comment on Sharks in the Bahamas Test Positive for Drugs, Including Cocaine and Painkillers, in a New Study in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
comment on How a Small Winter Flower Has Attracted Droves of Admirers—and Offers a Symbol of Resilience in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
comment on Someone Used This Mysterious Coin as Bus Fare in the 1950s. It Turned Out to Be 2,000-Year-Old Currency Minted by the Phoenicians in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
[–] 1 point 8 months ago

Show of hands.

Which makes a better story?

International jewel thief has stolen a huge cache of rare coins, but due to circumstances, has to make their getaway on public transit.

OR

Scientist becomes unstuck in time and finds herself between different eras. While stuck in 20th century Leeds he desperately attempts to get to the researchers at the British Museum.

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    comment on Neanderthal Men May Have Often Hooked Up With Human Women Thousands of Years Ago in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    comment on Fervent Fans of 'Moby-Dick' Flock to This Massachusetts Town to Read the Book Cover to Cover in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    [–] 1 point 9 months ago

    I don't believe there is such a thing as a "fan" of Moby Dick. That book is boring as shit. There's maybe a pretty decent short story in there somewhere but it's surrounded by hundreds of pages of esoteric details about the whaling industry, bland philosophical treatises and irritating theological discussions.

    It's the definition of "tell don't show"

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    comment on Could Leonardo da Vinci's DNA Be Hiding Inside One of His Renaissance Sketches? in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    comment on The Giant Pumpkin World Record Just Crept Closer to 3,000 Pounds. Here's How Science, Sweat and 'Soul Crush' Keep Growers Reaching for the Heaviest Fruit Possible in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    comment on Why Did the U.S. Post Office Start Airmail So Early? And More Questions From Our Readers in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell

    The history of aviation is pretty wild.

    As late as 1919, Franklin Roosevelt, then a top man in the Navy, thought that the idea of using airplanes in combat was ridiculous.

    A lot of civilian and military people fought hard to get the US government to support the aviation industry.

    Socialist New York Mayor LaGuardia demanded his city get an international airport, over strong opposition.

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    comment on A Jaguar in Brazil Makes the Longest Recorded Swim by the Species, Traversing at Least 0.79 Miles Through Water in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    comment on How Prepared Are We for a Rare and Powerful Solar Event? in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    [–] 1 point 1 year ago*

    I don't know... Let's ask NOAA.
    Oh, defunded...

    At least FEMA can help with unforeseen disaster.
    Oh, FEMA money pays for concentration camps now...

    Well, we can always cure cancers due to excessive solar radiations.
    Oh, cancer research has been stopped...

    How Prepared Are We for a Rare and Powerful Solar Event?

    Not so much I guess...

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    comment on Why European Royals, From Henry VIII to Louis X, Loved Playing 'Real Tennis,' the So-Called Sport of Kings in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at
    comment on Last Known Surviving American Ace Pilot From World War II Dies at 103 in c/smithsonianmag@ibbit.at