catnik

This dinosaur skeleton is incomplete. But, it doesn't look that way to us, because the parts it's missing are parts we don't have.

See how there are ribs on the bottom? Those are called gastralia. That's right, dinosaurs had ribs on their stomachs as well, and modern crocodiles and alligators still have them! (Also, notice that the ribs keep going to the hips instead of stopping above the waist. This is also true of modern birds, and why a bird can't have a concave stomach!)

Next, notice that ring floating in the center of the eye socket? That's called a sclerotic ring! Fish, reptiles, birds--with the exception of mammals (and, oddly enough, crocodilians), pretty much all modern vertebrates still have them! It's literally an eyeball bone. Afaik we haven't found a T-rex specimen with any intact, but since we've found them in other dinosaurs, it's very likely they had them too.

On the contrary, T. rex had such big eyes that a significant portion of its brain was devoted to visual processing!

See, these aren't eye socket bones.

- "the term is gendered" (it's not, and feminine equivalents were sometimes created specifically for the purpose)

- "they didn't actually do things as knights" (who didn't? The Hatchet women fought the Moors. A few other Orders had women as masters of arms. Both martial and formal examples)

...and a few other reasons that come down to "I don't like imagining my manly men in steel had women in their ranks, girls have cooties".

And the reason I say this is because recently, Wikipedia updated their page on "Knight", specifically adding a section about women with the title of knighthood, and what function they performed. And I know: "Wikipedia is not an academic source"--but every academic institution will accept the sources and articles used to back up wikipages, which confirm what has been said.

I saw this and needed to answer.

The gendered versions of 'knight' come from Romance languages, and literally just change the word to fit the gender of the subject (within a binary). So it isn't like English, where a female knight has always been a 'Dame', but, using Spain as an example, the word for Knight in Spanish is 'Cabellero'. This is the default masculine.

The feminine word for Knight? 'Cabellera'.

Similarly in French: "Chevalier" becomes "Chevaliére".

In Italian, "Cavaliere" becomes "Cavaliera".

Outside of Romance languages, "knight" is just a title for a social rank, so even the English Dame is by default a knight by rank, but may not have the title (although not impossible).

Just a note about translations and ... well, patriarchal bullshit.

When you say "Hatchet women fought the Moors" I was like "hey, that seems to be part of my local history, how have I never heard about it?", and when I googled it ... I actually have heard about it, it's the Orden del Hacha from Catalonia (Orde de l'Atxa in the original Catalan). But ... there's something odd going on. Why the fuck in English they have translated like "Order or the hatchet"? You know, in Spanish and Catalan there's no really a difference between "Axe" and "Hatchet": There's a single word for them, "Hacha/Atxa". But in English, there's a difference. A Hatchet is a hand axe, pretty much the smallest one you can think of:

So It's pretty remarkable that whoever translated the name of the order to english first decided to use "Hatchet" and not "Axe". I'm pretty sure if this was a order of men warriors the name would have been pretty different. Specially when THIS was their coat of arms:

I just had to collect all of these responses together in one place

Edit: And one from my friend, who doesn't have a tumblr (yet)

Residents had serious concerns about the project. While companies often win major tax breaks by promising jobs and economic stimulation, data centers bring few permanent jobs and can drain municipal water resources, drive up electric bills, rob cities of tax revenues, and cause damaging noise, light, and air pollution. Already, Wisconsin residents have seen some of these impacts at data center sites in Port Washington and Beaver Dam. Residents in Port Washington have complained about the disruption caused by around-the-clock construction at the new data center. Families near the construction in Beaver Dam have reported that their wells have run dry.

Although the Menomonie City Council voted to annex and rezone the land for the data center in early September [2025], pressure from local campaigners was so great that Mayor Randy Knaack announced at a Sept. 22 city council meeting that he had notified Balloonist that the city would not be moving forward with a development agreement. More good news came in January when the Menomonie City Council voted unanimously to place additional regulations on data center projects.

been a while since i've drawn this guy

May I present the best apple:

It is one thing to be able to teach effectively, and another to manage a variety of different individuals needs while maintaining engagement. Every skill that Grace uses in his meeting of Rocky, and building a relationship with him, whether he remembers or not, are skills a good educator and mentor uses.

To not assume ill intent. To approach first with curiosity. To explain difficult concepts in a palatable way without condescension or malice. To empathize with one's situation and acknowledge how it may shape one's responses. To exercise patience. To adapt and shift gears in the face of uncertainty. To remain calm in the height of stress and remain a leader.

Grace as a scientist yes, but as a teacher, maintaining an openness to not only work with Rocky, but to also embrace his differences and utilize his strengths to find creative solutions that benefit both of them.

History is fraught with disputes and wars driven by ignorance and sustained by fear of unique cultures and experiences that are different to our own. It is practically in our DNA to reject or fear that of which is different to us, and so it is not weak to trust or to be kind. It is harder to be these things, because the opposing forces come so effortlessly.

Grace's inclination toward 'flight' instead of 'fight' is not an indicator of weakness. It is preservation. It is learned behavior. To take a step back, recalibrate and approach again. You do not win students over by being a fearless dictator. You win them over by treating them like people, and acknowledging where you yourself have room for growth. Ryland Grace is a coward for many reasons that define his narrative, but being trusting and kind are not among them.