My Virtual Reading Room

Runaway kangaroo’s hop down Alabama highway causes two-vehicle crash

The marsupial was unharmed, law enforcement said. It was shot with a tranquilizer and returned to its owner.

(there's a video in the article, take a look ;))

Promising research:

Experimental cancer drugs found to help some patients avoid surgery

(immunotherapy has really taken off in recent years)

A slightly older article, but one I'd not come across before:

She wrote to a scientist about her fatigue. It inspired a breakthrough.

(all three are from The Washington Post, and all three are gift links)

Huge rabbit rescued from kill farm is now therapy bunny, drives mini truck, from The Washington Post

“There’s just not a place that he’s not completely the center of attention,” said Josh Row, who owns rabbit Alex The Great.
~~

And wishing you an enjoyable weekend, and a Happy Easter, if you celebrate it :)

4 Types of Grief No One Told You About, by Sarah Epstein

The Partnership:The Secret History of the War in Ukraine, from the NYT

(gift link)

This is the untold story of America’s hidden role in Ukrainian military operations against Russia’s invading armies.

Carolyn Hax chat from Feb. 21, 2025

You can scroll down to the "Mental Health" question, and I'll also post it below


Mental Health
Guest
Feb 21, 1:03 p.m.
Just a simple question if you can get to it: How do you make yourself happy - when the world demands you to be sad?( Here's the answer: )


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And here's the article about the seal, which was referred to in the chat:

A seal is found wandering streets of New Haven, becomes local celebrity

Spotted five miles from the water, the pup was taken to an aquarium for rehab and eventual release.

(Take a look--it has cute photos)

This is springtime, from levkonoe 

Quite a variety, and if you want more, keep clicking on "previous 50"... :)

"The Small, Happy Life", by David Brooks, from The New York Times (2015)

"Ask Yourself: What Are You Grateful For?", by Donna Britt, from The Washington Post (2020)

"The Dog's Wet and Life Is Wonderful", also by Donna Britt, from The Washington Post (1995)

(all three links are gift links)

A few things that caught my eye recently, in no particular order:

Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange, from Sapiens

The Anthropology Professor in an Amazon Warehouse, also from Sapiens

Car Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit, from The Marginalian


24 Tips from Therapists, from BuzzFeed

25 Riddles, also from BuzzFeed

How to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires and avoid scams, from MSN

From The Washington Post; all of these are gift links:

This doctor was tired of patients not exercising. So he joined them for walks, by Dr. Leana Wen

The idea has since grown into a program with more than 570 locations.

How to make exercise nonnegotiable in 2025

Specific tactics can help make a resolution more likely to stick.

His path to reaching 106? ‘I did everything I shouldn’t do’

Herbert Stern, the oldest living graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, continues to drive, shop and cook.

And here's the article I got it from, with info about the dishes: Traditional Russian Table for the New Year

And there's this: A salad that no nation wants to call their own

Did anything good happen in 2024? Actually, yes!

From cures for diseases, signs of climate hope and the beauty of nature, here are some of the positive news stories you might have missed this year.

(as a medical professional, I was especially pleased with the news from Chad, and the medical news)

Received a package from an unknown sender? Experts warn of new ‘brushing’ scam — here’s how to protect yourself this Christmas, from the NY Post

Santa Claus is coming to town, political cartoon edition

Don’t doomscroll about Trump. Do these five things instead.

Elections are important, but they’re not the only way to advance progressive policies.

Cells have more mini ‘organs’ than researchers thought − unbound by membranes, these rogue organelles challenge biology’s fundamentals

(amazing, really, especially if you'd studied cell biology)

How the Ivy League Broke America
The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.

(an interesting and detailed historical perspective)

(thanks to those on my reading list--conuly and minoanmiss , I believe)

And--

Better living through chemistry (or not so much...)

Sulfanilamide Disaster

Taste of Raspberries, Taste of Death: The 1937 Elixir Sulfanilamide Incident

(one of the things I found interesting in this report was the reaction of the head of the company, versus that of the research chemist...)

amaebi pointed out this article:


1985 Austrian diethylene glycol wine scandal

(one of the things I found interesting in this article is near the end, under the subtitle "Destruction of the wine", what they had to do to get rid of it...)

People:

World’s tallest and shortest women meet for afternoon tea in London


Animals:

New Hampshire shelter faces ‘enormous’ breeding problem after man surrenders nearly 1,000 mice

(via lindahoyland )

Paws up! Police find shoe thief at a kindergarten is actually a weasel


Art:


The Gravity-Defying Land Art by Cornelia Konrads

They said a bear attacked their cars. It was a human in disguise, officials say.

California’s insurance department asked a state biologist to review videos that had been submitted by people seeking payouts for vehicle damage.

Bakery owner discovers longtime customer is her biological son

Lenore Lindsey said her customer’s laugh had always reminded her of her brother’s. Now she knows why.

A Lighthouse for Dark Times, from The Marginalian

The mates who have met for a pint every Thursday for 56 years, from BBC

(via lindahoyland --many thanks!)


The Life-Changing Magic of Japanese Clutter, from Aeon

(a lengthy but fascinating article)


This American fruit could outcompete apples and peaches on a hotter planet, from The Washington Post

...the birthday of Maria Sklodowska-Curie. A remarkable person and scientist; the MSN article below offers a very brief summary. One of her daughters, Eve Curie, had actually written an excellent book about her, titled "Madame Curie" (which had been translated into English and can be bought, on Amazon or elsewhere, if you are so inclined). I remember it is a book aimed at older children.

Marie Curie: The Pioneer of Radioactivity and a Legacy of Scientific Excellence


...today is also the 107th anniversary of the (ahem) Great October Socialist Revolution...