Tamora Pierce Stuff

their (live!) young gestate for. wait for it. eight to eighteen (??) YEARS. can have up to 10 at a time. good grief.

longest lifespan of any vertebrate, up to five hundred years

toxic flesh

has giant eyes but is usually blind because of a weird little crustacean that's evolved to live on and eat their eyes. this doesn't seem to bother them much.

lives in deep cold water and has the lowest swim speed and tail-beat frequency for its size across all fish species. just generally lives life in extreme slow motion

largest genome of any shark

eats everything including moose and polar bears

Fantastic article!! The guys looking for it were fish researchers who saw it one time, knew instantly it was an undescribed species, and then tried for nearly 20 years to find and document it!

It's a type of ghost pipefish, related to seahorses, and it floats around coral reefs looking like a piece of algae and hunting unsuspecting prey

They are, of course, named after Snuffleufagus from Sesame Street!

Later on it the project, they got citizen science involved, and people across the Pacific started reporting sightings of snuffy fish from all over!

'ahi | yellowfin tuna

The ʻahi is a symbol of abundance. Their presence reflects the generosity of the ocean, often watched over by the akua (god) of fishing.

he'e | octopus

For many ʻohana (families), the heʻe is also recognized as an ʻaumakua, an ancestral guardian that offers protection and guidance.

mōlī | Laysan albatross

The Hawaiian mōlī (Laysan albatross) is seen as a messenger, carrying ʻike (knowledge) across great distances.

In Hawaiian culture, many ocean animals are revered as aumakua, ancestral guardians that protect the ‘ohana (family). Their presence is deeply embedded in moʻolelo (stories) and often symbolizes virtues like strength, endurance, and resilience. This profound appreciation represents a spiritual interconnectedness and respect between humans and the sea. 

Mahalo (thanks to) Marlo Lualemana (@marlolualemana on IG) for sharing her knowledge and culture.

But anyway cotton can be grown in lovely natural shades of greens, reddish-brown ochres, and browns, all of which deepen with a good boil in water with a bit of washing soda thrown in.

Anyway, scientists DID figure out how to grow colored cotton. They genetically engineered it to be bright fuckin pink, and they didn't "just find out" about it, they already knew which is literally what inspired them to attempt the thing they just accomplished. Begging y'all to stop pretending that scientists don't know things, don't have interests, don't grow up in farming communities or have family who taught them this. Scientists are people. Do you seriously think people who use genetic engineering to make eco-friendly pink cotton don't know anything about textiles?

Anyway. Bright pink cotton without dyes, because science is awesome

Yes. CSIRO scientist Doctor Colleen MacMillan led the team that figured this out. They used tobacco plants for testing because of the genetic similarity. Basically if the tobacco leaves produced colors when injected with a bit of the experimental genetic material, the scientists on the team already understood that the color change would affect cotton bolls as well.

They grew bright red and bright yellow in a petri dish.

And yes, Doctor MacMillan knows lots of things. Here's a list of some of her publications.

@csirogram on Instagram

wild horses

procreate + clip studio paint

Character, book, and author names under the cut

From the article:

She has 11 covers for sale, First Test isn't available because the original copy was sold to a gallery years ago, but she mentioned possibly tracking it down or recreating it.

Right now I think she's just shipping in the US, but she's looking at international options.

It seems like a one woman operation, so it might take some time to actually get shipped.