Liverwort, Cannabis, Vesuvius, and the Origins of Liberalism

“The first vertebrates on Earth arose in shallow coastal waters: A new study answers an enduring question about where our earliest backboned ancestors lived”

It’s said that they evolved from liberal politicians, who (as the above graphic shows) tend to occur in habitats and ecosystems clustered along seacoasts and around major bodies of water.  (William F. Buckley Jr. published his book Up from Liberalism in 1984.   Science now seems to have vindicated his title in a more literal sense than he could possibly have imagined.)

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“Liverwort plants contain a painkiller similar to the one in marijuana: The THC-like substance may have medical benefits minus the same kind of high”

I wonder whether there will ever be as much enthusiasm for liverwort in Boulder, Colorado, as there currently is for cannabis?

If Utah’s Proposition 2 passes, will it soon be obsolete?  But what fun will that be?

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Men who wish that they were taller may want to rethink that wish:

“Tall people at greater risk of cancer ‘because they have more cells’: Report suggests link between height and cancer risk could simply be because there are more cells for something to go wrong in”

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The evidence for the peopling of the Americas continues to go earlier and to grow more complex:

“Ancient Clovis people may have taken tool cues from earlier Americans: Newly discovered Texas spearpoints could shed light on the first inhabitants of North America”

I’m reminded of this piece:

“3 Distinguished Linguists Examine Mysterious Origin of Native Americans”

I don’t claim — though some will inevitably (even after this disavowal) maintain that I do — that this somehow proves the Book of Mormon true.  But, if the article is accurate, it certainly suggests that the simple, unambiguous, settled story that some have been telling, and that some have been saying destroys the Book of Mormon, isn’t nearly as cut-and-dried as they had hoped.

And then there was this:

“Scientists discover DNA proving original Native Americans were White:  ‘This is a new population of Native Americans – the white Native American'”

And, once again, my critics needn’t hyperventilate:  I don’t imagine that this story proves the Book of Mormon.  I don’t even think it directly relevant to the question.  At most, or so it would seem to me, these findings, if they’re accurately described, would seem to indicate once again that the original peopling of the Americas was more complicated than, or at least different than, we had thought.

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The unpeopling of ancient Pompeii has also revealed new details recently, as well as — to our considerable surprise — a later date for the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius that caused it.

“Gruesome Pompeii discovery: Ancient city reveals grisly secret”

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And now I offer something on a rather more mundane and practical level.  It’s more interesting and more complex, though, than you might have guessed, and it also offers a pretty clear (and, to me, pretty helpful) answer:

“Air Dryers vs Paper Towels: Which hand drying method is the best, air or paper towel? The answer is more complicated than you might think – but do wash your hands.”

We’re entering the cold season.  Please wash your hands!  If not for yourself, do it for me.  I hate colds, and I get a bad one every November.  I’m trying to break that pattern this year.