Science
History of World Backup Day
HISTORY OF WORLD BACKUP DAY There isn’t much history, as the first celebration of this geek holiday was in 2011. World Backup Day is barely a decade old. But the need is real, now more than ever before. Especially in light of this salient fact: April Fools’ Day. March 31, the day before, is an…
Read MoreHistory of The Spring: What is the Vernal Equinox?
HISTORY OF THE SPRING In Colorado we have a saying, we begin the first day of Spring in the same way we began the Fall: with snow. This symmetry is relevant as both the beginning of Spring and Fall coincide with the Equinox. This word is made up of two Latin root words aequus and…
Read MoreHistory of Pi Day: 3.14
HISTORY OF PI DAY This holiday is often overlooked by those who do not speak Greek or those who do not speak Geek… but for the science major, this is a special celebration. Though it is an irregular constant number, regularly and annually on March 14, or 3/14, or 3.14 — we have the first…
Read MoreHistory of Daylight Saving Time: Why do we Spring forward?
HISTORY OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME It seems like only yesterday that we discussed the end of Daylight Saving Time, or DST, a brilliant campaign to convince people that we’re getting more daylight each day when in reality, they’ve simply changed their clocks and then forgotten about it within two weeks. It was only back in…
Read MoreHistory of the Santa Tracker: How a Typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD
History of the NORAD Santa Tracker: How a typo began Christmas tracking at NORAD
Read MoreScience of the Winter Solstice
Science of the Winter Solstice: what does it mean, how it ushers in Winter
Read MoreHistory of the Poinsettia: The Christmas Flower
History of the Poinsettia: the history of the “Christmas flower” from its origin in Mexico to its popularity in the US. #HistoryOfTheHolidays
Read MoreHistory of the Christmas Star: Natural or supernatural?
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTMAS STAR: NATURAL OR SUPERNATURAL? The Star of Bethlehem has puzzled scholars for centuries. Some have skeptically dismissed the phenomenon as a myth, a mere literary device to call attention to the importance of the Nativity. Others have argued that the star was miraculously placed there to guide the Magi and is,…
Read MoreHistory of Mistletoe: Why is it the Kissing plant?
HISTORY OF MISTLETOE We’ve mentioned previously that mistletoe was prominent in the traditions of the Druids and the lore of northern Europe. The Druids used the mistletoe of their sacred oak as part of their ritual five days after the new moon following the Winter Solstice. In the Middle Ages, it was hung from ceilings…
Read MoreHistory of the 1st Year of Coronavirus: It Ain’t Over Yet
HISTORY OF THE 1st YEAR OF CORONAVIRUS: IT AIN’T OVER YET One year ago today, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the rapidly spreading Coronavirus a global pandemic. It had noted in early January last year a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Soon thereafter, it reported in their Disease…
Read MoreHistory of Coronavirus: How Will It End?
HISTORY OF CORONAVIRUS: HOW WILL IT END? On December 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization to the first COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S., making the Pfizer-BioNTech injection the first to be administered. Yesterday, the FDA also approved the second candidate from Moderna-BioNTech. While having a vaccine is a necessary…
Read MoreHistory of How Pandemics End: Implications for Today’s COVID-19
HISTORY OF HOW PANDEMICS END: IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY’S COVID-19 With the COVID-19 pandemic on everyone’s mind, the natural question is: How have pandemics ended in the past… and what can we learn from these historical lessons? As a follow-up to the article I wrote at the beginning of the COVID “lockdown” back in March,…
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