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Archive for November, 2015

The Unbelievable Truth about Sir Francis Galton

By Subhadra Das, on 5 November 2015

I have a motto: If at a loss, take inspiration from a tried and tested Radio 4 format.

This week it’s The Unbelievable Truth, the panel show built on truth and lies. Each panellist presents a short lecture on a chosen subject and scores points for how many truths they can smuggle past the other players. Panellists win points for spotting truths, and lose points if they mistake a lie for a truth. Seeing as I’m the only one presenting, the lecture is longer than normal and contains 15 truths rather than the usual 5. In the interest of investing in a civilised society, I will be trusting you to keep your own score.

This week, my subject is Sir Francis Galton, the Victorian scientist and statistician who propounded the term eugenics.

I've been doing my homework...

I’ve been doing my homework…

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Glass delusions from the ancient Egyptian world

By Alice Stevenson, on 4 November 2015

This post is part of a series exploring the exhibition Glass Delusions at the Grant Museum of  Zoology.

We often visualize ancient Egypt in sandy hues against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, or the watery Nile framed by green vegetation. Yet there was a much wider palette of colours used in the adornment of palaces, temples and decorative objects. The Egypt world was brightly, sometime garishly, vibrant with colour. Glass was one of the luxury materials that came to be used for decoration during the period Egyptologists call the New Kingdom, around 1500 BC.

Armana glass rods on display in Glass Delusions at the Grant Museum of Zoology. 18th Dynasty, Amarna, UC22911 - UC22920

Armana glass rods on display in Glass Delusions at the Grant Museum of Zoology.
18th Dynasty, Amarna, From the Petrie Museum collection (UC22911 – UC22920)

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Specimen of the Week 212: I am the Walrus

By ucwepwv, on 2 November 2015

After spending my Halloween weekend dressed as a vampire, I’ve been thinking a lot about animals with big fangs that feed by suction.

Walrus skull Odobenus rosmarus LDUCZ-Z2270

Walrus skull Odobenus rosmarus LDUCZ-Z2270

That’s right, my Specimen of the Week is…

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