Henry VIII was born 28 June 1491, and it seems as though people have been talking about him ever since. Very few people in the Western world haven’t at least heard of Henry VIII. Odds are good that at some time they have seen the famous portrait of the bloated, middle-aged King, with his arms… Read more Happy Birthday Henry!
There are many people in Great Britain that view the royal family as obsolete and, worst of all, a drain on taxpayers. Largely, arguments against the monarchy come down to money. Even though it works out to 56 pence a person, that’s still £35.7 million ($60.6 million, 44.5 million euros) of taxpayer money. So the… Read more A Fiscal Argument for the English Monarchy
Here we go again with the sensationalizing of wonky data, although the researcher in this case may be as culpable as the reporter. Apparently, a study is asserting that woman “who got pregnant naturally and successfully birthed their last child after age 33 were twice as likely to live to age 95 compared to those… Read more Older Moms Live Longer?
Having a kid with Autism Spectrum Disorder, from high-functioning Aspy’s who can pass for “quirky” with a little help to ASD issues to the point of non-verbal and non-functioning, is expensive. A recent study has looked at just how much it can cost to have a child on the spectrum, and the answer was as… Read more High Cost of Autism
Recently, a newspaper reported that 800 dead babies were found “dumped” in a septic tank in a Catholic Home for Unwed Mothers. That kind of article is know as “clickbait”, because people will click the link to read more details, generating more page views and thus money from advertisers. People, for what ever reason, can… Read more Using 800 Dead Babies as Clickbait
There has lately been some contention about Bowe Bergdahl, an American POW recently released in an exchange for Taliban detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay detention camp. I am still trying to sort out fact from fiction. In June of 2012, an amazingly in-depth article by Michael Hastings about Bergdahl appeared in Rolling Stone which… Read more Facts About Bowe Bergdahl
Is it just me, or does this appear to imply that forensic psychologist Dr. Brian Russell said that girls, as a function of their gender, are more likely to have hateful little minds than non-girls (AKA boys)? I was all set to flay Dr. Russell for his sexist, misogynistic, inaccurate, unfounded accusations about little girls… Read more No. That’s not what he said.
When Elliot Rodger killed his roommates and random people in “revenge” for the fact women “denied” him the sex he felt he was entitled to, the #YesAllWomen was formed to explain how the normalization of misogyny in culture means that women face danger. Moreover, because it is seen as normal it becomes a “valid” avenue… Read more In Praise of Sweet Babou
Have you seen the blaring headlines about how the brains of men who watch more porn are rotting/smaller/inadequate? Well, those headlines are a fine example of misstating and/or overstating scientific findings in order to get people to read the article, AKA “click bait”. I’ve groused about this before, and will again in the future I… Read more Porn rots your brain?
I have to be honest — myths that people accept as facts drive me bananas. I think it may be a function of my Asperger’s syndrome. I am made completely insane when commonly held beliefs have no basis in fact because 1) I like my facts to be factual and 2) I feel like people… Read more Obesity Myths