy.

Legally, allergies and fear of dogs are not valid reasons for denying access or refusing service to people needing service animals.

Variety of animals
The good old days of only dogs and cats is a thing of the past. Now people have every species under the sun as emotional support animals. Without debating the value and importance of the support provided, the variety sets the stage for further problems in tight spaces. A snake may sooth your fear of flying, but could make the person sitting next to you on the plane very uncomfortable.

Misrepresentation of Emotional Support Animals as an Excuse
A study conducted in 2017 on the public perception of service animals and ESAs states, “As assistance animals become more prevalent in society, there appears to be a parallel increase in the frequency of allegations of misrepresentation or fraudulent representation of animals as assistance animals.”
healthline.com/health-news/emotional-support-animals Photo Credit: Petar Petrov/AP - Photo Source: oddee.com

Passing your pet off as an ESA just because you want to travel with it, is not doing any favors for those people who truly need this kind of emotional support. People who are either frightened or annoyed by the tarantula next to them may complain or become a “naysayer” about the entire issue. If the pet has to travel, let it spend a few hours in the storage compartment for animals.

The two tarantulas that escaped on an Air Transat Flight to Canada in 2016, were not truly Emotional Support Animals and may have done some emotional damage to other passengers.

On the other hand, the average person is not qualified to assess if another person is physically or mentally handicapped or what that handicap might be, and unwarranted complains are also filed.

Inadequate Training and/or Control of the Animal
Another problem is certified service and ESA animals which are not adequately trained or controlled.

Even though service animals are supposed to be trained, often the training is not provided by a qualified professional. Also, the owner may not have adequate control of the animal. Service animals must be on a leash or some similar restraint, but occasionally service animals attack other people. Sometimes the dog is trying to protect the owner from an action or sound it perceives as threatening; sometimes the owner just doesn’t have control of the dog. (I didn’t find any incidents of mini-horses attacking bystanders.)

There is no training requirement for a certified ESA, which ups the ante as the variety of such animals expands. People are less familiar with how non-traditional animals may react to outside stimulus.

Housing
Another point of conflict relates to housing, particularly but not exclusively, rentals. Any situation where limitation on animals or type of animal can become an issue. The relationship between renter-owner is clear, but also regarding purchase there are condominium rules and subdivision CC&Rs which may address animals. These situations fall under the auspices of housing discrimination.

“An emotional support animal is a type of assistance animal that is recognized as a "reasonable accommodation" for a person with a disability under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHAct, 42 U.S.C.A. 3601 et seq.). The assistance animal is not a pet according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD is the agency that oversees the FHAct and investigates claims of housing discrimination.” https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals

Housing is a complicated issue. I am simply pointing out that if you have a dispute regarding housing and Service or ESA animals, you need to get into details which I can’t address here. If you are an owner renting out a house, condo, or apartment, you need to be aware of this.

WHAT IS YOU FAVORITE NON-TRADITIONAL ESA?

Daisy - She was kicked off a Frontier Airlines. She had a reservation but owner hadn’t declared animal was a squirrel. The flight was delayed 2 hours. PhotoSource: thesun.co.uk/travel

Dexter the performing peacock
Credit: thejetsettv / Bored Panda. Source:dailymail.co.uk/emotional-support-pets

Photo Credit: Devinn Zeller / Bored Panda. Photo source: dailymail.co.uk/emotional-support-pets

Hog Kicked off US Airways for defecating in the aisle and howling. Photo Credit: IamBremmer /Bored Panda
Photo source: dailymail.co.uk/emotional-support-pets

Ronica Froese and mini-horse, Fred. Photo Credit: Reuters
Photo Source: marketwatch.com/emotional-support-animals

Green serpent dropped from the overhead luggage compartment during Aeromexico flight.
Photo Credit: Indalecio Medina
Photo Source: oddee.com

Publicity photo - the four Koalas actually traveled in climate-controlled containers in cargo.
Photo Credit: Qantas Airways
Photo Source: oddee.com

Photo Credit: Bored Panda
PhotoSource: thesun.co.uk/travel

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when It Rains Frogs and Pigs Fly

5/8/2020

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YEAH, THAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN PIGS FLY
When you get that response to a suggestion or comment, you can be sure the speaker does not believe what you are saying is even possible. ▼ Photo source: abcnews.go.com/pigs-fly ▼

Real pigs can’t fly. We have visual proof they can’t fly commercial, either. The young lady in the picture was put off a US Airways flight out of Connecticut the plane with her emotional-support pig because, according to American Airlines, the parent company of US Airways, “the pig became disruptive, and the woman was asked to leave.” Actually, the pig defecated in the aisle and then began to howl.

YEAH, THAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN IT RAINS FROGS
You’re likely to get this response to the same suggestion or comment, but in this case the speaker is incorrect. It can, and occasionally does rain frogs … and fish and other things.

Throughout history records document eye-witness reports of fish, frogs, and other small living things falling from the sky either “like rain” or “in the rain.” Even if you leave out Exodus, “documented” tales of raining fish and frogs are reported by Roman naturalist, Pliny The Elder, as far back as the first century AD. No doubt the phenomenon, however rare, has been around since ancient times.
Passover Greeting Card - Drawing: C.McCoy
Photo source: amazon.com/NobleWorks-Raining

More recent reports include French soldiers, in 1794, reporting toads falling from the sky during heavy rain in Lille, France. Live lizards pelted Montreal, Canada, in 1857. It rained frogs in Kansas City in 1873. A hail of frozen frogs was reported in Dubugue, Iowa in 1882. Winnipeg was blessed with a rain of black ants during a thunderstorm in 1895. Moose Jaw got a downpour of fish and rain in 1903.

In July of 1901, Minneapolis, Minnesota, suffered a frog downpour. A newspaper reported: “When the storm was at its highest…there appeared as if descending directly from the sky a huge green mass. Then followed a peculiar patter, unlike that of rain or hail. When the storm abated the people found, three inches deep and covering an area of more than four blocks, a collection of a most striking variety of frogs…so thick in some places [that] travel was impossible.” weirdhistorian.com/raining-cats-and-dogs-is-one-thing-but-frogs-and-fish/

According to Julia Layton, science.howstuffworks.com, the frequency of such events has been increasing. “For unknown reasons, Britain appears to be especially susceptible in recent years. The cause of frog rain in general is less mysterious, although still a bit of a brow-furrower at times. It's also just as gross as many of us imagine. That final scene in the 1999 film Magnolia, which left most movie goers jaw-droppingly disgusted and a little impressed, is apparently a pretty accurate portrayal of the phenomenon, according to newspaper accounts.”

THE SCIENCE OF NON-AQUEOUS RAIN
There is a fairly understandable scientific explanation for this weird weather event which is related to watery tornados or waterspouts -- essentially whirlwinds that pick up water. These are usually caused by the high-pressure system preceding a severe thunderstorm.

Photo Credit: Patricia Vazquez, Myshot - Photo Source: nationalgeographic.org/waterspout ►

◄ Photo credit: Harald Richter (Public Domain) NSSL of NOAA
Photo Source: en.wikipedia.org/Tornado

First of all, remember that frogs, lizards, insects, and fish can weigh only a few ounces, and these storms are very powerful. They rip off roofs and pick up cars and trucks.

Second, the center of the waterspout is a low-pressure tunnel within a high-pressure cone and picks up light objects. Since these are formed over large bodies of water, they suck up water and low-weight water creatures. Items carried in the vortex can be carried over land as the storm moves. The same thing happens with a land-based tornado, which can pick up water and creatures from lakes, ponds, and other water sources. Professor Ernest Agee from Purdue University says, “I’ve seen small ponds literally emptied of their water by a passing tornado. So, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for frogs (or other living things) to ‘rain’ from the skies” (loc.gov/everyday-mysteries)

So actually, a storm can pick up anything if it is strong enough, and things can get carried for even hundreds of miles in the vortex, so you don’t need to be near a frog pond to get frogs in your rain. The most common living, non-aqueous item to “rain” is fish, since most water spouts form over the ocean. Birds are not uncommon victims, particularly during migrations. Blackbirds fell from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas, in 2010.

Writer Julia Layton’s description of what happens when the critters land, is worth repeating.
“But it's when the frogs, fish and other water animals hit the ground that things really get gross. It's unlikely they survive the journey, what with the speeding low-pressure vortex and the impact once that vortex dissolves. Usually, the frogs die, although it's unclear when exactly that happens -- during the trip or as a result of the fall. However, sometimes the frogs luck out. When it rained frogs in a small town in Serbia in 2005, people walked outside after the storm to see their streets blanketed in frogs trying to hop their way back to water.”

RECENT INCIDENTS
Ancient happenings are always subject to skepticism. Very little can be “proved” about what happened in the ancient past. From the medieval period we have more unreliable legends and pieces of art work depicting the phenomenon.

1557 wood cutting – Artist Unknown
Photo source: weirdhistorian.com/raining-frogs

When I searched for more recent events, I found many mentioned, but not many photographs. That makes sense, since these circumstances are localized and unpredictable. Unless you’re there with a camera for some other purpose, it is likely you’d lose the opportunity. Wikipedia has a list of reported occurrences. I’ve repeated only a few below, mostly reported in the US.
Raining fish in Northern Argentina – 1989▼ Photo source: leahsweather.wordpress.com/2012

Fish
● Knighton, Powys, Wales, 18 August 2004
● Kerala State, India, February 12, 2008
● Bhanwad, Jamnagar, India, October 24, 2009
● Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 9 September 2016
● Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, 20 January 2016
● Mexico, Tamaulipas, Tampico, 26 September 2017
● Oroville, California, 16 May 2017
● Jaffna, Sri Lanka, 7 November 2017
● New Jersey, USA, 7 April 2020

Frogs
● Calgary Canada, August 4, 1921
● Odzaci, Siberia, June 4, 2005
● Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, June 2009 (occurrences reported throughout the month)
● Rákóczifalva, Hungary, 18–20 June 2010 (twice)
● Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, Since 2011 (twice)

THE MIRACLE OF LLUVIA DE PECES
Residents of Yoro, Honduras have only one claim to fame. They insist that every year they have a Rain of Fish. Some years it occurs more than once, but always after a violent storm. After such a storm, residents fill the streets carrying baskets and collect sardine-like fish from the ground. The fish that are said to fall as rain are not indigenous to the local area. The Hondurans see it as a miracle and a blessing, since this is essentially a poor area and the only time they have fish to eat.
Photo source: allthatsinteresting.com/fish ▼ Photo source: www.youtube.com/ ▼

The story sounded fishy to me. The first thing I noticed in the photographs is that all the fish are on the street, and none on the sidewalks, plus the fish look bigger than sardine-like, whatever that means. Nevertheless, the town folk insist it’s real and not a hoax or a benevolent fish-donor who waits for the first big storm in May or June. I didn’t find any documents or articles that assert this is not a real meteorological event.

In 1970 a team from National Geographic, already on assignment in the area, were able to examine the grounded fish after a big storm. The fish turned out to be completely blind, so scientists suggested that they must live in underground caves or rivers where they are unexposed to light and that the flooding after a heavy rain forces them to the surface. Another possibility was a waterspout from the Atlantic ocean about a hundred miles away carries them there.

Since the real reason for the phenomenon hasn’t been pinned down by scientists, it must not matter to anyone except the residents of Yoro. Although the legend of the first recorded fish rain occurred in 1855, in 1996 the locals organized a festival which is now an annual event which takes place after the first big rain in the spring.

MY ADVICE – ALWAYS CARRY AN UMBRELLA AND A CAMERA IN THE RAIN.
□
Sources:
https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/rain-frog.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_of_animals
https://globalnews.ca/news/4371433/calgary-raining-frogs/
https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/can-it-rain-frogs-fish-and-other-objects/
https://www.popsci.com/weirdest-weather-ever/
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/laughingindisbelief/2017/08/america-copes-raining-frogs-bloody-red-waterways/
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2011/may/26/weather-watch-raining-frogs
https://www.livescience.com/44760-raining-frogs.html
https://www.weirdhistorian.com/raining-cats-and-dogs-is-one-thing-but-frogs-and-fish/
https://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/Its-raining-frogs-in-Serbia-20050607
https://commonplacefacts.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/todays-forecast-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-amphibians/
https://leahsweather.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/seriously-there-really-is-such-a-thing-as-non-aqueous-rain/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/proof-pigs-fly/story?id=27222136
https://allthatsinteresting.com/fish-rain-lluvia-de-peces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF3ub0bpneI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lluvia_de_Peces
Further reading
Chandler, Barb. "Froggy weather." Weatherwise, v. 57, Jan./Feb. 2004: 42.
Christian, Spencer, and Antonia Felix. Can it really rain frogs?: the world's strangest weather events. New York, Wiley, 1997. 121 p. (Juvenile)
Corliss, William. Tornados, dark days, anomalous precipitation, and related weather phenomena: a catalog of geophysical anomalies. Glen Arm, MD, Sourcebook Project, c1983. 196 p.
Dennis, Jerry. It's raining frogs and fishes: four seasons of natural phenomena and oddities of the sky. New York, HarperCollins, c1992. 323 p.
Englebert, Phillis. The complete weather resource. Detroit, UXL, c1997-2000. 4 v.
"Frogs fall from the sky." Herald sun, Melbourne, Australia, June 8, 2005. p. 2.

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THE EPITOME OF HYPOCRISY

5/1/2020

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A SIGN OF THE TIMES
My husband asked me to buy him a washable facemask. We have the other type, but he wanted something more permanent that we could launder.

No problem. The news media has been focusing heavily on the “new normal” and into the foreseeable future face masks are part of that discussion. Maybe he should get several.

As I was searching on-line, I simply looked up the product. Wow! In the blink of an eye, or at least in the blink of two months confined to my house, everything had changed. In addition to finding these ▼ on Amazon.com:

I also found these: ▼

THE NEW NORMAL
The news media and the medical profession have hinted or straight out said that the new normal will include wearing masks to carry on everyday living, at least until a reliable vaccine has been found for Covid-19. We can get used to seeing them in grocery stores and restaurants.

Photo source: marketwatch.com/masks Photo source: wsj.com/face-mask Photo source: nytimes.com/2020/

FASHION TREND OF THE FUTURE
Since some enterprising humans never miss an opportunity, already the “fashion face mask” is making appearances at the Paris, London, and New York Fashion Weeks -- the big events of the fashion year – as the “must have” fashion accessory of the season.

Whether or not masks prove to protect people from exposure to Covid-19, once the trend hits the couture fashion market, you can be sure they will be around for a few years … even if their prophylactic value is zilch.

Photo Credit: Christian Vierig/Getty Images Photo credit: Getty Images Photo Credit: Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows Photo source: hollywoodreporter.com/paris Photo source: sbs.com.au/niqab-banned Photo Source: nypost.com/face-masks

Photo Credit: Getty Images for NYFW: The Shows Photo source: cosmopolitan.in/masks latest fashion accessory
Photo Source: nypost.com/face-masks

LET’S GET TO THE HYPOCRICY PART
There is nothing hypocritical about wearing a face mask, voluntarily or by order. Nobody wants to get sick, a most people don’t want to make others sick.

Here’s the thing. It wasn’t more than a couple of years ago that the US and countries in Europe were considering or passing laws to prohibit Muslin women (or men) to cover their faces. Muslim women following their religious beliefs were told that covering the face interfered with the communication necessary in an open society and couldn’t be allowed for security and identification reasons. In some countries where these laws were enacted, Muslim women were arrested and fined for covering their faces. Now, all of a sudden, there is nothing wrong with it. Here are some of the headlines and statements from among many in the news.

● 2016
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095
On 6 December 2016, Chancellor Angela Merkel said the wearing of “full-faced veils should be prohibited” in Germany "wherever it is legally possible". This statement was made after Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere made a proposal in August, 2016, to outlaw the burka - or any full-face veil - in public buildings.

● 2017
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/opinion/quebec-veil-ban.html
Quebec’s Anti-Muslim Ban on the Veil
By Martin Patriquin - Nov. 8, 2017
This article discusses that Quebec, in 2017, put a ban on wearing face coverings by anyone giving or receiving a public service must do so without a covered face for “security or identification reasons.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095
The Islamic Veil across Europe
May 31, 2018
Article reports that Austria’s ruling coalition agreed in January 2017 to prohibit full-face veils (niqab and burka) in public spaces such as courts and schools, with the law coming in to force in October the same year. The government said at the time it was considering a more general ban on state employees wearing the headscarf and other religious symbols. The coalition said that “full-face veils in public stood in the way of "open communication", which it said was fundamental to an "open society".

● 2019
https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/07/10/
Western governments are telling Muslim women not to cover up
By Erasmus - Jul 10th 2019
France enacted a face mask law in 2010. This article indicates that France regulates religious apparel, and religion generally, “in a stricter way than any other democracy. The summer of 2016 was a torrid one for that country’s beaches, as many local authorities decreed bans on the burkini, a full-body swimsuit favored by some Muslim women. After weeks of nasty seaside scenes, the country’s highest administrative court ruled that the bans were an unacceptable curb on liberty.” Not about masks, but you get the idea.

Excuse me, but to my way of thinking, what’s happening right now is the epitome of hypocrisy. And I’m not the only one to notice.

Samuel Leighton-Dore (sbs.com.au/face-masks – March 10, 2020) writes, “ Social media users have pointed to the trend of face masks at Paris Fashion Week as evidence of hypocrisy from French leaders, after France became the first European country to impose a ban on full-face veils in public areas back in 2011."

I’m sure there are valid reasons why law enforcement and others want (and should) limit masks at certain types of events, but it should include all masks, face coverings, and face painting no matter who you are. Better minds than mine have debated this matter for a long time, and will continue to do so.

My only point in writing this is to point out how quickly society (human beings, if you choose) will drop one fear-opinion-prejudice in favor of something else we find more threatening. We ought to be able to admit that to ourselves.

WHICH OF THESE DO YOU FIND MOST THREATENING?

Photo Credit: Estrop/Getty Images - Marine Serre Fashion Collection Photo Credit: Kat, Creative Commons BY-NC 2.0 (cropped)
Photo Source: insider.com/marine-serre masks Photo Source: unu.edu/publications/prejudice

Masked demonstrators-Montreal-May Day Protest 2016 Police SWAT Team Leader-full gear Covid-19 Symbol Photo Credit: The Canadian Press/Graham Hughes Photo source: https://wallpapersafari.com/w/zg4f0o
Photo Source: theepochtimes.com/mask-laws

To quote Namira Islam Anani@namirari
“And here I was told covering your face was objectively offensive and a security threat.”

Just Sayin’.

Sources:
https://unu.edu/publications/articles/confronting-prejudice-against-muslim-women-in-the-west.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-mask_law
https://www.alamogordonews.com/story/news/local/holloman/2020/01/13/air-force-commissions-first-female-muslim-chaplain/4454664002/
https://nypost.com/2020/02/14/face-masks-are-must-have-accessory-of-london-fashion-week-amid-coronavirus-panic/
https://theconversation.com/muslim-women-who-cover-their-faces-find-greater-acceptance-among-coronavirus-masks-nobody-is-giving-me-dirty-looks-136021
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/opinion/quebec-veil-ban.html
https://www.aclu.org/other/discrimination-against-muslim-women-fact-sheet
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-13038095
https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2019/07/10/western-governments-are-telling-muslim-women-not-to-cover-up
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/countries-that-ban-burkha-hijab-niqab-1514673-2019-05-02
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2020/04/20/these-face-masks-can-help-stop-the-spread-of-the-coronavirus-and-theyre-available-right-now/#11402de33936
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fashion-brand-debuts-face-masks-at-paris-fashion-week-coronavirus-1281590
https://nocamels.com/2020/04/israel-fashion-accessories-face-masks-coronavirus/
Photos only:
https://www.shape.com/fitness/gear/face-mask-running-coronavirus
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-it-time-to-wear-a-face-mask-11585855788
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-all-americans-be-wearing-face-masks-to-protect-against-coronavirus-these-scientists-say-yes-2020-03-31
https://wallpapersafari.com/w/zg4f0oa
https://www.amaliah.com/post/57037/french-niqab-ban-cardi-b-niqab-and-french-montana-niqabis-in-video

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ENOUGH PENGUIN DUNG FOR A LIFETIME

4/25/2020

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WORLD PENGUIN DAY
April 25 is World Penguin Day.

Isn’t that nice? Penguins are adorable and loved by all. They deserve their own day of observance when the world recognizes and acknowledges their uniqueness.

Unfortunately, this species is also in need of protection, as are many of the animals of the world, from their not-so-considerate and greedy neighbors, the human beings.

Taken on Cruise to Antarctica, Photo Credit & Source: Robert Loh

MISS PERSONALITY PENGUIN
The seventeen species of penguins are members of the Spheniscidae Family. You know, those aquatic flightless neighbors at the very south end of town. Maybe they can’t fly, but wow, can they swim!

Olympic Swimmers
Penguins jump into the air before diving to swim faster. They can swim over 10 miles per hour and can dive down over 800 feet. They can even drink sea water, and their eyes are adapted to seeing underwater.
They do pretty much everything a bird cannot do.

Photo Credits: Getty Images
Photo Source: goodhousekeeping.com/penguins

Mobility
Penguins, which have feathers like other birds but can’t fly, are still classified as “birds” even though they live on land about half their lives and in the ocean the other half. Their motion in the water more closely resembles flying than the swimming motion used by other animals, and they live on sea life. Their wings have become flippers in the water.

On land, these birds either waddle on their feet without much grace, or toboggan (slide) on their bellies across the snow, a movement which saves their energy and still moves them quickly. They also jump with both feet together if they want to move more quickly or cross steep or rocky terrain.

Size
They range in size from the Little Blue Penguin which grows to an average of 14” in height, to the largest, the Emperor Penguin, which reaches from 3’6” to 4’3”.

Photo Source: Pinterest; http://www.cadavies.com/penguins/html

Thirty-seven- million-year-old fossils recently discovered in Antarctica indicate that an ancient breed of penguins once stood taller than the average adult man today at 5-foot-10 (some sources say 6’8’’).

Native Habitat
Penguins and polar bear cartoon are popular and cute, but it “ain’t ‘gonna happen!”.
The two species would never meet.

Although every species of penguins are native to the Southern Hemisphere, and some live in very cold climates like Antarctica, others thrive in temperate zones and the Galápagos penguin lives near the equator. A cold current from Antarctica keeps the water near the Galapagos cool enough for the penguins to survive. There are no native penguins in the Northern Hemisphere, and they don’t live at the North Pole, but are seen along coastlines throughout the Southern Hemisphere. 1998 Coca-Cola Ad-Photo credit: Gremlin Fine Art and Animation.
Photo source: amazon.com/Your-Coke-Sir
Other Senses
Penguins have average hearing compared to other birds, but it is keen enough to be used to locate parents and babies in huge colonies. Their eyes are the primary sense for finding food and avoiding predators. They have no teeth. Nonetheless, some species can be quite aggressive.

Feathers
Penguin feathers are short, dense, and packed so tightly together that they often look like smooth skin… and they are waterproof. Penguins spread an oil produced by the preen gland that insulates their bodies and improves their hydrodynamics. Chicks are covered in fuzzy down, which keeps them warm and may resemble fur.

Often depicted as having only black and white feathers, some penguins have shades of black, white, grays, blues, yellows, and oranges. Species may have red eyes, brightly colored feathers, bright orange beaks, or pink feet. Macaroni penguins are named after the flamboyantly dressed group of 18th century aristocrats, the ‘Macaronis’.

Marconi Penguin with styled feathers Yellow-Eyed Penguin-photo source: Northern Rockhopper Penguin Chick with fur-like feathers
Photo source: abcbirds.org/macaroni worldatlas.com/types-of-penguins worldatlas.com/types-of-penguins spacecoastdaily.com/SeaWorld

Some types of penguins do mate for life, including gentoos, rockhoppers, adelies, and chinstraps. They can find their old mater within minutes of arriving at the colony each season.

Personality Plus
Overall, penguins have mischievous, curious, and fun-loving personalities, as well as being photogenic. They seem to enjoy posing for photographs. Photo credit: National Geographic; photo source: pinterest.com/pin/4696

A lot has been written about penguins and most writers attest to the bird’s playful and reckless nature. Specifics of their behavior were documented extensively by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (a survivor of Robert F. Scott’s final journey to the South Pole) in his book The Worst Journey in the World.
   “They [the penguins] are extraordinarily like children, these little people of the Antarctic world, either like children or like old men, full of their own importance."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad%C3%A9lie_penguin

George Murray Levick, who also accompanied Scott on the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910, observed how the birds often put the explorers in dangerous situations.
   “The great trouble with [the dog teams] has been due to the fatuous conduct of the penguins. Groups of these have been constantly leaping onto our [ice] floe. From the moment of landing on their feet their whole attitude expressed devouring curiosity and a pig-headed disregard for their own safety. They waddle forward, poking their heads to and fro in their usually absurd way, in spite of a string of howling dogs straining to get at them. "Hulloa!" they seem to say, "here’s a game – what do all you ridiculous things want?" And they come a few steps nearer. The dogs make a rush as far as their harness or leashes allow. The penguins are not daunted in the least, but their ruffs go up and they squawk with semblance of anger.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad%C3%A9lie_penguin

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

"It's just a little kiss." "It was soo sad!"    "Thanks for coming over." "I'm so ashamed."
Photo Credit/source: Kathy Dancie Photo source:Pinterest    Photo source: natgeokids.com/penguins/ Photo source: dailymail.co.uk/

"Look! I have 4 wings." "Have you heard this one?"    "I don't care what Freddie's "Just wait till your
Photo Credit: Diane Schimpf    Photo Credit: Andrea Ohagan    mother said. It's naptime."    father gets home!"
natgeokids.com/uk/penguins/    worldatlas.com/types-of-penguins

"We're getting pretty at "And I'm telling you, "When do I get off "Hey! He's standing
this Zumba thing." you're wrong!" this Time out?" on my shoulders."
Photo Credit: Diane Schimpf Photo Credit: William Smith Photo source: penguinsblog.com/ Photo Credit: Stephen Bedford

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Enough poop to last a lifetime
Penguins are social animals and live in large colonies with hundreds and thousands of others. You rarely seen loner penguins (except, perhaps, one on time-out for bad behavior.)

On my trip to Antarctica and the Falkland Islands, we visited a colony of King penguins way out in the boomies. It took hours and many bumps to get there. There are many more penguins on the islands than people. It was overwhelming… in more way than one.

Photo Credit: Liam Quinn 01-17-2011 – Salisberry Plain Colony, Falkland Islands Adelie penguins covered in pink poop
Photo Source: https://penguinsblog.com/are-penguins-dangerous/ Photo Credit: Flicker
Photo source: allthatsinteresting.com/penguin
There have been recent articles about Adelie penguins pooping so much, there feces can be seen in satellite images. The krill diet of the penguin on the coast of Antarctica turns their guano a “striking pink color” contrasting with the snow. Their colonies show up well on LandSat images which are being used by researchers to find remote colonies and reconstruct the diet and history of the colonies.
Who knew?
□
Sources:
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/birds/emperor-penguins/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin
http://penguins.cl/macaroni-penguins.htm
http://penguins.cl/patagonia.htm
http://penguins.cl/macaroni-penguins.htm
http://www.seabirds.org/penguins.htm
http://www.penguins-world.com/king-penguin/
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/gentoo-penguin/
http://www.patagonia-argentina.com/en/habits-penguins
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/wildlife/antarctic_penguins.htm
http://www.erraticrock.com/information/information-articles-1/penguins-of-patagonia/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad%C3%A9lie_penguin
http://www.penguins-world.com
king-penguin/
https://www.discover-the-world.com/blog/29-things-you-might-not-have-known-about-penguins/
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-types-of-penguins-live-in-the-world-today.html
https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2016/04/18/photos-4-most-dangerous-threats-to-penguins
https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/5-fun-facts-about-penguins
https://penguinsblog.com/are-penguins-dangerous/
https://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/arctic-and-anarctic-birds/common-misconceptions-about-birds
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g19844807/penguin-facts/?slide=16
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/giant-6-foot-8-penguin-discovered-in-antarctica
https://www.foxnews.com/science/penguin-poop-biodiversity-antarctica
https://www.wired.com/story/penguin-poop-antarctica-climate-change/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-watching-poo-space-revealing-history-antarcticas-penguins-180971031/
https://allthatsinteresting.com/pink-penguin-poop
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7661489/Emperor-penguins-wiped-climate-change-80-years-scientists-claim.html

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GEOMETRY PUT INTO HUMAN SERVICE: Ancient Great Walls

4/17/2020

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THE GREAT WALL OF … WHERE?
You thought I was going to say China, didn’t you?

As far as archeologists know, human beings have been building walls since Neolithic times when we transitioned from a hunting nomadic lifestyle to permanent agrarian settlements, somewhere around 10,000 BC.

Even as nomads, human beings gathered in small groups for protection, and we have evolved as social animals fundamentally wired with fear of the unknown. Behind a barrier with a place to look out and not be seen, is a safe place for humans. The development of permanent settlements resulted in the building of walls as defenses against any perceived danger that might threaten the community.

THE GREAT CITY WALLS
The development of permanent settlements resulted cities and, as they grew in size, rulers built walls as defenses against any perceived danger that might threaten the community.

The oldest walls in existence are those of Gobekli Tepe, a temple in Urfa, southeast Turkey, constructed 11,500 years ago. Around 10,000 BC the first city walls, erected for defense, were built around Jericho and the Sumerian city of Uruk. All that can be seen today are the excavation sites.

THE GREAT BORDER WALLS
Border Walls extend along part of the jurisdictional borders of the state. country, kingdom, or whatever terminology applies to an area under one ruler. These barriers appear to be a later innovation in safety and defense strategy, although the world “later” is relative. As city states or domains expanded to include other cities and territories, often the fortifications around one city were extended to another, expanding until a much larger area comprised the state or kingdom. Contemporary border walls are referred to as barriers and are constructed for other purposes.

● Great Wall of Ur
The Wall of Ur is one of the first known border walls, constructed around 2000 BC to keep out invading Amorites. It was built between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to allow the people “to dwell peacefully in green meadows.”

It marks the beginning of the period between the third century BC to the 11th century AD referred to as the Age of the Long Wall.
Photo source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ur-Nassiriyah.jpg

● Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is the longest fortification in the world, but not the earliest built. In fact, it is not one continuous wall, but a series of multiple walls, trenches, towers, and forts that string along the northern portion of China for 13,170 miles. These walls were built by different emperors over many centuries, primarily to protect territory from invasion but not necessarily invasion from the foreign invaders from the north but the enemies of the particularly dynasty at the time.

The sections built by different states were unconnected until the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

Great Wall of Qi was the first segment, started in 685 BC, to be built during the Zhou Dynasty. This barrier stretched for about 372 miles between the present-day cities of Jinan and Quingdao. The purpose was to fend off invasion from other Chinese states to the south.
Wikimedia Commons, free media repository►

Photo Credit: Rolfmueller - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4388026

The first segment was extended through the centuries by different dynasties. Most of what is visible today was constructed during the Ming dynasty, the peak of Great Wall's history.

To address harassment from the northern tribes (Tartars and Jurchens) the rulers of the Ming dynasty [1368-1644 AD] continued extension and enlargement of the wall for over two centuries. The main line of the Ming Dynasty started from Hushan in the east to the Jiayuguan Pass in the west. It has a total length of about 5,500 miles, is twenty feet wide at the bottom and sixteen feet wide at the top, and has an estimated 10,000 watch towers.

▼Photo Source: ancient-origins.net/archaeology/ancient-wall
Photo credit: aerial photography by the APAAME,
research project - settlement history in the Near East.

●Khatt shebib Wall, Jordan [115 BC - 570 AD]
Remains of the Khatt shebib Wall, Jordan, was largely unknown, at least to outsiders, until 1948 when Sir Alec Kirkbride, a British diplomat in Jordan, spotted the ruins from an airplane. The structure extends nearly one hundred miles through the large southern desert of Jordan with nothing on either side except sand dunes.

The wall remained a mystery until recently, when the APAAME, a long-term research project, mapped it using aerial photography.

Unlike most ancient border walls, archaeologists believe this 93 mile long wall was not used for military or defense purposes. It was built by the Bedouin nomads and, based on pottery found in the ruins, certain studies have dated it to 312BC to 106 AD and reconstructions in 661-750 AD.

It was constructed with boulders piled on tops of each other with no solid foundation and nothing to hold the rocks in place. Scientists estimate its height from 31/2 feet to almost five feet, which supports the rationale that it was not a defensive wall, although they have identified over one hundred towers 61/2 by 13 feet which might serve as stations for watching for invaders.

Some experts studying the area speculate that the border wall served to restrict nomads from wandering in farming regions.

●Hadrians Wall [128 AD]
A later and much better known border wall is Hadrian's Wall in Britain, built by the Romans at the direction of Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 AD), to fend off incursions into the Roman provinces from across the northern border. The Romans were expert wall-builders, but it took six years to construct eighty miles across the terrain. Height and width varied, but in places it was over twenty feet high and nine feet wide, with fortified towers. The wall is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Source of Photos 1, 2: https://www.hillwalktours.com/hiking-england/hadrians-wall-path/ Photo source: www.historyextra.com/ancient-history/border-walls ▲

● Antonine Wall [142 AD]
Also built by the Romans, the Antonine Wall, begun in 142 AD, stretched 39 miles between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, in what is now Scotland. Emperor Antoninus had this barrier built to protect the region from barbarians from the north, primarily the Picts of the Scottish highlands.

The type of barrier is less like the stone walls because it is built of turf on top of a stone foundation and fronted by a deep ditch like a mote. The height was about ten feet and the width about sixteen feet, and it is believed that was a wooden palisade on top of the wall. Along its length there were 16 forts connected by roads. The turf has weathered away, making the wall almost invisible in the rolling countryside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonine_Wall\

To the far left, you can see a unique feature: a type of man-trap known as lilia. These large oval pits north of the ditch and the outer mound are the first line of defense for threats from the north. Photo sources: blog.historicenvironment.scot/antonine

The construction took twelve years. Eight years after completion, Roman troops were pulled back to Hadrian’s Wall, and this wall was abandoned. It was refortified in 208 AD and then abandoned a second time. The parts that remain are under the care of Historic Scotland and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

Kerameikos (Outer) from west - the two main gates
The Dipylon and the Sacred Gate. Photo Source:
http://www.ancientathens3d.com/keramikos-tichi/

● The Long Walls of Athens
The term Long Walls is used to describe the defensive wall that connected the city of Athens with its ports at Piraeus and Phalerum. The ports were crucial to Athens, and the Long Wall was a key element of the military strategy.

The first walls, each nearly four miles in length, were constructed in phases before 431 BC, as a double wall to protect the ground access to the ports from both north and south, making Athens all but impregnable during the Peloponnesian War with Sparta and its allies.

The Spartans ultimately prevailed by defeating the Athenian navy at sea. Afterward, the Spartans tore down the Long Walls as a victory celebration. The walls were later rebuilt and stood until 86 BC when they were destroyed by the Romans.

Photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Walls (Credit: Public Domain)

●The Great Wall of Gorgan, Iran [224 – 651 AD]
The Great Wall of Gorgan (also called the Red Snake Wall because of the color of its bricks) is a Sasanian-era (224 to 651 AD) defense system located in northeastern Iran, at the southeastern corner of the Caspian Sea. It was erected a century or two after the Roman Walls in Britain for the similar purpose of protecting the Sassanian Empire to the south from the northern peoples, probably the White Huns (the Hephthalites).

Photo Source: ▲
◄www.iranreview.org/The_Red_Snake_Great_Wall ◄

Photo source: www.iranreview.org/The_Red_Snake_Great_Wall

● The Great Wall of Zimbabwe
Begun in the 11th century AD, the Great Wall of Zimbabwe was erected by a Bantu-speaking ancestors of the Shona. Over the next 300 years the 36 foot high wall was expanded, enclosing approximately 1,800 acres, and is the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert.

The Great Zimbabwe wall is constructed of local granite blocks split into slabs which are fitted without any mortar, one on top of the other. Each layer is a bit more recessed than those below, creating a slight inward slope for stability for the undulating walls.

De Agostini/Getty Images / Getty Images ▲
Photo Source: https://www.tripsavvy.com/great-zimbabwe-ruins-1454657

▲Photo credit: evenfh—iStock/Thinkstock
Photo source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Great-Zimbabwe

Narrow pathway between walls at the Great Zimbabwe ruins, southeastern Zimbabwe▲.
Photo credit: Colin Hoskins/Imagestate -- Photo source:https://sacredsites.com/africa/zimbabwe/great_zimbabwe_ruins.html

CONCLUSION
Building walls around cities and territories is a natural thing for people to do. It’s in our DNA, so to speak. A wall is physical, something we can touch, something to rely on for protection. But do they always protect the people inside the walls?

In reading the histories of these famous walls, it became clear to me that those mighty mounds of stone, sod, and other materials did protect the residents of cities and territories from invasion time and again, but sooner or later an enemy found a way to breech them. In some cases, the invaders merely walked to the end of the wall and came around.

Costica Bradatan nails it writes. “The walls erected at borders protect people not from barbarians, but from anxieties and fears. Walls, then, are built not for security, but for a sense of security. The distinction is important, as those who commission them know very well. What a wall satisfies is not so much a material need as a mental one … In this way, they are built not for those who live outside them, threatening as they may be, but for those who dwell within. In a certain sense, then, what is built is not a wall, but a state of mind.”
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/scaling-the-wall-in-the-head/

Another aspect of human nature that became clear was human curiosity. As soon as we are behind our walls, safe and secure, we want to go outside, cross the river, and get to the other side to find out what’s happening out there.
Is it possible we build walls, almost as a dare, so others will tear them down?
□
Sources:
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/scaling-the-wall-in-the-head/
https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/3-border-walls-from-history-and-what-they-tell-us-about-trumps-proposal
https://ips-dc.org/the-psychology-of-the-wall/
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Great_Zimbabwe
http://www.greatzimbabweruins.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/188025353164802587/?lp=true
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/zimb/hd_zimb.htm
https://sacredsites.com/africa/zimbabwe/great_zimbabwe_ruins.html
https://www.ancient-code.com/the-great-ziggurat-of-ur-an-ancient-temple-honoring-the-anunnaki/
http://www.iranreview.org/content/Documents/The_Red_Snake_The_Great_Wall_of_Gorgan.htm
https://www.ancient.eu/Sacsayhuaman/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople
https://www.ancient.eu/image/9254/the-inner-walls-of-babylon/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Ston
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overivew-of-the-western-wall
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Western-Wall
https://www.ancient.eu
https://www.inrap.fr/en/periods
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon
http://www.theottomans.org/english/campaigns_army/1453-the-conquest.asp
https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2015/07/31/the-historical-city-gates-of-istanbul
http://www.tourmakerturkey.com/old-city-walls.html
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/babylon-walls.htm
https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/border-walls-history-mexico-trump-china-great-wall/
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasanian_Empire
https://brewminate.com/the-long-walls-of-ancient-athens/
https://www.ancient-code.com/the-great-ziggurat-of-ur-an-ancient-temple-honoring-the-anunnaki/
https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-history/border-walls-history-mexico-trump-china-great-wall/
https://www.history.com/news/7-famous-border-walls
https://themysteriousworld.com/top-10-amazing-ancient-walls-around-world/
http://www.emersonkent.com/map_archive/athens_piraeus_431_bc.htm

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WILL THE REAL“OSTERHASE” PLEASE STAND UP? Origins of the Easter Bunny

4/10/2020

1 Comment

We Americans have done it again.

“Done what again?” you ask.

Many of our traditions were brought to what is now the United States by the immigrants who braved the unknown and came here hoping for a better life… our ancestors. Easter traditions are no different. And in absorbing those traditions into American culture, often we didn’t get it quite right… or else we were consciously attempting to be different, but I don’t believe that applies to religious traditions brought from Europe to North America.

So what happened?

RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATION
Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but nowhere in scripture, in any version of the Bible, do we find a reference to a long-eared, short-tailed creature who delivers decorated eggs to well-behaved children.

However, the association between Christianity and the Leporidae family [which includes the species of rabbit and hare] is not totally off the wall. First, because these animals are prolific procreators, hare and rabbits are ancient symbols of fertility and new life, and often associated with springtime.
In ancient times, the Greeks believed the hare was a hermaphrodite and able to reproduce without a male. The idea that hares could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary. The result was the hare appearing in paintings of the Virgin and Christ child.
The Madonna of the Rabbit by Tizian
▼Photo Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_of_the_Rabbit

“The rabbit is a symbol of fertility and, due to its whiteness, of Mary’s purity and the mystery of the Incarnation, and is also a symbol of her Virginity.”

We now know female rabbits and hares can conceive a second litter of offspring while still pregnant with the first, resulting in them being able to give birth seemingly without having been impregnated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madonna_of_the_Rabbit

Some believe it may have been related to the Holy Trinity because of the three hare motif found in works of art throughout the world as early
as the 6th century. Photo source: feelguide.com/meaning-of-the-three-hares ▼

PAGAN ASSOCIATION
While Easter is a Christian holiday with its roots firmly embedded in religion, the symbols of this Holy Day, as with many holidays and celebrations, evolved from ancient pagan legends and rituals. Even the English word for Easter is derived from the Anglo Saxon name for Eostre or Eastre, the German goddess of Spring and the Dawn. Logically, her celebration was the spring solstice and her symbol – surprise, surprise – the hare.
▼Photo source: mysticalshores.com/goddess-Eostre

Legend has it that Eastre found an injured bird. In order to save its life, the goddess transformed it into a rabbit. The transformation was successful in that the rabbit survived, but it was not quite complete, as this rabbit could only lay eggs as if it were still a bird. In gratitude, the rabbit would decorate the eggs and leave them for the goddess.” https://mysticalshores.com/2015/04/01/the-goddess-ostara-eostre/

However, according to www.catholic.org/lent/ there is no evidence of any pagan correlation.

Eventually, this legend morphed into a German tradition for the celebration of Christian Easter. Thus, the egg-laying hare called “Osterhass” [also “Oschter Haws”] traveled to North America in the 1700s with the German Lutheran immigrants who settled in Pennsylvannia, where Osterhass continued to play the role of evaluating whether children had been good or bad before the start of the season of Eastertide. The tradition spread to other parts of the country and is now international. Chinese Easter Card ▼

HOW DID WE GET IT WRONG?
The way in which the tradition evolved into The Easter Bunny has nothing to do with religion or paganism. It has to do with Zoology and accuracy.

All of the ancient references and German customs refer to a hare, not a rabbit. The mistake is, apparently, a general assumption that rabbits and hares are the same animal. We seem to use the words interchangeably.

Rabbits and hares are not at all the same. They are both part of the same order of mammals, the same family – Leporidae – but they are a different species, just like sheep and goats are species of the family Bovidae [mammals with hoofs]. Chances are, if you referred to a sheep as being a goat, someone would correct you.

The differences are not just in the way they look. Baby rabbits, called kittens or bunnies, are blind and have no hair at birth. Baby hares, called leverets, are born with fur and sight and can move within an hour of birth.

They live in different types of habitat, eat different kinds of food, have different mating habits and gestation periods. They are also different in how fast they can run and in many other ways which I won’t bother you with. Both are native to North and South America, Europe and Asia.

HOW DID THE MEDIEVAL EASTER “OSTERHASS” [HARE] BECOME A RABBIT?
It doesn’t matter. In reality, neither one can lay eggs, and the Easter Hare still delivers eggs in the Czech Republic.
▼ Photo source: http://philatelier.over-blog.com/2019/03/lapin-ou-lievre-de-paques.html

HAPPY EASTER!

Sources:
https://mysticalshores.com/2015/04/01/the-goddess-ostara-eostre/
http://herald-zeitung.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_a92ef55e-67bc-11e0-99ac-001cc4c03286.html
https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/easter-symbols
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny
https://time.com/3767518/easter-bunny-origins-history/
https://www.catholic.org/lent/story.php?id=67999
https://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=67961
https://www.wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-the-difference-between-a-rabbit-and-a-hare
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141219-rabbits-hares-animals-science-mating-courtship/
https://www.feelguide.com/2020/01/06/new-book-explores-the-meaning-of-the-three-hares-one-of-human-historys-most-mysterious-symbols/
https://science.jrank.org/pages/3785/Lagomorphs-Rabbits-hares-North-America.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madonna_of_the_Rabbit

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A COVEN OF CREATURES: Collective Nouns For Animal Groups

4/3/2020

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A NUISANCE OF NOUNS
Collective Nouns – families or teams that refer to a group of people or things -- are an important part of our language. A crowd of people. A mob of gangsters. A herd of cows. A batch of cookies. We use them all the time without thinking about it.

Every now and then in my writing career, I’ve run into situations where I’ve wanted to use a collective noun for a group of animals. Not that I was required to use a word other than flock, herd, swarm, school, or pack -- all of which suffice quite nicely -- but driven by a desire to employ something more dramatic to avoid using the same word multiple times on a page. And some of these words are not as common as one might think.

Plus, I’m a fan of The Big Bang Theory, and Sheldon is always reminding us that a group of cats should be called a clowder. As perfect as Sheldon may be, he’s not quite accurate by omission. There are a variety of collective nouns are attributed to both domestic and feral cats. [Big and wild cats have their own individual group names.]

Cats [domesticated] = Clowder, Clutter, Pounce, Dout, Nuisance, Glorying, and Glare
Kittens = Kindle, Litter, Intrigue
Cats [feral] = Destruction

In the process of looking up collective animal nouns when I wanted one, I ran onto several lengthy lists. After reading through a couple of them, I wondered who the heck makes up these amusing and often ridiculous terms. Some make sense; others, not so much.
Photo source: foxnews.com/science/cats

Tigers = Ambush
An Ambush of Tigers might be appropriate if you stumbled unsuspectingly on several of them in the jungle, waiting for their dinner to some along. In the zoo, maybe not.

AN ORIGIN OF ORIGINALS: Etymology
Many of these collective nouns for animals were introduced in 1486 with the publication of the Book of St. Albans [or Boke of Seynt Albans] which addresses matters of interest to a gentleman of the times [hawking, hunting, and heraldry]. It also including lists of collective nouns for animals, called terms of venery [hunting].

This treatise, also known by the title The Book of Hawking, Hunting, and Blasing of Arms, is the source of many collective nouns for groups of animals and people that are part of our everyday lexicon.

Others are among our fanciful favorites, well known but rarely used, and others are complete surprises.
A Gaggle of Geese A Murder of Crows
An Unkindness Of Ravens A Clattering Of Choughs
A Murmuration Of Starlings A Charm Of Goldfinches

The publication is attributed to Dame Juliana Berners (or Barnes), the prioress of an abbey near St. Albans, Hertfordshire. Writing an advice book about hunting seems an unlikely pastime for a prioress, but she was probably part of the medieval aristocracy before she took her orders.
Drawing of Dame Juliana Berneers
Photo source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliana_Berners

A WHITTLING OF WORDSMITHS: Who Gets To Decide?
What I don’t believe is that a Brit in the 1400s bestowed collective nouns on North American animals they’d never heard of, like An Obstinacy of Buffalo. If Berners didn’t come up with that collective, who did? Who gets to decides on the right collective noun for something?

According to medium.com/@Naturalish, “The short answer is no one.” That may be the reason groups have more than one collective noun. Photo source: hammakerzqmeriel.blogspot.com

Fox = Leash, Skulk, Earth, Lead, or Troop.
The English language is constantly changing and evolving. Dictionaries add new words and new definitions of old words or drop obsolete words usually twice a year.

ccording to the Merriam Webster, “A Drudge of Lexicographers” continuously review the written and spoken words in thousands of collected texts and transcriptions. When a word reaches a prescribed level of common usage, then it is considered for addition to the dictionary. Some words, particularly those related to a specific field of endeavor, may be used and generally known for a long time before there are enough references to merit inclusion in the dictionary.

That said, many of the collective nouns for animal groups are in the dictionary but are rarely used in writing or in speech. How does that happen? I can’t tell you how often I’ve read about A Stubbornness of Rhinoceroses.
Well, actually, I can. Never!
Photo source: smithsonianmag.com/rhinos

As Naturalish puts it, “In most cases, they’re far from an already-utilized standard in the English language. Linguists seem to operate in a bubble claiming that these random, encyclopedic words reflect real human speech, when in reality, they’re the creation of an elitist, in-group of wordsmiths conning the public into accepting ‘poetry’ as everyday vernacular.” ~ June 5, 2018, The Absurd Truth Behind Collective Animal Nouns, https://medium.com/@Naturalish/the-absurd-truth-behind-collective-animal-nouns-f4a4cde48b4f

Merriamwebster.com agrees. “In the end, there is no cut and dried rule for how to refer to a particular group of creatures. And this may be why we love the more fanciful collective nouns so much.” ~ https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/a-drudge-of-lexicographers-presents-collective-nouns

A DELUGE OF DESCRIPTIONS and AN AMPLITUDE OF ALLITERATION
Below l have listed examples of some of the more creative collective nouns for critters, but left out most of the common terms everyone knows and the ones already cited.

Many of these describe fairly well the movements, looks, or habits of the creatures in question, and the imaginations of those who gave birth to these terms have good relationships with alliteration and rhymes.
P.S. I have made absolutely NO attempt to alphabetize either the terms or the animals. Not sorry.

A Cackle of Hyenas
Photo Credit:Jrlphotographer/Istock
PhotoSource:mentalfloss.com/collective

A Shrewdness Of Apes
Photo Credit:Jrlphotographer/Istock
Source: businessinsider.com/odd-names

A Parliament of Owls
Photo Credit: Tariq Sulemani/Istock
Source: businessinsider.com/groups-of-anim

A Caldron of Bats
Photo Credit: Flickr / U.S. Fish and Wildlife
businessinsider.com/groups-of-animals

Flamboyance of Flamingos
Photo Credit: REUTERS/Stringer
businessinsider.com/groups-of-animals

Tower of giraffes
Photo Credit: Flickr/kimvanderwaal
Source: businessinsider.com/groups-of-anim

I have no clue which of these collective nouns are in the dictionaries with the definition intended by this list. I believe “A Pride of Lions” is there, but you can be sure that I did not look any of them up.

Here’s the deal. If you know of a species out there in the world which doesn’t have a collective noun to its name, the door is open for you … let your fantasy soar. Just be aware that you can have a bunch of just about anything.
Not long ago I came across a species in Madagascar that I had never heard of. The animal was thought to be a type of lemur, but recently has been given its distinct family … the Aye-aye. After giving the problem a great deal of thought, here is my collective noun for these creatures.

An Eyre of Aye-aye

I get the impression the Aye-aye doesn’t like it too much.
□

Sources:
https://medium.com/@Naturalish/the-absurd-truth-behind-collective-animal-nouns-f4a4cde48b4f
http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html
https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/word-lists/list-of-names-for-groups-of-animals.html
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/551081/collective-nouns-groups-animals
https://www.businessinsider.com/odd-names-for-groups-of-animals-2016-3
https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/us/grammar-pattern/collective-nouns_2
https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/animal_collectives.php
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_subject
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/a-drudge-of-lexicographers-presents-collective-nouns
https://www.etymonline.com/

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Pandemnics

3/27/2020

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A pandemic [from Greek meaning "all" and "people"] is a disease epidemic that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents, or worldwide. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of infected people is not a pandemic.

The bacteria and viruses causing pandemic diseases are nothing new. They’ve been stalking human beings for at least 5,000 years. Scientists believe that finding bacteria in human skeletons bones 4,900 years old indicates that humans became sick and died because of virulent diseases for thousands of years before there was any historical or archaeological evidence of epidemics.
DNA from teeth in seven human skeletons 4,500-year-old shows that plague struck Bronze Age peoples in Europe and Asia. Photo Credit: Harri Moora - Photo Source: sciencenewsforstudents.org

When the press and medical professionals began referring to COVID-19 as a Pandemic, I thought of our current situation as unprecedented and believed this point in history to be unique. And it is, in a way, if only because the exact set of circumstances never occur twice. After I started researching this blog, I realized how often in history human beings have faced similar events.

And still, the human race survives. It’s hard, if not impossible, to put a current event into proper perspective. Just remember, all of the numbers being thrown around are estimates and not precise for a lot of reasons.

A PANDEMIC OF EPIDEMICS
While the details of what constitutes an epidemic vs. a pandemic may be a matter of interpretation or opinion, history began recording these mass infections from diseases before Christ. Which of the many pandemics are the “worst” is debatable, depending on the criteria used.

3,000 BC Bronze Age Epidemics
Death toll: Unknown:
Causes: Unknown [Probably Bubonic Plague]
Scientists have found the plague strains [I assume the sources refer to Bubonic Plague] in the Bronze age were similar to the bacteria guilty of later pandemics, but believe they were less virulent and less transmissible in the ancient past. Still, this period in history experienced sudden mass migrations, and some theorize the movement resulted from epidemics of disease. Based on the map, it seems the Bronze Age migration was from the steppes of Russia to the west and south. Map source: nature.com/news/bronze-age-skeletons

430-427 BC        The Plague at Athens
Death Toll: 100,000
Cause: Smallpox [most likely], possibly by typhus or bubonic plague.
In the 2nd year of the Peloponnesian War, 430 BCE, an outbreak of plague erupted in Athens and spread throughout scattered parts of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean until finally dying out in 426 BCE. The origin of the epidemic occurred in sub-Saharan Africa just south of Ethiopia.

165 AD                 The Antonine Plague
                              Death Toll: 5 million
                              Cause: Unknown; thought to be either smallpox or measles
The Antonine Plague, brought by Roman soldiers returning from Mesopotamia, affected Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and Italy.

165 AD                 Plague of Justinian
   Death Toll: 25 million
   Cause: Bubonic Plague

The Plague of Justinian is the first documented outbreak of the bubonic plague, afflicting the Byzantine Empire and Mediterranean port cities and killing up to 25 million people [estimated at half the population of Europe]. At its worst, an estimated number of deaths reached 5,000 people per day, including forty percent of the population of Constantinople. It is said to have ended because there was no one left to die.
Photo source: wileyearthpages.wordpress.com/Justinian

1346-1353           The Black Death
   Death Toll: 75 – 200 million
   Cause: Bubonic Plague
The Bubonic Plague [often called The Black Death] ran rampant in Europe, Africa, and Asia from 1346 to 1353. Believed to have originated in Asia, the disease was spread by a bacillus called “Yersina pestis” [discovered at the end of the 19th century], which lived on the rat fleas and rats thriving on ships. Today scientists know the bacillus can travel from person to person through the air, as well as through the bit of infected fleas or rats. Both of these pests could be found almost anywhere in medieval Europe. Flea infected with Yersinia pestis - Photo source: commons.wikimedia.org/Flea_yersinia

Although the Bubonic plague never went away completely after the Justinian plague, it only existed on a local or regional scale. The plague arrived in Europe a second time in 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. Most of the sailors were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. By the time the situation was discovered, it was too late and the disease spread rampant throughout Europe, killing half the population.

Without understanding the science, people soon learned that infection had to do with proximity, and port cities were worst hit. The Venetians, a sea-faring people, decided to keep the crews of newly arrived ships in quarantine until it was proved they were not sick. Initially, officials kept sailors on their ships for thirty days, then lengthened the time to forty days... a quarantino. This practice slowed the rapid progress of the illness and is the origin of the word and concept of quarantine in English.
Photo source: historic-uk.com/HistoryUK

1665 AD              The Great Plague of London
   Death Toll: 100,000
   Cause: Bubonic Plague
London never really squelched the Bubonic plague. Between 1346 and 1665 epidemics hit London about every twenty years – forty outbreaks in three hundred years – each episode killing off twenty percent of the population. Around 1500, England imposed laws to isolate the sick.

According to History.com:
“Homes stricken by plague were marked with a bale of hay strung to a pole outside. If you had infected family members, you had to carry a white pole when you went out in public. Cats and dogs were believed to carry the disease, so there was a wholesale massacre of hundreds of thousands of animals.”
London street scene, Great Plague of 1665 - Photo credit: The Print Collector/Getty Images
Photo source: history.com/news/plague and openhistorysociety.org

The worst was saved for last. The Great Plague in 1665 killed 100,000 in seven months. Victims were forcibly confined to their homes, and nearly everything else closed down. Bodies were buried in mass graves. Harsh, indeed, but the actions helped bring the plague to an end.

1500 to 1800    Smallpox in the New World
                              Death toll: 10 million plus    Podcast Episodes » #48:
                              Cause: Smallpox    Photo source: historyonthenet.com/48

Smallpox is a disease which has been around a long time in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, no doubt causing ongoing epidemics, some of major proportions. When the Europeans carried the virus to the new world in the 15th century, the native people of North and South America had no natural immunity. Smallpox wiped out tens of millions, an estimated ninety-five percent of the native population in one hundred years.

In the late 18th century, British Doctor Edward Jenner developed a treatment which resulted in smallpox being the first virus epidemic ended by a vaccine.

1852 to 1860      Third Cholera Pandemic
Death toll: One million
Cause: Cholera
The 1852-1860 pandemic of Cholera was the worst of seven outbreaks. The pandemic started in India and spread through Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. In 1854, a British physician John Snow discovered that contaminated water was the manner in which the disease was transmitted.

1899-1923           Sixth Cholera Pandemic
Death toll: 1.5 million [800,000 in India, 11 in US]
Cause: Cholera
By the sixth world Cholera pandemic, medical science and public health had advanced enough in the US and Western Europe to keep outbreaks in those counties at a minimum. This episode began, as most others, in India [where it killed 800,000 people] and then spread to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Russia.

Only eleven people died in the US during this last outbreak, when the steamship Moltke brought infected people from Naples to New York City. The infected were quarantined on an island until they were cured or not infected. However, the quarantine reinforced the perception that all immigrants carried diseases and should be kept out.

1918-1920          Influenza Pandemic
Death toll: 20 to 50 million
Cause: Influenza
Between 1918 and 1920 a disturbingly deadly outbreak of influenza tore across the globe, infecting over a third of the world’s population and ending the lives of 20 to 50 million people. Of the 500 million people infected in the 1918 pandemic, the mortality rate was estimated at 10% to 20%, with up to 25 million deaths in the first 25 weeks alone. What separated the 1918 flu pandemic from other influenza outbreaks was the victims -- where influenza had always previously only killed juveniles, the elderly, or already weakened patients -- it had begun striking down hardy and completely healthy young adults, while leaving children and those with weaker immune systems still alive.

1918-1919           Spanish Flu Pandemic
Death toll: 50 million [675,000 in USA]
Cause: Influenza

Spanish Flu was a virus, of bird origin, which infected 500 million people [a third of the world’s population], but the exact origin was never determined. Particularly virulent, the infection caused liquid-filled lungs, severe pneumonia, and lung tissue inflammation. In 2005, research showed it as “a uniquely deadly product of nature, evolution, and the intermingling of people and animals.”
Victims of Spanish flu at a barracks hospital, Fort Collins, CO 1918.
Photo credits: American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs/PhotoQuest/Getty Images
Photo source: history.com/news/spanish-flu

1956-1958           Asian Flu
Death toll: 1 to 2 Million [116,000 in US]
Cause: Influenza
A new flu virus [Avian] originating in Guizhou China, traveled to Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, and then the United States. This virus was a mixed species strain of the previous flu virus; a mutation of the avian virus in wild ducks combining with a pre-existing human strain of the virus. A vaccine was available in 1957. After ten years of evolution, the Asian flu virus disappeared and a new subtype appeared which led to the Hong Kong flu pandemic in 1968.

1968                     Hong Kong Flu Pandemic
   Death toll: One million [100,000 in US - mostly elderly]
   Cause: Influenza
From the first reported case on July 13, 1968 in Hong Kong. In slightly over two weeks, there were cases found in Singapore and Vietnam. In three months, the flu had spread to the Philippines, India, Australia, Europe, and the US. Even though the mortality rate was only 0.5%, the illness resulted in a death toll of one million.

2005-2012           Hiv/Aids Pandemic
Peak    Death toll: 36 million
Cause: HIV/ AIDS
“First identified in Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976, HIV/AIDS has truly proven itself as a global pandemic, killing more than 36 million people since 1981. Currently there are between 31 and 35 million people living with HIV, the vast majority of those are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 5% of the population is infected, roughly 21 million people. As awareness has grown, new treatments have been developed that make HIV far more manageable, and many of those infected go on to lead productive lives. Between 2005 and 2012 the annual global deaths from HIV/AIDS dropped from 2.2 million to 1.6 million.” https://www.mphonline.org/worst-pandemics-in-history/

2013-2016           Ebola Virus Epidemic
Death toll: 11,323 (West Africa)
Cause: Viral Haemorrhagic Fever
Ebola is a virus disease known as haemorrhagic fever. The virus is spread through direct contact with body fluids, or items recently contaminated with body fluids. It was identified in 1976 when there were two simultaneous outbreaks in Africa. Symptoms show two days to three weeks after contacting and include fever, sore throat, muscular pain, vomiting, diarrhea and rash. Between the first outbreak in 1976 and the beginning of the epidemic of 2013-2016 there had been 2,387 cases and 1,590 deaths.The most recent epidemic in West Africa reported 28,646 cases and 11,323 deaths.

THE CORONAVIRUS
This is not a new disease. There are many viruses categorized as coronavirus. It was first discovered in 1930 in domestic poultry. Only seven of the coronaviruses cause disease in humans.

The good news: Four of the seven viruses only result in the symptoms of the common cold. On occasion, they cause respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia in infants and older people.

The bad news: Three of the seven can be severe and deadly.

2002                     SARS
   Death toll: 774
   Cause: Coronavirus
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a virus which results in respiratory disease. It is a zoonotic illness which is caused by germs that spread between animals and humans, and originated in Guangdong Province of China. Scientists eventually discovered the virus carried through civets to cave-dwelling horseshoe bats.

   Civet - Photo source: en.wikipedia.org/Civet    Horseshoe bat - Photo source: www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-07766-9

2012                     MERS
   Death toll: 858
   Cause: Coronavirus
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is also a strain of the Coronavirus which emerged in 2012. Studies implicate dromedary camels as the most likely origin. Physical contact with the saliva of infected camel and drinking milk from infected camels is the suspect transmission route for inflecting humans. Most of the cases, and deaths, were in Saudi Arabia, but the virus did spread to other middle eastern countries. There were only two cases in the US and no deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Middle_East_respiratory_syndrome_coronavirus_outbreakpr

2019-?                 COVID-19
   Death toll: 108,312 worldwide / 515 US
   Estimated cases: 417,663 worldwide / 42,000 US
   Cause: Coronavirus

SHOULD WE PANIC YET?
As pandemics have gone on the planet earth, COVID-19 doesn’t sound like the most serious in history if you look at death tolls. Keep in mind that the COVID-19 numbers change hourly right now.

Panic? No. Take it seriously? Absolutely.

Of course, the count isn’t in yet, but I’ll stick my neck out and guess that it will be less than a million worldwide. But wait! A million is still a lot of people. We don’t want that!

My Observations
World pandemics have become more frequent in the last hundred and fifty years or so. Contemporary travel and communications have changed the equation, and population, as well as population densities, have increased dramatically nearly everywhere, encroaching on the habitat of wild animals who originate the diseases.

The world is better prepared to face a super-virulent virus today than it was a century ago, but in general we are not well prepared to handle potential increases and severity of pandemics. I found several pre-2019 that predicted another outbreak of coronavirus. If health officials reacted at all, it wasn't enough.

So, yes, COVID-19 is a unique “first-time-in-history” event which I see moving along on two parallel [for the moment] tracks … the health/disease control track and the political track.

I trust the health/disease track to move forward with vaccines and treatments for this particular virus and take steps for handle the next mutation of bacterial and viral disease with better preparation. Fortunately, science comes through sooner or later. We just need to listen to the scientists.

However, the manner in which this pandemic is handled politically and the interaction of many countries in the world could well direct significant future events history.

I’m sorry I won’t be around to see what happens in the long term.
□
Sources:
http://news.discovery.com/human/health/10-worst-epidemics-130917.htm
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/cholera-s-seven-pandemics-1.758504
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3867475/
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2027479,00.html
http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/bubonic-plague.html
http://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/surveillance/plague.pdf
http://healthvermont.gov/prevent/Plague.aspx
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/black_death_of_1348_to_1350.htm
http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1996-7/Smith.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/health/01plague.html?_r=0
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4381924.stm
http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1996-7/Smith.html
http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/smallpox-12000-years-terror.html
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs360/en/index.html
http://www.avert.org/worldstats.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics/
http://www.history.com/topics/1918-flu-pandemic
http://www.infoplease.com/cig/dangerous-diseases-epidemics/smallpox-12000-years-terror.html
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/7/11-088815/en/
https://www.ancient.eu/article/939/the-plague-at-athens-430-427-bce/
https://www.openhistorysociety.org/members-articles/the-great-plague-of-london-1665/
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Great-Plague/
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/earliest-evidence-plague
https://www.who.int/cholera/the-forgotten-pandemic/en/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1846%E2%80%931860_cholera_pandemic
https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-second-wave-resurgence
https://www.historyonthenet.com/48-native-americans-resistant-old-world-diseases-different-new-world
https://zidbits.com/2011/01/why-didnt-europeans-get-wiped-out-by-native-americans-diseases/
https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/infectious-diseases/respiratory-viruses/coronaviruses-and-acute-respiratory-syndromes-covid-19,-mers,-and-sars
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1957-1958-pandemic.html https://www.nature.com/news/bronze-age-skeletons-were-earliest-plague-victims-1.18633
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https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus-mortality-rate-covid-19-fatalities-ebola-sars-mers-1489466
https://www.ft.com/content/8521d81e-1c0f-11ea-81f0-0c253907d3e0

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Women's History Month: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet and Writer

3/22/2020

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Gwendolyn Brooks was the first black author to win a Pulitzer Prize, the first black woman to hold a position as a poetry consultant to the Library of Congress, and was the poet laureate of the State of Illinois. She frequently wrote about the struggle for racial equality in the US, which received harsh criticism at the time.

Brooks is recognized as “one of the most highly regarded, highly influential” poets of the 20th-century.

EARLY LIFE
Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1917. Her father was a janitor for a music company, but had hoped to pursue a career as a doctor. Her mother was a school teacher as well as a concert pianist trained in classical music. When Brooks was still a baby, her parents moved to Chicago, where she lived the rest of her life.
Brooks wrote from an early age and, encouraged by her mother, she began submitting poems to publications as a teen. At thirteen, her first published poem entitled “Eventide” appeared in American Childhood magazine. Over the next four years she wrote and published seventy-five poems.
▼Photo source: poeticous.com/gwendolyn-brooks

By her graduation from high school in 1935, Brooks submitted to and was published by The Chicago Defender. During her education she suffered a great deal of racial discrimination, and drew on these experiences and the insight she gained in her writing. She never pursued a college degree because she felt it unnecessary to a career in writing.

"I am not a scholar," she later said. "I'm just a writer who loves to write and will always write."

Brooks did attend Wilson Junior College for a two-year program and found work as a typist to support herself while she pursued her writing. She did admit that she would have written differently had she remained in Kansas. While attending meetings of the Chicago’s NAACP, Brooks met Henry Lowington Blakely, Jr. They married in 1939, and subsequently had two children.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Pursing her writing career, Brooks attended poetry and writing workshops, one of which was visited by poet Langston Hughes who heard her read her work. In 1944 two of her poems were published in Poetry magazine. She was a hit, and a year later her first book of poetry, A street in Bronzeville, was published by Harper & Brothers.

nnie Allen, Brooks’ second book of poetry was published in 1949. Her work depicted the life of a young Black girl growing up in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago and won critical acclaim “for its authentic and textured portraits of life.” She won the 1950 Pulitzer Prize and Poetry magazine's Eunice Tietjens Prize for this book. She was the first African American author to win a Pulitzer Prize. Brooks’ first and only narrative novel, Maud Martha, as published in 1953. The novel follows the life of a black woman named Maud Martha Brown. Brooks holding copy of her first book ►
Photo source: pulitzer.org/article/brooks During her lifetime, Brooks wrote a large body of work, but she was also acclaimed as a teacher. Author Frank London Brown asked her to teach a course in American literature at the University of Chicago. This was her first teaching experience and the beginning of an extensive, lifelong commitment to sharing poetry and teaching writing.

HONORS

1946, Guggenheim Fellow in Poetry.
1950, Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
1968, appointed Poet Laureate of Illinois, a position she held until her death in 2000
1969, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
1976, inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters
1976, the Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America
1985, selected as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, an honorary one-year term, known as the Poet Laureate of the United States
1988, inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
1989, awarded the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime achievement by the Poetry Society of America
1994, chosen to present the National Endowment for the Humanities' Jefferson Lecture.
1994, received the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
1995, presented with the National Medal of Arts
1997, awarded the Order of Lincoln, the highest honor granted by the State of Illinois.
1999, awarded the Academy of American Poets Fellowship for distinguished poetic achievement.

Source of List of Honors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks

FROST, WILLIAMS OUT; BROOKS, IN: THE PULITZER PRIZE STORY
According to pulitzer.org/article/frost-williams-no, the story behind the story of the 1950 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry is worth commenting on.

The judges for 1950 Advisory Committee were Alfred Kreymborg [a poet, anthologist and chess master who had long been a figure in the New York literary scene], Louis Untermeyer, and Henry Seidel Canby [a noted English professor at Yale]. All had served on the jury previously.

“The jury that year faced some challenges. William Carlos Williams, long a friend and colleague of Kreymborg’s, had published both a Selected Poems and the first parts of Paterson in 1949. He was in his mid-60s and had never won a Pulitzer Prize. Robert Frost’s Complete Poems came out that year as well. He was 75 and had won the prize four times. His friend, Louis Untermeyer, was on the jury with Kreymborg.” https://www.pulitzer.org/article/frost-williams-no-gwendolyn-brooks

Alfred Kreymborg - Photo: Henry Seidel Canby    Louis Untermeyer - Photo
bolsteredbythoughts.weebly.com/    jnjreid.com/canby dcwritershomes.wdchumanities.org

The jury of three had eleven books to review. Ultimately, they decided that although the best book of the year was Robert Frost’s Complete Poems, Frost had received the award four times for all but a few of the same poems. A fifth prize would be redundant and unfair.

William Carlos Williams had been growing in stature but was still “…frequently distinguished by an extreme of obscurity.” Later in 1950, Williams was due to publish a volume of poetry which the judges believed would be more representative of his talent, and felt that the next year would give the jury better material for form a judgment. The only other book worthy of consideration was Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks. After explaining the above in a letter to Dean Carl W. Ackerman, Graduate School of Journalism Columbia University, Henry S. Canby wrote:

“Fortunately, among the other books of poems submitted for an award is a volume of great originality, real distinction and high value as a book, as well as poetry. Some years ago, Gwendolyn Brooks, a Negro writer of unusual ability, published A Street in Bronzeville, which made a great impression on all its readers and had what is unusual for poetry today — a wide sale. In 1949 she published Annie Allen, a much better book, and indeed, in our opinion, the outstanding volume of the year, if you exclude Robert Frost. No other Negro poet has written such poetry of her own race, of her own experiences, subjective and objective, and with no grievance or racial criticism as the purpose of her poetry. It is highly skillful and strong poetry, out of the heart, but rich with racial experience. I quote from Mr. Alfred Kreymborg, with whose opinion I entirely agree.

I may say that we have seldom been more satisfied than with our choice of Annie Allen.
        Yours very truly,
        Henry S. Canby”

Note: The other books considered for the 1950 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry include:
Orpheus, Muriel Rukeyser
Elegies, Muriel Rukeyser
An Acre in the Seed (posthumous), Theodore Spencer
Live Another Day, John Ciardi
Aspects of Proteus, Hyam Plutzik
Volume II, Jose Garcia Villa
Walk Through Two Landscapes, Dilys Bennett Laing
The Tears of the Blind Lions, Thomas Merton

The Pulizer Prize kicked off Brooks prolific career with a bang.

Sources:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/gwendolyn-brooks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/brooks/life.htm
https://www.pulitzer.org/article/frost-williams-no-gwendolyn-brooks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwendolyn_Brooks#Career
https://poetryteatime.com/blog/learn-about-gwendolyn-brooks
https://blackbooksmatter.com/celebrating-gwendolyn-brooks/
https://www.poeticous.com/gwendolyn-brooks

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Women's History Month: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet and Writer

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