I Depleted Any Ability I Have to Think About Post Titles While I Was at Work

At my new(ish) job, I'm responsible for writing stuff, including product descriptions, social media updates, and blog posts about topics related to the company. The first blog post with my name on it went up this week. Have a look-see:

Nice Plastic Bottle You're Wearing: What You Never Knew About Recycled Fabric 

If the post title doesn't interest you, perhaps the fantastic image set I found for the header will:

Rhapsody in Boo-Hoo

I cried in the car on the way to work today, not because I was upset, but because this song came on the radio, and there's a part in the middle that gets me every stupid time. Today marks the 90th anniversary of its first public performance, where I'm sure plenty of other people also cried like sissies.

Science, Featuring Shrimp and the Sun

(I keep a running tally of phrases that I can see being used as band names. "Shrimp and the Sun" might make it on there.)

I actually learned a lot when researching both of these articles, namely that our sun is probably not as old as some other stars and that shrimp have brains.

Do Shrimp Have a Nervous System?

What Is Meant When Our Sun Is Referred to as a Second Generation Star?

That does more than sting...

One of the articles I wrote recently was about the ecosystems that stingrays inhabit. Yesterday, I Fucking Love Science posted about a study that warns that 25% of the world's sharks and rays could be extinct within a decade and explains why we should be worried.

Science for your weekend, kiddos:

The Ecosystem of the Stingray

And a couple of other recent pieces:

What Is a Pinna in Botany?
How Are the Surfaces of the Moon & Mercury Similar?

Don't know much about chemistry...

But I do know now about some of the chemicals in pen ink. Did you know that people used to mix egg albumin into their ink?

What Is the Chemical Composition of Pen Ink?

What Does Acid Pollution Do to Seashells?

Today I learned that Prozac will screw up shrimp. No joke.

While researching an article, I found out that shrimp have the hormone serotonin circulating in their systems, the same hormone that improves mood in humans. When exposed to one of the chemicals in Prozac, shrimp will see their serotonin levels skyrocket, and they'll start behaving in abnormal ways, like swimming out of their safe, dark hidey holes toward bright areas where predators can find them.

Take what you will from that. The lesson I took is that happy creatures do stupid shit.

Read more about conked-out crustaceans here.

Additions to the Science Writing Portfolio

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but science is so delightful...

What Two Factors Influence a Region's Photosynthetic Productivity?

What Causes Volcanoes to Grow Bigger?

The Location of Ribosomes in a Cell