Who's idea was this?

The Giant Tadpole That Never Got Its Legs

By Katie L. Burke

A record-breaking, 10-inch-long whopper of a bullfrog tadpole was discovered by a crew of ecologists in a pond in Arizona.

The biggest tadpole ever found—at a whopping 10 inches long—was discovered by a crew of ecologists in a pond in the Chiricahua Mountains of  Arizona. Alina Downer, an intern at the American Museum of Natural History’s Southwestern Research Station, came across the monster bullfrog tadpole as her crew was draining a manmade pond as part of a habitat restoration project for the endangered Chiricahua leopard frog.

As the water level lowered,  Downer and her colleagues were assessing what organisms were left in the muddy shallows that she likened to “chocolate soup.” Downer says, “I  was fishing around with my hands while walking in the water, and I felt   something large, smooth, and wriggly—which was unexpected, since the only other fish in the pond were about an inch long.”

As  an avid naturalist, Downer’s first instinct was curiosity. “At first I thought it was a giant catfish,” she says, grinning at the uncanny memory. “Whatever it was, I knew I had to grab it.” She herded the  slippery creature into shallower water until she could capture it. To her surprise, it turned out to be “an enormous monster of a tadpole”—so big she had to hold it with two hands…

‘Whatever it was, I had to grab it.’

Indian pipes (monotropa uniflora)

Indian pipes (monotropa uniflora)

Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” died Thursday in her home city of Detroit after battling pancreatic cancer. Her death was confirmed by her publicist, Gwendolyn Quinn. She was 76.

Franklin sold more than 75 million records during her life, making her one of the best-selling artists of all time. She took soul to a new level and inspired generations of singers who came after her.

No one’s life can be condensed to one word — but Aretha Franklin came close when she sang one word: “respect.”

“Respect” was written by the great Otis Redding. In his version, a man is pleading, offering his woman anything she wants in exchange for her respect. He sang: “Hey little girl, you’re sweeter than honey / And I’m about to give you all of my money / But all I want you to do / Is just give it, give it / Respect when I come home …”

Aretha changed those lyrics to demand parity. “Oooh, your kisses,” she sang, “Sweeter than honey / And guess what? / So is my money …” In her hands, “Respect” became an empowering song — for black women and for all women. It was a No. 1 hit in 1967, and it became her signature song.

Franklin was 25 years old when “Respect” was released. But she had been singing since she was a small child in her father’s New Bethel Baptist Church.

Aretha Franklin, The ‘Queen Of Soul,’ Dies At 76

A bipartisan report released by the CIA, FBI, NSA, and ODNI stated unequivocally that Russia, under orders from Putin, carried out a far-reaching cyber operation with the goal of interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections.

One branch of this attack involved fake Russian accounts spreading disinformation, discord, and inflammatory content (in a word, propaganda) across many social media platforms, most notably Facebook and Instagram, but also tumblr. The Department of Justice indicted 13 Russians and 3 Russian companies for these actions. The defendants referred to their activities as “information warfare”, and stated that their goal was to “spread distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general.”

In spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, President Trump has dismissed reports of Russian meddling as “ridiculous”, and has publicly stated that he believes Putin’s assertions that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 U.S. elections.

We should all be concerned about outside powers seeking to interfere with the integrity of our elections, regardless of which candidates or parties benefit from such interference.

As the midterms approach, be wary of voices sowing discord, fear, and despair. Look for solutions and ways to help instead.

Be wary of anyone who says your vote doesn’t matter. It does.

Be wary of anyone who says that “both sides” are the same. They’re not.

Be wary of anyone who says an election result is a foregone conclusion. It isn’t.

Be wary of anyone who argues for ideological purity and categorical rejection of “flawed” candidates. Perfect people do not exist.

Be wary of sharing posts from sources you do not recognize or know to be trustworthy. Always corroborate with a reputable source.

Remember, we outnumber them, but only if we show up.

Botanical Knives

Pocono Mountains Forge on Etsy

i thought this was fake but it’s not

here’s the sawbones episode about him

-he was very concerned with protecting poor people, women and people of color, aka all the people most of upper class british society at the time cared the least about. he worked to reform prisons and hospitals in south africa at risk to his own career, and also improved the conditions under which poor enlisted british soldiers and their families lived

-he was kind of a known hothead. he was rumored to have fought at least one duel (probably not true though). florence nightingale hated him even though they had similar ideas about medicine because they had such a clash of personalities in the brief time they worked together

-he was a vegetarian and took a goat with him on sea voyages so he could always have fresh milk

-even though he had an abrasive personality and made a lot of enemies, his patients, especially the women, really loved him because they felt like he knew what he was doing and actually cared about their health

-he died poor because the british army ripped him off >:/

Rabies pride!

Jakub Rebelka x INPRNT!

The absolutely incredible work of artist Jakub Rebelka is available as fine art prints in his INPRNT Shop.