Zoopedia: Atlantic sea nettle

Floating through the ocean Atlantic sea nettles make an almost ghostly sight. These eerie yet beautiful creatures make up an important part of their ecosystems by providing food for larger animals and eating the organisms which provide food for the rest of the food web. Taxonomy and Evolution In 2017 the Atlantic sea nettle was

Left-Wing and the ‘Other’ History: The 1906 Cananea Strike

The timeline of revolutions is never clear in regards to when we can say it began or ended. For example, we traditionally mark the storming of the Bastille as the start of the French Revolution, but there were agricultural strikes in the year preceding this. Likewise, the Mexican Revolution (dated roughly 1910 to 1920) is

Florapedia: Seagrasses

One of the best things fighting climate change are not forests but the meadows of seagrasses. Soaking up carbon they also provide homes and food for countless other plants, animals, and algae the world over. Today we’re going to be looking at this group of plants and their role in the ocean’s environment. Taxonomy and

The Making of Today: Tacky’s War, April-June 1760

On Easter Monday, April 7 1760, across the plantations of Jamaica recently enslaved Africans rose up in rebellion. Although technically several rebellions in one the iconography of the war came to surround one figure – a former warlord in what is now Ghana called Tacky. While not the first enslaved uprising in the Caribbean, or

Zoopedia: Japanese rhinoceros beetle

One of the most popular pets in Japan is not a cat or a dog, but the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, kabutomushi. Amazing to look at when adults, easy to take care of, and common these beetles easily made their homes in the hearts of Japan’s kids (and many adults). Taxonomy and Evolution Normally I like

A Short History of Cannabis

One of the oldest domesticated plants in the world and yet one of the most controversial this week we are looking at cannabis. Hemp, weed, ganja, marijuana, skunk – no matter the name it refers to the same plant, Cannabis sativa. This post is to be read in conjunction with a Florapedia post on cannabis

Florapedia: Cannabis

Weed, ganja, Mary Jane, marijuana, skunk, pot – no matter what you call it we are talking about the same plant Cannabis sativa. For thousands of years humans have been cultivating cannabis as a drug and also building material. Hemp has been for millennia used to make rope, clothing, and even food. This post is

Paleo Profiles: Trilobites

They might not look like much but the trilobites were perhaps one of the most successful groups of animals to ever inhabit the planet. Very few groups of animals managed to be found over such a long period of time, over such a wide area, and filling so many ecological niches – the only other

Zoopedia: Beluga sturgeon

The beluga sturgeon. Not only is it one of the rarest fish in the world but it is also one of the largest. These fish can live for a staggeringly long time which enables them to reach such large sizes. However, demand for their caviar has led to them being driven to near extinction, and

Myths, Legends, Religion, and Faith: Coyote

Cultures around the world have a myth or folklore about a trickster, but it is rare that several different cultures share the same image of a trickster. From California to the Appalachian mountains various Native American cultures adopted Coyote as the trickster. Sometimes a creator, other times a destroyer, both wise and foolish, Coyote (or