Dear science fan, thank you for joining me.

The Declaration of Independence extolls “safety” and “happiness” so please enjoy a safe and happy Fourth of July.

The privileged white male Declaration signers accepted this passage:  “... merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.”. Six of the Declaration signers were also among the privileged white men who signed the U.S. Constitution. But even after the Bill of Rights was appended, the law of the land condoned slavery and failed to give voting rights to women and 

It was given knowledge that a musk ox is protected from concussive brain injury by having an intracranial air pocket and a very broad horn. Research now shows they suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy - just like boxers and American football players - and may suffer some degree of dementia. The researchers surmise that mild dementia in a musk ox - unlike with humans - probably doesn’t much affect its life. 

The U.S. Constitution as of 1791 held that:

• Slavery was legal;
• For census purposes, slaves counted as ⅗ of a person;
• Slaves and women were not entitled to vote;
• People had the right to bear muzzle-loaded firearms.

The only “Arms” covered by the Constitution’s 2nd Amendment were single shot weapons that had to be 

Recently your SciSchmooze has come all too often with ‘cosmic’ images: Sunday’s lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse by Phobos, low temperatures of the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble’s image of Earendel, etc., etc. This week i was planning on an image of something closer to home, but along came the image of the supermassive black hole that warps space and time at the center of our galaxy. In spite of my intentions, the first ‘category’ is again, “SPACE.”

SPACE

Sgr A* (pronounced “Sagittarius A-star”) is our galaxy’s supermassive black hole. It has never been observed, only surmised, 

Hello again fans of Science!

Today is Mother’s Day, that day where we honor mothers everywhere. I had always thought that, while certainly mothers are worth celebrating, the day itself was the invention of the hospitality industry. Not so!

According to historian and fellow Substack writer Heather Cox Richardson, 

Hello again, dear reader,

Of all the unexpected phenomena in our unfathomable universe, ambergris shat by sperm whales rates pretty high. A lump the size of a Costco muffin could sell for thousands of dollars - if it had 

Dear friend of science and reality,

Thank you for putting up with my bent on reality. Today i'm starting out on the topic of ‘Space’ since the above photo is so amazing, but don’t miss the section on ‘Optimism’.

SPACE

The 

Hello again Science fans!

When I last wrote the SciSchmooze a month ago, the war in Ukraine had just started. Little did I expect things would go in the directions they have. From the attacks on civilians, health care facilities, and whole cities, to the resistance, ingenuity, and persistence of the Ukrainian people and army, this has been a month full of surprises. News r

Hello again, faithful follower of science,

It’s been a stressful week for the world. I made a small donation to UNICEF. I trust you are also doing what’s right.

Now for science:

CLIMATE CHANGE

The United Nations report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability,” was released last week by the Intergove

Hello again, dear commendably curious person,

NASA just announced that the ISS will be ‘deorbited’ in January 2030 using three Russian rockets, and that future space stations will be built and operated by private industry. NASA just released this somewhat premature