A jaw on the floor

The idiom describing shock or astonishment is familiar to everyone, but in this case a jaw is literally on the floor.

"My parents just got their home renovated with travertin stone. This looks like a section of mandible. Could it be a hominid? Is it usual?"

That question was posted by a dentist at the Fossils subreddit, where there are numerous informed replies explaining that this could indeed be a human jawbone (image cropped for emphasis).   There is a detailed scientific explanation at John Hawks (via Neatorama):

Travertine is a limestone that forms near natural springs. Spring water that emerges from lime-rich bedrock often carries a high concentration of dissolved calcium carbonate. When the water evaporates or cools—especially near hot springs—this calcium carbonate precipitates as rock and may form very large deposits around the spring. Travertine has an interesting internal texture when polished, and often has color bands and inclusions of calcite crystals, which make it an appealing choice for decorative flooring or wall covering.

Travertine also commonly includes fossils. Many are fossil inclusions of algae, plants, and small animals—especially molluscs and crustaceans—that live within the spring water. Much larger animals may be found and humans are no exceptions: Several well-known hominin fossil discoveries are from travertine deposits. Most of these discoveries have happened because of quarrying of the travertine deposits for use in construction.

For example, the Steinrinne site is on a terrace of the Wipper River near Bilzingsleben, Germany. The site was quarried from the Middle Ages onward into the twentieth century. Naturalists took notice of the fossils there in the nineteenth century, and straight-tusked elephants, woolly rhinos, and macaques all occur in great numbers, dating to an interglacial period sometime between 470,000 and 280,000 years ago...

Quarries rough-cut travertine and other decorative stone into large panels, doing basic quality checks for gaps and large defects on the rough stone before polishing. Small defects and inclusions are the reason why people want travertine in the first place, so they don't merit special attention. Consumers who buy travertine usually browse samples in a showroom to choose the type of rock, and they don't see the actual panels or tile until installation. Tile or panels that are polished by machine and stacked in a workshop or factory for shipping are handled pretty quickly.

What this means is that there may be lots more hominin bones in people's floors and showers...

It isn't a crime scene. But depending on your state or nation of residence, laws governing discovery of human remains on your property may be complicated and having the paperwork in order with the police, sheriff, or coroner is the first step for most investigations...

Fiendishly difficult cryptic puzzle - updated

Every month I enjoy tackling the cryptic puzzle in Harper's magazine.  The December one that came this week is particularly frustrating.  I've figured out the 24 words in the clues, but I'm facing the task of fitting them into the dodecahedron.

The instructions note that there are 12 letters left over after "subtracting" the five-letter answers from the 6-letter answers, and those 12 letters will spell "the name of the holiday person to whom the puzzle is dedicated." (no indication whether that "name" is a proper name or an occupation or other descriptor and whether it is one word or two or three).

Here are the 12 letters: BEGIIILNNRRV

If I could figure out how to rearrange those 12 letters into a name, the rest of the solution would fall into place more easily.  Even Wordsmith's excellent Internet Anagram Server couldn't come up with any relevant one- to six-word solution - but perhaps names are not in its database.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.  [answer in the Comments]

Reposted to add another fiendish cryptic from Harper's:

I am in awe of the constructors of word puzzles like this.  To start with, the clues are cryptic:

12:  "Unlikely flier takes a long time to become one!"

The unlikely flier is a PIG ("when pigs fly...").  Add a long time (EON) to get PIGEON, which is a flier.  That goes in the hexagon numbered 12.  But... there's no way to know which of the six triangles gets the first letter, and there's no way to know whether the word turns clockwise or widdershins.

So you have to solve an adjacent hexagon clue.  Let's say you figure out clue 11, and the answer shares the letters P and I with hexagon 12.  Good.  But there's still no way to know which direction the words get entered.  So you have to solve a third adjacent clue to start fitting the words together in the grid.

These puzzles are a bit different from the traditional British cryptic grids, and are not for the faint of heart.  For an entry-level standard cryptic, I would suggest the ones posted on Sundays by The New Yorker.  That link should not be behind a paywall, you don't have to create an account, you can click the "settings" to include an "error check mode" that will alert you if you make a mistake while working the puzzle.  And best of all, when you finish (or give up), the answer key will indicate the proper construction of the cryptic entries.  Give it a try.

Reposted from 2023 to add yet another challenging cryptic puzzle grid:

This time the grid has no numbers, so there is no indication which answer goes where.  The clues are arranged in alphabetical order of their (unknown) answers.  I've been working on this for several days and after solving about half of the clues I've found two pairs that logically have to cross in the grid, but it's going to be tough sledding to get the whole grid done.  Those who want to tackle the puzzle can find the original in the May 2024 issue of Harper's Magazine (available from your library).

A grandmother's tattoo explained

She told her grandchildren she "had to get" the tattoo as a child.  The reason is explained in a thread at the WhatIsIt subreddit.

A college student expresses some stark realities

Excerpts from an eye-opening essay by an undergraduate student:

I was surprised to find I spend far, far less time on my classes than on my extracurricular activities... It turns out that I’m not alone in my meager coursework. Although the average college student spent around 25 hours a week studying in 1960, the average was closer to 15 hours in 2015...

This fall, one of my friends did not attend a single lecture or class section until more than a month into the semester. Another spent 40 to 80 hours a week on her preprofessional club, leaving barely any time for school. A third launched a startup while enrolled, leaving studying by the wayside... These extreme examples are outliers. But still, for many students, instead of being the core part of college, class is simply another item on their to-do list, no different from their consulting club presentation or their student newspaper article...

Half of the blame can be assigned to grade inflation, which has fundamentally changed students’ incentives during the past several decades. Rising grades permit mediocre work to be scored highly, and students have reacted by scaling back academic effort...

And therein lies the second reinforcing effect of grade inflation, which not only fails to punish substandard schoolwork but actively incentivizes it, as students often rely on extracurriculars to get ahead. Amanda Claybaugh, dean of undergraduate education, made this point in a recent New York Times interview, saying that “Students feel the need to distinguish themselves outside the classroom because they are essentially indistinguishable inside the classroom.”..

One of my classmates last semester, who is one of the more academically oriented people I know, told me that to get the best grade on an important essay, he simply “regurgitated the readings” without thinking critically about the material...

This utilitarian approach to schoolwork requires a cultural explanation beyond grade inflation, and some of the blame must be placed on the newly meritocratic nature of college admissions. Although the partial shift away from the monied legacy networks that dominated Ivy League spots has been beneficial overall, the change also initiated a résumé arms race... nationwide surveys of incoming freshman confirm this narrative, as an increasingly large share of first-years view college as preparation for financial success rather than a site of learning per se...

This attitude is one manifestation of what Fischman and Gardner call a “transactional model” of college. According to their book, a so-called transactional student “goes to college and does what (and only what) is required to get a degree and then secure placement in graduate school and/or a job; college is viewed principally, perhaps entirely, as a springboard for future-oriented ambitions.”..

In contrast, a professor who is also a College alumnus recently told me that he spent most of his time at Harvard taking five or six classes a semester without doing extracurriculars. Hearing that made me think I’ve probably approached this place in the wrong way. I was discussing the professor’s comments with my roommate the other day, and we both agreed that if we were to go back and redo our undergraduate education, we would basically drop all our extraneous clubs and take as many classes as possible.

I'm sure this essay will trigger a lot of responses from readers (most of whom have probably attended college and experienced similar (or opposite) situations, and I anticipate some vigorous comments.  I would encourage you to read the essay in its entirety and not rely on my focused excerpts.  And note the student is at an elite university, but the principles expressed likely extend broadly across the academic world.

Leaf of Coccoloba gigantifolia

Image cropped for size from a gallery of big things at Bored Panda.  Botanical info at Wikipedia.

Jon Stewart on "victimless" financial crimes

This Daily Show monologue started with commentary about Donald Trump, but in the embedded segment he extends the argument to the wider financial community:

"He's commiting bank fraud where there is no victim"

"No victim.  The ruling is blatantly unfair."

"That didn't go over well with the investment community, because we're asking each other "who's next"?"

"Every [crime] you've just listed is done by every real estate developer..."

According to Stewart the system is "incentivized for corruption", and that apparently if enough people commit a crime, it automatically becomes legal.

Try to watch the video without getting mad at the US financial system.

I'll file this post under "humor" but it's really trenchant social commentary.

What's wrong with people these days??? Updated.

I have fond memories of walking along Hadrian's Wall when I was a younger man.  This wasn't a whimsical folly; it was planned vandalism requiring heavy power tools or a two-man crosscut saw.  Whoever did this should be castrated.  Publicly, IMHO.

The embedded photo is a screencap from a brief video homage at the BBC.

Reposted from last year to information about vandalism of rock formations at Lake Mead:

The embedded image is a composite I made of screencaps from a video of the incident.  In the video a park ranger explains that it is impossible for staff top monitor the entire recreation area, and asks the public's help in this regard.

How quickly can a chicken cross the road? Updated.

A very interesting and entertaining portrayal of the speeds of various birds on land and in the air.  There are lots of surprises (vulture, pheasant, pigeon!)  Go ahead and click the fullscreen icon; life is too short not to enjoy things to the max.

Reposted from last year to add this comparison video of terrestrial animals:

Via Neatorama, of course.   From the video site you can also click to a similar video of aquatic life.

If your rotissserie chicken is green on the inside...

Image from the Costco subreddit, where the top comment is that this is "green muscle disease."

"There is no evidence that Green muscle disease is caused by a pathogen, so technically it would be considered safe to consume a bird with it. However, it may not be aesthetically pleasing to eat green meat. The green discoloration of the meat is similar to a bruise that is trying to heal."

Additional information from an AOL webpage:

Green muscle disease — which is also called ischemic myopathy, deep pectoral myopathy, or green breast — is a condition that develops in larger chickens or turkeys when their pectoral muscles are overdeveloped, becoming too large for the blood supply to reach that region. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), when birds use those muscles to repeatedly flap their wings, the exertion causes the muscles to swell, further restricting the blood supply to that area. Without adequate circulation, those muscles die, turning green in the process.

The comparison to a bruise evolving from reddish-blue to green is accurate.  The green color arises from the breakdown of hemoglobin or myoglobin in the dead muscle.  This is way different from the green color in wounds that arises from the presence of bacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, whose presence should be detectable by a foul and nauseating odor.*  So in the case presented, there would be no disease risk in eating the normal parts of that chicken.

This report was sent to me by a pathologist, who commented that "green muscle disease" should be called what it is: necrosis.  I'll add a comment to express my dismay about the extent to which our food service industry is now bioengineering fowl.  I knew that turkeys were falling over from overdeveloped breasts, but this is the first time I've heard about vascular insufficiency in the poor creatures.

*historical anecdote re Pseudomonas.  When I was working the major medicine ER in Parkland Hospital decades ago, a patient was wheeled into a closed examining room suffering from a decubitus ulcer that extended from his shoulders to his coccyx, the entire extent glowing almost neon green from Pseudomonas colonization.  A series of nurses went into the room to examine him and prepare him for admission upstairs, and at least two of them exited the room wretching or vomiting.  I have always had the deepest possible respect for Parkland ER nurses, who are tough as nails and have seen everything there is to see.  The reason these two were retching has nothing to do with squeamishness; the detection of the odor bypasses the cortical analytic processes and goes directly to the brainstem to produce nausea - a vestigial reflex that natural selection employed to protect our earliest ancestors from dangerously contaminated meat.

College admissions

Interesting album page from a stamp collection

Screencap from a lot I saw posted on eBay.   Stamp collectors should lean back so as not to drool on their keyboard.

Before you complain about the postal service...

... study this table.  Details from NPR:

The office compared the U.S. to 30 other nations that were selected by country size and postal service revenue, as well as the ability to source reliable data. The list includes much of the European Union, along with countries such as Canada, Japan, Brazil and Russia.

In raw numbers, only four countries had cheaper stamps than the U.S. And while many postal services have raised prices in recent years, the U.S. increases were moderate compared to most nations in the sample.

"The price of a [USPS] stamp increased by 26 percent from June 2018 to June 2023 ($0.50 to $0.63)," the inspector general report states, "which is less than half of the average increase for our sample size (55 percent) during that period."

When the OIG adjusted its analysis for purchasing power parity — a currency conversion rate used to compare the relative affordability of goods in different countries — the U.S. had the lowest stamp price of the 31 postal services.

Finding "dark skies" - updated

Those who wish to see the skies as their grandparents did and appreciate the magnificience of the Milky Way would do best to find a "dark sky" away from the contamination of urban lighting.  I made the screencap above from a world map at DarkSiteFinder.

It's zoomable to tell you which way to drive from Salt Lake or Park City for stargazing -

- and it covers the entire world -

?why the hot spot in subSiberian Russia?  Perhaps burning natural gas from oil fields?

Found via an article at FiveThirtyEight about The Darkest Town in America, which discusses the environmental and health effects of nocturnal light pollution.

And this is related: an aerial view of a community in the process of switching from conventional sodium lights to LEDs:

Discussed at the Mildly Interesting subreddit.

Reposted to add this video from NPR, which I watched last night and thoroughly enjoyed:

Goodbye to one of my favorite comics

Real Life Adventures ended on September 23.  

No word on why the cartoonists are retiring, although the strip has been going for 32 years, and writer Lance Aldrich has turned 78, and there are only four newspapers left in the United States that even run comics, so it’s easy to make up a plausible story.

I have harvested their material frequently (here, here, here, here, and many more) for the humor subsection of TYWKIWDBI, and will truly miss their panels.

A memorial to the World Central Kitchen heroes

Tributes to each of these workers have been posted, with details about their histories and personalities.

The fact that these people were specifically targeted, and were targeted because they were humanitarian aid workers is particularly appalling, and deserves not only censure but also prosecution as a war crime.  More on this later.