December 28, 2023 Planning a road trip through the heart of America? Get ready for an unforgettable journey filled with quirky surprises and offbeat wonders.
Dan Century, via Flickr If the writers of “Welcome Back, Kotter” wanted to issue a retraction statement, it might look something like this one from Mary Ann Liebert. We’ll call this one a hat tip to Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein, a Sweathog whose permission slips “from his mother” became a meme. The…
Cue the Chorus
In coming weeks, nature s symphony will include Brood X cicadas as they emerge from 17 years underground.
Magicicada septendecim adult male. Photo: Dan Century, Flickr
by J. Morton Galetto, CU Maurice River
Lifecycle of cicada. Compilation by author. Photos: Clockwise, from top, Stephen Little, Peter Myers, CU archive, Cicada Mania, “Amy” – Flickr, CU archive.
One person’s idea of a noisy racket is another’s favorite rock band. By and large I have a real aversion to noise. On the other hand, I’m a sucker for natural phenomena. So when one of nature’s extravaganzas involves noise I try to adjust my mindset and find it awesome versus dreadful. But I’ll admit our subject creature challenges my auditory sensitivities. A few are fine, but a crowd is a 1960s spacecraft hovering. In fact the sound made by these creatures are by magnitude almost two times louder than a vacuum cleaner’s 70 decibels (dB), beating city traffic (80 dB); alarm clocks, hair